Chapter 22: Chapter Twenty-Two

Tyler Trip

“Honestly, it’s not that bad,” I tried to convince Caroline, hoping to turn her frown upside down.

I grimaced as I scooped up a forkful of eggs and forced them into my mouth. My stomach churned. “See?”

“You don’t have to eat them,” she grumbled, her own scrambled eggs untouched.

We’d spent the last two days mostly in bed, both of us trying to recover. She was frustrated that my wounds were healing faster than her leg.

I reached for her hand and she shot me a glare, but I saw a tiny smile starting to bloom. “I want to eat them,” I insisted, taking another mouthful. I fought back a wince. “Delicious.”

She finally laughed and squeezed my hand. “I wish I could do something useful.”

Caroline gazed out the back windows, a tiny crease forming between her eyebrows as she looked at the trees.

I knew she was itching to run and she hated hearing Rowan bring us updates about the repairs. She wanted to be out there, involved.

I shrugged. “I’m not hating the vacation.”

Caroline gave me a dry look. “Really?”

“Sure,” I said, gesturing to the cans of paint and fabric swatches and plastic-wrapped furniture. “It’s been an excuse to finally do something with the house.”

She laughed and I felt like I’d hit the jackpot. “My mom was horrified when she saw the sheets in the living room. She couldn’t believe we didn’t have a couch.”

“See?” I nudged. “This is urgent business.”

Caroline rested her chin in her palm. “I just want the pack to see me as a good luna. I want them to think of me as one of them; as an active member of the pack.”

“Caroline,” I gently scolded, “you’ve been a part of this pack since you were born—”

“The last few years have pretty much made that irrelevant,” I countered.

I couldn’t argue there. “They know that you were injured. Everyone saw it when I was fighting Ryan.

“They understand that bullet wounds take longer to heal than regular ones. Especially when those bullets were soaked in wolfsbane.” My voice dropped to a growl.

Caroline rubbed her neck. “Didn’t think we’d ever encounter wolfsbane again after the treaty was signed.”

All I could think was how grateful I was that a pack in the West had found a cure.

“You just need to be patient, Luna,” I said warmly, taking another bite of the horrid eggs. “You’ll be healed within the month.”

I knew that was the wrong thing to say by the way her face fell. Without saying anything, Caroline pushed herself up and grabbed her plate.

I saw the determination in her eyes, in the set of her jaw, and bit back my discouragement as she tried to walk and fetch my plate.

She buckled almost instantly. “Dammit,” she growled, dropping her plate and planting her hand firmly on the table to take the weight off her leg.

“Don’t worry,” I mumbled, standing to collect the plate shards and mop up the untouched food. When I stood, I saw the tears burning in her eyes. The frustration was plain on her face.

“Caroline,” I cooed, placing my hand on her cheek, “it’s only for a few weeks—”

“I don’t want to be useless,” she said through clenched teeth, trying to fight off the tears. “What if it doesn’t heal correctly? What if it isn’t the same? What if I—?”

“You will run,” I promised, knowing it to be true. “And as soon as you can, we’re going to Mt. Oaks and we’re going to hunt down Moray and his gang of Sun Warriors.”

Her eyes shined at the prospect.

“Until then, we’re going to decorate this house.”

She laughed a little and I kissed her before I used both of my thumbs to wipe her tears away. I tucked her into my side and helped her to the newly unwrapped couch before I cleaned up the kitchen.

The majority of my wounds had already sealed and were on their way to recovery. It was only my shoulder that was causing me grief. It was stiff and sore; worse than I let anyone know.

Caroline and I spent the rest of the afternoon debating the color selection for all the rooms.

We were both as helpless as the other when it came to decorating. Neither one of us had an eye for detail or design, never mind choosing between colors that all looked the same to me.

Caroline let out a frustrated groan. “Why don’t we just flip a coin or something?” she growled.

I shrugged. “I don’t know, this is our home. Shouldn’t we try to be more thoughtful?”

I didn’t catch her string of irritated mumbles.

I ended up just cracking random cans of paint and throwing them on the walls. Caroline watched me do so with a smile, thankful the deciding was over and that we were now on to the action.

She tried to help by cutting in the baseboards from her spot on the floor.

I tried not to let her see me inspecting her leg. It was still discolored and swollen. I had yet to see the actual entry wound, but from speaking with Grant, I knew it was bad.

The bullet had torn through her flesh at an angle, and to repair the artery, Neil had to make a much larger incision than he’d originally wanted.

Despite what I said to calm her, I was worried that she had made so little progress.

