Wolf Bargain (Wolfish 3)

“I’m surprised that’s possible, what with the way things have been around here lately,” she says, tapping the tip of her nose with one finger. “I thought your senses would be positively quivering.”

“It’s not you I’m looking out for,” I say, keeping my voice quiet. I glance once over my shoulder before I continue. “I’m not going to cross Romulus, I just want to be careful.”

Movement outside the window catches my eye for a moment, and I watch as those first rays of sun begin to fall on the shifters sleeping restlessly in the tents pitched outside. I wonder, for a moment, if Sabrina and the others have started to stir as well.

If it were up to me, Remus and his pack would never have been allowed to stay. But it isn’t up to me. I’m another member of this pack—Romulus’ son or not—so I have to follow his will.

Even if it makes me uneasy.

For a second, Lydia’s hand rests on my shoulder as she hands me the kettle to be filled.

“It won’t always be like this,” she says.

Suddenly, I feel all my muscles tense. Lydia leans in closer, her hand still squeezing gently. It’s meant to be a gesture of reassurance, but it feels ever so slightly suffocating.

“Romulus’ grip is tight, I know, but it won’t be like this forever,” she says, quietly. “You do know that, don’t you?”

What I know is how the grip of my own hands on the counter is too tight. After a second standing in silence, watching as the shadowy figures become easier to make out on the other side of the glass, I finally find my voice.

“But by then, what if it doesn’t matter?” I ask, my eyes still trained on the figures rising from their slumber outside. I turn to Lydia, shrugging off her touch to cross my arms across my chest. “What if it’s too late?”

Lydia chews on the inside of her cheek for a second. I fidget in the moment of silence, but at least she didn’t answer me with a quick lie.

The moment stretches out too long, and I can’t wait any longer.

I take a half step forward, one hand jabbing towards the window. “This is Remus we’re talking about remember?”

Lydia is a bit taken aback, and I instantly regret the harshness of my tone. But it’s too late. She sets her face and points her own finger in the same direction.

“How could I forget?” she hisses, before instantly remembering herself. She straightens up, the pleasant mask returning to her face. “But Romulus is determined to believe Remus, and I’m determined to believe Romulus. Whether or not you do as well … that’s up to you.”

She isn’t finished there. Before I can speak again, she once again reaches out to gently touch my shoulder.

“Just … don’t get Sabrina riled up. You know she’s anxious, even more so than you. But right now she needs to be focused on her turning. Not to mention you three boys.”

I bite my lip. I don’t want to disagree with my father, but I can’t help it.

I also can’t help but admit that Lydia is right.

Once again.

I reluctantly agree to keep my concerns to myself and leave Lydia to return to the bedroom as soon as the tea is ready and before I’m missed. I still feel uneasy—that is, right up until I step back through the doorway and catch sight of her there, on my bed.

She’s sat up between the still-sleeping figures of my brothers, her body illuminated in a line of golden morning light. Sleep hasn’t quite left her, the tiredness and confusion that comes between waking and dreaming still apparent on her face when she looks up at me.

“Rory …” she says, her lips forming the shape of my name with a soft sleepiness that melts away any lingering nerves.

I fall into her, wrapping myself around her as the rest of me melts too.

9

Sabrina

Waiting feels different this time.

There’s no going back now. No disappearing on me.

At long last, here with them … I am home.