Gally's pupils seemed to vibrate as she stared at Rem. "It's personal, and we can discuss that later," she said with her familiar discomfort. "Come, before the boy wanders off and looks for you himself."
Gally stepped aside, guiding the direction they were to walk in.
"Has he wandered off before?" Rem asked with concern.
"He's got a free spirit. His heart is more shifter than human," Gally replied with a mixture of pride and drear.
He wouldn't be Oliver without it. Oliver had always wanted to leave the witching border and explore. After everything they had been raised to believe, Rem found it ironic that the shifters fit Oliver better than the humans did.
Rem took one last glance around, seeing that the other Silvers had a shifter tending to them, Nia in the distance within Halvar's arms, and Ronan already walking off, although not before she caught him glancing her way once more.
Her heart clung to the small notion, wondering if it would be different now that she was in his lands.
She hoped he’d come for her soon.
"What does Oliver think of shifters?" Rem asked as she turned around to walk in the direction that Gally led them in. She tucked that glance of his away to think about later.
"Why not wait and ask him yourself?" Gally asked with a clear impatience.
"I will, but I am excited. I want to knoweverythingabout his time here.”
Gally paused before grunting. "Oliver hated us at first, obviously. He didn't deal with your leaving very well. But I took him for a walk once and told him we could go on walks whenever he wanted, in whatever direction. He warmed up to me on that day. Ever since, he's grown rather fond of our kind. Hates the witches now. We sent a letter to your father—"
Rem took in a sharp breath of the cold air. "What!"
Gally shrugged her shoulders. "A cousin was going through the mountains to the East to request help from those packs. Oliver begged me for a week to send a letter, so I caved. I have no idea if it reached your father or not, but we sent one."
Rem hugged Oliver’s jacket tighter to herself, looking at the gently illuminated ground, torches lit every twenty feet to help guide their way. “I suppose I should thank you. Even though, you have to understand, I still can’t trust you, or forgive you for helping your brother,” Rem threatened.
“I suppose I can’t fault you for that,” Gally replied.
Silence fell between them as they walked through the night.
"So," Gally began with a slightly awkward tone. "Guess we should talk about it—you smell like Ronan."
Rem gently rolled her eyes with a silly smile plastered on her face. "Is it common for everyone to mention it? And how long does that smell last, anyway?" she asked, although she privately enjoyed the lingering scent.
"About a week. And it'salwaysinteresting when someone smells of the Alpha."
"Well, it's not untrue," Rem said with false modesty.
A small growl escaped Gally. "You should get a fresh scent for when you visit my brother."
Rem considered those words before she furrowed her brows, looking to her female companion with confusion. "I'm sorry, what?"
Devious eyes looked at Rem, the firelight flickering against them. "Let Jackson smell your success before you even say a word. It will be ironic, and it just rubs salt into the wound."
Rem's mind darkened at the thought of punishing Jackson in every way possible. "So... You don't like Jackson, then? I thought he was your brother."
"We tolerated him. Owen… I know the Alpha is angry with him, but I love him, and of course, a part of me is happy he made it out. But not Jackson. I am pleased that he was caught. Jackson and I... We have bad blood. I only went along with everything because Owen promised me the very thing I longed for... And as much as I wanted his promise, I finally realized that it was not worth it. I decided to help Ronan find the truth, and in return, our Alpha spared me. And Deacon, the poor thing… Jackson was caught because ofme. Owen made it out on his own, but I lured Jackson into a trap. He is not someone that should get away with what he has done."
Rem focused back on the trail, breathing the cold air that smelled like bonfire smoke and frost, looking up to the moon and stars that shone through the branches. "Well," Rem began, her voice growing rigid at the thought of Owen, "I don’t know what to say. I didn’t expect that.”
“You should punish him as you see fit,” Gally continued. “He wronged you, and I bear no great love for him. He thought you'd be south by now with the humans, unable to harm him or come after him... He failed. He failed me as well,” Gally said with conviction. “Owen… He will have to pay on his own for what he did. Hopefully Deacon will find peace with himself one day.”
Rem sucked her tongue to the roof of her mouth in a fidget, trying to take that revelation in. They passed a torch light that was burning out as Rem glanced to Gally. "So... You're accepting of me now? You're nicer than before."
Her green eyes only gently glanced at Rem. "Oliver has grown on me, and, without Owen’s promise, there is no need to be so harsh with you. Besides, Oliver reminds me..." she began, and a crack in Gally's emotional armor tremored so deep that Rem thought she might cry, although it was gone as quick as it came. Gally's jaw clenched, and she looked ahead before saying, "Might as well get it out. Oliver reminds me of my son."
