Page 82 of Wolf Roulette

The tribe weren’t immune to cute. Curious. “It is. I need to let his mother know where he is.”

She hurried off, and I carted the quiet pup to the kitchen.

I patiently answered the same questions from the stewards there, then looked at Axel. “Tell me what happened.”

He lowered his gaze, whining.

“I missed you, too, big pup, but you could have been hurt coming so far by yourself. There’s a reason we stay with our parents for a while, and that’s because they’ve lived longer and know more about staying safe.”

The pup emitted a pathetic howl, and the kitchen staffaww’d.

Axel’s tale wagged.

He’s almost cute,Booker said begrudgingly.

I wasn’t winning this conversation.

“Is he hungry?” Detta asked.

I glanced at the cook. “He’s a growing Luther. The answer will always be yes, but he’ll need to shift to eat at the table.”

Axel wasted no time doing so.

I arranged the towels around him, then accepted my phone from Randi.

Detta set a muffin in front of Axel as I dialled Evelyn.

She answered immediately, “Andie. Is everything okay?”

There was a frantic undercurrent to her voice. No wonder. “Searching for someone?”

The line went silent. “Axel is there?”

“He is. Safe but tired.”

I listened to her shout the news.

“Thank goodness,” she breathed. “He’s been gone hours.”

Well, he’d had a long road to travel and only little legs to walk it. “I grant the pack permission to collect him without penalty in Grids.”

She hesitated. “And what about Axel’s unsanctioned visit?”

Yes, that.

We currently held three penalty points against them. This could give us another point. “There won’t be a penalty. I made a promise to the women and children, and that doesn’t come with ties.”

“On behalf of Sascha, thank you.”

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from asking about him. “No problem.”

“Sascha is okay. Tired and stressed, but he’s putting food in his mouth.”

Tears stung my eyes, and I blinked them away—too aware of the kitchen staff. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“A few women have left to collect Axel. They shouldn’t be long.”

“No rush. He’s enjoying being spoiled by pretty much everyone.” I hung up.

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