Free The Theron Residency (Brides of Theron Book 4) by Rebecca Anthony Lorino, Rebecca Lorino Pond

into the hovercraft and plugged in his coordinates. He had not been to the hospital in so long. He did not want to step on any of his children’s toes as they were running the show now. As he entered the building, he noticed the subtle changes in the building’s layout since he last visited a couple of years ago. The gardens were much improved and the colors on the walls were very soothing. The furniture in the lobby was comfortable and stylish and the place was looking great. It was a shining example of what the Theron warriors were capable of after having their cities reduced to rubble just ten short years ago. The design and buildings improvements were no doubt on account of his son Zane. He loved all three of his children, but he had a particular connection with Zane. Zane had the gifts that Arden himself possessed through birth.
    He smiled as he saw the familiar face of the desk clerk, “Hello Dr. Arden, what brings you here today? Are you looking for Dr. Zane or Dr. Timon?”
    “No, Sartha. I was wondering if maybe you could tell me what room the elder warrior from yesterday’s crash is in? After all, he was probably one of my patients, not so long ago.” He did not know how much the hospital staff had been told about the identity of their new patients. He knew that Lars’ identity was completely under wraps. He smiled sweetly at her, noticing the sweet perfume of the arrangement of beautiful pink and yellow flowers accented by the long yellow blades of grass on her desk.
    “He is in the critical care ward and listed in stable condition. He has not regained consciousness yet, but I am sure that the nurses in that ward are going to be thrilled to see you.” She wrote down the room number and handed it to him. “How is Dr. Claya? I miss her so much.”
    “She is wonderful. We are preparing for the birth of our twin grandbabies. She is at Zane’s house helping Grace with the nursery.” His life couldn’t be better at the moment as two of his three children were mated and his daughter was on her way home from her latest mission. Soon everyone in the family would be reunited. Despite all the reasons for joy, one thing remained a constant open wound in his heart.
    Arden had accepted the death of his best friend years ago and mourned his loss greatly. However, he never believed that Zirlo was indeed gone. As close as Arden was to Zirlo he felt he would have known when his best friend met the end of his life. His mate Yasa had told Arden shortly after the receipt of his ashes, she held the same suspicions. She believed deep down that the story of his death was a lie. She was certain that she would have known the exact moment Zirlo took his last breath and she never felt that he did. They both agreed that it would be easier for Zeb to move on with his life if he were to believe that his father had passed away. They decided together with Claya to recognize that his death was real for Zeb’s sake, knowing that if Zirlo were alive he would return as a great warrior that his reputation proved him to be. Not a day had passed in which Arden prayed to the Gods that Zirlo would return one day soon.
    It was strange that with the reports of the unidentified wounded warrior circulating, all he could think about was Zirlo. The barrage of thoughts couldn’t be a coincidence. The night got stranger when Zane had called him to report that the other warrior was in fact Zirlo. Zirlo had finally returned to Theron. Arden almost didn’t believe him and wouldn’t have if it weren’t for all those weird premonitory thoughts that had been running rampant through his mind. He made his way to the transport elevator and spoke out the floor he wished to travel to. He did not tell Zane he was coming today and hoped that his son would not think him interfering. Zane was noticeably busier than usual and spending more time at the hospital lately. Grace had even mentioned it to Claya several times over the past couple of weeks.
    Arden did