Page 34 of The Alpha's Shattered Bonds

“Yeah, it’s looking good,” I replied, masking the turmoil that churned within. I’d been immersing myself in as many of the pack’s manual labor tasks as I could lately—throwing myself into training and physical tasks to keep my mind occupied. I aimed to feel stronger, to push through the bite in my chest that accompanied memories of Seraphina.

Ever since I learned she had a new fated mate, I had felt like a ghost in my own life. Memories of Logan intruded, his youthful sturdiness and protective brown eyes imprinted in my mind. After all, Seraphina was thirteen years my junior. Wasn’t the youthful twenty-something Logan much better suited for her?

Determined to ignore those thoughts, I hefted another block, muscles aching but my resolve unwavering. The pack buzzed around me, bright and full of life now that all the packmates had been healed. We were all catching up with various bits of maintenance that had fallen by the wayside during the illness that had afflicted us. With the patrols now back to full strength,there was spare time to get these jobs done. Yet, amid the pack’s light-hearted camaraderie, I felt emptier than ever.

“They’re almost done on the painting,” Justin said casually, interrupting my reverie. “The west ones will be done in a couple more weeks, ready for fall.”

The west houses of Nahachoh were where Logan’s house lay. What I’d been trying to suppress lately whirled through my mind—an image of Seraphina leaving my house and moving in with Logan. My heart sank at the thought of what the passage of time must bring, and fall’s approach had never seemed so bitter.

A sudden urge to rush home surged through me, to capture every moment with her while I still could. But the weight of her previous words echoed in my mind:“I need to talk to Logan. Alone.”She had chosen him now, and I felt the sting of that reality, a reminder of my own shortcomings that had led us to this moment.

It was my fault. I was the one who had stood beside Linda when Seraphina loved me. The memory of that night replayed endlessly, tormenting me. I remembered how I had kissed Seraphina in the infirmary’s supply closet more recently, and how it had felt right, so much so that I had thought the bond we’d once shared had been reignited. Yet now? That bond was gone.

Letting fate take its course was right, but watching Seraphina and Logan grow closer was something I couldn’t bear to witness. I knew from Justin’s reports that Logan was with Seraphina whenever he wasn’t on duty. I knew, too, that he’d insisted Tara was with her otherwise. I didn’t need to worry about Seraphinanot being protected without me there, but still, I longed to be the one at her side. Swiping a hand down my face, I remembered with incredulity howIhad ordered him to guard her. My chest squeezed. I couldn’t help feeling as if I’d been a helping hand in fate’s planning, placing Logan beside Seraphina as if I’d helped the Moon goddess in her matchmaking.

That was why it was more important than ever to stay away from her. Consequently, despite living under the same roof at the moment, I’d been slipping out with the dawn and not returning until late.

So, I channeled my heartache into the investigation, knowing that helping clear her parents’ names was my best contribution to her happiness. I worked tirelessly, and I recently uncovered a vital lead: the first infected had assisted in the infirmary briefly before the aides returned from summer. I believed the two female packmates who had died from the illness had caught it in the infirmary itself.

The thought unsettled me. Before Seraphina’s arrival, Linda was solely responsible for administering treatment. My relationship with Linda had grown awkward from the fallout of our canceled mate ceremony. Guilt lingered since our breakup, and whenever I met her, I tried to keep it brief and business-like to avoid the undercurrents of our past. Besides, with the way Linda and her father had treated Seraphina recently, I wasn’t looking forward to reaching out. Yet the evidence pointed to an urgent need to investigate further.

I left a note at her house, casually asking her to stop by the Council office. In anticipation of her arrival, I cleared away the sensitive notes I had collected and switched to some standard paperwork.

A knock sounded on my door.

“Come in,” I called out, looking up from the documents I was signing.

“Hi, Tyler,” Linda greeted me in a neutral tone. “I got your note.”

“Yes, please come in.”

She left the door open, and I added, “Would you shut the door, please?”

A flicker of surprise swept across her features, but she obeyed. Since we’d first broken up after Seraphina’s disappearance, there had been two awkward occasions when Linda had visited me here in my office at the Council Chamber, trying to rekindle something that had long since faded. I did my best to suppress the memories of those uncomfortable conversations where I had to rebuff her advances.

“Have a seat,” I said, gesturing to the chair on the other side of my desk. As she settled into it, I asked. “How’s it going? Must be nice to be getting some rest after the craziness of the last few weeks.”

“It is,” she agreed.

Linda, along with the three elders—Elder Darius, Carl, and Tom—were the only ones, aside from myself, with a set of keys to the supplies in our infirmary. To investigate without arousing suspicion, I needed a reason to take a more active role in the infirmary.

“I wanted to check in on how the restocking of supplies is going?” I asked. “We mustn’t get complacent, given how seriously that illness affected us,” I explained.

Her gray gaze took me in seriously. “It’s going fine.” She didn’t hesitate and said smoothly, “Both Kelly and Lauren have been able to get on harvesting duty since the last of the warriors were discharged.”

“Great,” I replied, searching her face for any sign of guilt or nervousness. “I was considering putting more packmates on harvesting duty. Do you think there’s enough storage for more supplies?”

I’d decided to gauge her reactions with talk about supplies. I was pretty certain that the two females must have picked up the illness from the herbs they’d handled in our stocks.

“Sure,” she said easily. “Just give me a head’s up when they’re dropping things off, and I can make sure I process the herbs and store them correctly.”

“Will do,” I said. With that settled, I had a reason for why I’d be dropping off supplies. I fully intended to gather said herbs myself and let myself into the infirmary closet for some private investigating. If she came across me doing so, though, I at least had a reason for being there.

She caught me off guard as she asked, “This is nice, Tyler, clearing the air between us. Maybe you can come over for a drink later?”

I must have given her a hesitant look as she quickly added, “Sorry, that was silly. Forget I said anything.” She was already shooting up from her seat, embarrassment coloring her cheeks.

Guilt somersaulted in my stomach. Perhaps it was because of how devastated I was feeling about Seraphina moving on that I listened to that guilt. I hated the idea of the hurt I’d causedLinda. Even though I couldn’t give her what she wanted, maybe itwastime to clear the air between us.

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