it circles me.
it doesn’t speak aloud.
it whispers in my head.
it says
(little wolf, little wolf, what do you hear?)
i don’t know. i don’t know. I DON’T KNOW I DON’T KNOW I DON’T
(you think yourself lost, but your pack is near.)
i scream in the dark.
the white wolf is gone.
all that’s left is the void and i—
—opened my eyes.
I was lying flat on my back, my head in someone’s lap.
I blinked.
Kelly stared down at me.
“What happened?” I croaked.
He tried to smile, but it crumbled. “Don’t worry about it. Just rest.” He traced a finger over my eyebrows, and I leaned into the touch. I was at peace. I felt safe. And warm.
It didn’t last long.
“—and we can’t help you, Alphas,” Aileen said from somewhere off to my left. “Not when you’re so broken. Your bonds—this pack—are stronger than any other I’ve ever encountered. You’ve got your missing piece back. But it’s not the same. There is dissonance. Much of it can be blamed on the magic in Kelly and Robbie. Even in Carter and Mark, though I think Ox has that mostly under control. But there is distrust here. In each other. In yourselves. You cannot hope to stand and fight for us all when you can’t even hold your own pack together.”
“We only just got him back,” Joe retorted, sounding pissed off.
“And it took how long for dat ta happen?” Patrice asked, voice soft.
There was no response.
“Shards,” Patrice said. “Pieces of a whole. But dere sharp. Dey cut. You slice yourselves even as you know it’s wrong.”
Joe tried again. “If Rico would just—”
“It’s not just Rico,” Aileen snapped. “Or Kelly. Or Robbie. You’ve been hurt. I get that. I do. Lord knows I do. But it’s coming from all of you. You are a pack divided. And divided you will fall. Because he will exploit it. Whatever he wants, whatever he’s after, he won’t stop. This is nothing but a setback to him. He’ll come again and again and again until either he wins or you stop him. The fate of all of us rests in your hands, and you are not ready.”
“Go easy, Aileen,” Patrice said quietly. “Even if dey weren’t as dey are, we don’t know what would have happened. It’s old, dis magic. Unlike anyting I’ve ever seen.”
She glared at him. “I know. But they’re not helping. They’re spinning their wheels. What exactly is your plan, Alphas? You let yourselves become distracted by the Omegas, you watched as a member of your pack was taken from you, and what have you done? How much longer will this go on before you decide to act?”
“Aileen,” Patrice warned as Ox and Joe looked contrite.
She sighed. “I know. I just… I thought the mate bond between Robbie and Kelly would be enough, even if it’s stifled. But it’s like it was for Gordo and Mark, only on a bigger scale. Richard Collins had his wolf stifled, shoved down and locked into a box. This… this is like Kelly has been stripped of his wolf. I’ve never seen anything like it. Done to witches, yes, but never a wolf. Do you even feel him like the others?”
“No,” Ox said. “Not… it’s not the same. With him or Robbie.”
I looked up at Kelly.