Chapter 10

Gavin

As Billie exited the cabin, David came over to the fire, standing at the other end of the hearth.

"Have a seat," I offered, gesturing over to one of the armchairs.

He shook his head, remaining standing, so I remained on my feet, too.

"I'm sorry Billie's been bothering you," he said, his bushy eyebrows still drawn into a scowl. He clearly thought her being out in the woods had something to do with me and the Moondream we'd both witnessed.

It was my turn to shake my head. The anger that I'd felt toward her in the clearing when I'd first seen her collapsing on the ground had entirely dissipated, and I was able to say honestly, "It wasn't her fault."

I replayed how David had snapped at Billie just a moment ago, dismissing her as if she were a misbehaving child, and a muscle ticked in my jaw. He hadn't even checked to see how she was. Over the phone, I'd informed him that she'd been hurt but assured him that she was being treated by our pack healer. The fact that he hadn't even asked her how she was feeling seemed odd to me. Sure, she wasn't his biological daughter, but David had adopted her when she was a baby and had a duty of care to her. He must have some paternal feelings toward her, right?

Now, his blue eyes had hardened with suspicion, and I wondered whether he thought I had lured Billie out.

He could cool in on that front. But my wolf bristled with anger at the thought of David hypothetically interfering with my business if I had wanted to talk to Billie. After all, after my Moondream, with Vana having presented her to me, I had every right to want to talk to her.

I shook away the dominance that was starting to bubble up, curbing my wolf. I wanted to broach the subject of the dragons, I reminded myself.

I leveled my gaze at him. "I found Billie in a clearing in Dalesbloom territory tonight. She'd been injured by dragons who were hunting a unicorn. Both Muriel, the unicorn, and Billie have been checked over by Helen, my pack healer, and will be fine."

"A unicorn," David exclaimed, his eyes widening. For a moment, something glinted in their depths, but it was too fleeting for me to catch.

"Unicorns are rare creatures, Gavin," he said. A reflective look cloaked his face. "I'd be honored for the Dalesbloom Pack to shelter Muriel if she's in need."

I shook my head. "Thank you, David, but that's not necessary. I'll be speaking to Everett tomorrow about Muriel," I explained.

From chatting with Muriel, I'd discovered that she'd come to this area in search of Mythguard. I'd already decided that Everett would be the best man to find a safe place for Muriel. If Aislin was right that he had Mythguard connections, then he'd know what to do. And if not, perhaps the Eastpeak Pack and Grandbay could pull together their resources to protect her.

"I wouldn't get Everett involved," David argued.

I blinked at him in surprise, wondering whether Dalesbloom and Eastpeak were on bad terms. I hadn't heard anything about hostilities lately.

"You know the Eastpeak leader prefers to keep his own company," he justified. "I'm sure he'd prefer to keep him and his people separate from our concerns. Perhaps this is better as something that you and I take on together," he pressed.

Everett did prefer to maintain his distance, but I knew whether he was part of Mythguard or not, he'd want to know about something as serious as a unicorn and that this clan called the Inkscales was hunting her.

One thing was for sure: twice now, I'd scented or found the dragons in Dalesbloom territory. It wasn't the place to ensure Muriel's safety. And the fact that David seemed so eager to exert his influence on me by alluding to the close ties between our packs only deepened my suspicion about the Dalesbloom leader.

Something I didn't beat around the bush about now, locking my gaze with his, I said, "Dalesbloom wouldn't be a particularly safe place for a unicorn," I said, "given that this is the second time in recent days I've scented and now encountered dragons in the area."

David shrugged, his tone nonchalant. "Dragons are a natural part of the Black Canyon area," he said.

