Page 128 of The Wolves of Forest Grove

Jared and I dispersed the growing crowd of curious shifters and went inside to wait for Clay to show up. I half wondered if I should put away the breakables but decided it really didn’t matter right now if some shit wound up broken. We had bigger things to worry about.

But the thought that he would either be utterly relieved to see his sister or murderous left me antsy as fuck.

“You guys can go back on patrol.” I dismissed Viv and Archer, holding the door open for them as Jared and I took over babysitting.

Sam made herself comfortable on one of the barstools next to the kitchen island. She had one of my chocolate chip cookies in her hand and a half drunk glass of milk at her elbow.

“You got something I can wear?” she asked with a mouth full of cookie.

“You sure you’re good?” Viv asked, her gaze hard as she paused in the doorway to read my stare.

I gave a terse nod. “Peachy.”

My stomach soured as I closed the door behind Viv and Archer. “Stay with her while I find something for her to throw on.”

“Jared crossed his arms over his tan chest and leaned against the refrigerator, not making any secret of his distrust as he watched her unblinking while she annihilated my cookies. The bitch.

I found my ugliest dress tucked away in the back of the closet.

I never wore dresses, but I owned a sum total of two of them, and I didn’t care about getting this one back.

She could keep it, and if she didn’t want it, it’d make half decent bonfire kindling when she was done with it.

There was no way I’d be wearing it again once her scent was clogged into every inch of the fabric.

My wolf shifted within, sensing her mate approach. I could feel his apprehension like a spike through my own chest. I rushed back downstairs, thrusting the dress at Sam.

“He’s here,” I muttered, and she dropped the cookie she’d been munching on and tugged the dress over her head, grimacing no doubt at the lingering scent of me clinging to the fabric.

Clay burst into the cabin a moment later and got about two steps in before he froze in place. He would’ve known it was her. Clay had an insane sense of smell. He would’ve scented her within a mile of camp.

His burning blue eyes flicked to me for an instant, his jaw clenched so hard I thought he might shatter his teeth.

“Hey, big bro,” Sam said in a voice that was trying to sound nonchalant, but I could sense her fear. The sweet, sour smell of it wrinkled my nose.

Clay’s dark hair was still rumpled from sleep, and his dark shorts hung low on his hips. Every bulky muscle in his body coiled as though expecting an attack. Clay was already one of the largest shifters in the pack four years ago. Now, no one could compare to his monstrous size.

Sam looked up at him, and I could tell she wasn’t breathing. Her face a pale mask of calm.

“Did you miss me?” she added in a joking tone, making his eyes narrow.

For a split second, I thought he was going to kill her.

I felt his anger flare like a lit match meeting a pool of gasoline, and my wolf rose to meet his, a snarl curling my upper lip. But as quickly as it came, it began to wane.

“Where the fuck were you?”

Sam’s face pinched. “Does it matter?”

Clay glared at his sister, and I could see his muscles shudder with rage. “Sam,” he warned.

She rolled her eyes and gestured vaguely with her hand.

“Here and there,” she replied. “I was running with a pack out east for a while, but…” She trailed off, and Clay seemed to notice the state of her for the first time.

Some of his fury fizzled out, taking in her thin, dirty hair.

The way my dress hung from her bony frame.

Her gaunt face and hollow eyes. “...let’s just say it didn’t work out. ”

Clay sniffed the air, scenting his sister and likely picking out any other lingering scents of her pack. He grimaced. “You’re unclaimed.”

It wasn’t a question, but she answered it anyway. “I left them two weeks ago.”

Clay’s expression shifted and he took in the room, probably sensing my unease. “She try to hurt you?”

I shook my head, admitting the truth through gritted teeth. “She actually...apologized.”

“You want to stay then? Is that it?” Clay demanded of his sister. “You come crawling back after four fucking years—after you tried to kill my mate— looking for what? Pity?”

Sam reeled back as though the blow of his words were a physical one and something in my chest ached at the sight of her pain.

“Clay,” I said, giving my head a small shake when our eyes met.

Sam deserved everything she got wherever she’d been for the past four years, but if someone killed either of my mates, I could say with confidence that nothing on this earth could stop me from ripping the culprit’s head off.

