Page 87 of A Wolf's Heart

“Taking care of you is the highest form of thanks I could ever give. What you did for me… I will never be able to repay you,” Rainor said.

I felt like I was missing the magnitude of this, the significance of his being in his wolf form. But it was apparentthis was a normal shifter custom, so I let it go. I let him feed me and treat me like a queen while Weylin grabbed himself some food and sat next to us, turning on the TV and finding a movie, like this was the most normal thing in the world. Eventually, Kage walked in from outside and grabbed some food before sitting with us.

24

LILA

For the rest of the day yesterday, we did nothing. We hung out and watched movies. Weylin and I went over all the notes of the case and set up our next move for later in the week. We still hadn’t heard from Ophidian Pack or the council, even though Rainor had made a formal request for a meeting. I started thinking maybe I should talk to the pack myself.

The fact that everyone was coming at them so strongly might be throwing them off. I wasn’t part of the Cridhe pack and a bit of an outsider, so that might get them to relax a little. Their alpha was missing, and among all the news of the murdered alphas, they must be in a difficult situation right now. I could see why they didn't want other packs on their land at the moment.

I stored that away for later. Right now, I was too busy hiding my face in the laptop, so I didn’t look mopey while Rainor, Kage, and Weylin packed up their stuff.

I hadn’t gone through a wave since the night before. I had pretty much peaked and then just fizzled out. Still, Rainor and Weylin had squeezed into the bed on either side of me, telling me it was just in case. Kage had stayed out on the couch.

There was no reason for them to stay here any longer. Kage had said he was done putting off his clients and his meetings, which I understood. I felt bad he’d put his job on hold for me to begin with. He and Rainor had been talking all morning about what was on the schedule for today, and he sounded booked.

Weylin was going to convene with the teams in person. He had asked me to come with him, but I had to rip off the Band-Aid and go into the office to see Chief Nix. I had to catch up with everything at the precinct, if I still had a job. I mean, technically, I was actively working on a case. I wasn’t sure what Rodney’s problem was.

“Bye,” Rainor said. Kage was already out the door.

I raised my head and gave him a tight smile. “Bye. Thanks again for everything,” I said, as if I was thanking a friend who’d helped me move some boxes around.

Weylin stopped at the door and stared at me. “Move in with us.”

I sighed. “I can’t. I have my own house.” I looked down at the laptop once more, so he couldn’t see the hurt in my eyes. With the heat gone and my mind clearing, the reality of what had happened hit me. I didn’t regret a single moment of it. I had spent so many years on my own, I needed time to process.

My computer screen was pushed down, and I looked up into Weylin’s eyes. He crouched down, his lips meeting mine in a soft kiss before he pulled back. “Goodbye.”

I gave him a soft smile. My heart was pulling, tearing, as he walked away from me.

“And another thing!” Weylin spun around, shouting. “I don’t stand for tardiness. I expect a full write-up on this case in the next couple of days. I want projections, I want suspects, I need to fucking interrogate someone’s ass because people will start to think I’m slacking.”

I chuckled, shaking my head. “Bye, Weylin!” I called.

“Bye, babe!” he shouted back as he closed the door behind him.

Max got up from his bed, walking over to me and sitting directly in front. I reached over, scratching him behind the ear. “Just you and me again, Max.”

I got up and grabbed my pink robe from the back of the door, slipping it on before stepping into my slippers.

“Come on, let’s go for a run.” Max didn’t seem as excited as he normally was when I shifted. We ran for a bit, but he lagged behind a lot. I caught the scent of another wolf along my territory line, but it wasn’t cause for alarm. Weylin had mentioned he had some members of the pack running back and forth while we were busy.

We made it back to the house, and Max grabbed one of his tennis balls, pacing in the living room a bit before lying down in his bed. “I’ll throw it for you,” I said, picking the ball up and opening the back door again. He didn’t move, though, so I put the ball back in his bed with him.

I went about my normal routine, showering and dressing. Holstering my gun, I decided to take the silver bullets out but put them in my extra clip, so I would have them on me, but I wouldn’t be wasting them.

Max didn’t get up from his bed when I entered the kitchen, not even when I put his food down for him. I tossed a couple of frozen waffles into the toaster and got to work making myself another coffee.

I spun around and opened the fridge door to pull out the creamer, my eyes falling on the fresh berries. I smiled and shook my head. Once the waffles popped, I put them on a plate with some berries and actually sat down to eat them with my coffee.

There was a tug and a pull at my heart that had me looking around the living room. My house had never felt so empty asit did now. The silence was eerie. My wolf paced within me, seeming to be worried that the guys were no longer here.

I rubbed at my chest a little. After finishing my coffee and only half of my breakfast, I decided it was time to head over to the precinct and work out whatever issues the boss had.

I had decided I would be sticking to my story—I’d been sick for the last few days and couldn’t come in. It wasn’t even an excuse, since there was no way I would’ve been able to go into the office in the state I was in.

I scannedmy way through the door of the precinct and stopped at Jenny’s desk. “Lila! We haven’t seen you in a while.”

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