Page 77 of Haunted By the Shadow of Death

“If by ‘a hand,’ you mean ‘orchestrated the death of most of my kind’? Then yes. That’s true as well.” I had a lot more to add on that if she pushed the subject. Her kind, which she’d thought so superior, had nearly wiped out my race and then looked down upon me. At this point, I was hoping she’d give me an excuse to lay into her further.

She didn’t. She dropped her head, nodding and then mumbling something.

“What did you say?” I asked.

Kicks, who’d been standing silently beside the table, reached over and grabbed my hand. “She apologized,” he said.

I’d heard him clearly but didn’t believe the words he’d said. “What?”

“I’m sorry,” the woman said loudly.

I turned to see her looking at me with an open expression that looked genuine.

Now I was speechless.

“I judged you as unworthy,” she said. “I thought you were a plague on our pack, and I was wrong. You were purging the evil from our ranks, strengthening us.”

I still couldn’t seem to find my words as Kicks squeezed my hand. I ran my eyes over the rest of the pack. As if they understood my shock, several of them nodded, and there were murmurs of thanks through the group.

“Thank you for returning to us,” another woman said.

There were nods and more murmurs of thanks.

I nodded back, still dumbfounded. I hadn’t known what to expect, but this wasn’t it.

I turned, and Kicks lifted me off the table. He took my hand, leading me toward the cabin.

He shut the door and then leaned against it, staring at me.

“Did you mean all that?” he asked.

“Every word. This is your home, and I don’t want you to lose that.” If I still had one, I’d be holding on for dear life.

“Every time I think I can’t be more amazed by you, I am.”

He stared at me as if I were truly something phenomenal. I dropped my gaze to the floor.

“What?” he said. “You just stared down a pack you used to be afraid to walk among, but you can’t face a couple compliments?”

“I’m not amazing. I’m just doing what has to be done,” I said.

I didn’t want to be cold to him. I had to be. We both knew what was coming, and his joking wouldn’t make it easier in the end.

“If you don’t mind, I could use a few minutes,” I said, walking toward the bedroom.

He stayed there, leaning against the door, his disappointment so thick it nearly broke me. As brave as he thought I was, I rushed to the bedroom and shut the door so I didn’t break in front of him.

Chapter Thirty

The pack stared at me as I walked to the river, one of my favorite spots to relax. We’d been back a month, but the weather was still frigid. It didn’t bother me as I took off my boots and dipped my feet in the water. I’d listen to the birds sing while the pack stared and whispered.

Things were different now. Gone were the days I’d hide. The day after we returned, there was an exodus of about ten percent of the pack. My speech had hit home, and the members who disliked me fled. The ones left probably didn’t hold any ill will toward me, but they kept their distance. I was like a god among them that they didn’t quite know how to approach. I was okay with that.

They gave me my space, and I didn’t encourage them to come any closer, not while I still didn’t know what I’d become. There was no sense in forming more relationships with these people when I didn’t know how long I’d be here. Even Evangeline and Buddie seemed hesitant, as if waiting for some cue from me on how to proceed. I couldn’t give them something when I didn’t know myself. Rastin still insisted on seeking me out whenever he could, as if bludgeoning me with his talks would somehow make me go back to normal.

Charlie waved to me from where he was playing with the kids. I waved back. He could sense the change in me too, although he seemed more willing to accept it.

Just last week he’d asked, “Why do you seem different?”

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