6

Guilt gnawed at me, even though I’d expected that update. I was still recovering, but I felt like I was neglecting my pack. “What about ferals? Or Troy?”

“As far as we could tell, there has been no increase in feral activity around our territory. And no signs of Troy lurking anywhere near our borders. Things have been normal.”

“That’s a relief,” I said. At least I didn’t have to worry about the ferals and Troy on top of everything else on my plate. “Anything else to report?”

“Yes, actually. It’s about the council.”

My brows shot up. “Do they want to meet with me?”

“Yes, they do, and it sounds pretty serious,” he replied. After a moment of hesitation, he reluctantly added, “They didn’t seem very happy.”

I was glad to know Troy was leaving my pack alone, but hearing about the council set me on edge again. I wanted to visit my pack ASAP to assure myself that things were okay, but I would much rather avoid seeing the council. We were on good terms, but they were more traditional than I cared to be.

“By the way, how’s Bryn?” Dom asked.

I hesitated. “She’s…good. She’s…you know, the same.”

“Uh-huh.” He crossed his arms. “I guess you two haven’t made up yet.”

I sighed and took a long swig of my beer. “No.”

“Well, you should try to make up with her before you head back to our territory. We both know you’ll miss her like crazy if you don’t.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. It’s tough to talk to her when we’re like this. When we do talk, I feel like I’m bothering her or somehow making things harder on her.”

He gave a sympathetic nod. “Well, you are terrible with your words. When’s the last time you two had sex?”

I sent him a steely glare. “And how is that your business?”

He snorted. “I’m asking because maybe you’re better in bed than you are at having a difficult conversation with your mate.”

My eyebrows twitched with annoyance. “Perhaps I’ll take your suggestion into consideration. Is that all?”

He smirked at me. “Yeah. For now.”

“Good, then get to your cabin. I’m sure you’d like to get some rest after making the trip.”

He snickered as I walked him out. I shut the door, annoyance still thrumming through my veins.

For some reason, Dom’s comment had gotten under my skin. It was still on my mind the next day when I went to the cabin where Dr. Stan was staying with the other Wargs.

The cabin was pretty empty because I’d sent some Wargs out as part of the search party. When Doc saw me, he got me a beer and had me stand still while he unwrapped my bandages.

“Hmm…looks like the wound has healed nicely,” he said. “It’ll scar, of course, but I doubt you care much about that, alpha.”

He was right; scars meant nothing to me, but when I examined the wound in the mirror he gave me, I couldn’t help staring at it. I’d never been shot with a silver bullet before, and the roundish scar looked different from the old slashing wounds from teeth and claws that covered most of my body.

The scar would serve as a reminder of Evan’s betrayal. It still hurt that he had been on Troy’s side the entire time, but soon, the scar he had left me would fade like the other scars. The pain of losing someone who had once been so close to me would also fade, and it would become yet another fucked-up memory.

“Alright,” Doc said, moving away from me to grab the tea he’d left steaming near the sink. “You should be well enough to shift now, Alpha Night, but—”

“Great.” I could already feel the blood pumping in my veins. The urge to get out there and run was pushing me to leave almost as quickly as I’d arrived. My wolf hovered just beneath the surface, and it was getting more difficult to hold him back now that we knew we could shift.

“—but don’t push yourself too hard, okay?” Doc finished. “We don’t want that wound opening up again.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll take it easy, Doc,” I said, almost at the door. “You ought to think about heading back to the Warg compound soon.”

He nodded. “Believe me, I know. I’m planning to head back in a few days. Would you mind letting the infirmary know?”

“I’ll do that.”

It was a short run back to the alpha cabin, which wasn’t near enough time for me to get everything out, but it was a start. I headed inside and heard Bryn rummaging around on the west side of the cabin. I followed the sound to the study, where she was rifling through drawers.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

She jumped with a little squeak and turned around. “Night, don’t scare me like that.”

“Sorry.” Technically, we were still fighting, but I couldn’t stop the smile forming on my face as I walked farther into the study. The bookshelves, desks, and tables were all made of matching cherry-stained pine.

“I wanted to make sure there weren’t any documents hidden in here,” she said. “I don’t think Troy or his father would keep them in their study, but you never know.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Silence passed between us, and that silence leaned more toward awkward than I would’ve liked. Dom's words came back to me yet again. I didn’t want to be the kind of man who wasn’t willing to put in the emotional work a relationship needed. Just because Bryn and I were soulmates didn’t mean the hard work of being together ended. I needed to try to bridge that gap.

“I’m heading back to Warg territory tonight,” I finally said. “Dom is going to stay behind, and he’ll be around to help you with whatever you need. I wanted to tell you before I left.”

“Oh.” She lowered her hand and glanced away. “Dr. Stan said you were healed enough to go?”

I nodded.

“Oh,” she said again. “Well, have a safe trip.”