Chapter 9

Billie

I felt weary to the bone when we finally got to Grandbay territory. On the journey here, I'd been keen not to slow the pack down, so I hadn't stopped at all. The ache in my flank had started to burn again, reminding me that though Muriel had sealed my wound, the deep tissue was still torn and needed mending. A wave of relief hit me when a cluster of rooftops came into view.

As we descended toward them, the wide-flowing Gunnison River rested leftward. Mature pines and pinyons framed the log cabins, and my first glimpse of Grandbay stole my breath.

A hundred thoughts swept through my head, and curiosity gave me a second wind. The neat little log cabins were unassuming compared to Hexen Manor and the elaborate dwellings that David's pack had erected. I'd never had reason to come into the other pack lands before. I admired how the cabins were so closely situated to the river. In Dalesbloom, Hexen Manor and the other packmates' houses were separated by the meadow and the woods from the canyon and river.

In Dalesbloom, the steep cliffs of the canyon meant that getting down to the riverside was difficult. Whereas here, the canyon looked only ten feet from the bank to the riverbed. I instantly pictured the Grandbay wolves enjoying the cool currents of the river far more frequently than the Dalesbloom wolves. A twinge twisted through my chest as the thought struck me that in a different life where Gavin hadn't rejected me, this beautiful place might one day have been my home.

I smothered the thought. Such thinking wasn't helpful. I reminded myself to be grateful for what had happened tonight—mainly, that I'd been rescued from those dragons. A shudder swept through me as I remembered those two terrifying beasts with their looming wings coming for me as I collapsed. Panic washed over me as I remembered thinking that that was to be my final breath.

And yet, I couldn't help wondering at how I'd been saved. By Vana, why couldn't Colt have come instead? Why did my savior have to be the last wolf I wanted to see? The last time Gavin had seen me, he'd told me how I wasn't enough. And he'd thought nothing of announcing it in front of my adoptive family, most of whom seemed to have made it their life's mission to make me feel small.

Worry set in that I was in the clutches of the Grandbay wolves. What if they all treated me like that? Other than Gavin, I hadn't really met any of them. I'd only spied Aislin from a distance on Dalesbloom land.

Speaking of whom, as we arrived before the main cabin, a reddy-brown wolf came back from the front of the pack, and I recognized her as Aislin. Her muzzle dipped to my shoulder, and I understood she wanted me to follow her.

We alighted up onto the veranda of one of the cabins, the rest of the females of the pack congregating with us. I realized that we were shifting separately from the males. Like the Dalesbloom pack, where the males shifted by Hexen Manor, I noticed that the men had congregated by the main cabin, about forty feet away.

I shifted into my human form. But as my skin pebbled with the night air, my wandering gaze seemed to have a will of its own. Within a second, I'd clapped eyes on Gavin over on the veranda outside the main cabin.

I noticed that he held his right shoulder gingerly. Even from this distance, my keen vision took in the deep gash that was only just beginning to scab over and ran down from his shoulder and all the way to his elbow, exactly where I'd experienced the pain the other day. Butterflies fluttered through my stomach as I wondered whether that was how he'd found me tonight. Had he sensed the dragons tearing through my flank? Despite everything that had happened between us, a warmth spread through me at the thought of our telepathic connection. The sense that there was this invisible thread running out from me and tangling around the dark and gorgeously muscled man, standing tall and proud at the center of his pack, had my pulse spiking.

"By Vana, Billie, you did good, girl," Aislin said. My gaze quickly darted to take in the very naked redhead standing in front of me.

But I was glad she'd distracted me because I'd already felt my cheeks heating in the cool night as my gaze had wandered over Gavin's well-defined, sculpted chest and downward to his abs. I forced myself to concentrate on Aislin instead. After all, I'd already been accused by Catrina of ogling Gavin. Not to mention the fact that the Grandbay Alpha had made it perfectly clear he wasn't interested in me like that. I resolved to fight whatever irrational feelings bubbled up to the surface.

