Page 2 of Scarred Resolve

He sat across from me, clearly studying me, but I wasn’t annoyed by it. I had been off for weeks, and he was being patient with me. I waited patiently as he smelled the air, studied my face, and formed his argument to get me to the werewolf meeting.

“You haven’t been getting out of the house too much, and I’m worried. I know werecats can handle being isolated. You’re all wired to be loners, but this is different. I can tell it’s different.”

“It is,” I agreed softly.

“I just want to see if you want to get out and try hanging out with the pack.”

“I killed Fenris,” I reminded him, swallowing as I looked back to the trees.

“They’re not angry with you about that,” he countered. “They’re grieving. He was… a frustrating, concerning, and important piece of the pack. He shouldn’t have fit, but he did. They’re grieving, and it just takes time. You know that. They’re not angry. Under the same circumstances, any one of them would have fought for their life too and hopefully won.”

“They know I killed him, and I don’t want to sit around and try being one of them with that hanging over our heads.” I looked down at my hands, wringing them together in my lap. “When everyone starts feeling better, I’ll start talking to them again, but right now, I just want them to grieve without… me sitting there and reminding them of it all. I killed him. His blood is on my hands. His last words echo in my mind.” I gave him a desperate look, not sure what my face really looked like, as I locked eyes with him. “This isn’t forever. I’m just… not ready forthem. Not ready for everything that might be in their eyes and scents.”

“Okay. I understand. I’m sorry if I overstepped?—”

“No!” I stopped him before he could finish that terrible sentence. “You’re not overstepping, Heath. You can ask me every Monday, and I’m so grateful that you keep checking up on me and seeing if I’m ready. You can always ask me. You can always talk to me. Don’t… Don’t stop doing that. Please…”

I got my response from his sudden lean over my desk, grabbing the back of my head, his fingers threading through my hair, and a kiss that would keep me thinking about him for hours.

“I love you, Jacky Leon,” he whispered when it was over, his hand sliding out of my hair to cup my cheek.

“I love you, too,” I said, smiling, leaning into his hand. We stayed like that for what felt like an eternity, our own forever hidden in the seconds we stole before he had to go.

“Are you okay?” he finally asked, a question he asked every day and for good reason. He had to make sure the answer never changed, and I didn’t fault him for that.

I gave him the answer I always did.

“I will be,” I promised. Then I decided to break the moment, leaning back and taking a deep breath as if I was preparing to climb a mountain. “I think I’ll visit Niko while you’re with the werewolves. Since you’ll have Landon and Dirk, he’ll also be wondering what to do with himself.”

“When was the last time you saw him?”

“A week ago. I know he texts Dirk regularly, but he’s a werecat still looking for the perfect spot to settle down. I think he’s debating going rogue like Mischa and just not settling down at all.”

“Do you think it’s a possibility?”

“I think there is, but I don’t find it the most likely outcome. I think he’s taking a lot of care in his choice since it’ll be his home for a long time. He can’t go back to his childhood home, and he’s never claimed another place as a proper home before. From my understanding, he would leave Germany for years at a time but just wander until he could go back. Not technically a rogue because he still wanted his territory, but understandably not in it.”

“Avoiding the wars?” Heath looked like he had heard similar from several supernaturals before.

“Yeah,” I confirmed, nodding. “I’ll keep you posted, though, and see if I can help him. It would be good for him to settle down if we need to retreat from my territory. He can be a back-up place to run to. Also, he can build the guest house Jabari wants so badly.”

“Speaking of building… Tonight, one of the agenda items for the meeting is building a proper pack house. Nothing like what we had in Dallas, mind you. No one would live there.”

“Oh?”

“I was presented with a plan to buy the land across the street from Kick Shot. Teagan has been working on it to keep his mind off what happened in April.”

“Well, you talk to the pack about it, then tell me all about it,” I said, smiling. “Shoo. Go on. You’re going to be late.”

“I’m the Alpha. I’m never late to my own meetings. They’re early.”

“Don’t give me that line.”

He laughed as I poked his chest and was still laughing as he closed my office door, leaving me to attend to his own responsibilities.

Life was moving forward, and I knew I needed to do my best like everyone else was, so I texted Niko. It was time to get mybrother to pick a territory and settle down or at least figure out what was holding him up.

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