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I nodded. “Sounds good.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dom approach the pond, take a few deep gulps of water, and wander off on his own to sit in the shade beneath a nearby tree.
Evan noticed it, too. “Looks like he’s giving you a really hard time about this.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” I said. “He hates my plan, but he’s going to follow through on it. Dom’s too good of a beta not to.”
“I know he will, but it can’t be good for the rest of the team to see their future Alpha sulk like this. Maybe you ought to talk to him?”
It wasn’t a bad idea. I doubted morale would be affected by Dom’s behavior, but I knew it would be good to get his temperature before we all split up (potentially for the last time).
“I’ll do that,” I said, and walked over to Dom. “Hey,” I said. “I want to check in with you before we move in closer.”
“I’m fine.”
“That’s a lie.”
“Yeah, but whether or not I’m lying isn’t going to change your mind about the plan, and it isn’t going to give either of us an alternative to it either. I’m gonna have to be away from my Alpha while he fights for his life.”
I wished I knew the right words to say that would make this easier on him. I’d forced him to accept my plan because there had been no other options, but that didn’t make it any fairer to him. I wasn’t built for comforting other people—I was built for violence and for duty. I felt powerless next to my beta was obviously in pain and struggling.
“If I were Bryn,” I said slowly, “I think I’d invite you over for chamomile and lavender tea and ask you to vent your frustrations to me.”
He looked at me, and his expression seemed to soften. “You’re probably right…What about Tavi?”
“You have to ask? Tavi would talk to you until you forgot about what was bothering you.”
He laughed, and I was glad that I’d brightened his mood for even a moment.
“She’d probably invite you to the next bonfire or try to sneak out with you for karaoke night in Colville.”
His laughter ended abruptly. “You knew about that?”
“Of course I did.” It had happened when we were younger, about a year after she’d lost her parents. “You thought you were slick, but I saw you two sneak into the forest when I went out on my run. I saw you come back, too, and you both smelled like the air freshener they use.”
His laughter was much more spirited then, and he fell onto his side in front of me. “Nothing gets past you, Night,” he said when he’d recovered. “But that’s why you’re a great Alpha.”
I sighed. “The Wargs will have better Alphas than me. We’re too resilient a pack not to.” I stood and returned to the group. “You’ll see to that.”
We stopped once more, once we were within a few miles of the Kings’ compound. The others would soon split away from us, but Doc insisted on the break. He was on the smaller side for a wolf, and the ends of his wheat-blond fur were silver-tipped, a paler color than even Dom’s.
“Alpha Night,” his voice slipped into my mind politely, unobtrusively, just as the doctor would enter a conversation with me.
“Did you need something, Doc?” I asked.
“I wanted to give you an examination. Just to make sure you’re in top shape.”
“Ah. That makes sense.”
Doc, other than Dom, Evan, and Mom, was the only one who understood the full toll that the unclaimed bond was having on my body. I was glad that we had him with us on this mission. Not just so that he could examine me, but also so that he could treat Bryn and Tavi for their wounds. The way they’d looked in the live video that Troy had shown me still haunted me.
Doc and I pulled away from the rest of the pack so I could have some privacy for the exam. He shifted into his human form and pulled out the long robe from the satchel he’d brought with him. Also within the bag were a few medical instruments like a thermometer, a blood pressure gauge, bandages, antiseptic, gauze, and who knew what else. He poked and prodded me for any areas that hurt. Just about all of me hurt, but I felt the pain the hardest in my abdomen and head.
“I could prescribe painkillers,” he said, having caught my eye twitching when he prodded at a particularly tender spot. “That at least would keep you going. But it is technically against the rules for a wolf to take supplements before a fight.”
My tail swished with a sudden burst of annoyance. “It’s also against the rules to force a wolf to participate in a challenge ceremony.” Mom had drilled those rules into my head since I was a pup. I was to hold them as tenets so I would be an honorable Alpha. But given the circumstances, I decided I didn’t give a shit about the rules.
Doc nodded. “Fair enough.”
