Page 23 of Wolf Bane
“And they chose not to tell me because?”
“That’s between you and Cullen.I just got a plane ticket, keys to a rental, and told to report to you when I arrived.Honestly, I’m just glad they sent me here and not Mississippi.”
I snorted softly at that.“Parts of it are nice.”She raised a brow at me, and I shrugged.“They are!”
“Not for queer Black women, and not for lone werewolves who have no interest in joining a pack.”She spread her hands with a tight smile.“Double whammy here.Look, I get it, you’ve had a shitty year, yeah?From what I’ve been allowed to know.And it looks like you’re about to get hit with another raft of it.Trust me, I’ve been working with the ICW for three years now, I know how they can be.So, let’s make a deal.I’ll help you navigate their bullshit, you let me work out here like I’m supposed to, and when it’s time for me to move on, we’re not besties, but we’re at least solid.Deal?”
When I didn’t answer, she rolled her eyes.“Okay then, how about this… go home.You and your guy sort out whatever the hell you’ve got going on.Call me later and we’ll figure our plan out.Because I’m here, whether you like it or not.”
Gina Perrin pushed away from the desk and stood, already backing towards the open office door.
“I don’t know about the virus either,” she offered.“Just the little bits I’ve heard around the office, rumors more than anything.You’re the first person I’ve heard mention it outside of ICW.”She paused, eyeing me thoughtfully.“Maybe we should compare notes.”
I wanted to be mad, but I knew she didn’t deserve any of it.Did Ethan though?My gut lurched, acid and sad.I wanted to explain myself, to tell Gina Perrin about the absolute fuckery of the day—the week, no month, no… Ugh.Everything.Instead, I just nodded.
“Hey, you said you’re a shrink?”
“A damn good one.”
“I might have a patient for you.Let me talk to him and… Well, it’s a saga.Um.Do you want to come by for dinner tomorrow?We can talk about the entire shit show.”
She hesitated, then gave me a slight smile and nod.“We’ll see.”
I stood, joining her at the office door.“It’s not usually like this.”
“Now, Doctor Babin, you know it’s not nice to lie.”
* * *
Ethan wasn’t homewhen I got there, but I could tell hehadbeen.The place smelled like him—the familiar scent of Old Spice he wore, the earth and salt scent of the were he carried inside, the faintest tang of over brewed coffee he’d had at some point between the office and the house.His fancy loafers that went with his good suit were tucked into the shoe rack by the front door and his worn-in, heavy boots were gone.I knew without needing to check that his favorite flannel overshirt was missing from the closet as were that pair of jeans that he probably should’ve stopped wearing ages ago but were worn in so well they should’ve been illegal on that ass.
Wait, Landry.You’re mad at him.Hold that thought.
I had a fairly good idea where he’d gone—to Tyler’s.Even with his new job, Ethan was still head of the clan.It would take him a while, I knew, to get everything from Tyler and do whatever he needed to do to placate angry weres and patch up any scuffs and snarls that had popped up during his absence, so I took my own sweet time showering, starting laundry, and generally pretending everything was fine and trying not to dwell on my day.
That took me all of an hour and a half.
Shit.
So that meant I had to do my least favorite thing and actually Be Responsible and Take Care of Shit.
Cullen answered on the third ring.“Were you just waiting there, watching my name flash, hoping to drive up my blood pressure?”I asked when he answered with a wordless sigh.
“If I was intending to cause you harm, I’d do it in person,” he drawled.“I do have other things going on in my life, despite how it might seem to you.”
“Aw, Cullen, I’m not the sparkling center of your universe?How will I ever go on?”
“The way most of your sort do, rolling balls of shit uphill while the rest of us ignore your existence.”
“You sweet-talker, you.Now, I do have to tell you I am happily involved with someone so this can go no further than a little flirting.”
“Are you then?Happy?Because Ethan seemed less than thrilled when I spoke with him earlier.And,” he cut me off before I could get a word out, “before you flop on your bed and start kicking your heels in the air, asking me what he said about you, he didn’t.Not everything is about you.”
“Be a lot cooler if it was.”
Cullen’s answering silence was cold enough to freeze my toes, but I let it stretch to an uncomfortable degree before shifting into the reason for my call.“Who the hell is Gina Perrin and why are y’all interfering with the way I’m running the clinic?What the hell is going on with Eustace Robards?And what’s with the Goon Squad that was apparently lurking around near enough to show up at the clinic in about an hour?”
“It will behoove you to remember that the clinic is notyours.You are working at it.The council owns it, pays your salary, and provides lab services for approximately sixty percent of your patients.It also paid for a large portion of your retraining.”
