“Let’s get going then,” Doc says.
“It’s really late, but if it’s okay, we’ll meet you back at the compound after we’ve made sure that Rana has settled in. There are a couple of things that we need to discuss,” Evander says to Calia.
She nods, “Of course it is. I’ll get some supper ready just in case.”
“You don’t have to,” Ransom immediately replies.
Calia just shakes her head like he’s being ridiculous, and replies, “Don’t be silly. I’m happy to, and dinner was interrupted anyway, so you could probably do with a little something extra. You have all expended a lot of magic and need to keep your calories up as well. Now, off you go, you can take the bus, it’s the only one that you will all fit in anyway, and I’m assuming that none of you want to split up right now.”
“You assume correctly,” Coen confirms with a smile.
Van steps forward and pulls his mom into his arms for a quick hug, “Thanks, Mom, you’re the best.”
She grins as they part, “I know. Now, off with you.”
We’re all smiling as we make our way through the crowd of wolves that are all surrounding the table, talking and eating. There’s an air of celebration around them all, making me smile.
As we weave our way past the wolves helping Calia and Eamon’s people unload the vans of supplies that they’ve brought with them, I spot the frowns and looks that are being thrown in Rana’s direction, and I become even more sure that she has absolutely made the right decision to leave.
I’m also incredibly proud of her and the way she handles it. She doesn’t cower under their gazes, but stands tall without becoming confrontational.
I wouldn’t feel good about leaving her here.
No one should ever be anywhere where they feel unwanted, and she would feel that way really quickly here. Scratch that, she already feels unwanted here.
It’s not necessarily the wolves fault. They’ve been through some pretty horrific stuff at the hands of Derek, and although they know what, or at least some of what Rana has been through, she was still the wolf that stood by his side, and most likely spouted all the shit that Derek forced her to say.
They all understand that she had no choice, but some of them will find the old Rana difficult to reconcile with the new one especially since she wasn’t a part of their pack before Derek brought her in as his mate. They don’t know her, not the real her, and all of that is going to create some distrust.
It’s shitty, but it would be worse if she stayed and they started to treat her badly because of it. If they’re already giving her looks now, then it wouldn’t be too long until someone escalated the situation.
That’s not even taking into account that her wolf is incredibly strong, which would put her quite high up in the pack hierarchy, and the other wolves definitely wouldn’t like that.
As we get to the bus, I ask, “Is there anyone here that you want to say goodbye to?”
Rana shakes her head, “No. I didn’t know anyone here, not really. He kept me in isolation as much as he could. Which was quite a lot considering I couldn’t shift, so he never had to let me go on the pack runs. The only reason that I was in the cave with the others was because he wanted me to spy on them and tell him what they said about him.” She looks around at the compound, “I’ll never be coming back here again, and I’m fucking ecstatic about it.”
I nod, “That’s understandable. Let's get the fuck out of here then and get you to your new home.”
She smiles, “Home. I like the sound of that. I don’t think I have ever had a home.”
I frown as we all get onto the bus, and take seats, the guys talking quietly among themselves, as Van hops into the driver's seat and we start to back out.
“You don’t think?” I ask curiously, hoping that it's not a question that’s going to cause her to lock up.
She nods, “Yeah, I’ve been in the wolf sales for as long as I can remember. No one wanted me because I was broken and couldn’t shift. I made sure to make them think that I couldn’t anyway. Which was a blessing in disguise actually, until Derek came along.”
“Fucking hell,” I mutter.
She nods, and then her expression fills with hope, “I can help them now though, can’t I?”
I nod, and then continue cautiously, since some people don’t like the law, “Actually, we’re SID agents . . .”
Her eyes widen, and she squeezes my hand, “You can help them. That’s fucking perfect.”
I grin, “Yeah, it is, and we will help them. When you’re ready, call me and tell me any information that you can, and we will shut it down.”
“You will?” she asks.
