Page 17

The sky is bright and clear overhead, rolling above our heads as Galen navigates the last ridge of Lycan Pass to take us down into the valley to Quartz Key. We set off not long after dawn and made it back to Cyan Lock mid-morning, where we switched Kit’s RV for Galen’s car and started heading home.

Even though I feel shaken, I also feel strength awakening deep inside me. This trip has brought me so much loss and yet so much love, I still don’t know how to process it. When I woke in the RV, Galen had breakfast and coffee waiting for me, as well as a fresh change of clothes. Neither of us brought it up the night before.

The car dips suddenly onto the town trail, the expanse of blue above covered by the thick trees that line the valley. My stomach does a little flip as I think about Nico.

I can’t wait to see him, but at the same time, I don’t really have any answers for him.

“Did you want me to take you straight home?” Galen asks as we hit the edges of town. “My phone has been buzzing, so I think I’ve got somewhere to be, but let me know what you want to do.”

“Where’s Nico?” I ask, pulling out my phone. I see a couple of messages from Winnie, letting me know that he’s fine and to message her when we get back. I fire off a quick text to her, and she replies that they are at the park with some other kids.

“Where should I drop you off?” Galen asks, glancing over at me.

“Anywhere in town. They’re at the park.”

“Okay, I’ll stop at the town hall. I’m pretty sure someone’s waiting for me there, anyway.”

We pull up behind the main building, and Galen goes in through the back while I head for the street. The park isn’t far, and I pick up my pace, looking forward to seeing my son again.

Even though I’m not much better off now than I was before, I don’t know exactly what to do, but I know I’ll work it out.

I’m so distracted that I don’t notice the people ahead of me on the sidewalk until I almost run into them. Startled, I jump back a bit to see Jacinta and the Haggertys blocking my path.

“Clara,” Jacinta says in a hard tone. “We need to speak with you.”

Her tone irks me, but I try to answer gracefully. “Yes, Jacinta? What can I do for you?”

“You had no right to take Galen out of the valley,” Mrs. Haggerty snaps, cutting in. “It left us vulnerable. We need our alpha!”

“That’s right,” George backs up his wife. “There was important business to discuss right before he left, and instead of tending to it, Galen just walked out of the meeting early. We can’t have him distracted like this.”

“We were gone for one night!” I protest, my voice rising in anger. “What could have possibly happened in that time?”

“Nothing happened this time,” Jacinta says tartly. “But it could have.”

“I’ve been warning him,” George goes on, “an alpha’s work is never done. Loyalty to the pack must come first. He won’t put extra guards on the territory like I’ve told him to, and it’s going to be our ruin.”

“George,” I say as calmly as possible, “Galen is your alpha, and he is completely devoted to the pack. You don’t need to worry about this. It’s true he had important matters to attend to, but if he decided not to heed your advice, I’m sure he had very good reason.”

“Really?” Mrs. Haggerty snaps. “Is that why he told us we should make plans for extending the council, then immediately left, giving Sherman free rein?”

“I’m sure Galen never intended that,” I answer stiffly. “He’s back now, so he can attend to all of these matters personally.”

“None of this changes the fact that he left the valley unattended because of you!” Jacinta hisses. “He wouldn’t dream of leaving us alone and unprotected… until you came back.”

Even though her words make me want to defend Galen, they give me pause.

She’s implying that Galen is going out of his way for me.

“You weren’t alone and unprotected,” I answer. “Galen had backup watching over Quartz Key.”

“Enemy packs!” George dismisses. “The very ones I’m trying to defend us against, I’m sure! Next thing you know, he’ll be admitting them into our council!”

“The trouble, my dear, is you,” Mrs. Haggerty says, advancing on me, narrowing her eyes as her voice lowers to a hiss. “I don’t know why you came back to town, but you shouldn’t have. You have been nothing but trouble your whole life, and now you and your brat—”

“Mrs. Haggerty,” a bright voice cuts in. “How are you today? Well, I hope?”

Winnie throws an arm around my shoulders, standing next to me like a wingman ready to protect my six. I was so distracted by the terrible things I was hearing, I didn’t even notice her approach.

“Hello, Winnie,” George mumbles.

“And hello to you, George!” she replies. “Look at all of you, welcoming Galen’s mate back to town. Mother will be so pleased to hear it.”

All three of them look extremely uncomfortable at the idea of Macy finding out about their actions. Jacinta even looks around furtively, as if the old matriarch is hiding nearby, spying on us.

“We were just—” Jacinta starts.

“Oh, I know!” Winnie gushes. “You’re all so kind. It’s good to see how much you support Galen that you’d personally come and accost his mate right here, in public, just to show how much you care.”

“She’s right,” someone speaks from behind us, and I turn around to see Delia and Nathan not far away.

“What do you want?” Jacinta asks bluntly.

“Galen is at the town hall with Sherman,” Delia answers. “I thought you guys might want to be there, since you have so much to say on pack business.”

“He’s having a meeting now?” George demands.

Delia shrugs. “He got all your messages, so I’m guessing he went straight there. Pretty poor of you to demand to see the alpha, then not show up.”

I can’t stop a huge smile spreading across my face at Delia’s tactful maneuvering.

“Better get a move on,” Nathan suggests. “We wouldn’t want to keep Galen waiting.”

“We’ll be sure to tell him how kind it was of you to personally greet Clara on her arrival,” Delia says, blinking innocently. “Good deeds shouldn’t go unrewarded.”

The other three break up, going around us to hurry towards the Town Hall. Delia gives me a wave before following after them, and Winnie gives me a big hug.

