After a while, I split off from Liam and Taryn’s wolves to continue exploring. I enjoy running with them, but they turn for Silver Falls, probably wanting a morning swim. Soon I’ll get to join them for a pack run.
By the time I shift back, I’ve made it to the tree line surrounding the commons. The central lawn is bustling with people hanging around the dining hall, coming in and out of a late lunch.
“Good afternoon.”
I yank down the shirt dress I’m pulling on and whirl to the cabin tucked into the cover of evergreens. One of the Farrows elders and his granddaughter sit on the porch. I glance around, finding no one else.
“Good afternoon,” I stammer.
“There’s a nice spread for lunch. Alma hasn’t switched with Martine today. Better hurry if you want to get some of her jam donuts she made for dessert,” he advises sagely.
“Oh. Thanks, I will.” Maybe I’ll get some to bring back for Bea and Lena.
He’s not the only one to acknowledge me on my way through the commons. A surprising number of people make eye contact, some even smiling at me as if I haven’t been a pariah they whispered about for years. My throat goes tight at how nice it is to be acknowledged. Accepted.
There are still a few scathing looks when I enter the dining hall to remind me I haven’t tripped through a fae portal to an alternate realm.
I’m scanning for a seat when Callie comes in behind me. She offers a tentative smile.
“Hi, Avery. Are you doing okay?” She twirls her hair around her finger, the same nervous habit she’s had since she was a kid.
I return her smile, my heart warming that she’s speaking to me. “I am, thanks. You’re eating late today.”
“I’m avoiding my brother until he takes his head out of his ass. Want to sit with me?”
I chuckle and hike my thumb in the opposite direction. “I was just going to duck into the kitchen to raid the donuts for my sisters. Want some?”
“Yes. That’s way better than sitting up there alone.”
We loiter by the swinging double doors, grabbing the first opportunity to head to the kitchens. Alma’s distracted and I wave at Callie to grab two baskets waiting to go out to tables. Before we’re caught, we dash through the side door.
Alma’s shout comes behind us. “No eating on the go in my kitchen!”
“I’ll bring you a fresh joint salve as payment,” I call.
We race by the commissary, not stopping until we reach the wraparound porch of the lodge. Callie’s giggles are contagious. We each toast with a donut, humming in unison at the warm sugary dough.
“Are you coming in? I don’t think Caden’s here if you’re avoiding him, too. He went somewhere in his truck and has been out most of the day.”
“I’m going to get these back.” Her expression falls. “You can come over anytime you want.”
“Now?” She bites her lip hopefully.
“Sure.”
We fall into step, taking the road to the northern perimeter. She peeks at me occasionally.
“For what it’s worth, I never thought you were to blame for anything,” she finally says in a rush. “I… I really missed you. And I’m sorry. I was afraid to still talk to you but I wanted to all the time.”
My heart wobbles and I wrap her in a side hug. “It’s okay. It’s not your fault. I missed you, too.”
She sniffles, leaning her head on my shoulder, reminding me just how young she was when everything changed for us. It was difficult enough to face my life being turned inside out at sixteen, I can only imagine how confusing it was for her at fourteen. Other than Taryn, I was her only close friend.
“Come on. The girls will be really happy to see you.” I take her hand and she holds tight.
When we make it to the cottage, I take pride in giving a tour of the garden, explaining everything planted and how I use it. Her eyes widen with respect by the time we go inside.
“I brought donuts and a surprise visitor,” I announce.
Wait.
My head pops up. I try the door again. There’s no creak. It swings properly and I realize it’s completely different from the crooked one that I’ve tried to fix hundreds of times.
“Hold on. What happened to the door? And where did you get that fur blanket from?”
Lena doesn’t look up from her book right away. She tends to finish a passage before marking her place, then the rest of the world is allowed to exist. Beatrix isn’t home. She must’ve gone out.
“Alpha Blackburn stopped by while you were gone.” Lena brightens when Callie waves to her. “Hi! Can we sit outside? He said the porch only needed an hour to dry. I’m feeling much better. No cough, see?”
She breathes deeply a few times without any crackle in her lungs. My lips part and I peer out the window. Sure enough, the crumbling stone’s been patched. I missed it on my way in, automatically hopping over the damage while I gave Callie the same instruction.
I’m used to his wolf spending the night outside my window now, accepting what I’ve gathered from my own wolf that he’s not happy unless he’s guarding me whether I need it or not. Usually he’s gone by morning, unless I catch him like I did before I left today.
I expect irritation to fizzle along my nerves and a need to protect my family, but it doesn’t come at the thought of him here.
Mate is protector, my wolf whispers.
I help Lena up. “Wait, is that a new rocking chair?”
“He brought that, too.” She smiles at my expression. “He’s a lot nicer than you think. He stocked us up with all this food and blankets. Beatrix went with him to get more nails so they can build a new fence for your garden. You should see what he put on your workbench.”
I’m at a loss for words, exchanging a glance with Callie. She shrugs.
“Don’t look at me. Like I said, I’ve been avoiding him. He hasn’t said a word to me about any of this.”
Lena giggles at my flabbergasted reaction to the array of brand new gardening tools at my workspace, including a roll of different sized knives much sharper than the rusted one I use for chopping and a brand new pair of shears.
The note beneath the roll reads: For whenever I’ve done something else to deserve it, you can threaten me with your garden shears again. If you need anything else, it’s yours. You know where to find me. — C
I trace his handwriting and my stomach fills with butterflies.
He did all this while I was gone? My lips slide together, a tender smile breaking free.
“He said he’s just getting started,” Lena says.
I didn’t realize I spoke the question aloud. She hugs her book to her chest and beams.
“You haven’t smiled like that in a long time. Like you’re really happy.”
I duck my head, unable to stop. I don’t recall the last time I experienced such easy joy. My heartbeat drums insistently as a glow fills me from within.
I don’t know what to expect two days later when I’m told I’m supposed to go to the healer’s cabin. It certainly isn’t arguing with the cantankerous male who has been the pack’s healer for two and a half generations. He has to be pushing two hundred by now, and could be languishing on the porches smoking pipes and listening to the strum of banjos in the evenings like the rest of the pack elders.
Instead, he’s here going blue in the face at my insistence that shifters can be susceptible to illnesses and ailments outside of moon madness.
“This is a ridiculous waste of my time. If you’d just listen instead of yelling over me, you might actually learn something about healing,” I say flatly.
“You can’t teach me nothin’ I don’t know about anythin’,” he hollers with a stomp of his foot. “I’ve been minding this pack for longer than you’ve been born.”