After a few hours of painting, we were both wiped. Caroline had gone pale and quiet, her leg causing her more pain than she shared.

Every time I asked, she told me she was fine. I was starting to understand that she didn’t like being the focus of attention.

We both flopped down on the couch and Caroline tucked herself into my side. It felt so natural to sit with her like that.

I wrapped my arm around her, biting down on my tongue as all my still-healing muscles screamed at me in protest.

The paint job was sloppy—we both acknowledged that. I was painting with my left arm and Caroline had grown more and more tired but had refused to stop until I did.

Neither of us was Picasso.

“It looks great,” Caroline said kindly, ignoring the streaks and splotches.

I rubbed my neck. “Maybe we can hang a picture or something to hide—”

“Yeah…,” she said with a laugh, pressing a kiss to my cheek. “That might be a good idea.”

A soft rap on the door had us both sitting up straight. Rowan came in, trailed by Sarah, Jackie, Bennie, and Aaron.

“Feels like I’ve stepped into a home decor magazine,” Bennie joked, his eyes growing wide at the terrible paint job and the furniture still in plastic. “Color me impressed.”

Sarah folded her arms. “This is the best you two could manage?”

I felt Caroline shrug next to me.

“How’s the healing coming along?” Jackie asked, her frown deepening at the sight of Caroline’s leg.

“Good,” we both answered at the same time.

Rowan settled on one of the couches, then growled lightly and tore off the plastic cover.

“Try that again,” he suggested. “Maybe drop the high pitch from your voices so we can actually believe you’re okay.”

Sarah slumped on the couch across from us, dark circles under her eyes and her hair a tangled mess. “My enforcers are going to drop dead, Trip,” she said.

Jackie put a hand on her shoulder. “You look worn out too, Sarah.”

The lead enforcer shrugged off Jackie’s hand. “I’m fine,” she said, her tone sharp.

“But I’ve got my guys doing double shifts on patrol. They’re beat. We need to strike and do it fast. We can’t keep wasting resources like this, Trip.”

I sighed, feeling a steady throb in my head. “I know, Sarah, but I can’t exactly start anything when I can’t fight.”

She sat up. “I can lead,” she insisted. “I can take the guys—”

“No,” I cut her off, shutting down the idea completely. “My pack doesn’t attack without me. I won’t ask my people to fight unless I’m on the front lines. I’ll be ready in a few days.”

“I won’t,” Caroline murmured softly.

I saw Jackie’s dark eyes flick to her luna. I slid my hand to Caroline’s knee and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Soon,” I promised, trying not to focus too much on the paleness of her skin.

Aaron sighed. “It’s bad out there, Trip.”

Rowan nodded. Like Sarah, he also looked drained. “The pack is in chaos,” he reported. “A lot of them left with Ryan and the rest aren’t sure—”

“Aren’t sure about what?” I snapped. Without thinking, my fingers started to fiddle with the edges of the bandage on my right shoulder. I stopped as soon as I noticed I had caught Jackie’s attention.

Rowan rubbed the stubble on his jaw. “They just aren’t sure, Trip. They aren’t sure because they almost saw their alpha die and their luna was shot.

“They aren’t sure because they see Sarah and her wolves on patrol every damn second and it’s unsettling to them. We were ~attacked~ by humans, Ty. They’re scared shitless.”

“I sure am,” Bennie said.

I pressed my lips together tightly, wishing I could go back.

Back to the early afternoon with the warm sunlight on my back as I painted.

Back to the year before, when my mission was clear, handed down from a colonel.

Back to when I was young; when Ryan had been my friend and Del had been my girl and I didn’t have this weight of responsibility on me.

“We have to wait,” I said, “until I can fight.”

Sarah cursed, then immediately apologized.

“What about Grant?” Jackie suggested. “He’s a White Wolf. Maybe he can lead while—”

“No,” Caroline and I said together.

Sarah nodded. “The White Wolf could help—”

“It’s my fucking pack,” I shouted, standing up when Caroline reached for me. My friends fell silent, showing submission as they lowered their heads. I immediately felt guilty for losing my temper.

I ran my left hand through my hair. “This is my pack,” I repeated. “I don’t know how many fucking times I have to prove it.”

“You don’t have to prove anything to us, Tyler,” Rowan assured me.

I brushed him off. “Apparently, I do. Look, I know things are bad right now. Hell, ~I’m~ bad right now.

“As soon as my arm is… As soon as I can, I’ll be putting together a team to deal with Mt. Oaks.”