I blinked at Aislin's warm-brown eyes, confused at her comment. My pulse hurried again. Did good? I'd been admiring Gavin. Had he told her that we were fated mates? Did she think that I'd scored with him in some way? "What do you mean?" I asked in confusion.

"You took on two dragons alone. Jeesh, that was some feat," she said.

My racing heart finally calmed.

Okay, that makes a lot more sense.

I told myself to stop feeling so jittery. But surprise beat through me at her friendliness. There was none of the hostility that I'd sensed from Gavin in the clearing when his fur had bristled along his back as he'd focused on me.

"Come on," Aislin said, gesturing toward the cabin. "Let's get you something to wear." I noticed that the other women around us were already pulling on their clothes. Aislin had gathered her discarded clothes into her arms. Eager not to be the only nude female, I followed her.

My gaze snagged on the silvery-haired woman, Muriel, on the veranda, and she smiled gently at me. A middle-aged woman with the same mahogany-colored hair as Aislin had given Muriel a blanket that she was wrapping around herself. Gratitude beat through me as I remembered how Muriel, in her unicorn form, had healed my wound. In the clearing, I'd been conscious enough to catch her name as Gavin spoke to her. Anticipation beat through me at the thought of talking to her.

First, clothes.

Aislin led me into a cozy living room with bare timber walls, a sofa, and armchairs. A hearth with embers still glowing in it was the focal point of the room.

In a moment, we'd reached what must be Aislin's bedroom. She pulled out clothes from a drawer and chucked them on the bed.

"What size are you?" she said, eying the shoes in her wardrobe.

"7.5," I answered.

"Snap." She grinned.

"Thanks," I said, taking the sneakers from her.

I pulled on the knickers and sports bra and then the leggings. They fit well, and I realized that Aislin was much closer to my size and height than Catrina. I could see that Aislin had a broader build than me. She had more muscle. But with leggings, it didn't matter. The T-shirt I pulled on was a little baggy, but not half as much as Catrina's were on me. I looked down at the All-Seeing Eye symbol with the words Join the Illuminati scrawled across the front. "Cool design," I said.

She chuckled. "My family and friends think I'm something of a conspiracy nut."

As I pulled on the long-sleeved zip top she'd given me, I took in the tight black T-shirt she wore, which had X-Files across it and The Truth is Out There. I smiled as I read it, and Aislin's lips lifted.

Once I'd laced up the sneakers, she said, "Come on, Scully. The truth ain't gonna find itself."

I giggled, feeling buoyed up by her playfulness and very much looking forward to finding out the truth about what had happened to get those dragons on Muriel's tail.

When we got back outside, the middle-aged, mahogany-haired woman, who I discovered was Aislin's mum, Gretel, had lit lots of lanterns around their veranda. Some of the pack were sitting around on the wicker sofas and chairs on both this and the main cabin's veranda, while others had wandered to a campfire between all the cabins. The night was full of mellow bonfire smoke. Here on the veranda, the warm scent of beeswax candles suffused the air. The gentle sound of chatter washed away a lot of my tension.

I wandered over to the silvery-haired woman, now dressed in a pretty loose flowing dress, taking the seat opposite her. "Hi Muriel," I said, offering my hand. "Thanks for healing me."

She grasped my hand, surprising me as she squeezed it with both of hers, and smiled sweetly at me. "You're welcome, Billie. I should be thanking you for taking on those dragons with me."

I'd hardly done much to help. I'd only succeeded in getting wounded, and if it hadn't been for the Grandbay Pack showing up, who knew what would have happened to us.

As Muriel released my hand, Aislin saved me from answering as she interjected. "Why were those dragons hunting you?"

Muriel's silver stare darkened. "You witnessed my horn's healing magic. Unfortunately, the Inkscales clan have been hunting me for that valuable resource for a while."

"That's awful," I exclaimed.

