Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

T he wolf chased the old man through the house. He wouldn't hurt him because that would hurt their mate. But he could still tease and scare the prey, especially since it had hurt his mate.

The rest of the pack would arrive soon and help with the capture. The wolf knew this, because when he walked on two legs, he carried a small black thing in his pocket that would tell the others their location. But he also felt his brothers and sister getting nearer through the pack bond. The connection they had with their brothers and sisters flowed stronger when he ran on four legs.

A lot of things worked better when they could be a wolf. He saw right and wrong clearer and knew evil from good better. The man had wronged their mate by hurting her with words.

Called her evil .

He huffed his displeasure at the two-legged part of him. Sometimes, the human behaved as stupidly as a pup. He projected this to their alpha, as well as in the direction he chased the old man.

Their prey ran down the stairs and through rooms filled with useless things. The wolf growled when they passed dead animal heads, looking at him with unnatural eyes. They smelled old and musty. He didn't like them.

Why kill if you didn't eat the meat? All the meat. Heads tasted good, especially the brains.

The old man left the building and ran outside, where the rest of the wolf's pack waited in their two-legged forms. The other lieutenant secured the prey, and the wolf yipped its approval. He also snapped his teeth a few times close to the old man's face to scare him. That was for hurting their mate.

The wolf's human side wanted control, but the wolf wanted to run on four legs longer. He protected their mate better this way. Their two-legged shape messed everything up.

They struggled for control over their body until the alpha ordered the wolf to stand down. He huffed his displeasure but had to allow the two-legged side to come forward. No wolf could ignore the direct command from the alpha.

"Fucking hell," Bolt said, shaking himself. "The wolf wouldn't give up control. "

Arek gave him a long look. "He thinks you mess up with your mate too much when you're in human form."

"What the fuck does that mean? And how do you know?"

The alpha shrugged. "When you're in wolf form, I can sometimes experience your animal's thoughts and emotions through the pack bond."

"Just mine or everyone's?" Bolt didn't feel comfortable with someone inside his head, even if it was Arek, with whom he'd trust his life.

"Everyone's. Some better than others, but in this case, your wolf actively broadcasted them to me. He thinks you're an idiot." Arek grinned. "And you already know that Regie is your True Mate, so I don't have to tell you that part."

"She's a witch," Bolt said.

"Laney told me," Arek replied.

"What the fuck? Why didn't she tell me?"

"Probably because you'd fuck it all up, just like your wolf thinks you did." Bolt chose to ignore his alpha's opinions on that front and instead watched Justice leading Regie's grandfather to one of the pack's SUVs. The old man ranted and raved about how he'd sue them all.

Regie stood in the open front door, watching it all. Bolt took a step toward her, but she stepped back, shaking her head .

His True Mate just rejected him.

And with good reason.

Laney ran up to Regie and put her arm around her. The blonde woman leaned against Arek's mate, and the two of them whispered together. Laney led Regie back inside the house and threw Bolt a dirty look as she closed the front door.

No longer being able to see Regie caused a physical ache in his heart. He knew he'd fucked things up with her, but she hadn't told him about being a witch.

He couldn't believe that his True Mate was a witch.

Surely the universe wasn't that fucked up.

"What are we going to do with the old man?" he asked Arek as he watched Justice drive off with Regie's grandfather.

"That's up to Ms. Lansford," Arek replied. "A lot of things are up to her right now. She's the client." He threw Bolt a look and walked toward the house. "Get some clothes on and get back to the Pack House."

Three weeks had gone by, and Regie still didn't want to see him.

He'd called.

He'd texted .

He'd emailed.

He'd gone to her apartment complex, where the concierge wouldn't even let him access the elevator.

In desperation, he'd even called Payel to make an appointment. The woman had informed him she no longer worked as Regie's assistant and then declared Bolt a major asshole before hanging up on him.

Tell him something else he already knew.

Bolt looked at the sandwich he'd made himself, and he no longer felt like eating. His wolf scrunched up its nose and sent him an image of them chasing and catching rabbits. But raw meat made Bolt's stomach turn even more than the sandwich. He'd lost most of his appetite when Regie stopped talking to him.

Laney entered the kitchen and stopped when she saw Bolt. Before she could turn and escape, he blurted out, "Please, just tell me how she's doing."

His alpha's True Mate sighed and joined him at the table. "Her grandfather is dying, and she's dealing with that, plus all the complex emotions about the fact that he killed her parents and planned to sacrifice her too. How do you think she's doing, Dumbass?"

Hearing how much Regie must be hurting made his chest ache for her. "I could help her. If she'd only let me see her, I know I could help. "

"Look," Laney said. "I know you're hurting too. And I know your history with your brother is the reason why you acted like an asshole about her powers." He opened his mouth to explain about Arrow, but she stopped him by holding up her hand. "It's a reason, but not an excuse. I mean, you turn into a wolf and she accepted that without issue. Where the hell do you come off complaining about her powers?"

"I overreacted, I?—"

She spoke over him. "Okay, fine. I'm reacting as a witch here. I'm taking your behavior personally. But either way, right now, the best you can do is not complicate things for her further. Let this be about her and not about you."

He frowned. "It is about her. I want to help her."

"No. You want to feel better by helping her."

"How is that bad?"

"You're making it about you and how you feel when it should be all about her." Okay, he could kind of see Laney's point, but before he could tell her, she continued, "I'm working with her to channel her powers into alleviating her grandfather's pain."

"You two can cure him?"

Laney shook her head. "Despite all the things the evil bastard has done to Regie, she's willing to sacrifice herself and drain herself to the point of death to help him." Bolt's chair scraped against the floor as he stood, but Laney put her hand on his arm, pulling him back down. "I've explained that no amount of magic is going to help her grandfather. You can't cheat death. She's coming to terms with it."

"What can I do to help her? If I can't see her, how can I make things better for her?"

"Her whole world has turned upside down. All her life, she's thought of her powers as evil. Something that could only wreak havoc and bring death. She needs time to adjust to this new normal."

Bolt had to look away from Laney. He had told Regie straight out that he thought of her as evil. And that happened shortly after he'd given her pretty words about wanting to explore the feelings they had for each other. He truly was an asshole. "What is her new normal going to be like?" Could he ever be a part of it? He wanted to with all of his heart.

"Her powers are extraordinary. They can manipulate the human body in ways I've never seen before. She's a very gifted healer. Thanks to her, Bayden is recovering faster than even with the Viking doctor's help. And she, by the way, is also a witch, so I appreciate it if you don't throw your notions about evil witchcraft in her face, too."

Bolt flinched. "I deserved that."

"Yeah, you do. I know you have this hang-up about losing your brother to witchcraft, but seriously, get over looking at everything in black and white. There are bad witches, but also good witches. Just like there are good shifters and bad shifters."

Arek chose that moment to enter the kitchen. "Explaining the world to our simple-minded friend, Bolt, again?" He leaned down to kiss his mate.

Laney beamed up at him. "He's a little slow on the uptake, so it bears repeating."

"I'm sitting right here." He turned to his alpha. "Why didn't you tell me Regie came here to help Bayden?"

Arek shrugged. "She's made it very clear she doesn't want to see you."

He looked between his alpha and the alpha's True Mate. "Help me fix this. What can I do?"

"Give her time," Laney said.

"And then grovel," Arek added. "That worked for me." He leaned down and kissed Laney deeply. She hummed deep in her throat.

Bolt left the kitchen before he had to watch anymore.

Right, time. I can give her that.

And grovel . I can do that.

His wolf chuffed in disbelief.

Bolt told it to fuck off.