Page 11 of Destined Bear
Heath tilts his head to the side, confused. “Why not use his healers? They’re some of the best in the territory.”
“Because I want healers I can trust, not ones reporting back to him about our private business.”
He nods slowly. “Okay… So, you’re handling the healers yourself?”
“Exactly. That way, Mom gets the care she needs, and I maintain control over who has access to her.”
“That’s actually not a bad compromise,” Heath admits. “And Emeric still has something he wants to discuss with you.”
Another twinge touches my heart, this one more powerful than the last one. It’s getting harder to ignore that the feelings I thought had died still linger.
I sniff. “I have nothing I want to discuss with him.”
“It’s important.” Our eyes clash, and I wait for him to elaborate. “With your mom unable to take on her tasks on the council, someone will need to step into her role.”
I hoot and slap my leg dramatically, as if he’d just said the funniest thing in the world. “I am not back here for that! How could I be any clearer on the matter?”
“Okay, look.” Heath’s voice takes on a hard edge. “You can’t just come and go out of Willow Grove whenever the hell you feel like it. You need to put in some effort while you’re here.”
My blood runs cold. The undeniable threat reaches my ears.
“Or what?” I spit back. “You’re going to throw me out? Exile me?”
“Maybe.”
Seriously?He’s not kidding! And I need to be here for Mom.
The fire inside me subsides slightly as I consider what he’s saying. Heath is not Emeric. He won’t be swayed by our history, or any residual feelings, which is why Emeric sent him. For all of Emeric’s flaws, I can’t deny that he’s a smart Alpha. He can predict moves well ahead of everyone.
Because Emeric still cares about me, too, even if it sure didn’t seem that way when I went to see him at the packhouse.
Pursing my lips, I turn away, trying to calculate how to avoid getting tangled up in pack business. I don’t know how much Mom managed to accomplish before she got too sick to work.
Maybe I can get out of this. “Can I just deal with my mother first?”
“You can deal with both,” Heath replies. “Be at the ranch tomorrow. Make your arrangements with Circe, but be prepared to step into her role on the council. The historical society needs someone to run the mentorship programs and preserve our traditions.”
Dammit!
There’s not much I can do but swallow my anger.
“I’ll have a car come for you at nine.”
“Don’t bother.” I point to my SUV. “I’ll get to the packhouse myself.”
Spinning on my heel, I march back toward the house, my mind racing with possibilities. I have to get a list of healers whoaren’t associated with Emeric to come and examine Mom, but that’s not going to be an easy feat.
“What happened?” Millie asks as I stomp back into the house, my face flushed with anger.
“Never mind.”
I slam the door to my bedroom and flop down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. There has to be a way to avoid getting involved with the pack and its business. My mom has to get better, and then I will have to leave again. Maybe I will head back to Nottery.
I’ll start searching for healers the furthest territories out and work my way in. That’s the safest way to do it.
Hopefully, their prognosis will come quickly, and I won’t be stuck in Willow Grove any longer than I already have. It’s been too long as it is.
Familiar but judgmental eyes rest upon me as I sit in the council room at the packhouse. All the elders wear identical expressions of disdain, their noses turned slightly upward as I close my hands around my glass of water. A soft cat twines between my bare legs, and I’m half-reassured by my best friend’s presence, but I know if push comes to shove, there’s not much that Alessa can do to help me.
