“We’ll hold a vigil later tonight,” Emma said.
I blinked, trying to hold back my surprise. It was as if she had read my thoughts.
Not quite, I realized.It’s the mating bond.
I squeezed her hand as she turned to face me. “You did a good job,” I said. “Thank you.”
She shrugged, smiling. “I just said what I would have wanted to hear.”
“Thank you,” I repeated.
She glanced around, her forehead creasing as she studied the devastation. “One of us needs to start organizing repairs,” she said. “We also need to take stock of the dead and missing and start planning the vigil.”
“We also need to set up more frequent patrols,” I added. “I’ll need some of my men to handle those.”Probably Sam, I thought.
“Sam’s a good option,” she said, once again seeming to read my mind. “Rachel and I can go through town and start noting what needs fixing and who to include in the vigil.”
I wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you,” I said. “I know how hard it is with Grace right now, but you’re being incredibly strong.”
She nuzzled against me, and my wolf growled in contentment, relieved she was still okay, relieved she was feeling calmer than before.
“We can do this,” she said. Despite the confident tone, I felt a hint of worry through the mating bond, as if she was seeking reassurance.
I squeezed her hand as I pulled her closer toward me.
“We can,” I agreed.
Chapter 24 - Emma
I filled my cup with a third pour of coffee. I hadn’t been able to sleep last night, too filled with worry about Grace and the pack as a whole. The vigil had lasted until midnight, and after that, Elias and I had to convince Grace to learn how to shift into human form, much to her reluctance. At least for the handful of minutes she was awake after shifting back before passing out. I wouldn’t be surprised, though, if she declared she only wanted to be a wolf once she flounced down the stairs after waking up. I’d deal with that when it happened.
“Hey.”
I turned to see Elias standing in the door, his hair mussed, dark bags under his eyes. He’d slept as well as I had, then.
“Hey.” Without him asking, I reached up and grabbed a second mug, pouring coffee up to the brim before holding it out to him.
“How are you doing?” Elias asked as he took the steaming cup of coffee from me, his fingers brushing against mine.
“Honestly? Pissed off,” I said as we both sat at the table.
Elias gave a half-snort into his coffee. “Yeah, I know that feeling.”
After a long pause, Elias looked up at me, his piercing blue eyes boring into me. “You did well last night,” he murmured. “You helped keep the pack calm. I don’t think I could have done it as well without you.”
“When you have a five-year-old, you learn how to calm people down and soothe fears pretty quickly,” I saiddismissively, glancing down at the table to hide the blush crawling up my cheeks.
“It’s not just that,” Elias said. “I mean it. I know a lot of people who consider themselves strong or whatever who wouldn’t have been able to quell things the way you did.” His hand reached out, wrapping around mine, his palm still warm from the coffee as he gave a reassuring squeeze. I glanced up and met his gaze, heart fluttering.
“It just cements my certainty that the Oracle was right about you,” he said. “I couldn’t ask for a better luna.”
I leaned against him for a long moment, taking in his scent as I heaved in a deep breath. I could have stayed like that forever, taking comfort in just being near him. After a moment, though, I slipped my hand out of his. We had other, more important things to deal with. Taking long moments wasn’t a luxury we had, not with the threat of the wraith looming overhead.
“I’ve been thinking,” I said.
“Always a good sign,” he said, cracking a grin.
I gave him a playful glare. “We need to get rid of the sand wraith once and for all,” I said. “Before it does any more damage. But we can’t just wait around for it to attack. We need to bring the fight to it.”
