Winter Wolf

Chapter 4

Tristan approached the shouting males. Noah, Sawyer, and the three enforcers were all fiercely arguing. The moment he got close enough, Sawyer turned on him.

"What did I tell you-" Sawyer growled.

"She doesn't want me there," Tristan growled back at him.

His wolf felt frustrated at her dismissal, despite his skin side trying to rationalize it to himself. He was not dumb, he understood why. If their roles were reversed, he would have done the same. He knew it was for the best but... he couldn't help that it deeply bothered his wolf.

He felt so separated from his fur side lately.

It was unsettling.

"What the hell is the matter with you?! Did you see the state of her?!" Sawyer growled at him before he shot an even more furious look at Noah.

Tristan glanced at him as well.

"I didn't tell them not to let her shift. And no one told me she wasn't eating!" Tristan growled. He felt the need to defend himself, despite the raging guilt he felt beneath the surface.

"Beta said you ordered her not to leave the cabin, and since when do we ever report on prisoners eating or not?" The enforcer defended. Tristan shot a glare at the male. He had to resist the urge to bear his teeth.

"She is not a damn prisoner!" Sawyer snarled. Tristan looked at Noah. The male kept his stoic expression.

Tristan couldn't help the spike of anger. What the hell was he playing at? They didn't even treat the worse of their prisons that way. Their wolves were too much a part of them to not allow them out at all.

It could literally kill them.

Tristan dragged a hand down his face and glanced back at the cabin. Her eyes were wolf glazed, and likely had been for some time. It was a bad sign, she was probably close to involuntarily shifting.

The fact that she hadn't already, made him think she was likely stronger than he gave her credit for. And for some reason, that thought bothered him.

Sawyer, his grandfather and he had all been so preoccupied rushing the territory repairs and builds, she had drifted into the background of importance. He thought she was being taken care of. He trusted Noah of all people.

And he'd forcibly kept himself away in fear of himself. He threw his entire focus into getting the territory set up and ready for the pack members that would be arriving throughout the week.

He knew he wasn't thinking sensibly when it came to her. His conflicting thoughts were wearing him down.

...and he didn't want to upset her, as much as that thought felt ridiculous, it was also weighing on him. His wolf was relentless. His fur side wanted to make amends.

He couldn't keep that side of himself away from her entirely. He did check on her at night sometimes, but he hadn't sensed anything wrong. He felt her upset... but that's all he'd ever felt from her. He'd never felt anything else.

She had just lost her mother. He didn't expect her to be happy...

"She's feverish. Her breathing sounds terrible, it's in her lungs. And she's lost a lot of weight." Sawyer said angrily with a heavy hint of worry. Tristan felt a spike of inner panic from his wolf.

"I hope you're happy, you could have been her savior, now you've just added yourself to her nightmares," Sawyer growled. Tristan looked back at the cabin.

His words hit him hard through the chest. He had never thought of it that way.

"Don't bother. You all stay the hell away from her." Sawyer snarled at them when he saw where his attention went. The large male just turned and stalked back toward the cabin.