One

Veronica

I leapt a solid foot into the air, my heart pounding a thousand beats a minute at the quiet snick of the door as Marigold entered the room behind me and water sloshed down the front of me, bringing my mind flying back to the present.

“I’m sorry! I did not mean to startle you.” She apologized in her soft-spoken voice while I dried my now sopping shirt with the dish towel.

I took a moment to collect myself before responding, “No, you’re fine. I was lost in reminiscing and did not hear you come in.”

“Hmm, maybe about a certain someone? You know you are going to have to tell him when he gets here right?” She casually tossed the last part over her slim shoulder as she walked to the pantry and returned a moment later with the broom and dustpan.

She gave me a knowing glance before she started sweeping up the food off the floor, as if her last statement had not completely sent my thoughts into a hectic tailspin.

“I know, I know. I am just not sure how to at this point.”

I rinsed off the last dish before placing it on the counter with the others to dry. Then, I began wiping down the remaining counters and stovetop, beating myself up about what I knew was the right thing to do but also trying to find a way around it anyway.

Ryker hurt me badly when he had left the morning after without a word. I had thought that we were starting something beautiful in the wake of all the tragedy. That night was indescribable, but it hurt too much after the fact to allow myself the luxury of reliving it often.

It was doubly worse when he outright avoided me on his return trips to check on my safety at Jax’s behest. I always knew when he was near one way or another, but he never came to see me. Not once.

It had made the decision to keep my secret easier, but with him returning to the territory for the foreseeable future, it would be impossible to keep for much longer.

I noticed Marigold brushing the last of the mess into the dustpan. Accordingly, I grabbed the bucket to run the mop water while she finished tidying up the room, hoping the distraction would take my mind off of the pressing issue, at least temporarily.

Next, I retrieved the mop, but I had only swabbed one stroke when a loud knocking resonated from the front door. I was so lost in my own thoughts that I had not paid any attention to the footsteps approaching until the sound of rapping had rung out unmistakably.

“I can do this. You go get the door.” She motioned to grab the mop from me as she spoke.

“Thank you, Mari. I don’t know what I would do without you.” I shot a sincere look her way before concluding, “I’ll be right back.”

I arrived at the door as an additional series of pounding reverberated from the other side of the thick slab of wood. I opened the heavy door without further delay and immediately ducked out of the way of the fist that was swinging straight for my face.

“Shit, I’m sorry Ronnie! Are you okay?”

I looked up and met Asher’s jade-colored eyes as my own ran over his harried appearance, surprised to see him standing at my front door.

“Yeah, I am fine, but what are you doing here? Is everything all right?”

I righted myself as I answered, but I could not help as the worry began to creep in. Asher and I were not well acquainted, so him being here was strange, to say the least.

He seemed to shake himself out of whatever train of thought his mind had wandered down, replying with a grim look on his face, “Zeke launched another attack against Willow, in accordance with the bears at the boundary of the Northern Province this time. Ryker and your brother handled the situation, but Ry insisted that I bring you with me to meet the others at the pack house in the North.”

The first part of his soliloquy took a moment to register, as I was busy fuming internally about Ryker making decisions for me yet again without any input from me whatsoever.

My wolf was riled along with me, equally as pissed on my behalf, at least that was what I was going with.

I wanted to refuse sheerly on principal, but as my brain caught up with my ears, my next question spilled forth unbidden as the muscles in my shoulders began to bunch with the stress.

“Wait. Is everyone all right?”

Asher hurriedly responded before I could panic too much, saying, “As far as I know your family was safe but passed out and completely lost to the world at the moment.”

His words left me feeling a bit uncertain. While I had refused to return with my brother to our home territory, it had had nothing to do with him personally. There was simply something stronger rooting me deep into the rich soil here in the Southern Province.

I was sure that my brother and sister were fine, but as a new healer, I felt obligated to check on them in person. I was also a smidge worried about one other person, but I would never admit it aloud.

It would be difficult to ask Mari to do twice as much, but I also knew that she would not mind.

So, I replied, “Give me a few minutes to pack a bag and I’ll meet you back here in 15 minutes.”

“Actually, let’s make it the pack house in an hour, if that’s okay. There are a few things I need to take care of before we go.”

“Yeah, that works perfect. See you then.”

“Later, man.”

I moved to shut the door, but Asher stood fixed in place momentarily before he jerked his head away and strode off in the direction of the pack house.

I quietly trod through the house until I located Mari dumping the last of the mop water down the drain.

I plopped down in one of the wooden chairs, waiting until she joined me before saying, “You truly are amazing. You do so much already, which makes it more difficult to ask my next question, but do you think that you could cover for me here for a couple of days?”

“Of course, Ronnie. By the way, I heard what happened, werewolf hearing, remember? I hope your family didn’t get injured badly.”

“From what Asher said, I’m thinking that they are probably just worn out from the adrenaline crash. It’s normal, but I would feel better seeing them in person.”

“Well, I will hold down the fort here while you’re gone. Make sure you get some rest on the trip there. You deserve it, girl. You do twice as much as me on any given day.”

I shot a genuine smile her way before leaving and slogging my way down the hall to my bedroom. I gathered a few items, not paying much attention to what my hands grabbed, before I hopped into the shower for a hot, steamy cleansing session. I stood under the water for way too long, until it turned lukewarm, in fact.

I did not waste much time with my outward appearance as I pulled on some sweats and an oversized t-shirt after I was dry, and I decided to forgo my hair care routine altogether, throwing it up in a messy bun and calling it good. I loathed brushing my hair, and it was ten times worse when it was wet, so I gladly took any excuse to put it off.

Following, I grabbed my bag on my way out of the room in search of the other she-wolf, pausing to make a detour along the way.

I found Mari reading a book in the living room, snuggled up in the faux leather recliner with a pink blanket resting in her lap. She looked up with a smile and a wave before diving back into the pages of her novel.

I rolled my eyes at her half-hearted farewell, but I knew better than to interrupt her when she was reading. Therefore, I set off for the pack house without further delay, shouldering the straps of my backpack over the toned muscles of my right shoulder as I went.