Accidental Surrogate

Chapter 372 – Holy Water

Ella

Rafe and I are standing behind the counter, staring at the front door of the clinic, waiting for the Priestess to arrive. I shift anxiously from foot to foot and Rafe grumbles and cries anxiously in my arms, probably picking up on my emotions.

“It’s okay, little baby,” I murmur, tearing my eyes away for a second to glance down at him. I smile a little at his unhappy little face, unable to help the little surge of love that pulses through me. “We’re going to get you home real soon,” I promise in a whisper, “wrap you up in a nice warm blanket. Sing you to sleep. And everything will be…fine.”

Rafe calms a little as I do and I let out a deep breath, looking back at the door, hoping to hell that I didn’t just lie to him.

Because all I want, in the whole world, is for this all to be over- I hear the door click and then I stop breathing as it pushes open. Then, I can’t help my little happy cry as the priestess comes in the door, a little basket slung over the crook of her arm.

“Oh thank god!” I shout, running for her and throwing my arm around her, careful to hold Rafe to the side even as I pull her tight.

“Oh!” she says, clearly surprised by my tiny assault. Then, she laughs a little. ” Well, perhaps thank Goddess might be more accurate in this situation,” she says neatly, pulling away from me.

I smile at her so, so grateful that – she’s here. “Yes, sorry about that – I don’t mean to be rude. I’m just so happy you came!”

“Of course, Luna!” she says, lifting a gentle hand to my cheek and smiling warmly at me. “We are always happy to help.” Then she pauses, looking anxiously around the room at all of the people staring at us. “Is there… somewhere we could go? For greater privacy?”

And I realize that – especially to the humans in the room – that we might be making a bit of a spectacle. After all, it’s not every day that you see a woman with dried blood flaking off her clothes hugging a robed priestess.

“Oh, sure!” I say, grabbing her by the hand and tugging her with me to the exam rooms in the back. Luckily, we run almost immediately into Hank, who is coming out of Cora’s room.

say, giving him an excited smile. “This is one of my mother’s priestesses – she performed Rafe’s baptism.” I wait impatiently while Hank nods to the priestess and mumbles a greeting. She says something polite back before I can continue. “Is there somewhere we can go?” I ask him. “Where she can help me unbind

eyebrows going up in interest. Then he pushes the door to the room next to Cora’s open. “Do you…need anything?” he asks, looking the

this done. The priestess sounded pretty eager on the phone – like she really thought she could help. If this works, I could actually help

the priestess says smoothly in response. Privacy,” she adds with a little shrug, might actually

and watching us carefully as we go into the room. The priestess gives him a kind smile before shutting

ask eagerly, bouncing Rafe a little

and placing her basket on it. “It’s obviously not something we do every day,” she says, giving a little laugh. “But we’ve worked, before, with people whose wolves are tangled. The Goddess finds a way

deprecating sort of way. “Apologies, Luna, I don’t have the right words

supplies that she has brought, which mostly look like clear jugs of

jug out and placing it on the table before tucking the basket away below. “From the spring where we baptized your

I say, my eyes going wide. Then, I nod, not really getting it but willing to play along. “Okay. What…what do we

better if we had…a

not easily.” On the phone the Priestess had asked if I could come to the temple, but I had been unwilling to leave Cora if at all possible. So

now, when I again tell her we can’t accommodate

right,” she says, taking up one of the jars and smiling at me. We’ll just have to get a little messy, yes?” She glances over her shoulder at the door. “You don’t think your doctor friend

I say, speaking honestly.

can in the water. And then, once that is done, we will evoke the Goddess and

I sit

be soaked, and perhaps sit in a little pool

“I’m sorry, Luna – it’s all much more dignified when we do this sort of work in the temple and we can ask our patients to submerge themselves in a sacred pool. But I promise, it has a very high rate of

I say, feeling more cheerful and laughing at myself a little bit too.