Muriel's gaze softened again as she looked at me. "Unfortunately, not everyone is as pure-hearted as you."

I shrugged, unsure of what to say and unused to someone praising me. But the movement made my side ache. I pressed a hand to my ribcage.

"How silly of me. I forgot, you still need healing," Muriel said, my pain not going unnoticed. "The pack healer just checked me over and is waiting for you in the main cabin," she added, pointing over to the main one. "Go see her," Muriel said.

Concern suffused her tone, and her expression was so open and honest that she reminded me of her animal form as if she was still enshrined in that pure bright light.

I took her advice, and noticing that Gavin was by the campfire with the majority of the pack, I let out a relieved breath as I tracked to the main cabin.

As I pushed open the door, the healer was sitting on the leather couch in front of the fire. An assortment of bottles and herbs lay on the coffee table.

"Come have a seat, Billie," she said, gesturing beside her. "My name's Helen," she added.

The woman was middle-aged, and she wore her dark brown hair up in a bun and wore a loose-flowing dress like Muriel. She had pretty hazel eyes, which were striking, as I'd noticed that most of the shifters in Grandbay Pack, like Aislin and Gavin, had dark eyes.

I admired the huge timber of the mantlepiece and the open brickwork of the chimney stack as I sat down. Someone had stoked up the fire, and it crackled cheerfully in the hearth.

"I'll need to get to your side," Helen said.

I nodded, unzipping the running top and taking it off, and then the T-shirt. She laid her hands on my side and started to chant, "Voda, vitr, vatra, terra. Voda, vitr, vatra, terra. Voda, vitr, vatra, terra." I recognized the ancient language of Vana. She was summoning the elements to help her with her healing spell. I remembered how the Dalesbloom Pack healer had used the same incantation when I'd broken my arm. I felt the electric charge flow through the room as sacred energy gathered to the healer's call.

Helen opened a bottle on the table and, with a cloth, dabbed the liquid onto my skin. "Telo kes voda. Telo kes voda," She chanted, repeating the phrase over and over. It was hypnotic, and as I stared at the dancing flames, I felt coolness spreading from the ointment she bathed my skin with deep down into my body. The sharpness that I'd been suffering from was dulling. Instead, a cooling current swept through me and seemed to carry away the sting of the wound completely.

Helen's pressure on my side lessened, and her dark eyebrows drew together. "That's… incredible," she said.

"What?" I asked.

Instead of answering, Helen asked, "How do you feel?"

"Much better, thanks," I said. "The pain's gone. What's in your ointment?" I asked.

"A variety of water-growing plants, as well as water from the Gunnison," Helen explained. Her hazel eyes met mine, and she asked, "Did you know that Vana was said to have infused the Grandbay waters with richness and an abundance of life?"

I shook my head. "I only know the myths about the Dalesbloom Pack," I said, "where I grew up."

She nodded. "Well, you've taken well to the healing magic here, Billie. I think we're all done. Just make sure you rest up over the next few days. No shifting or running for three days at least, okay?"

Thanking her, I pulled the T-shirt back on, and then we left the cabin together. A strange flurry of something was building in my chest. I rubbed my sternum, wondering at this sensation. After Aislin had been so friendly and Muriel so kind, and then Helen healed me and said that I responded to the Grandbay magic, a storm of confusion had begun to take hold.

A strange warmth was gathering in my belly, too, as I thought about the handful of people I'd met here. A sense of belonging seemed to be seeping into my bones. Once again, bewilderment stirred. Because that made no sense, did it? How could I belong here when Gavin had utterly neglected me?

To my dismay, as Helen and I made our way out of the cabin, Gavin came toward us. Helen excused herself and went over to Aislin's cabin. For a moment, I was distracted by the waves of Gavin's dark brown hair and his strong, clean-shaven face in the firelight. The glimmer behind him accentuated the strength in his features. I met his hazel stare with trepidation, wondering why he'd deigned to notice me now after neglecting me all night.

