Page 128 of Wolf Roulette

“You will immediately write an apology letter to the pack for your past violent actions in the grid. You will apologise to our tribe at a Tuesday night gathering for your past actions. That must happen within the next month. So you’re aware, a condition of my return to head stewardship was that no extreme violence against the pack will be tolerated. Another was that there will be no derogatory comments made about my Luther nature. You’re expected to abide by those also. The extreme mentality you inspired is dead, Rhona, and that’s because the overwhelming majority of stewards want to win Grids more than they hate Luthers. That hasn’t been the case with you recently, and while that worries me on a personal level, your attitude is dangerous for my stewards too. I’d like you to attend psychotherapy appointments. There are two psychologists in Deception Valley. One is a member of the public, and one is a member of the tribe. Both assure complete confidentiality—no one else will hear anything from your sessions, including me.” I took a breath. “Otherwise, you’re on grid probation and will not partake in the game until further notice. You’re welcome to attend dawn trainings, of course.”

She barely moved, though I could hear her shallow breaths.

“Any questions?” I asked.

“No.”

I inhaled again.

No decay. Just a deep,deepshame.

ThatI could work with. Or someone else could. Too much had happened between us, and I wasn’t the right person for Rhona anymore.

I nodded. “The tribe is upset about you leaving, but our stewards are loving and open-minded on most issues. Show them that you’re sorry, and they’ll believe you in time. The only way to earn back their respect is to respect them yourself.”

It didn’t escape me that I’d said the same thing to Essie recently. That’s almost how I saw my sister sometimes—as a person who’d stopped feeling years ago and therefore stopped growing. Whether her mother’s diagnosis or her mother’s death had affected her, Rhona had a backlog of grief to process.

And I truly hoped she did.

I stood. “You’re welcome to move back into the manor at any time.”

When I’d walked out of earshot, I released a pent-up breath.

It was done.

Things might always be awkward as shit between us, but I’d opened the door and set my boundaries or whatever.

I entered the meeting room. “Morning. Where are we at with Sandstone preparations?”

Choosing Timber last week was a no-brainer, but we’d bounced between Clay and Sandstone for hours. There were long-term plans for Clay that we had to set up, but with our unemployment situation, going after a grid that we had a reasonable chance to turnover made financial sense.

However, if welostin Sandstone, we’d regret not pressing on with our strategies in Clay.

Phew.

Roderick replied, “The new equipment hasn’t arrived, but as soon as it’s here, Gerry will begin manoeuvre drills with the stewards.”

“The shipment was due yesterday?” I trawled through my folder to find the delivery confirmation.

“Correct. This is a company we haven’t used before.”

I pressed my lips together. “Nothing we can do about that. Let’s focus on some of the other strategies our teams put together. One used the water cannons from Iron. Let’s get the stewards trained in that operation in the interim.”

We’d always used traps on the ground level in Sandstone but had no steward presence there. Yet we had the numbers to dedicate a force to the first level. More focus had to be on preventing and slowing the pack’s climb.

“Stanley, Trixie, is everything prepared for Sandstone stewards to work for the pack on Monday?” I asked.

“The contract is signed,” Stanley replied. “Some of the stewards are nervous, so we’re holding a seminar on how to behave while they’re there and what to do in a worst-case situation. They also need to understand the consequences of their actions to the tribe if tempers get the better of them.”

Trixie added, “I’m working with Leroy and Mandy from the pack. They proposed that for the first week, our stewards can stick to work in one area. Next week, we can begin integrating with the pack to make the most of our different abilities.”

“Great. Please report to me after the first workday and each Friday until Sandstone is back in our possession.”

My mind drifted as the team started working through the most pressing items on our agenda.

Hours remained until meeting Sascha for the new moon.

I’d only gone through one. Booker did so great, but we were both nervous about Sascha and Greyson being around. It was a vulnerable time in some ways. I mean, we were a lethal predator for an entire night, but the new moon was the most out of control a Luther got.

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