The Wolves and the Vipers

Chapter 31 - Life and Limb

"If you set one toe out of line, you'll go back down there," Jace warned.

Danny nodded. "I figured."

It was late. Eleven o'clock in the evening, by my watch. After watching Jace talk to the Beta, I had decided not to nag him about the paperwork, but he'd done it at breakneck speed anyway. He said he didn't have time to do it in the morning now, so Danny was being put under 'supervised release' until his application was approved. That only worked if he followed me around like a lost duckling, because my guards were the ones assigned to supervise him.

"Stay away from Kallie," Jace added, even as he started to walk away from us. "And don't distract Emma. She's got work to do."

"Wait, just so we're clear — you want me to stay away from Kallie?" Danny mused. Jace came to a slow halt. "Did I get that right? I'm sorry, I'm having a hard time remembering it. Maybe you should repeat it another dozen times, just to make sure it sticks."

I swatted his arm. "Cut the smartassery. He's doing us a favour."

Jace turned just long enough to shrug his shoulders and give Danny a gut-liquefying stare. "Yes, I am. And favours are easily revoked."

I was left standing in the corridor with my brother and both guards. Danny was already shifting his weight and craning his neck around. I didn't know how he could stand it — being so far away from Kallie when he had only just marked her. It had been a cruel stipulation from Jace, in many ways, but I understood it. He didn't want them adding any more marks or making any babies in case Danny's application was rejected.

"We'll make this quick," I promised. I was keen to reach my bed, and I suspected Danny was, too. He couldn't have got much sleep in the prison, not with the lights constantly on and the guards chatting through the night.

"I'm not in a big rush," he assured me. "She's grieving, right? Take all the time you need."

Luke guided us to the right house. It was outside the perimeter wall but not isolated like Ashley's parents house. It was in a group of six cottages which were arranged around a communal vegetable garden. One cottage still had its curtains open, long after the sun had set. It was only when we were standing at the right gate that we could see the heap of flowers. It covered the doorstep, the path, the lawn and even the planters.

"Should we have brought flowers?" I asked my guards, in barely more than a whisper.

"She's got plenty," Luke told me. "Next week, they'll all be rotting, and she'll have to watch us clear them away. So no, Luna. All she needs from you is a listening ear and a hug."

It was hard to argue with that. Until Danny had come along, no one had tried to console me about Angie. I remembered Jace's first words upon hearing that I had lost my mate. 'That's perfect.' Would it have helped to have sympathy? I had absolutely no clue. Explaining how she had died hadn't made me feel better — that was without question.

He went up the path to knock. While we waited, I mostly stared at the bouquets. I would guess there was forty of them. Perhaps even more. Most came with envelopes or little cards, but the drizzle meant the ink was starting to run and the paper was fragmenting. When the door finally swung open, we were greeted by the sight of a woman with bloodshot eyes and a toddler on her hip.

"Luna," she said, flushing. "It's very kind of you to stop by. I, um— The house is a mess."

"Lucky I brought some extra pairs of hands then," I said with a faint smile. It was part of my job to be familiar with people I didn't actually know. Helen and I had met exactly twice before and never for longer than ten minutes.