I clenched my jaw. He knew that four years ago, dragons had been responsible for my parents' deaths. Dragons may be a "natural" part of Black Canyon, but I'd made it crystal clear that I didn't want anything to do with them. The fact that he was acting as if their appearance was no big deal had mistrust slinking over me. For the first time, despite my years of having a solid relationship and months of what I'd call friendship with the Dalesbloom Alpha, I thought I saw the first glimmer of what I'd heard others whisper about. In the cold glint in his eye, the proud tilt of his chin, and in the blasé tone he'd just used when talking to me about dragons, I sensed an arrogance and apathy that I'd failed to pick up on until now.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as I readied myself to confront him about his disregard for my stance on the dragons. Silence hung heavily between us, and I felt the charged atmosphere as we took each other's measure.

The tension broke as a rap sounded on the door. I hadn't yet answered, but Catrina pushed open the door. "Sorry to interrupt," she said. "But we should really be getting Billie home soon, Dad."

My gaze softened as it swept over Catrina. At least there was someone in the Hexen household who had considered how Billie was feeling after being injured.

"Right you are, Cat," David said. His cool gaze found its way briefly back to me, and he said, "Just keep me informed about this business with the unicorn, okay, Gavin?"

I nodded, and something clenched in my gut and warned me about David's interest in Muriel.

Catrina lingered in the doorway for a moment as her dad swept out past her. "It's good to see you," she said. A moment later, she added, "I've missed you."

Despite the softening I'd felt toward her at her mention of Billie, I didn't know how I felt about seeing her. Dressed in a soft cashmere sweater and jeans, she looked as well put together as ever. Her long black hair spilled down her shoulders in a silky curtain, and she looked at me hopefully. But as I observed her, Billie's words from earlier skittered through my head, "All my clothes are Catrina's hand-me-downs."

I shook away the memory. Everything had been too much of a whirlwind since the night of the Moondream. And now, after our rescuing Billie and Muriel in the clearing tonight, the last thing I wanted to do was have an in-depth discussion with Catrina. Even more than that, I knew it was important not to say anything that would give Catrina false hope about us. I didn't know where we stood right now. But I needed a clear head for when we broached that subject. Now wasn't the time.

"It's good to see you too, Catrina," I said, but quickly added, "You were right though. It's late. We'll talk another time, okay?"

Her blue stare darkened for a moment, and she reminded me, in that moment, of the glimmer of something that had alighted in her father's eye earlier. She plastered on a smile. "Sure, Gavin. We'll talk soon. Night." She whipped out the door, her black hair swishing.

Then, thank Vana, my cabin was finally my own.

As David's truck pulled away, relief spread through me that the first meeting with all the Hexens … and Billie was over. My stomach squeezed at the thought of the sandy-brown-haired woman, but I didn't get to think about it long as yet another knock rapped on my cabin.

I went to the door, hoping that whoever it was, I could keep this short.

As I opened the door, I took in Helen, our healer on the doorstep. She'd already checked my wound for the night when we'd gotten back. Then I realized her bag was still under the coffee table.

"Hey Helen, here for your bag?" I said, already going to the coffee table to retrieve it.

Thank Vana, there are still simple exchanges.

But I counted my blessings too soon because no sooner had I grabbed the bag and turned around, then I noticed Helen had come in and shut the door. She was worrying her lip, usually something she did when she was concerned about a packmate's healing.

But if anyone deserved to unburden herself, it was our healer, who so frequently put the packs' needs before her own.

"Is something weighing on you?" I asked her gently.

She shook her head and laughed. "Sometimes you are so like Martin, you know? Your father was just as perceptive."

Warmth stirred through me, and I waited for her to share whatever was on her mind.

"I'd almost decided not to say anything," she explained, a little flustered. "You know, sometimes, I feel my lack of experience, having not been born to the pack, you know?"

Helen had been an untransformed human when her mate Matthew had dreamed of her in his Moondream. She'd been a nurse at a hospital in Denver where Matthew had been treated. But since she and Matthew had gotten together and he'd introduced her to our community and lands, she'd been our pack healer. She'd built upon all her medical expertise by learning about Vana's magic, which became open to her once she was initiated as our healer.

I knew she'd always studied and practiced hard with her magic. There was no reason for her to doubt herself.

