“But I—”
“Now.”
Something clicked in the back of my mind as the pieces slowly fell into place. She was an Alpha, and apparently my Alpha, as even her words held more force than her touch ever could. I wanted to ask her what happened. I wanted to ask about Dani, the one whose heart beat in my chest. But as she turned away from me, I knew it wasn’t my place, so I put my head down and kept walking.
Fallen sat outside the office, her full weight pressed into the wall as she rubbed the side of her neck. I offered her a look of apology, but she never said a word. She met my eyes, then averted her gaze again. The strong woman I saw outside Ash’s office was no more, replaced with a reflection of myself, silent and broken.
For a moment, I paused beside Fallen. My heart went out to her, a lump forming in my throat when she refused to look in my direction. In that moment, I knew there was nothing I
could do to take away the pain she so clearly felt in front of me. She was hurting, same as Ash, and now I knew why.
Steeling myself for what was to come, I followed Ash deeper into the manor. The hallway went on forever, a number of doors to either side of it. One lead to a clinic, glass windows overlooking what was probably an operating area. Across from that was a nursery, a handful of pack members holding children in their laps as they drifted off to sleep.
“Fallen was out of line,” Ash said once we were out of earshot of anyone else. “But she isn’t wrong.”
“I didn’t—”
“Of course you did. Any sane wolf inside a new territory would investigate their surroundings, including anything someone else might’ve said.” She paused outside another set of wooden doors, elegant markings carved into the hard fibers.
“She and the rest of the pack can’t match the feelings I have.
When Dani…” She shook her head, dismissing the topic altogether. “You’ll learn all about her in time, but for now, I thought you might be hungry.”
She pushed open one of the doors and smiled, gesturing for me to walk in front of her.
After a bit of hesitation and realizing it wasn’t my place to ask about the one she lost, I walked into one of the most amazing kitchens I’d ever seen. Fresh fruit sat out on a table, followed by an array of breads and pastas which laid out on the counter beside the sink.
“Everything here is for the pack. No wolf has claim over a single thing. If you want to have something special delivered, you can leave your list with me and I’ll see what I can do.”
“What about food allergies?” I asked, running my hand along the counter before rummaging in one of the cabinets for some tea.
“We don’t have them, and if you did, they’ll soon be a distant memory. You’ll find your new appetite is far greater than it used to be. Listen to your body and feed as often as possible. You’ll need your strength.”
“For the next shift?” I asked, glancing back over my shoulder at her.
“And to recover. There will come a time when you won’t need an escort in our home, but until that time comes—”
“I get it. I’m to report back to my cell.”
“I’ve arranged to have some amenities added to it. In the meantime, you can come and go as you please so long as you stay on the property. You might not be able to shift at will or run with the pack, but you can use the trails. Running is the best way to heal for a wolf, even a new one.”
I honestly didn’t feel like running but nodded anyway.
“What about at night?”
“We have an evening gathering behind the house if you wish to attend. If not, there are books in my study you might like to use. They go over our ancestry and may answer some of the questions you have.”
“And you’re trusting me with this knowledge?”
“It’s common knowledge as far as humans are concerned.
Anything of importance is kept elsewhere. The curfew is at ten. This is to make sure we’re heavily guarded as others sleep. You won’t have to worry about it now, but eventually, you’ll sleep with the others in shifts. For now, sleep and eat when you need to and run when you can. It truly helps.”
“And the others? Is there a reason they don’t act like you?”
She wet her lips and dropped her gaze. When she spoke again, her voice was so low I barely heard her. “It’s my job to look after all of the wolves regardless of rank or history. The others have no tie to you and won’t see you as a sister until you’ve come into your wolf. It’ll happen, but you’ll have to give them some time.”
Time. She kept saying that, but I didn’t really have that much time to give.