Page 101 of True North

You too.

I turn the dagger in my hand so the blade points down and start for the pack clinic, running as fast as my human legs can carry me. I saw quite a bit of fighting there when I passed before, and it’s one of the most vulnerable places on our territory. I cross the distance in what I’m sure would be considered record time, starting from the back and picking my way carefully around the building. I’m trying to decide whether to shift or not when a flash of movement catches my attention.

There’s a person hovering in the doorway of the emergency exit—the same one Luca kept me from escaping from. It feels like that was a lifetime ago.

I stick the dagger in my mouth, fully grossed out despite the lack of blood on the blade, and prepare to shift. But I double-take when the person looks up, her eyes meeting mine.

The dagger falls from my mouth, landing with a soft thud in the grass by my feet. “Morgan?” I squint as if maybe I’ve only imagined her, but I would know this woman anywhere. This is the last place I ever expected to see the best friend I left behind.

She’s still as beautiful as ever, but now she’s covered in scrapes and bruises with makeup smeared around her eyes and running down her cheeks. Her entire face cracks open with relief when she realizes it’s me.

“Tess,” she whispers my name, taking a few hesitant steps in my direction before whipping around to look behind her as if danger is lurking just over her shoulder. At this point, I don’t blame her for feeling that way. “What are you doing here? Where’s Tasha?”

I blanch, then remember she’s asking because the last she heard, I ran off to lick my wounds with Tasha’s pack. Of course she wouldn’t expect to see me here. I owe her a lot of explanations, but now is hardly the time for that.

“This is my pack now. What areyoudoing here? You’re not a fighter, this is dangerous.”

Her eyes go wide with horror as if remembering where she is. “It was Warner. He convinced the elders to force his father to step down so he could take Alpha. And then he started forcing all of us to train even though some of us had never fought before in our lives. A few of us tried to refuse to join this suicide mission, but he…” she chokes up, her words trailing off.

I don’t think I want to know what horrors might have led her here.

“Shit,” I whisper. This is horrible. A war crime worthy of being dealt with by the Luna Sovereign—if there was one. I bend to grab my dagger, not wanting to risk being caught off guard, and then wrap my arms around her. I’m careful not to squeeze too tightly for fear of hurting her. I can feel her bones jutting out, advertising her malnourishment. All of it pains me. My beautiful, vibrant, full-of-life best friend has been reduced to a quivering mess.

If only I could bring Warner back to life and kill him all over again. All of this for what? A promised pay day that his puppet master had no intention of ever fulfilling?

I don’t understand what kind of cruelty could be behind all of this. The deaths. The destruction. The fear it’s sure to instill in packs everywhere once word gets out. How will any of us ever trust each other again? It makes me sick just thinking about it.

A thought strikes me. “Morgan, what about my brother?” I pull back to look at her.

“Tevin? He’s been gone for… months now? As soon as trouble started brewing, he packed up your old house and vanished in the middle of the night. I assumed maybe he came to be with you. Or found his mate somewhere.”

So no one knows where my brother is? In these circumstances, I’m not sure whether to be relieved or scared for him. All I know is I’m glad I don’t have to worry about finding his body on pack land. I’m not sure I could have survived losing anyone else right now. I have to believe that Tasha and Tevin are both safe out there somewhere. Maybe even somewhere together now.

Tess? Everything is clear. Seems like the second Dipshit stopped barking orders, most of his wolves were happy to take off on their own. Where are you?

I grimace, already knowing Dominic won’t like this.I’m by the clinic, and I’ve, uh, found a friend.

Chapter Thirty-Six

Dominic

Something falls, making me startle and turn to the woman with a glare. “Sorry,” she says sheepishly. She kneels, I assume to pick up the small sculpture she knocked off the table, but then she doesn’t move for an uncomfortably long time.

I wish Tess hadn’t left me alone in here with her friend.

She’s far more hands-on than I anticipated, my mate. She keeps fluttering around, wanting to have eyes on every wolf until she’s sure everyone has made it back alive—despite the fact that Luca has already confirmed they have.

Luca… I don’t even want to get started on him. Doing rounds is the least he can do after failing the task I put him on. I knew Nicolai had to come back because his mate had taken ill, but I trusted my Beta not to fail.

I can hardly look at him. It definitely has nothing to do with jealousy over the way I can tell he still longs for my mate. I’ve been doing a very good job of trying to convince myself of that. I’m going to have to get over it eventually, I know that’s the only way I can continue to keep Luca as my Beta. In the meantime, I’m pinning all my anger on this one failure.

Maren would never have gotten close to Tess if Luca had done his job. And maybe if she hadn’t given her the damn dagger, she wouldn’t have run right into a warzone.

She held her own, I can’t deny that. Hell, more than that, she impressed the pack. The whole lot of them are enamored with her now, proud to have her as their Luna. Meanwhile, I’m stuck in the lounge with this outsider that Tess insists is her friend.

“What was your name again?” I ask, eyeing her. She looks sickly.

She looks up at me from under her eyelashes and flinches. “Morgan,” she answers quietly. She looks like she’s bracing for something—I only belatedly realize she’s waiting for me to strike her.

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