"You're a brilliant healer, Helen," I assured her. "Whatever your gut's telling you, it's probably right."

Her hazel eyes widened, but she nodded. "I wanted to tell you that the way that girl's wound healed so quickly was uncanny."

I blinked at her, my heart doubling in speed as I realized who she was talking about.

"Billie," I clarified, probably dumbly, as it wasn't as if Muriel could be called a girl with her almost completely silvery hair and the mature lines of her face. And she was the only other person, besides myself, whom Helen had checked over this evening.

Helen nodded. "Billie was restored to almost full health after I used my healing magic on her." She paused, her gaze searching mine as she added, "Something that should only have happened if the Grandbay lands were in her blood."

I scowled, wondering if this was another way of Vana pushing the fact that Billie belonged here. Then, I thought of the healing magic that Muriel used on her in the clearing before we brought them back here.

"Couldn't it be the unicorn's magic?" I asked.

Helen shook her head. "Muriel said her magic was so spent by the time she had arrived in the clearing where the dragons attacked that she only had enough healing magic to close Billie's wound. I felt it when I worked on Billie tonight. Her deep tissue was still torn up. But when I used the ancient chants and washed her skin with Grandbay water, the injury responded to our magic as if she belonged to it."

Her words seemed to rip through me as swiftly as the flowing torrents of the Gunnison. "As if she belonged to our Alpha bloodline," I confirmed, holding her hazel stare as she nodded.

My eyebrows drew together as I contemplated a possibility. I thought back over the course of the night and realized that the telepathic connection that had led me to Billie tonight by sensing her injury had stayed with me over the rest of the night, too. I'd felt what Helen was talking about. The moment when the pain that Billie was feeling had completely disappeared, too. I was standing by the campfire, and the sharp ache in my side that had gradually deepened on our way back eased up.

I'd been too preoccupied after questioning Muriel about the dragons to give it much notice. But now, I realized that Helen was right. Billie's injury should only have responded to Grandbay magic if she were a member of our Alpha bloodline.

"Thank you for sharing this with me," I said, finally remembering that Helen was still standing in my cabin with me. "Leave it with me. I've got some investigating to do."

Helen nodded, looking lightened as she exited.

Well, at least one of us is.

I returned to the living room and stoked up the fire. My thoughts had been whipped up into a frenzy. I put on another couple of hardwood logs. There was no way I was going to bed any time soon.

Instead, I sat down on the couch and mulled over events from the past. I realized that Billie would be the same age as the daughter of my old Betas, Tobi and Shannon Rathbone. They'd mysteriously vanished during my father's Alphahood about fifteen years ago. My father had, of course, investigated their disappearance. But their scents hadn't been discovered in any of the surrounding trails or woods. Instead, their truck had just been gone one morning, as had they and their baby daughter. My heart battered my chest as a flash of the little blond-haired toddler skittered through my thoughts. I'd been six years old, and my mum, Bria, had often taken me with her to Shannon's house. Amazement whipped through me as I remembered entertaining the little, sandy-haired girl on the rug before the hearth with toys. Shannon's voice punctuated my memory, "Lizzie, Lizzie," she'd crooned at the toddler.

Elizabeth. That was it. Their daughter had been called Elizabeth. Can this blond-haired girl I remember really be you, Billie?

The memory of that time was filled with heaviness. I remembered how my dad had been completely absorbed for months because, as far as he could tell, Shannon and Tobi Rathbone, along with their daughter, had simply upped and left town and the pack, never to be heard from again. It had been a mystery that had rattled both my mom and dad and now set my own teeth on edge.

Can it be that you never left, Elizabeth?

As my thoughts cycled over this mystery, my mind was engulfed by the memory of Billie standing in front of the Pack Rules sign. The little chuckle that had escaped her as she'd examined them had sent goosebumps over my skin. Then, I remembered what she'd said, "Well, your dad had a sense of humor." The playful accusation running through her words that I was lacking in one, even now, made me smile. And as I grew conscious of the movement, I realized with incredulity … I missed her.