The other one chuckled. “Wonder how they work out the schedule.”
Snickering followed and the word“rotation”floated over, then more laughter.
My clipboard hit the workbench. Both heads snapped toward me. I walked to them slowly. “Something funny?”
The first one’s smirk faltered. “Cap. We were just talking.”
“I heard.” I stopped at their table. “Here’s the thing. I don’t give a shit what you think about my personal life. But that woman lost everything in a fire. She’s got a violent ex still out there, and she’s trying to put her life back together.”
I let the silence stretch, holding his gaze until he looked away first.
“You’ve worked with me for two years,” I said quietly. “In all that time, have I ever struck you as someone you want to have a problem with?”
The smirk was fully gone now. “No, Cap.”
“Then we don’t have a problem. Do we?”
“No. We’re good.”
There was movement behind me. Solomon had drifted over from the lockers, pulling on his work gloves. He flexed his fingers, adjusting the fit, the leather creaking softly. Never once looked at the veterans but they were already watching him.
Percy leaned against the engine bay door, arms crossed. “You two look a little pale. Feeling alright?”
They cleared out fast and nearly knocked over a chair in the process.
Percy claimed one of their abandoned seats. “That was restrained of you.”
“Had to be a bit professional.”
Solomon sighed. “The whole station’s talking. By tonight, so is the whole town.”
I nodded, but my jaw ached from clenching.
Humans. They’d never understand what a mate bond meant. Couldn’t even begin to grasp it. This is why they spend their short, miserable lives chasing connections they might never find.
Idiots.Every last one of them.
I shoved the irritation down. Their ignorance wasn’t the problem. Their mouths I could handle but now, I had a different concern.
“Word travels fast in small towns,” I said. “Won’t take long before it reaches the wrong ears.”
Percy’s posture shifted. “Hudson.”
“About time he comes out of hiding.” Solomon’s voice was flat.
Percy’s eyes darkened. “And when he surfaces...”
I finished his thought and met their gaze. “It’ll be his mistake.”
***
The cabin was quiet when I returned mid-afternoon. Solomon had gone into town, checking for signs of Hudson and following up with the police. Percy was at the station finishing his shift.
My office door was open.
I heard her before I saw her. The soft rustle of pages turning, the creak of my chair under a weight it wasn’t used to. Someone was in my space, touching my things, and my wolf’s hackles rose before my brain could catch up.
She was tracing the Lytopian script on the page with her fingertip, trying to decode it through sheer force of will.
