River shakes his head, “He knows your story, too. He doesn’t hold anything against you, after all, what is there to hold against you? He was put there before you came here, and you didn’t do anything to him.”
She looks surprised by River’s words, “Are you sure?”
River nods, “Yes. Honestly, it’s fine.”
We all hear the rumble of engines, the sign that Calia and Eamon have arrived.
Van looks at Rana, “The compound is massive, bigger than this territory. Your cabin is right on the edge of the town, and the town is pretty big. He wants to avoid people as much as you do, for the same reasons that you do. So you won't have to worry about running into him, even though it wouldn’t be a problem if you did.”
Rana nods with a slight smile, “Thank you.”
“Can she just leave? Or does she need to sever ties or something?” I ask, I know some things about packs, but I have no idea how leaving a pack works.
River shakes his head, “I already checked her pack bond, and she’s not bonded to the pack.”
“I’m not?” Rana says, sounding surprised.
River shakes his head, “No, you’re not, and I can’t work out how or why. I didn’t check before, so I don’t know if you severed the connection yourself when you rejoined your wolf.”
“Is that even possible?” She asks.
River shakes his head, “It’s not supposed to be, but then again, you aren’t a normal wolf, so I guess anything is possible.”
She tenses at River’s words, but doesn’t say anything. I can’t decide if she knows what River is talking about or if it’s a surprise to her that she isn’t a normal wolf.
I’m not going to ask. Right now, she wouldn’t tell me anyway, and she certainly doesn’t know me well enough to share her secrets with me. Maybe someday we will get to that point, but for now, I’m leaving it alone. Just like I’m leaving alone the fact that she seems to have knowledge of wolves with power, something that is supposed to be impossible.
For all I know, the answers could be one and the same.
I certainly wouldn’t share all of my secrets with her, even though she knows a couple by this point, not as many as Merrikh though.
I really hope that the Voices are right about him, and about allowing him to see me shifted, and I really hope it’s not going to bite me on the ass.
That can be put in my ‘problem for another day’ pile.
A convoy of vehicles drives up to the still-smoldering house. The fire burned hot and fast, and the pack house was reduced entirely to ash. Even things that shouldn’t have burned have been turned to ash. There isn’t anything that you would expect to find in a burnt-out husk of a building. There are no random bits of metal, no charred wooden beams. There isn’t even a sign of the foundations. The entire place is just gone.
It’s fucking impressive.
“I didn’t realize that such a big group of wolves had gone to attack you,” Asher says as he comes to stand next to us.
“That’s because only one of those vehicles has what is left of the wolves loyal to Derek. The others most likely contain food,” Van explains with a slight smile. He knows his parents well, and there is absolutely no way that they would not bring food and supplies after hearing about what the pack has been through.
Asher grins, “Ah, I had almost forgotten how much Calia likes to feed people.”
“It's her solution for almost everything,” I reply with a fond smile as I wave at them as they get out.
“Well, I don’t think anyone will complain. We’ve all been on rations and basic food for decades,” Amari says. “I’ll go and organize it.”
As she walks off, I shake my head. The more we learn about Derek, the more grateful I am that he’s dead and that River unmade him.
“I don’t think she’s going to have to tell anyone,” Raiden grins, coming to stand behind me, and I lean back into him as he wraps his arms around my waist and rests his head on top of mine.
We all grin as wolves start to appear from the woods where the cabins are, and pretty much from every other direction as well.
“I think we had better help set up,” Reed suggests with a smile.
We all move to help, and I reluctantly step out of Raiden’s arms as he gives me a final squeeze.
