“It’s no wonder she was upset. We should get her mace. And a taser,” Charm mutters.
Cato laughs darkly.
I give him a look before saying, “Tasing a patient isn’t the first line of defense, as you well know. I can suggest she keep some sedatives on her person in case she can’t get to her bag. So, while I’m nothappythat Hestia was briefly overpowered, I’m confident in her skills and how she resolved things. If she’d asked for help, of course I would have sent one of you down after her.”
We’re silent for a while, the only sounds the crackling of logs in the fireplace and clinkingof ice.
“Obviously I wish we could have prevented that alpha from scaring her. That’s not our job though. Rescuers need to be able to handle themselves,” I say eventually.
I’m not sure if I’m voicing that for their benefit or my own.
Several of them murmur agreement, but my packmates seem just as lost in their own thoughts.
Our bonds are closed off more than usual, and I can’t read their deeper feelings. I only get a general sense of anger, turmoil, upset. I won’t know where those feelings are directed unless I go looking, and it would be rude to intrude when they’re shutting me out.
My job as team lead is to protect everyone, which includes making sure they can take care of themselves. I did that today.
So why do I feel like I failed her.
I stifle a growl and finish my drink.
Despite my pep talk at dinner, I’m struggling with having an omega on our team. I’ve never felt this protective over one of our trainees, and I can only assume my packmates are grappling with the same thing. But we won’t put that on her, it’s our problem to deal with.
I won’t allow anything to destroy Hestia’s career, especially my alpha’s urges.
I pretend I can’t smell the subtle fruity scent leading to her as I go up to my room that night.
Chapter 11
Hestia
After coming to terms with my first emergency call, everything has gone smoothly as I settle into life at the station.
I’m learning a lot under the guidance of my teammates, helping with their routine activities and answering emergency calls. Nothing has been as precarious as that first day, so I’ve built up my confidence again in dealing with patients.
And if Iwasstill worried, I found a shiny new taser and mace tucked into my work bag. I don’t plan to use them though. I know Silas had no ill intentions, he was just hurt and scared. I can handle that. But if I ever come across someone with bad intentions, I’m covered.
We heard from the rangers that investigated The Hole. It turned out to be a shaft to some old mining tunnels that weren’t registered with the county like they should have been. They’re on file now, and the entrances have been covered with secure doors.
With that mystery solved, all that remains to be seen is if I can learn to use the hiss on command.
And the answer is—no. I can’t.
At least so far.
I read everything I could find about the ability, every report and study. There’s so little information about it, which isn’t surprising given the odds of using it are less than 0.01%.
I presumed that since I did it once, it’s possible to do it again. I hoped to develop my hiss enough that I could use it as a last resort.
I experimented for days. Charm caught me one time, red-faced and staring at a bookshelf. I’m not sure why I was using the library as my testing ground, it’s not like the hiss extends to inanimate objects. I was trying to conjure the feeling of pushing my thoughts outward though, and that setting made the most sense.
After I explained what I was doing, Charm politely didn’t laugh at my experiment technique and offered himself up as my test subject. I was worried about doing a live trial, but he assured me it was safe.
Those tests didn’t fare any better.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t convince him to even twitch a finger. Charm was a good sport about it, sitting quietly sometimes for hours at a time while I stared at him and tried to connect my mind to his. He even coached me on how bonds work, since he has experience with that aspect.
At least it was a pleasant change of pace. Charm’s face is much nicer to look at than book spines (sorry, books).
