Link got slowly behind the wheel, wolf-bright gray eyes on the brush in front of them. He closed the door softly and said over Vera’s snarling, “The witch is your mate?”
“She’s not a witch,” Tobias said, holding her tight so she wouldn’t bleed Link again.
“Then what is she?”
“A scientist. And before you even ask, Link, she can’t fix your wolf. She tried on Eustice McCall, and it didn’t work for him. Not even close.”
“If she can’t help us, then why did you let her bite you?” Link asked through gritted teeth. He scrunched up his face at Vera. “Or was it an accident?”
Because she can fix me. But that wasn’t it. Not anymore. “Because I care about her. My bear wants her, and so do I.”
Link scratched the back of his head and rattled off another feral sound. “Why the fuck is she a fox? She has my instincts blaring right now. What’s wrong with her?”
“Vera doesn’t have control over her Changes yet. But she will.”
“How?”
“With your help.”
“Chhh, you’ve lost your damned mind. I can’t even help myself. Asking a crazy wolf to help a crazy fox says you’ve lost your mind right along with us.”
“Look, I’m supposed to pick up Lena from Silver Summit tomorrow morning, and I have deliveries I can’t get out of. Medicine and supply runs to the bush for people who need them now. And I have no idea how long it’ll take Vera to Change back, so I need her to crash at your place until we figure something out.”
“I’m not taking care of your mate, Tobias! I thought you would go up to Perl and find a solution, not bring back a rabid fox for me to babysit.”
“Link, I wouldn’t ask you if it wasn’t important.”
Link slammed his open palm against the steering wheel and let off another long growl. “Dammit, Silver. Can’t you see this sucks for me? I thought she could cure me. Fuck! There it is, Tobias. I thought she could cure me, and now I’m watching over your mate. Your duty. Your responsibly. You’re flaunting something in front of me I’ll never have!”
“I didn’t know you wanted a mate!”
“Of course I do!” Link’s voice dipped to a whisper as he repeated, “Of course I do. Who wouldn’t? I see what Elyse and Ian have. I have no shot at that bond. No shot at a family. And I fucking want that. I’m dying, Tobias. Vera fixing my wolf was my last hope, so excuse me if I’m not excited about doing her any favors right now.”
Tobias slammed his head back on the headrest and sighed. Shit. Holding the snarling, writhing Vera tighter, Tobias admitted, “She can’t fix you, but she can fix Ian, Jenner, and me.”
Link’s blazing eyes arched to Tobias. “What?”
“She says she can suppress our bears and the instincts along with them in the winter. She says she can stop our hibernations.”
Link’s hands slid from the steering wheel and landed heavily in his lap as he stared at Tobias. “Well, that’s great.”
“No, man, it’s shitty. I shouldn’t be asking you favors.”
Link swallowed hard. “No, no, I wanted that. I wanted Elyse to be safe through the winters when I die. I have maybe one more winter to watch over her, and then…” Link nodded, over and over as he got a faraway look in his eyes. “This is good. Better than we thought it would be, right?”
“Link,” Tobias drawled, feeling like grit.
“No, it’s fine. I’m a McCall. My fate was always the same, but now I can go knowing Elyse is protected by the one who is supposed to keep her safe—her mate. It’s good. It’s really good. I’ll do it. I’ll take care of Vera.”
“I don’t want to tell Ian and Jenner yet. This has to stay between us.”
“Why?” Link asked as he pulled out of the dirt parking area and onto the road that led to Galena.
“Because if it doesn’t work, I don’t want their hopes up. I can’t even imagine how devastating that would be to Elyse to think her mate could stick around, and then something go wrong. No, we do this quietly while I test it on myself. If I can stay awake a month, we’ll tell them.”
Link’s dark eyebrows shot up. “Wait, you want to let your brothers go into hibernation?”
“Yeah. If I’m still awake by November twentieth, we’ll give them the injections and wake them up. Until then, not a word. Swear it.”
Link looked at him, back at the road, then back again and nodded once. “Okay, Silver. I swear.”
Chapter Ten
Vera was happy—or as happy as she could be laying territory right alongside a wolf’s.
Eat, sleep, hunt. This was the cadence of her life during the day, but at nights, Tobias returned home. It had been fourteen sunrises since she’d finally become herself again. Since she’d finally become the fox she was meant to be. She was perfectly happy except for one thing.