"I've called David," he explained. "He should be here to pick you up soon." And with that, he wandered past me, back toward his cabin. Feeling as if I'd had the breath knocked out of me, I realized that it didn't matter how I felt about the Grandbay Pack … I would never belong here because of Gavin's dislike for me.

I swept my hands down my arms, feeling the coldness of the night on my bare arms.

Damn it.

I realized I'd left Aislin's top in Gavin's living room when I'd gotten dressed after Helen had treated me. David would be bringing his truck, and if Catrina and Colt were with him, it would mean I'd be riding out in the open air. I was definitely going to need the top Aislin had lent me.

So, reluctantly and with a deep breath, I wandered back up to Gavin's cabin door. I knocked, not wanting to startle him or take any liberties.

"Come in," his deep voice resounded from inside.

He stood in the living room, leaning against the huge hardwood mantlepiece.

As I rounded the door, he blinked in surprise.

"Sorry, I left my top," I explained, gesturing to the sofa, where Aislin's running top lay. I went over and shrugged on Aislin's top.

"It fits you well," Gavin commented.

I frowned, wondering why he was even bothering to try to make conversation. "Yeah," I said, "Aislin's more my size than Catrina."

As I met his gaze, he frowned, and I quickly explained, "All my clothes are Catrina's hand-me-downs, so they kinda have a habit of swallowing me because she's such a giant." I realized I'd just criticized his girlfriend and decided not to linger and inflict my company on Gavin anymore. So I made for the door.

But my eyes snagged on the Pack Rules sign by the door, winding over the rules: 1) Be a team player, 2) Wipe your paws, 3) Respect your elders, 4) Follow your nose.

I chuckled, realizing that in between each of the serious ones were fun, tongue-in-cheek rules.

"These are great," I offered Gavin, turning around to face him with a smile.

"My dad's décor choice," he explained. "I always thought them a bit corny."

Great, now he was calling my taste shit. "Well, your dad had a sense of humor," I blurted out before I could stop myself.

He blinked at me, then let out a surprised laugh. His hazel eyes wound past me, brushing the Pack Rules sign fondly. The first soft smile I'd ever seen suffused his face. "That he did."

A prickle of warmth wound through my chest, and I both wished that I hadn't made Gavin smile like that and that I could make him smile like that again. Objectively speaking, Gavin, with his strong features, clean-shaven jaw, and dark brown hair and eyes, was handsome. But when he smiled, he was the most mind-blowingly gorgeous.

His hazel eyes landed on me, and my breath caught in my throat as a glimmer of warmth swam in them. It wasn't the heady desire I'd seen in them in the Moondream. But I was almost certain that they were alight with amusement and friendliness as they took me in.

Just then, a knock sounded on the door. A streak of black hair and then a flash of cold blue seemed to freeze the air in my lungs.

"So, you've been running amok, have you?" David growled as he entered the cabin. "Get in the car," he ordered as he strode into the cabin, his presence banishing all of the magic I'd sworn had been building in me … and, perhaps, in Gavin.

That less than feeling shot right through my chest. Like a bad dog, I stalked past him, dismissed. I fought to keep calm as I passed Catrina's hateful blue eyes that sparkled with glee as she thrilled at witnessing me being set down.

Colt fell into step beside me, his kind eyes searching. "Are you all right? Gavin told Dad that you'd been injured."

My stomach twisted with guilt as I thought of the promise I'd made to Colt and broken by going out alone in the woods tonight. I kicked the dust up as we walked toward the truck. My chest deflated as I wondered whether Colt would be mad at me, too.

"I didn't mean to go out, Colt, I swear." I exhaled heavily. "I lost control of my wolf." I sighed. "Then, she took off before I could stop her."

But I shouldn't have been worried because he drew my chin up and looked me in the eye. "None of that matters as long as you're okay."

He pulled me into a hug, and I told myself that everything would be okay because I still had the only friend I'd ever needed.