The night was teeming with possibility, and I was eager to follow them.
“Reed.”
I turned to find Daniel standing a few feet away, just out of earshot of the others. His expression was serious.
“What is it?”
He took a deep breath. “I have to tell you something important. I’ve been holding this back for too long. But I vowed to be honest with you, right?”
Unease prickled at the back of my neck.
“Your problems are the pack’s problems now,” I said, trying to reassure him. “Whatever it is, we’ll handle it together.”
“Lee and Hunter,” Daniel breathed. “They’re not twins.”
That was patently false. I wondered how much beer Lacey had already made him drink. But he didn’t seem drunk at all.
“What do you mean? Of course they are.”
“No.” Daniel sucked in a shuddering breath, his expression abruptly fragile. His voice dropped to a whisper. “They’re the same person. Or… theywere. And it’s my fault they’re this way.” He grimaced. “It was an accident. I split them into two people.”
I wanted to tell him that was ridiculous, but I couldn’t. Instead, the pieces clicked into place with horrible clarity. That’s why Lee and Hunter avoided Daniel. Why there was so much pain in their eyes whenever they looked at him. They’d been one person, and, accident or not, he’d torn them apart.
“I tried, but I couldn’t fix it,” he said, speaking in a rush. “And they were dying. So I brought them here to save their lives. And then I asked Jeremy to turn them, so they would live.” He let out a long breath. “Reed,Idid this to them.”
“Why are you sharing this now?”
“Because I want to put them back. I need to fix this. And I think I’m close to figuring out a spell that might work,” Daniel said, conviction settling across his expression. “It might undo everything, even the wolf bite… because technically, Lee and Hunter became werewolves. The man he was before that didn’t.”
I struggled to keep up. Lee and Hunter were one person. And if Daniel fixed them, it might… what? Undo the wolf bite?
“It’s just a theory. But it might give them another shot at the life they should have had.” He paused, searching my gaze, his eyes luminous under the full moon’s light. “But I want your blessing. And maybe your help.” The look in his eyes turned imploring. “Reed, please. I have to try.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, my mind racing. “You do. Of course you do.”
The warlock’s eyes filled with relief. “Thank you.”
“Daniel?” Lacey’s voice called from across the clearing. She was walking toward us.
“Don’t tell anyone else yet. Please,” Daniel said, dropping his voice. “I’ll figure out how to fix it, but I need time.”
Then he turned and walked away before I could respond, rejoining Lacey with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
The weight of his admission settled over me. If what he was saying was true, there was a good chance at least one of the twins—possibly both of them—was leaving the pack very soon.
I gave myself a mental shake. Tonight wasn’t for this. Tonight was for joy. For belonging. For Daniel finally being accepted as one of us. The rest could wait until tomorrow.
I stripped quickly and let the shift take me. My wolf tore forward, eager and wild, and I took off into the trees after my mate and my pack.
* * *
Racing through the forest on all fours, I found Harris in a clearing a few miles from the commune. His wolf form was massive, with deep brown fur and molten-gold eyes, and he prowled restlessly at the edge of the trees, waiting for me. When he caught my scent, his ears perked up and his tail wagged once.
I shifted back to human, and he followed suit a moment later.
We stood facing each other in the moonlight, both of us naked and breathing a little hard from running we’d been doing. The bond between us hummed with contentment.
“Do you regret it?” I asked quietly, when my breathing evened out. “Any of it?”
