Page 20 of The Broken Wolf's Redemption

She had to be in her seventies, but she was barely wrinkled. She was the poster child for the fountain of youth. Or witchcraft. How exactly had she let Rome’s family know he was here? By the phone, or by telepathy? Carrier pigeon would have been too slow. Bats? Familiars?

Seren had never met a witch before, and she was a little bit awed and intimidated by Brook’s presence even though she was tiny and radiated kindness.

And, okay, so, technically, she might not even be a witch.

“The herbs I’ll give him will take him down for twelve hours, but nothing more than that. He’s a fighter and he’s been carrying some heavy burdens that he’s not willing to set down just yet.” It certainly seemed like Brooke knew everyone better than they knew themselves.

Waverly leapt off Seren’s lap so fast that pins and needles shot through her legs. She hadn’t realized how numb they’d gotten. She tried to stand up and nearly cried out in agony as her feet refused to take a step.

Zora looked up at her, ready to help, but Seren shook her head. She was fine. Especially after what Rome endured. He hadn’t once made a sound. Not even when they put the boneback into place and set his shoulder. She would have screamed the place down.

“We’re pretty similar sizes,” Zora said, eyeing her up. “I can drive back home and get you some clothes. Pajamas and stuff. You probably didn’t get a chance to bring a bag. Rome said you came straight from work to pick him up.”

It was there on everyone’s faces again. Who exactly was she? What did she mean to Rome? That’s what everyone wanted to ask, but they were too polite to do it.

Thank fucking goodness.

She could hardly say that Rome had been a client up until she’d signed her body over to him and now, she was basically a sex slave, minus the sex.

“I didn’t, but I’m fine. Really. You don’t have to do that.”

“Are you going back to the city tomorrow morning?”

Waverly whipped around and studied her pleadingly. How could she just leave when she was the only familiar thing Waverly had here? Rome was in no condition to take care of her. She was five. Seren couldn’t just dump her on strangers. Even if she could, she didn’t want to. She’d moved her clients. Running back to the city would be cowardly.

She scooped Waverly up and hugged her close, her heart melting when the little girl’s arms came around her neck and her head nestled tiredly against her shoulder. “No. I’m staying as long as Rome and Waverly are here. I think he’s planning on going back to the city as soon as he can.”

The thousand other questions didn’t come. Zora just nodded and looked at Kieran. Clearly, there was something on her mind, but she wanted her mate to do the asking. He looked like the type that could sniff out the truth.

Kieran cleared his throat and rubbed one huge hand along the back of his neck. “It’s a full moon tomorrow night. That means we’re doing a pack run. Would you like to join us?”

“Me?” Seren jammed a finger at her chest. Technically, at Waverly’s back, but they got the idea. She nearly looked around to locate the real person he was asking. Surely, it couldn’t be her.

Kieran and Zora both nodded. She whipped her eyes to Rome’s sisters and his parents next, but if they were surprised, they all had insane poker faces. It wasn’t their decision to make. It was the alpha’s.

“But Rome’s been banished,” she started.

“You haven’t,” Zora stated softly. She opened her arms, naturally motherly, and Waverly reached for her. She touched her lightly on the nose. “Neither have you.”

“I’ve never…” Seren cut herself off. They’d think she was pathetic. Doubly so because she was a shitty wolf and a sex slave.

Who enslaved someone and never wanted to touch them? Maybe she was more like a masturbation slave. Meat beating inspiration.

“I didn’t grow up as part of a pack,” she corrected, leaving her thoughts behind and being truthful about this at least. “I’ve never been on a pack run.”

“Oh. That’s great.” Zora let Waverly reach for her long chestnut hair. She started to play with it, twisting the strands to try to make a braid. “Would you like to come too? You could meet your cousins and the rest of your family. Aunts and uncles. Members of the pack. You have so many.”

“Yes!” The little girl looked so animated, but then her face fell. “Except, I can’t shift. I haven’t yet.”

“That’s no problem. You don’t have to run with the wolves. It’s more of an adult thing anyway, at least as far as the full moon goes. You’ll have plenty of company with the other kids. If you’d like. You don’t have to.”

What would Rome think about that? Would Zora even extend the invitation without talking to him? Seren felt like he shouldn’t get to dictate what she did outside the bounds of the contract, but at the same time, it felt incredibly disrespectful not to so much as ask him. He couldn’t participate. He was barred from his own pack and his own family. Out of spite, she should have agreed immediately, but she found that she couldn’t.

She just couldn’t do that to Rome, and not just because he was down and out at the moment. Hurting him made her chest ache like she had the worst indigestion.

She was still hesitating when Brooke stepped in with a large mug in hand. “I have the herbs ready if you’d like to take them to him. Waverly and the rest of you can visit after. They’ll take about thirty minutes to work anyway.”

“Me?” She was asking that question way too many times tonight.

---