Heart of a Wolf

“But how did you know I was here?” I asked Ash as she glanced at the front lobby.

“Because I sensed her. You. I thought that she might’ve…

that maybe—”

“She hoped we were wrong,” Fallen said. “We never recovered a body, and now we know why. But Ash felt her light go out. It’s someone we get to feel as mates. When Dani’s warmth ceased to exist…”

“I knew she was gone.” Ash wiped her eyes, then faced me again. “Until you. The moment your wolf started to surface, I could feel you. I’d never expected to find a human in that parking garage.”

“But you helped me anyway,” I said.

“I did, mostly because Dani had so much trust in this new system. She always wanted to make sure she could help someone else once she passed, though she never imagined…

she never thought…”

“It would go to a human.” It all made perfect sense, but it didn’t really fix the problem.

“Jeremy, I need to report this.”

“I know. My involvement, no matter how small, will also come into question.”

“And you’re okay with that?” I asked.

“Getting tricked by Doug? Not really, no. But if I have to answer to my decision to act without checking the files first, then I will.”

“So you never knew? You never wondered why I left?”

“I did, but I figured you weren’t ready to work. I didn’t even think to read over your medical files or dig up the original ones because you’d been perfectly fine until you returned to work.”

“And everyone else in that room stayed quiet?” A groundbreaking surgery such as this? Someone would’ve bragged about it for sure.

“There were rumors about Patient Zero, but that’s all I thought they were. It was hypothetical and not… not you.”

“Jo, it’s okay,” Ash said, placing a hand on mine. “As much as it pains me to hear the truth, he isn’t the one to blame.”

“Doug is,” I said with a nod.

“No,” Ash corrected me. “Coren’s behind all of this. He orchestrated the entire thing.”

“And he’ll be dealt with accordingly,” Zander assured her, running a hand through his hair as he spoke. “It’s quite the mess. I’m not sure how we’re going to clean it up.”

“I’ll help where I can,” I said, “but I need to report to the board about this first.”

“Please do. When you’re done, we’ll be out in the car waiting for you.”

He offered Ash his arm, then walked out of the room without another word. Fallen stayed with me, joining Jeremy as well as myself as we made the long walk upstairs.

Hopefully, the board would be as understanding about Jeremy’s involvement in all of this as I was. If not, I was pretty sure Ash would let him work with the pack. She’d already

offered the same to Val, and seeing as he was in the medical profession as well…

“Everything will be fine,” Fallen assured me, likely sensing my concern. “Whatever the fates decide, we’ll get through this together.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about.”

“I know, but things like this always sort themselves out in the end.”

Nodding, I left it at that, steeling myself for what was to come.