“What are you going to do?” Aaron asked cautiously.

I paused. My stomach dropped. “I-I—”

Sarah raised an eyebrow. “We’re going to fight.”

I growled.

She pushed. “We’re going to fight. We’re going to kill the humans who attacked us. They fucking attacked us, Trip. Some of my guys got hurt and that’s not okay. They broke the treaty.”

“I can’t just lead an attack on a human settlement, Sarah,” I snapped, my patience wearing thin as my head started to pound.

“There are politics, people I’d need to inform and get clearance from. I-I would have to reach out to the Royals, maybe… Fuck, I don’t even know.”

“What?” Sarah practically shrieked.

“Sarah,” Jackie warned.

My lead enforcer was on her feet, her fatigue showing in her agitation. “That’s the best you’ve come up with while you’ve been cuddling up for two days with your rebound? Are you kidding me, Trip?”

“Hey!” Jackie yelled.

I stood, instantly towering over Sarah. “I know you’re tired, I know you don’t mean to be disrespectful, and I know we’re friends.

“But you should know that I’ve had a shitty week and a shitty month and a shitty fucking year, so listen to me.

“I already took down one friend this week. If I think you’re trying to take over, I won’t hesitate to exile you too.”

Sarah was taken aback.

“Tyler,” Rowan mumbled, “she’s just tired.”

“So am I,” I snarled, reaching for the bandage around my right shoulder and ripping it off. Everyone’s eyes dropped as soon as the damaged flesh was exposed.

I tried flexing the fingers on my right side, still feeling that tingling burn. “I’m fucking tired too.”

Jackie frowned at Sarah. “You need to apologize to your luna.”

I bristled, waiting.

Sarah glanced at Caroline, her voice barely above a whisper. “I’m sorry, Caroline. You know I don’t see you that way.”

Caroline didn’t respond.

“I said I’m sorry,” Sarah said again, her voice louder this time. “I know you’re not just a rebound. I was just being stupid when I said you guys were cuddling. I know you’re both hurt.”

Caroline remained silent.

I slid next to her on the couch. “Sarah didn’t mean it.”

She looked up at me, her eyes clear and focused in a way they hadn’t been for days. “I understand now,” she murmured. “I get it.”

“Did she hit her head when she got shot?” Bennie asked, his voice filled with concern.

Caroline stood up, her leg wobbling beneath her. She turned pale as I caught her, but she steadied herself, leaning on me for support.

“Before Moray shot me, we talked. He told me he was a fan of the old Sun Warriors’ mandate: to study our kind.”

I shivered, the memory of finding werewolf bodies, evidence of horrific experiments, still fresh in my mind.

“I told him it was a crime, that it was wrong—”

“And?” Sarah asked, her voice impatient.

Caroline looked at me, her eyes meeting mine. “He said we were the ones who committed the crimes first. He said he only became mayor after the people of Mt. Oaks had had enough.”

She took a deep breath. “Moray said we’d been sending wolves over to Mt. Oaks for years. That they’d found bodies… People killed by wolf attacks.”

“That’s impossible,” Rowan scoffed.

“That’s what I told him,” Caroline said, “but he was convinced, like he’d seen it with his own eyes.”

Suddenly, everything clicked into place. I understood what Caroline was trying to say.

“Ryan sent wolves over to intimidate Mt. Oaks, to try to drive them out during the war. He kept his borders secure through violence.

“That’s why he was scared of losing his position as alpha. He knew I’d never approve of his methods, and without showing our strength, the humans would think we’d gone soft and retaliate.”

Caroline nodded. “I think he used that scout—”

“Theo,” I said, remembering the tortured look on his face when he confessed that I didn’t know what he’d done for the pack. I cursed under my breath. “I should have killed him.”

“Yes,” Sarah agreed, “you should have.”

“Why don’t we just tell Moray that it was Ryan who attacked his people and that Ryan is gone?” Aaron suggested, shrugging.

Rowan shook his head. “I doubt he’d care. He’s probably just using Ryan’s stupidity as an excuse to push his own agenda.

“He’s a Sun Warrior. They don’t change just because a treaty is signed. Not everyone was as moved by Keegan Stone’s speech.”

As if on cue, Keegan appeared at the door, followed by Lux. The petite, silver-haired girl smiled at Caroline. She looked eerily like Grant.

Caroline tensed beside me, and I knew she hadn’t had time to process her feelings about her father’s affair.

“Sorry to interrupt, Alpha,” Keegan mumbled. “I thought you might want to meet our latest visitor.”