“You’ve got plenty of us in your corner, Clara,” she says. “Don’t worry about that.”

“I never knew that,” I reply numbly, letting Winnie lead me over to the park, where I can see the kids playing in the distance.

“Hey, don’t get me wrong,” Winnie laughs. “I don’t think most of the pack is in a hurry to throw a party for you. But I, for one, missed you badly.”

“Thank you, Winnie,” I say, hugging her. “I was surprised to see Delia and Nathan standing up for me, though. I thought they were big supporters of Cliff.”

“They were, but now Mom is spreading it around that you’re good for the pack and have done a great job raising her grandson,” Winnie explains. “More people are coming out in your favor. There were plenty of people who were behind you before this, but now that Mom has accepted you, it’s made other pack members really stop and think about your reputation. Most of them have realized there is no basis for it.”

“It?” I repeat, feeling my heart sink a little.

We all know what “it” is.

“Hey.” Winnie gives me a quick hug. “Not having the shifter gene doesn’t mean you aren’t part of the family, okay? Your dad was one of us, and you are, too.”

I have nothing else to say as we cross the park towards where the kids are playing. I know now for sure that even if my dad was a wolf, I’ll never be one. And I can’t be a witch, either.

“Mom!” I hear Nico cry out. He runs off the field towards me. I bend down, and he barrels straight into me, almost knocking me off my feet.

“Hi, kiddo,” I say, laughing. “Have you had fun with Aunt Winnie?”

“I did!” he answers happily. “She let me have cake for breakfast!”

“That was supposed to be our little secret,” Winnie reminds him, giving him a look.

“It’s okay,” I say, smiling. “I condone sweets for breakfast on most occasions.”

“Excellent,” Winnie says, clapping her hands together. “Because it’s pretty much all I ever eat, and I plan to babysit quite a bit.”

“Oh, you do, do you?” I grin at her. “Did Nico charm you that much?”

“We had fun!” Nico exclaims. “It’s so nice to have family.”

His words hit me like shards of ice right in the chest. My smile falters, and all I can think about is what I never had—and how I almost took it from Nico by taking him away from his pack.

And maybe none of this had to happen. Galen didn’t mean for me to run away. And when my father died, I had support here. I just didn’t realize it.

What have I done?

“Hey, Mom,” Nico says quickly, noticing my expression. “It’s okay, I promise. I know that for a long time, we weren’t safe here, but we are now, aren’t we?”

“Yes, Nico,” I answer, hugging him. “We’re safe now.”

“Did you find out anything about my powers?” he asks.

“Not really, baby,” I reply sadly. “All I know is, you’re a witch as well as a wolf, and I can never be either one.”

“That’s harsh,” Winnie remarks. “Never?”

I shake my head, looking up at her. “Never.”

“That’s sad, Mom,” Nico agrees. “I promise to be extra good with my powers to make you proud, okay?”

“Okay, kiddo,” I tell him, smiling. “Go and play, now. As soon as your dad’s finished at town hall, we can go home.”

Nico runs back to the game, and I sit down at a nearby picnic table with Winnie.

“So, you found something, then?” she asks.

I shake my head. “Not much, really. Someone who claimed to be my aunt, who told me my mother got mixed up in some crazy magic. Said that my dad probably died because of it. I’ll never have the powers of a wolf or a witch, and I don’t really know how to help Nico.”

“We’ll get through it,” Winnie says, rubbing my hand. “I promise. We’re in this together.”

“Thank you, Winnie,” I say, meaning it. “I appreciate everything you’ve done for us—including standing up for me just now.”

“Don’t mention it,” Winnie giggles. “I take every opportunity to ruffle old Ma Haggerty’s feathers. I was doing it for myself, really!”

Winnie’s mirth is infectious, as always, and I can feel my worries slide away as we laugh together. My carefree moment doesn’t last long, though, because I see Galen approaching from the street. My stomach lurches.

Maybe one day, I’ll be able to look at him without immediately getting slammed by equal parts lust and fear.

He doesn’t come towards us, but runs straight out onto the field with the kids. They are kicking a soccer ball up and down the field, having fun without bothering too much about rules. Galen joins in, kicking the ball between both goal posts, scoring points for each team.

After a bit of running up and down, with Galen continuously switching sides, all the kids are laughing so hard, they can’t play anymore. They fall down into an ungainly heap with Galen, tackling him. He disappears under a teeming wave of shouting, laughing children.

Watching Galen roar with mock fury as he gently tosses the kids around tugs at my heart. When Nico jumps out of the crowd and wraps his arms around his father’s neck, I watch Galen smile back at him. My heart feels so full, it could burst out of my chest.

They are so connected. It’s like they always knew each other, even though they never met.

My mind slips back to the night before, and I try to stay calm as I let the memories run through my head. I was drunk—really drunk—and I don’t remember everything, but I know I wanted it, and I begged Galen to fuck me.

It’s just sex , I remind myself . We always had chemistry—that’s no secret.

But as stubbornly as I try to hold on to this thought and tell myself it’s true, I know it’s not the whole truth.

I can’t give my heart to him again. There’s no way I can just turn back the clock and pretend the past never happened. I might never be able to trust again after what Galen did to me.

Besides, I don’t know if he truly loves me now or just wants to heal his own guilt.

Watching him play with Nico, I can’t ignore the absolute truth inside me.

My feelings for Galen never wavered. Not once. Even when I was crying over him, I knew that some part of me still loved him…

And that’s why I’m so afraid.