Page 36 of Wolf's Vow

Diesel shrugged, sitting back down. “I need to go into the house of the female who left. I need to know her patterns within the pack, and I need access to the four other shifters on patrol that night.”

I nodded. “I’ve done it all, but you have my permission to ask whatever you need. I’ll let the pack know…” I hesitated. “You could take Cale with you.”

Diesel watched me, and I knew he was fighting his smirk.Pissing you off?

He hangs around Rowen a lot,I admitted.And I just don’t likehim,I confessed grumpily.

“Why not allow one of the Blueridge Hollow to accompany him?” the druid asked casually as they took the empty chair andsat down slowly. “Show the pack,packs, that we are as one. Isn’tthatwhat you keep telling them?”

“I don’t trust anyone in the Blueridge Hollow pack right now,” I told the druid bluntly. “I have my reservations about Stonefang too. No one is beyond my suspicion.” I glanced at Diesel. “I trust Diesel, and only Diesel, to get this done.”

It still feels strange to hear you say that to others, Diesel rumbled in my head.

Every word is true, I reminded him. I felt the swell of love and loyalty come through the bond, and it filled me with a peace I hadn’t felt for a few days.

“Why are you telling me your plans if you don’t trust anyone?” the druid asked calmly.

“Because you are my druid, the druid of the packs and the druid of the Hollow. And…it’s possible that you’ve sensed something, even without knowing it. Diesel would like to ask you a few questions.”

The atmosphere in the house got tenser as the druid regarded me with their mismatched gaze, the amber eye almost golden, as the pale iris of the other shone. “You wanthimto questionme?”

“Relax,” Diesel said as he stood. “It’ll only hurt if you want it to.”

Not helping, I scolded him through the bond.

“Wolfe, I would like to talk to you alone.” The druid looked ready to remove my head from my shoulders, and I gave a slight nod to Diesel, who snorted as he walked out the door, closing it softly behind him.

“You are walking on dangerous ground here, Alpha,” the druid warned. I watched them bring out a pouch, and within a few moments, I felt the sense of magic in the air.

“A privacy spell?”

They ignored my question as they resumed talking. “He is more than a shifter,” the druid said. “You are bringing in an outsider?—”

“He’s not an outsider to me.”

“He is an outsider to this pack,” the druid corrected sharply. “They are already frightened and uneasy?—”

“Then they should welcome the fact that they have someone here who wants to protect them.” I looked towards our bedroom door. It hadn’t been easy sleeping the last few nights without her. “I will not lose one more of my pack to an ambush or from cowardly fuckers who hide and can’t come and face me or challenge me outright.”

The druid blew out a breath. “He is not the right way to do it.”

“He is theonlyway to do it right now.” I pushed my hair back. “Druid, you have been a part of this Hollow for I don’t know how many years, and you will continue to be part of the Hollow, I suspect, long after I am gone, but…” I met their gaze. “It is not my intention to keep you out of things going forward. I know you have this pack’s best interests at heart, but right now, I need to rely on the ones who I know would give their life for me, not just their loyalty. Diesel, Killian, Brand—they’re who I need. They’re who I trust.”

“Why don’t you use your Will and find your traitor?”

I shook my head. “No. I will not use my Will on my pack. An alpha’s Will should not be misused nor used as a weapon against their own.”

“What are you afraid of?” the druid asked softly. “You are not a tyrant, Wolfe. Your heart is good.” They cast an ugly look towards the door. “Unlike others in your company.”

“Diesel’s heart is as pure as they come, Druid,” I said softly. “You insult your own intelligence with such petty remarks.”

The druid almost looked chastised. “What do you want of me, Alpha?”

“I want your support.” I sat down slowly. “I want youractivesupport. The warding spells on the boundary are not as strong as they could be.” I raised my hand to stop them. “I didn’t need Diesel to tell me that; I felt nothing the day that I returned to the Hollow.”

“Why would you?” the druid countered. “You are of the Hollow.”

“Am I?” I asked them, and saw the answer when they wouldn’t meet my eye. “I was pack once, but I left, and this land did not hold sorrow to see me go.”