Page 108 of Empowering the Wolf's Heart

And I only hoped that Rey was truly the one who had taken them. If not, I didn’t know what I’d do.

Markus had furrows in his stormy brows, but he bowed and ran to do as I bid.

“Mom, go be with Anna, alright? I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Mom gave me a quick hug and darted off. I took a seat in a tent corner, leaning my head on my hands.

Fen, Doc’s son, walked out from helping with a patient. We ran a skeleton crew at night, and he was in charge when Doc was asleep. Most of the creatures had tapered off in the last few days with less and lessneedscoming in.

I straightened, but he waved at me to remain where I was as he walked over.

“What can I help you with, Miss Alia?”

I stared at him. I had been avoiding him for a long while—mostly because of guilt. It was in my mind to kill him that day, to take out Hood until I found out Hood was Shen. And my mind still asked: would I have killed Fen if I had found him and not Shen that day?

I didn’t know. And that scared me.

“I almost killed you,” I said.

He got down on a knee before where I sat and studied my face. “I know.” His blue eyes were wracked with turmoil.

I shook my head. “No, you don’t know. If I hadn’t found Shen that night?—”

“Luna, Iknow.”

My eyes darted to his. “But you came here anyway? To the place where we tortured you for years?” I whispered, my throat tightening at the pain we’d caused him.

A tiny smile tipped his lips. “You brought me food and water. You tended my wounds?—”

“After I had made them?—”

“You were a child. So was I. We made mistakes. If I had escaped the day after you took me, you would be dead. But life isn’t about what was and what didn’t occur, now is it?”

I shook my head. “Why didn’t you tell me you weren’t Hood?” I whispered.

“I wouldn’t throw Shen under the dragon, Miss Alia. If it took you believing I was Hood for him to find happiness after the torment his own mother subjected him to, then so be it.”

I set a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes and leaned into my palm. “You deserve happiness after the torment you’ve been through, too, Fen.”

His head fell to his chest and he took a deep breath. I let my hand drop. When he looked back up, a smile was on his face. The one I suspected he wore as a mask. “What can I do to help ease your burden, Miss Alia?”

As I studied him, I realized Shen had so many people who loved him—likely more than Shen himself knew. That made me smile. I just hoped Fen could find his soulmate and his happiness.

I sighed, rubbing my forehead where a headache grew. “Can you make sure my mom makes it safely home? She sometimes passes out from stress.”

He smiled. It was gentle and more real than any of his flirty ones he sent to nearly every female alive. “It would be my honor, Miss Alia.”

“Thanks.”

He bowed and made his way out.

I leaned my head on my hands. My heart was beating out of my chest and my skin was cold and clammy. What would I do if it wasn’t Rey who had taken them? I had so many enemies?—

“Hello, Mistress Alia,” Elder Timone said, stepping from the shadows of the tent. “You called for me?”

I glanced up at him, straightening. “Yes, Elder. I have a question. What do the laws say of a man who verbally abuses his wife?”

Elder Timone rubbed his forefinger and thumb down his beard. “Have there been any actual bruises? And is this about your sister? You know, your mother brought concerns to me long ago, but we went to interview them both and there was nothing to be proven. If anything, it was your sister who was running your brother-by-binding.” he said with a small, placating smile.

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