The Wolves and the Vipers

Chapter 38 - Rising Tide

It was late afternoon when we returned to the pack, and Jace was immediately waylaid by his Beta, wanting to report. I tried to keep walking at first - the bedroom was invitingly close, and I thought I deserved a nap. I had eaten two burgers at Shadowless and was now starting to regret it.

But when I heard the word raid, the guilt got the better of me. I slowed to a grudging halt and leant against a car bonnet while I listened to the pair of them.

"Why didn't you call?" Jace asked. "I know I was out of linking range, but the signal is good up there."

Tyler shrugged helplessly. "It was a handful of teenagers. I just acted on Bradley's advice - and no one was ever in any danger."

"But they did manage to get into the pack house? And steal things?"

"Yes. Cash, credit cards, electronics," Tyler said ruefully. He had paused, and I sensed, quite rightly, that there was more. "And ... your car."

He'd said it quietly. His cheeks were perhaps even a little pink. I remembered Jace's Mercedes well enough - it wasn't brand new, but I didn't think there were even ten thousand miles on it yet.

"My car," Jace repeated. "Okay. Goddess above. That's not very clever of them. We'll report it stolen and let the human police chase them down."

Tyler blinked at him. "You're not annoyed?"

"I'm not pleased," Jace said.

"Well, you'll be even less pleased when you hear the rest of the news," he murmured. "There's a burst pipe near the border. Some of the outlying houses at Coed Isel are flooded."

"Water or sewage?" Jace asked.

"Water. Thank the Goddess. It's all over the road, too."

Jace nodded. "Okay. I'll run over there and take a look now."

"Can I come?" I asked him. I had nothing else to look forward to today, and every minute that I wasn't doing paperwork was a win, in my opinion. I knew, deep down, that if I took a nap now, I wouldn't sleep tonight. "I've never been there. I don't know the territory as well as I'd like to, and honestly, I could use the exercise."

"You haven't been to Coed Isel because it's near Riverside," Jace said in a guarded voice. I just watched him with expectant eyes, and eventually he grimaced and added, "But yes, you can come."

I was beaming before he'd even finished the sentence. I went to find somewhere a little more private to shift, and on the way, I spotted Danny amongst a group of young fighters. They were heading for a shuttle bus that would take them to their patrol route.

Waving at him didn't work, so I tugged on the link. He saw me quickly enough after that, and after a quick word with one of his companions, he came over.

"I didn't realise you'd started work already," I exclaimed. "What's it like?"

He gave me a rueful smile. "It's hard work. We're a pack at war, after all. But I finish at eight if you want to have tea together?"

"I'd like that," I said. It did mean I would have to cook something, though. Danny didn't have his own house yet - just a bedroom in the pack house. "Bring Kallie along. I want to get to know her properly if she's going to be my sister-in-law."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll bring her," Danny promised. "Honestly, it's hard for us to be apart at the moment."

At first, I laughed, but it died quickly. There had been a time when Angie and I had felt the same way. Those early days after marking ... they were intense.

He went back to the other fighters. And I found a place behind a garden wall to wriggle out of my clothes and shift. My wolf was very impatient to come out, after so many days in human form. She had become accustomed to a lot more freedom during those weeks on the run.