Gally threw her arms out and shook her head. "For emergencies—like I said."
Rem didn't blink as she stared at the Callon, breathing quickly while she thought over that. Finally, Rem looked to the ground. How could Rem be angry with that? Gally gave Oliver the very item that could kill her, and she did it for his safety.No wonder Ronan was fine with this. And I can smell the wolves in the woods… Other shifters, watching.
"Thiswasan emergency," Oliver implored. "You were taking forever to get here!"
Gally quickly countered, "Shifters won't like seeing a human running around with a silver dagger, not when human hunters are trying to war with us. Someone could attack you."
"That's why I have a silver dagger," he reasoned with impatience. “Plus, there are wolves in the woods. I am fine, Gally. I just didn’t want Yugar taking me back.”
He looked at Rem. She wanted to tell him that he did the right thing, just because she didn't want to rush into parenting the boy. She wanted to savor the moment, but unhappily, she sighed. "You know, she isn't wrong, Oliver; you gotta be careful with the silver."
He sighed and lightly rolled his eyes, "Fine." And although his eyes were full of strain, his humor quickly returned. "They say you're immune to it. The silver. You're a special shifter, aren’t you?"
She chuckled and froze, the memory of silver bullets and almost dying flashing in her mind, but she didn't want to mention that. So, she nodded and said, "I am. Can't do too much yet, although I will be stronger soon. Oh! And the wargs like the Silvers, I think. That's been pretty neat. You'd like that."
"A warg?" he gasped. "Really? I learned a lot about them—Oh! Did you fight in the battle? Of course, you did. How did you do? Did you get injured? Did you heal well? Did you kill someone? Are you like a hunter now—no, not a hunter. Butlikea hunter," he said with an awkward chuckle and started looking her over.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, knowing what he meant. "I amlikea hunter, yes. I will be fighting and protecting people, but it will be shifters instead of humans."
"And the battle? I need details," he said, skipping right over her comment about favoring shifters instead of humans.
"Let's just say that I did what I had to. Got beat up a bit, but I heal well."
"It's alright, Rem, I can handle the truth now. How bloody was it? I am nearing manhood, so I can handle it."
She playfully rolled her eyes, especially as out of all the things to consider, she thought of Ronan, and how he must have been like this when he was younger. It warmed her chest to think of the Alpha as more than a hardened leader, and that once, he was just a boy that worried Freya.
"You act like it's beenyears," she said to her brother.
"Time is really slow for a ten-year-old," he quipped.
She shook her head and pulled on her bottom lip with her teeth as she smiled. She had missed this boy. "Father used to say that. And he always changed the age for however old you were."
He beamed and looked at Gally. "We wrote him a letter! Gally let me! I am pretty sure it reached him. It might be a while before we hear back, but I don't really see why he wouldn't get it."
"You'll have to tell me all about it," Rem said and grabbed the cold leather of the jacket. "We should get back to the house, though. We can stay up all night telling stories until we fall asleep. I'll make you breakfast in the morning, and we can keep talking then. I also made you this jacket for the winter."
His face lit up as she handed it to him, and he gently took it, thumbing the fur collar. For a few seconds, his face was pure joy, then she saw his lip quiver. He took in a long, shaky breath through his nose. His watery eyes shot up at Rem, and he went in for a hug.
“Oh, Oliver, what’s wrong?” she asked, his sudden change in emotions concerning her.
"Oh, Rem, I-I worried I w-wouldn't see you again," he said through a shaky breath and a hefty frown.
Rem gripped her brother. It prompted her to look at Gally, who was eyeing Oliver with a sorrow that was deeper than Rem's. Surely, Gally would have another night of mourning, reminded of the reunion she'd never have.
Oliver pulled back, snot from his nose running down as he wiped it with his arm. "I'm good," he said through a hiccup. "Sorry—I just, I just got overwhelmed." He let out a deep breath. "Let's go back. You have so much to tell me," he said, and put on his jacket as they began to walk. It was too big, but he was used to clothes being made for a boy that seemed to grow every month.
"And then tomorrow," Oliver began, sniffing. "I can take us to my favorite spot. It's a three-hour hike from here, but that should be nothing for you—" he stopped, then smiled. "Can I ride your back? Like when you're a wolf?"
She couldn't suppress a hearty laugh. "No! I can't even transform yet! Even if I could, that isneverhappening."
He nodded and ignored her. "We should get you a saddle. I could ride into battle like that."
She gently pushed his shoulder. "Good luck. I'll just throw you off."
He giggled, and they bantered all the way to the Callon home.
They stayed up all night, nearly until sunrise, telling stories and sharing heartfelt moments. It was peaceful enough that for a short span of time throughout all the mayhem, Rem was able to completely forget about the danger that stalked their shadows.
