“Probably not right now. It’s the middle of the afternoon.” He pauses, then his gaze darkens slightly. “They’re not private though, so don’t go here alone.”
I bite my lip. Actually, that’s exactly what I’d been thinking about doing. Lying around in the hot springs everyday sounds far less miserable than lying around in the tent. Not wanting to make Fox any promises I have no intention of keeping, I change the subject. “What will they do about Kai’s burns? Do they have a healer?”
He nods. “Almost everyone has some basic knowledge of healing—not the way you would do it, but Kai will be fine.”
I think of Fox holding his injured arm until the muscle and skin knit themselves back together and resist the urge to gag. “You heal faster than Fae?”
“Shifters do, yes.”
I take that to mean that he’s somewhere in the middle, being half-Fae. “How long will the burns take to heal?”
He shrugs. “Not sure. Might be healed already, but it takes a lot of energy. No matter what, it will be a few days before Kai is himself again.”
I glance sideways at him. His tone and expression are neutral, but his shoulders are rigid, and there’s just something about the way he’s walking that makes me think he’s upset. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
I bite my lip. “No…it’s definitely something.”
He glances at me, eyebrows lifting slightly. “How can you tell?”
“No idea.” I grin. “So, are you going to tell me?”
Fox’s pale eyes narrow, his gaze sweeping over me. The muscle in his jaw ticks, as though he’s weighing the pros and cons of answering me honestly. “Kai isn’t a natural alpha,” he says finally.
“Why do you say that?”
“It’s just a fact.”
My brow furrows. “Kai seems like a good leader. At least, everyone seems to like him.”
Fox kicks a stone off the path and watches it skitter into the trees. “Being well-liked and being an alpha aren’t the same thing.”
“Sometimes people rise to the occasion if they’re given more responsibility, even if that’s not what they originally envisioned for themselves. Look at Daemon and Alix. Neither of them had any intention of ruling a kingdom, but things have been far better in Vernallis since they took over.”
Fox shakes his head. “It’s not the same. Alphas are dominant from birth, it has nothing to do with who deserves the job. Kai isa beta, which means he’s more dominant than most of the camp, but a real alpha would still overpower him easily.”
“I’ve read about shifter hierarchy before,” I muse. “I didn’t realize it was so rigid. What happens if a beta tries to lead?”
“They can lead a pack temporarily, but once a more dominant shifter is thrown into the pack, everyone will naturally start to look to them for leadership instead. Kai knows that.”
“Would that cause problems?”
“Yes. Without a clear chain of command they’ll lose more soldiers until the camp falls apart.”
I frown. “Well who else is there who could take over?”
Fox takes a long second to answer, and I’m almost sure he’s going to tell me that he could take over as the leader if he wanted to. I don’t know where I got that impression or what that would even mean, but my instinct is that’s what’s really bothering him.
But he doesn’t say that at all.
“Remember the male who brought us here?” Fox asks.
I wrack my brain trying to recall the name of the enormous, bearded man who kept calling me a witch. “Viktor?”
“Yes. He’s a natural alpha.”
“Then why isn’t he in charge?”
