Other than that, life was fantastic.
She was only five minutes into nursing Lyssa when she received a text from Ken.
Are you busy?
She didn’t like the way her hackles perked up, and not in a sexy-funtime way, either.
Just started nursing L. I’m over at Asia’s. Why?
He took about a minute to reply.
When you’re finished, can you come over to Peyton’s? Pack business. No rush.
That should have relaxed her, but it didn’t.
Because it sounded a little too casual, and she couldn’t explain why. She replied.
Can we discuss it on the phone?
She fought the urge to nervously tap her foot while awaiting his response.
Needs to be in person. Whenever you’re done.
She took a moment to scroll through her texts. She’d muted her alerts earlier that morning during her visits, but a few—like Ken, Peyton, Trent, and others—would ring through regardless.
No response from Peyton to a text she’d sent earlier that morning to see if he had a status report for her.
Hmm. She texted Ken.
Asia offered to watch L after I’m done nursing, so I can take a nap. Or should I bring her with me?
Another interminable wait for his reply.
No, you can leave her. I’m bogged down right now.
Dewi wished she could reach through the phone and grab hold of him and figure out what the heck was going on. At this rate, next door felt like the next planet over.
“What’s wrong?” Asia asked.
Dewi glanced in Tamsin’s direction before looking at Asia. “Guess they want to talk pack business with me, too,” she said.
Asia tried and failed to hide the dark cloud that briefly flitted through her expression. At least where Dewi was concerned, although Tamsin probably didn’t notice. Still, this close to the other woman and knowing her the way she did, Dewi felt her confusion and growing concern.
Asia nodded, casting a knowing glance to Tamsin and then back to Dewi, her meaning clear.
Dewi sat close enough to her that she could reach out with her free hand and touch Asia’s hand. “Keep her here, please, until I find out what’s going on.”
Asia nodded.
At least one thing comforted Dewi—her sister-in-law was also uncomfortably troubled by this casually non-committal “pack business” excuse suddenly being employed twice in a short amount of time without any further clues being dropped as to the nature.
Less than an hour later, Lyssa had finished, Asia happily took her back to handle the diaper change, and then Asia shooed Dewi next door. Dewi slipped out Asia’s back door and fought the urge to run across the backyard to Peyton’s.
The past and present merged as she quickly strode the once-familiar path and she remembered countless times as a kid running back and forth between the houses. She was still a kid herself with a few years of childhood ahead of her and she remembered when Charles was born, thinking of him more as a cousin than a nephew. Then Kent.
Then her childhood effectively ended one evening when, at dinner at Peyton’s house, he’d said something any adult might say to a child about finishing their food—she couldn’t even remember what it was now—and she’d instinctively bared her teeth and growled at him.
Just for Badger’s hand to literally shoot out and snatch her by the scruff of the neck from where he’d sat next to her, shaking her—hard enough to rattle her teeth—as the full force of his Prime poured into her.
