Page 12 of Crimson Moon Falling

His smile held no humor. “No, I won’t. But you probably will.”

Chapter 5

Conall

“You look like you haven’t been sleeping well.” Ash leaned against the stall door and watched Conall groom one of his quarter horses.

Conall didn’t look up. “Probably not since last December when I first tracked Riley down.” His lips quirked mirthlessly as he thought of that first day outside her ecology classroom. Little did he know.

The stable smelled like sweet timothy hay and horses. He ran the curry comb down Ethel’s flank, trying to find the contentment that being with his horses usually gave him. But today, even Ethel’s quiet nickering didn’t work.

The muted mating bond fluttered weakly in his chest. Riley was alive, but the implant had enmeshed into her cervical spine, and the unnatural chill and stillness were threading through their connection. He breathed in the familiar scent as worry and sorrow gnawed at him.

Ash straightened. “Is it the bond?”

Conall nodded. “It’s getting worse. She seems frozen inside. I can feel her, but it's like she's behind glass. Or maybe a sheet of ice. Everything feels muted and cold.”

“Trauma changes people.” Ash’s voice was gentle but matter-of-fact. “What Marlowe did to her—it leaves scars that don’t show on the skin.”

“Except that fucking brand,” Conall growled, then winced. His First Beta didn’t deserve his anger. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. Your rage is warranted.” Ash pulled a hoof pick out of the bucket and began cleaning one of Ethel’s hooves. “Have you spoken with any of the Pack healers?”

“Three of them, and they all said the same thing. Mate bonds should strengthen, not calcify.”

“Some injuries need time and space.” Ash glanced at me. “Your wolf wants to fix, to protect, and claim. But Riley was raised by a half-feral Marine shifter. She wasn’t raised in a Pack, and she’s introverted and solitary.”

“Also stubborn, independent, and thinks she has to protect everyone around her and solve everything herself.” Conall shook his head. “She won’t let me in.”

“Can you blame her after what happened?” Ash moved to another hoof. “When you break a bone, sometimes setting it hurts worse than the break itself.”

Conall stared at Ash. “You’re saying I should step back?”

His Beta shrugged. “I’m saying patience might be your most powerful tool. She’s investigating the missing ranger in Yellowstone, so let her work and maybe find herself in what she’s good at and can control.”

“While she carries that ice inside her, and our bond feels like it’s slowly freezing to death.” Conall’s wolf stirred restlessly beneath his skin, agitated and suddenly alert.

“Or maybe while she heals in her own way. Riley was independent and self-sufficient long before she was your mate. Maybe forcing the issue isn’t the answer.”

Ash wasn’t wrong. Riley had survived years without him, and she’d taken the brutal Cognizant Registration test alone. He ached thinking about it.

Conall’s phone rang. The caller ID showed James Weber, a Pack member and a forensic scientist with the FBCI.

“Alpha, Director Langston and his four favorite lapdogs just left to fly to West Yellowstone. He came into the lab and took sodium thiopental, which suggests he plans to question someone. I heard your mate is there, investigating another case.”

Conall’s eyes went hard as he glanced at Ash. “Are you certain?”

“Yes. I overheard one of his agents talking. General Wilson from Apex is also involved.”

His back went straight. Jesus fuck, the Apex Mentis General thought he could use the FBCI to take his mate into custody. “Keep me posted if you hear anything else. I owe you.”

“Will do. Langston is a peacock with little man’s disease, but Wilson worries me. Be careful, Alpha.”

Ash was already cleaning up the grooming tools. “Where is Langston?”

“On his way to Yellowstone.”

“I heard James say that Wilson’s involved. This isn’t a standard debrief.”