Lux rolled her eyes. “Just tell him, Keegan.” When he hesitated, she looked at me. “My brother is freaking out and you might be needed to calm things down.”

Sarah, Bennie, and Aaron were out the door before anyone could say anything else, their curiosity getting the better of them.

With a heavy sigh, I nodded and pulled on my shoes. Rowan silently helped me, quickly re-bandaging my arm.

I heard a thump and turned to see Caroline on the floor, her eyes glistening with tears and her cheeks flushed with frustration. “Caroline!”

She ignored me, trying to pull herself up using the back of the couch.

“Let me help,” Jackie offered.

“No,” Caroline snapped. My heart sank as I watched her struggle to stand, and it broke when I saw the devastation on her face.

I pushed Rowan away and gestured towards Caroline. “Help her, please.”

He nodded and went to her, slipping his arm under hers and lifting her up. She turned her face away from me, likely hiding her tears.

I knew what she was thinking, and I wanted to ease her fears and anxiety.

I wanted to reassure her that I wasn’t going to change my mind about asking her to be luna, even if her leg never healed.

When she turned back to me, she had already hidden her fear. “Let’s go see what my brother is freaking out about.”

***

The sun was setting, painting the sky in brilliant hues and casting a hazy glow on the clouds. The trees rustled in the light breeze and the grass was starting to cool underfoot.

I took a deep breath, the fresh air invigorating my tired muscles.

A crowd had gathered. They quieted and parted for me as I approached, acknowledging a few who nodded at me. Rowan and Jackie helped Caroline behind me.

I smelled the stranger immediately and growled. It was a scent I didn’t recognize.

“…I can’t believe you didn’t tell me anything, wolf!” the woman cried. “I don’t know if you’re fucking crazy or fucking stupid for thinking that this wasn’t something I should know!”

Grant growled lightly. “I was handling it—”

“Handling it?” the woman shrieked, her dark eyes narrowing. “That is not what I was told!”

“Do you have someone following me?”

The woman lifted her chin defiantly. “Maybe.”

“Morda!” Grant yelled.

“Excuse me,” I bellowed. “Who are you?”

“Who the hell are you?” the woman shot back. Immediately, half the pack growled and snarled.

Grant’s entire body changed as he stepped in front of the woman. He pulled his shoulders back and bent his knees slightly. I recognized the stance.

“Alpha Tyler Trip,” I said, raising an eyebrow.

The foreign woman smirked. “Morda Morano, Clan Mo—” Grant slapped a hand over her mouth.

I turned to the White Wolf. “I presume you know Ms. Morano?”

Grant grumbled. “Unfortunately.”

The woman placed her hand over Grant’s, and I noticed her fingers were adorned with rings.

After a moment, Grant yelped and pulled his hand away, glaring at her as if she’d burned him.

Morda flashed a self-satisfied smile, smoothing her black blouse and adjusting her long skirt. “I’m taking my mate home.”

A blush of embarrassment spread across Grant’s face.

I quirked an eyebrow. “Is that right?”

“No—”

“Yes.”

I locked eyes with Grant, seeing his frustration. I tilted my head, offering, “Maybe you’d like to stay the night?”

“No,” Morda cut in, “we have to leave right away.”

Grant ran a hand through his hair, clearly uncomfortable.

Taking his cue, I turned to my pack members who had gathered. “Nothing more to see here. Tomorrow, we’ll talk about the threats we face as a pack.

“For now, go about your business.”

Reluctantly, they scattered.

I decided to keep Rowan and Jackie with me for Caroline’s sake and because I knew Jackie would be useful when it came to watching Morda and Grant’s silent battle of glares and tight lips.

Keegan and Lux stayed behind too, keeping a close eye on Grant.

Grant and his mate were still in the middle of their argument, Morda gesturing wildly. “We have to leave tonight, Grant. I have a lead on Vivian and I think D—”

“Morda, this is my sister, Caroline, and my other sister, Lux. My brothers and dad are also part of this pack.” Grant blurted it all out in one breath.

Morda’s mouth fell open. “Your—Your ~family is here and you didn’t tell me?~”

And so, another round of yelling and arm flailing began as Morda vented her frustration on her mate.

After a moment, Morda Morano turned her gaze to Lux and then Caroline. She extended a hand, her nails painted black and her fingers adorned with rings.

She flashed a grin, and it was the only bright thing on her face, apart from the freckles scattered across her nose.

“I’m your brother’s mate, Morda. I’m a witch and it’s a pleasure to meet you.”