Unbound

Chapter 30

Having found the root cause of Angus' suffering, as unwelcome as the diagnosis had been, seemed to cement Ephraim's trust in me. Slowly, he began introducing me to each member of the Council. Their reception of me varied, though none made me feel unwelcome. I guessed that Ephraim and Gabriel had both vouched for me beforehand.

Among those I met, the kindest by far had been Victor and his wife Elodie. Given our interaction in the grocery store, they were the pair I'd been most wary of. But whether or not Gabriel had discussed our situation with Victor didn't seem to make a difference. Elodie was particularly excited: she was four months pregnant with their firstborn and I suspected that she was pleased to have a woman to see her through to term. Ephraim had previously offered that she work with Marie, but Elodie confided in me when he was out of the room that she was terrified of her. I was glad to hear I wasn't the only one.

There were times I found myself feeling happy, genuinely happy. I was finding my place here, and though my own methods weren't accepted, I was learning quickly from Ephraim and beginning to appreciate the intricacies of wolf medicine. It had a long and deep history, and as I grew more adept, I felt increasingly connected to that side of my heritage. I missed what I knew, to be sure, but learning and growing in a different direction was exciting in its own right. 

In the back of my mind, home called to me. Jack called to me. It was during those moments of happiness when the guilt crept in. Though I hadn't chosen this for myself, I wasn't fighting it, either. I could have taken Dmitri up on his offer all those weeks ago at the Alpha gathering. Someone else would have taken my place, and I'd be back at my clinic. In my house. With my partner. But I hadn't. I'd stayed. And not only had I stayed, but I was leaning into my new life here. So no, it hadn't been my choice to come here. But it was my choice to leave that part of my life behind for the time being.

Unsurprisingly, I was not invited to continue accompanying Ephraim on his visits to Angus, which were now weekly. He continued to decline, and he continued to make arrangements for his own death without considering alternative treatment. I hated it, but without his consent there was nothing more I could do.

Meanwhile, across a string of private moments, Gabriel and I cautiously explored our growing connection. There was still uncertainty there, on both of our parts, but we could each sense when the other was pulling back. Boundaries were noted and respected. Red lines were neither pushed nor crossed—and he had many.

Once, I'd asked him about his family; the dark expression that drew across his features told me it wasn't a conversation he was ready to have. Neither was he willing to tell me about his romantic history. And, whether it was rumor or not, he never came close to telling me that he was bound. There were times when he pulled away and I had to accept that he did it for good reason. Being with Gabriel had a steep learning curve.

As it was, each morning we met in the kitchen before work. He would make himself a strong, black chicory coffee, and would pour me a mug of green tea. Some mornings, we observed this ritual in complete silence. This morning, from the moment I entered, I got the sense that this would be one of those. I was prepared to sit in the comfortable quiet with him until a streak of crimson on the side of the mug he'd pulled out of the cupboard caught my eye.

"Gabriel, you're bleeding." I slid off the stool to move around the kitchen island to get a closer look. He tried to move his hand out of my sightline, but for once I was quicker. I caught it and held it close to my face to examine the small cut.

"It's nothing." He pulled it sharply out of my grasp.

"You did that last night." I'd watched it happen when I'd been waiting in his office for him to finish paperwork before dinner: his hand, trembling, had slipped with the letter opener, slicing into his palm. He'd laughed it off then and claimed I was making him nervous. "It should be healed by now."