Ryland may have been a psychopath, but I could see her forgiving a lot for her mate. Besides, she never really got a chance to see the worst of him before it was too late.

The door opened again, and Grams hobbled through, muttering something about the damned stairs before she nearly ran into Clay’s back.

“Sam?” she asked, her unseeing eyes widening as she sensed the presence of her granddaughter. She shoved past Clay and carefully stepped toward her, hand outstretched.

Sam bristled, jumping from the chair before Grams reached her. For a heartbeat, I thought she was going to bolt, but her chin quivered, and when Grams wrapped her arms around Sam, they both began to cry softly.

Sam broke the embrace first, stepping away from Grams who was now leaning against the countertop, her hand to her chest.

“Is that what you’re after?” I pressed, leveling my stare on Sam. “You want to stay? Rejoin the pack?”

I didn’t want to break up the reunion, but the fact remained: she was an unclaimed wolf on our lands. She couldn’t stay here, not unless she was pack, and I was the only one with the power to make that happen.

Her teeth ground together, and she looked to her brother instead of me as she replied, “Yes. If you’ll have me.”

I nodded to myself, wondering how the hell I should handle this.

“Allie,” Jared interjected, piping up for the first time. “I don’t agree with this. We should talk about—”

I lifted a hand to hush him, realizing that this shouldn’t be up to me after all.

There was only one person who should be the one to make this call, and he was staring at his sister like he still couldn’t decide if he wanted to chase her out of our territory himself or wrap her up in his arms. I ached for him.

“This shouldn’t be up to us,” I told Jared, turning my attention to Clay and his sister. “Your brother will decide your fate.”

Clay’s head snapped up, his cut-glass eyes sharp and accusing.

“It should be your choice,” I told him. “Not mine. If you decide you want her here, then I’ll honor that. If you would rather she leave, then I’ll escort her off our territory myself. It’s your call.”

Jared cursed under his breath and shoved off from the fridge, storming out the door.

“I’ll give you some privacy,” I offered, lifting myself up on tiptoe to kiss Clay’s cheek and squeeze his shoulder as I passed. “Take your time. I’ll get someone to cover your patrol tonight.”

He grunted his assent.

“Text me if you need me.”

I hardly got more than ten feet from the front porch when Layla and Vivian came out of the woodwork. No doubt they’d been waiting since word spread of Sam’s arrival.

“Is it true?” Viv demanded. “Is she actually trying to rejoin the pack?”

Layla’s eyes flared to a fiery glow.

I supposed Jared had already told them what was up before he took off wherever.

“It is,” I told them. “I’m leaving it up to Clay to decide.”

Vivian looked like she was going to argue. Hell, Layla seemed like she might get in on that action, but seeming to sense my tension, they both thought better of it. Sharing a look and then falling silent.

“Did you see where Jare went?”

“To get someone to take his shift at the quarry so he can stay at camp with you. He said he’d be right back,” Layla supplied, wringing her slender hands. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

“What else am I supposed to do? If I force her out…”

Maybe it was foolish, but I didn’t want Clay to hold it against me for the rest of our immortal lives.

“I get it,” Viv said, gripping me around my shoulders for a sideways hug before sighing. “But that doesn’t mean we forgive the bitch. I wouldn’t trust her as far as I can throw her.”

“Bet you could toss her pretty far, though.” I smirked, and Viv released me to punch me in the arm.

Layla shook her head at us, lifting her gaze to the heavens.

I shoved at Viv, feeling the weight on my shoulders shift free, if only for a second. “Thought I sent you back on patrol, huh? What are you still doing here?”

“Leave and miss the most dramatic thing to happen in years? I don’t think so. I sent the next patrol out early. Said you needed me for something.”

“And the second and third ring patrols?”

“All still doing their rounds. Third ring patrol were the ones who brought her in to us.”

Good to know our patrols were doing what they were meant for. I’d been wondering if Sam had somehow snuck through the first two rings to get Viv’s first ring patrol route. It would have been a massive failure if she had.

“Who was running it?”

I meant to give them a few words of commendation for their good work when they got back, but before Viv could reply, my cell buzzed in my pocket.

My face screwed up at the name on the screen. I assumed it’d be Jared letting me know he had to go to the quarry after all.

“It’s Jacob.”

