“I got your icepack.” Nate nodded to the dishtowel-wrapped cold pack he’d left on the island.
I pressed my lips together before muttering a, “Thank you.” I really hoped their silence wasn’t because of me. I set down my coffee to grab a bowl and ladle in some refried beans. I plopped a spoon inside, then climbed onto a chair and shoved the icepack against the side of my leg. “Has she shifted back yet?”
Nate stretched his neck from side to side, eliciting a series of little pops. “Not yet. Doc’s administering a higher dose of Sillin. He’ll call us the moment she’s back in skin.”
I poured myself a glass of water. “And the attacker?”
Nate stared out the window over the sink, at the pond shimmering like foil in the heart of the valley. “Trackers are following a few different leads, but there are a lot of scents and treads in the area. I fear we won’t make much headway until the halfwolf can talk.”
“How likely is it that the attack came from the pack?”
Liam put down his own coffee. “We’re still leaning toward a rogue but not excluding Boulders.”
A knock at the door had my gaze wandering toward the foyer. Frowning, Nate got down from his chair to see who was there.
“Probably should’ve done that this morning,” Liam said, tipping his head to the front door.
“It could’ve been worse.”
His eyebrows gathered.
“You could’ve walked in thirty seconds later and gotten a full frontal.”
He didn’t smile, my flavor of self-deprecating humor apparently not his thing, but then I noticed his attention traveling over my shoulder, and I glanced behind me. No one was darkening the doorway.
“She’s fine,” I heard Nate say.
Had someone spotted my disgraceful excursion through the compound?
“Can I see her at least?”
My good mood wilted at the sound of Grant’s voice.
“She’s resting,” Nate said. “How about you give her a call later? If she wants to talk to you, she’ll pick up.”
When the door clicked shut, and Nate returned, Grant-free, I mouthed,Thank you.
The day Grant broke up with me in my hospital room, he became persona non grata at the Freemonts. Even Niall, who used to be close with him, distanced himself.
Nate’s phone rattled on the island. He picked up. Listened. “Up the dosage, then.” He grabbed his car keys. “I’ll be right there.”
Liam watched my brother stash away his cell phone. When Nate shook his head, I assumed that a question had been answered.
I set my spoon down. “What’s happening?”
“She’s not shifting back,” Nate said, “yet Darren says he pumped her with enough Sillin to eradicate her wolf gene.”
I knew it was a figure of speech. Sillin thankfully couldn’t alter our genome. “Maybe the one he used expired?”
“Maybe. I’m going to go check it out.” He squeezed my shoulder as he walked past me. “See you at dinner, Pinecone.”
“Or before.”
He frowned. “Before?”
I shrugged. “If she shifts, Liam said I could go help with the interrogation.”
Nate tossed a look Liam’s way. “That’s not a good idea.”
