Page 47 of Wolf Promise

Laney entered the kitchen and stopped when she saw Bolt. Before she could turn and escape, he blurted out, “Please, just tell me how she’s doing.”

His alpha’s True Mate sighed and joined him at the table. “Her grandfather is dying, and she’s dealing with that, plus all the complex emotions about the fact that he killed her parents and planned to sacrifice her too. How do you think she’s doing, Dumbass?”

Hearing how much Regie must be hurting made his chest ache for her. “I could help her. If she’d only let me see her, I know I could help.”

“Look,” Laney said. “I know you’re hurting too. And I know your history with your brother is the reason why you acted like an asshole about her powers.” He opened his mouth to explain about Arrow, but she stopped him by holding up her hand. “It’s a reason, but not an excuse. I mean, you turn into a wolf and she accepted that without issue. Where the hell do you come off complaining about her powers?”

“I overreacted, I?—”

She spoke over him. “Okay, fine. I’m reacting as a witch here. I’m taking your behavior personally. But either way, right now, the best you can do is not complicate things for her further. Let this be about her and not about you.”

He frowned. “It is about her. I want to help her.”

“No. You want to feel better by helping her.”

“How is that bad?”

“You’re making it about you and how you feel when it should be all about her.” Okay, he could kind of see Laney’s point, but before he could tell her, she continued, “I’m working with her to channel her powers into alleviating her grandfather’s pain.”

“You two can cure him?”

Laney shook her head. “Despite all the things the evil bastard has done to Regie, she’s willing to sacrifice herself and drain herself to the point of death to help him.” Bolt’s chair scraped against the floor as he stood, but Laney put her hand on his arm, pulling him back down. “I’ve explained that no amount of magic is going to help her grandfather. You can’t cheat death. She’s coming to terms with it.”

“What can I do to help her? If I can’t see her, how can I make things better for her?”

“Her whole world has turned upside down. All her life, she’s thought of her powers as evil. Something that could only wreak havoc and bring death. She needs time to adjust to this new normal.”

Bolt had to look away from Laney. He had told Regie straight out that he thought of her as evil. And that happened shortly after he’d given her pretty words about wanting to explore the feelings they had for each other. He truly was an asshole. “What is her new normal going to be like?” Could he ever be a part of it? He wanted to with all of his heart.

“Her powers are extraordinary. They can manipulate the human body in ways I’ve never seen before. She’s a very gifted healer. Thanks to her, Bayden is recovering faster than even with the Viking doctor’s help. And she, by the way, is also a witch, so I appreciate it if you don’t throw your notions about evil witchcraft in her face, too.”

Bolt flinched. “I deserved that.”

“Yeah, you do. I know you have this hang-up about losing your brother to witchcraft, but seriously, get over looking at everything in black and white. There are bad witches, but also good witches. Just like there are good shifters and bad shifters.”

Arek chose that moment to enter the kitchen. “Explaining the world to our simple-minded friend, Bolt, again?” He leaned down to kiss his mate.

Laney beamed up at him. “He’s a little slow on the uptake, so it bears repeating.”

“I’m sitting right here.” He turned to his alpha. “Why didn’t you tell me Regie came here to help Bayden?”

Arek shrugged. “She’s made it very clear she doesn’t want to see you.”

He looked between his alpha and the alpha’s True Mate. “Help me fix this. What can I do?”

“Give her time,” Laney said.

“And then grovel,” Arek added. “That worked for me.” He leaned down and kissed Laney deeply. She hummed deep in her throat.

Bolt left the kitchen before he had to watch anymore.

Right, time. I can give her that.

And grovel. I can do that.

His wolf chuffed in disbelief.

Bolt told it to fuck off.

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