Page 55 of Flock Around and Find Out

A hell of a lot more convenient than when I’d flow commercially, when they’d packed me into that plane like a can of those cocktail weenies, bumped my seat each time the attendant rolled the cart around and lost my luggage.

Sure, private planes weren’t good for the environment, but I could finally see the appeal.

Galen had been tense, still, less like himself than usual. He’d said little, bringing his laptop to work on during the long flight. We had a few layovers for refueling, but the Spirits seemed to know how to get around government interference because we had no problem slipping past the borders and going where we wanted.

“Have you heard from the Mind Clan?” I asked, keeping my voice casual, as though that were a totally normal question that made perfect sense and was not in the least bit telling or suspicious.

Yet Galen took that opportunity to shut his laptop, as though settling in for a long talk.

So not that subtle, huh?

“Not much.”

“Are we sure that the Clan Head is good? Like, he didn’t get kidnapped by a nymph or something, right?” I laughed as though this didn’t matter at all.

“I’ve gotten word that people have seen him out and about, so no, nothing terrible has happened to him.”

Which meant he still just didn’t want to see or hear fromme.

I’d figured as much, but actually hearing it hurt more than I wanted to admit. I hated the idea that he was so angry with me that he would ignore me like that, that he’d completely fall out of my life.

I’d thought we were closer than that, had started to really rely on him.

Funny how things turned out.

“Sometimes it just takes time,” Galen offered, his voice gentle. It took away most of that unease he’d carried, like if he focused on my problems his didn’t seem so bad.

Good to know I’m useful for something.

“Are you sure? Come on, be honest. There are lines I could cross that you couldn’t forgive me for. Things I could do that you’d never be able to look at me the same way again.” When it looked as though he’d argue, I interrupted him. “Reallythink about it. What about if I betrayed your pack? If you really have no limits, then you’re not in love—you’re just a doormat who doesn’t mind getting walked all over. I don’t want that, either.”

He gave himself time to think. “How about we say that I know you well enough that if you did something—even something that felt unforgivable—you likely had a good reason. I believe I wouldn’t feel the way I do about you if you were the kind of person to do something that terrible.”

I slumped back in the comfortable leather seat. “That feels a bit naïve, doesn’t it? How do you think people end up in abusive relationships?”

Galen shrugged. “Maybe you won’t ever understand Weres, really, but we are fairly simple. I believe that instinct wouldn’t pair me with you if you were so terrible as to do something like that.”

I blew out a long breath. “But what if Idid?What if I killed someone you loved?” I spat the question out so fast that I slapped my hand over my mouth, as though that could keep it in.

It didn’t, of course.

Galen’s expression held pity, and I regretted my words immediately. He knew what had happened—I’d told him that night, after all, when I’d still been out of my mind from the fear and anxiety and everything else.

I hadn’t breathed a word of it since, however. Hadn’t told him how it kept me up at night, how I had nightmares about what I’d had to do to Harrison’s brother, how I feared he’d never forgive me for it.

I hated how pathetic I felt about it all, how logically IknewI’d made the only logical choice. No matter how much he loved his brother, I couldn’t allow him to kill us both. It wasn’t just saving my own life—it was saving Harrison’s.

Given the silence from him, however, and the clearly intentional avoidance of me, I had to think it wasn’t something he could get over quite so easily.

“You did what you had to do, Grey.” Galen using my name went to show just how serious he was about it. “You made the right choice.”

“Is it the right choice if it hurts someone else like this? If I lose someone I care about, was it really the right choice?”

“It was the only choice.”

“I’m not so sure. Harrison held off for so long because he thought he could save him. What if he was right? What if I had given Harrison the time and he could have talked sense into his brother? What if I robbed him of that?”

Galen set his computer aside and moved to the seat next to mine. He slung his arm over my shoulder, only a slight hesitation before crossing the barrier. It seemed me being upset was worth him overcoming whatever was getting to him. “You can drive yourself mad with what-ifs, but you know that you did what you needed to. No, don’t interrupt me, just listen for once.”

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