“They were on patrol,” Viv blurted. “Answer it, what if—”

I had the phone to my ear before she could finish.

“Jake, what is it? Did someone else break the lines?”

Immediately, my wolf was on the defensive. If Sam’s coming were some sort of distraction so that others could slip through our ranks, she would be fucking sorry. My cell phone crunched in my fingers, and I cursed inwardly at having broken yet another damned screen.

“No, it’s not that. The ring is solid, no one else has been around. It’s…”

I could barely hear him, a strange sound in the background drowned him out.

“Spit it out.”

“It’s Sal’s. We smelled smoke and deviated a little from the route to check it out. Sal’s was burning.”

That’s what it was, in the background of the call.

Fire.

Sirens sounded in the distance, and I felt both relieved and devastated all at once.

Sal’s Butcher Shop was where we’d been going for our meat for years after the last butcher in town closed up shop and retired. We went weekly for meat runs. We were due to go tomorrow.

Layla and Viv were already whispering, having heard Jacob from where they stood.

“You’re there now?”

“Yeah.”

“Then who the hell is on third ring patrol?”

“Danny is on it alone,” he rushed to say. “I’m heading back in a minute. I just wanted to let you know about Sal’s.”

Bits of glass cut into my fingers as I released my grip on the phone, finding that I could smell the ghost of smoke on the breeze even from here. “Was Sal hurt?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Okay. Get back to your route. I’ll see if we can send a few of ours to help.”

I tapped my shattered screen to end the call.

“Kind of fucking suspicious isn’t it?” Viv hedged, her hands in claws at her sides. “Not an hour after she shows her face and Sal’s is up in smoke?”

Bad timing?

My gut said no, but what else could it be? The witch from town? Gregory? My pulse skittered at the thought. No. He left. What reason could he have for attacking a local?

None.

Get your head on straight, Allie.

“You busy?” I asked them.

Viv glanced longingly back toward her cabin—the one she shared with Destiny.

No doubt Des was still asleep inside after her long shift at Grove’s End.

Like Jared, she tended to sleep like the dead.

And the fact that their cabin was near the fringes of camp would make it easier for her not to hear the commotion of the morning.

“Stay if you want,” I offered. “I can grab Seth.”

Layla winced, and I knew at once that her beau was very likely a little worse for wear this a.m. He tended to overdo it and not even shifters were impervious to hangovers, though they tended not to last as long at least.

“No. I’ll come. Just let me leave a note for her.” I nodded. “Hurry.”

Viv ran off just as Jared reappeared, jogging over with concern in the line of his brows. “What is it?”

“Sal’s,” I told him, bracing for the same suspicion Viv had. “It’s burning.”

His nose wrinkled, perhaps able to smell it just as I could. His amber eyes slid to the cabin where Clay was inside with his sister and grandmother. The fleck of jade green in his left eye catching the light.

He didn’t say it, but through the mate bond I could feel his dread.

“Is Sal—”

“He’s fine. But we’re going to see if there’s anything we can do to help.”

Sal had taken care of us for years. If not for him, we’d have had to travel all the way to Portland for our meat every week. I supposed now that was exactly what we’d have to do. Fuck.

We could lend him some lumber and equipment though. We could spare a few bodies to help him rebuild. It was the least we could do after the countless rush orders of entire sides of beef.

“Wait, you’re leaving?” Jared demanded, his eyes narrowing to slits. He jabbed two fingers at our cabin. “With her here?”

“You should stay, keep an eye on things for me.” I gave him the option, knowing before the words even left my lips that he would refuse. “But if you’d rather come, then I think Clay has it handled, don’t you?”

His lips pressed into a hard line. “I’m with you.”

Thought so.

I thumbed a quick text to Clay before discarding my phone on a vacant wooden stool.

Allie: Something came up. Back in a few hours.

I’m with Jared. Don’t worry.

I knew he would worry, but chances were he wouldn’t even read the text for a while. He was clearly distracted enough to not sense my distress when Jacob told me about Sal’s. He would be distracted enough not to notice anything was amiss until I got back.

Or at least I hoped so. He had enough to worry about.

“We’ll pick up Viv on the way out,” I said, shucking off my clothes and letting my soul awaken to my wolf. “Let’s move.”