Way of the Wolf: Equilibrium

Chapter 31 ~ Forged Bonds

Chapter 31: Forged Bonds
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“I’m busy teaching Freydis and Oria, can’t you bring him here?”

Scrunching my nose, I sat back in the chair across from my father’s desk. I hadn’t be brave enough to sit in his chair again.

“I don’t know, Sam. I don’t trust he won’t try and bolt the second he gets the chance,” I replied, twirling the phone cord around my finger and chewing my bottom lip.

She sighed on the other end, and I heard the clatter of metal and a tap turning on. I didn’t need to see her to know she was stressed, her usually calm tone was tighter than usual.

“Right, okay, I’ll come round as soon as I can. It might not be until late afternoon...”

“Just whenever you find time, he’s seems comfortable enough.”

“He barely flinched when I had to stitch him up,” she admitted. “I’ll let you know when I’m on my way. Can you check up on the status of the medical equipment I’m expecting? It was meant to be here yesterday.”

Leaning forward, I grabbed a pen and wrote a reminder to do as she asked on the back of my hand. “You got it. Thanks, Sam. I owe you.”

She snorted. “That you do, I’m a very busy woman. I’ll talk to you la-“

“Wait,” I rushed, sitting up straighter. “I had a question.”

“Oh?”

Pausing, I debated even asking, but curiosity for the better of me and the words were out my mouth before I could stop them.

“Can you tell if a Wulver has mixed blood by examining them?”

Silence met my question. Followed by a thoughtful hum. “By sight alone? No. It’s not like humans look much different than you do. Are you trying to say I look funny?”

“Of course not.” I chuckled. “I was just curious...and you’ve never shifted, have you?”

“This is an odd line of questioning, Raeghan.” There was a slightly defensive edge to her tone that surprised me. Sam had never seemed to care that she was half human, and was as fierce as any high-ranked Wulver. She wasn’t respected any less by the pack because her father had chosen a human mate, but she’d fought hard to earn her place here.

Her scent made strangers that came to visit a little nervous at first sometimes. We were taught to be wary of humans, and while wolf definitely lingered in her scent, she smelt more like a human who’d been around wolves, than one herself.

“No, I can’t shift,” she finally answered. “Maybe my body can’t handle the energy it takes to change forms. My senses aren’t as strong either. It makes my job easier though. I’m not seen as much of a threat even for injured wolves because even an omega could squash me like a bug.”

Was that Oria’s laughter in the background?

Tapping my chin, I soaked in everything she said to file away for inspection later. Perhaps my latest theory about Braden was wrong after all.

“Thank you again, I’ll let you get back to your work.”

Placing the phone back onto the cradle, I straightened up at the faint click of the front door opening and shutting. I rushed out of my seat with far less grace than I possessed in my rush to see if it was Quillan, Bjarke and Ebbe coming home. A smile tugged at the edge of my lips but as I rounded corner, it wasn’t Ebbe I saw slinking into the kitchen.