A woman who had come to him on a full moon with danger nipping at her heels. One who stood up to him and yet brought out his protective side. A woman he wanted to learn inside out.
He stroked her silver coat as she stared out the window at the treetops covered in a thin fog. The sun napped behind the clouds, and the snow had tapered off to nothing but a few sparse flecks of ice tapping against the window.
Lorenzo draped a thin blanket around her. “Shift,” he said and then turned toward the fire to light it up.
Once he got a good blaze and put on a pair of pants, he glanced over his shoulder. Ivy stood facing the windows with her back to him, her hair in a loose braid. But it was unraveling at the bottom without a band to tie it with.
“Come sit and we’ll talk,” he said gently. “You leave tomorrow, and I would like to spend some time with you before we part ways.”
***
When Lorenzo called me to the fire, I knew this was a turning point. I would be going home tomorrow, and I had no idea what kind of reception awaited me. Would my wolf be able to fight by their side with her injury? Would my pack accept me?
I took a seat in the chair and Lorenzo sat on the bed across from me. The heat from the fire engulfed the left side of my body, making me want to turn away from it.
“Do you think Austin will reject me from his pack once he sees the condition I’m in?” I asked. “As a Packmaster, give me your honest answer.”
“I cannot say. If he has humans in his house, I would guess no. Do you have a job that will secure your position in his pack?”
“Denver suggested I go into furniture restoration,” I said with a shrug.
“There’s money in that.”
“Money isn’t the only thing worth valuing. Your house doesn’t impress me as much as your knowledge for healing magic.”
He pursed his lips, considering the comment. “But healing magic will not put food in your mouth and a roof over your head. You understand the importance of each packmate contributing to the house. Not all bring in money, but some have skills that are put to good use. A few things around here could use a little touch-up.”
“Are you offering me a job?”
He lifted a shoulder and looked toward the fire. “All members of a pack should contribute in some way, whether one brings in money, is a caregiver, or even the healer in the pack. Children get sick, and someone needs to know how to care for them. Everyone should have a place.”
“I’ve been feeling adrift since my father sent me away.” I turned more on my right side and closed my fist, leaning my head against it.
“What troubles you? Since Fox left, your spirit’s been left broken. This is not the wolf I have come to know.”
“I’m going to talk to Austin about it. Maybe my leg will make it easier for him to let me go.”
He leaned forward with a glint of firelight in his eyes. “Go where?”
“To go with Fox.”
“That’s all the fight you have? It didn’t take long for you to buckle under the weight of words.”
I rested my arm on the chair and sighed. “Fox has something over me and he laid down a threat. I have no choice in the matter.”
“Ah, yes. Lakota.” I didn’t like the way he’d said Lakota’s name, as if it were a curse. Lorenzo rose to his feet and folded his arms. “So you would let your love for another man lead to your ruination? If he was any kind of a man, he wouldn’t allow this to happen.”
I laughed softly and it grew louder until tears welled in my eyes.
“This is funny?” Anger flashed in his eyes and he dropped his arms to his sides. “You’re giving yourself over to a rapist as an offering to save a weak man.”
“That’s right, Lorenzo. You’re absolutely right.” I sat back and slouched. “Lakota is weak, and that’s why I must protect him.”
“The man can’t fight off a rogue wolf?”
I shook my head, my eyes never leaving his. “Lakota is my son,” I said in a soft breath.
He blanched and almost stumbled backward over the bearskin rug. Lorenzo sat on the edge of the bed, his eyes downcast.
So I drew a deep breath and revealed a family secret that I’d kept buried for many years.
“When I was sixteen, Fox had sex with me and it wasn’t consensual. I thought I’d done something wrong to deserve it because no one had ever talked about sex with me. Our pack kept the children sheltered. Soon I began to get sick and my mother called a Relic.” I wrung my hands together and lowered my eyes. “The Relic revealed I was pregnant, which came as a surprise to my mother, who had no idea I’d been with a man. Not to mention Shifter women rarely get pregnant before their first change, let alone when not in their heat cycle. I defied every kind of natural law, as if the fates wanted to punish me for what I’d done. That’s how I felt—punished. Why else would the spirits give me a child under such conditions?”