“The cavalry came just in time,” he said to his second.
Korin might have smiled, except her gaze locked on Janek. “Not soon enough for some. Seems like you’ve seen some shit, packmaster.”
“Don’t call me that. We run this joint fifty-fifty.”
“So you keep telling me. Give Janek to me. I have to get back to Pine Ridge and kick some Golgoth ass.”
Raff froze. “There’s been an incursion?”
“Nothing serious. Yet. They’re testing our defenses. Mines took out an entire platoon, and I don’t think there are many more nearby, but I should be there since you can’t be.”
So much shit had happened so fast, he didn’t even know how much longer he’d promised to remain in Eldritch territory. Two months, maybe? Whatever, Korin was right; she had to defend the pack holding in his stead. And he completely trusted her to do it.
In response, he carried Janek’s body to Korin’s personal vehicle. “Get me some blankets. He’s been cold long enough.”
Fucking irrational, but those measures might restore some of the respect that the old wolf had earned through a long and worthy life. With reverent hands, Raff wrapped him up, head to toe. He’d probably never be able to forget the awful angle of his head or the color of Janek’s throat. They broke his neck and kept twisting. With Animari healing, it must have taken ages to die, and it would’ve been excruciating.
I’m sorry, old friend. I failed you.
Part of him wanted to ask Sky exactly when but knowing wouldn’t help or reduce his complicity. It wasn’t like he could go back and save him, so he stepped back and closed the Rover’s rear doors. He faced Korin with a neutral expression, he hoped.
“Give him full warrior honors at the service. I wish I could be there, but I’ll have to settle for visiting his ossuary when we come home.”
“We,” Korin repeated. Her eyes held questions that he couldn’t answer.
Raff resorted to an obvious truth. “It’s in the marital agreement. Thalia will spend three months at Pine Ridge once we finish here.”
Thankfully, Korin didn’t pursue whatever curiosity she might be nursing, and she was way too smart not to realize this wasn’t the time to roast him. “We’ll be waiting. Unless you need me to stick around, I’m taking most of the troops back with me. Do you have enough forces with the quarter I’m leaving and the Eldritch still loyal to Thalia?”
“It should be. If a full unit comes at us, the mines will decimate them. You only got to the fortress because you know where they’re placed.”
“True,” Korin said. “Take care of yourself.”
He glanced at Sky, hovering like a shadow near the walls. “I’m not sure what to do with her. She’s not all right.”
Korin sighed. “If I take her home now, she’ll read it as a vote of no confidence. I’m not sure she’ll recover from that.”
“Then she stays. I’ll ask her to read up on Eldritch customs, so she can take Janek’s place as my closest personal advisor.”
For a second, surprise flashed in his second’s expression, revealed in the arch of her brows and the tilt of her head. “That’s…unexpectedly wise. And thoughtful.”
He made an obscene gesture. “What, like I never came up with a good idea before?”
“You want an honest answer here, Raff?”
“I don’t know, do I?”
“Well, I’m giving one. It’s not that you couldn’t come up with good solutions before, more that you didn’t try. I’m not sure if it was because your old man brainwashed you into believing your head’s full of sawdust, but before you came to Daruvar, you seemed content to let me do the thinking, so you could keep drinking.”
“Ouch.” He wasn’t even pretending; that fucking did sting.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s a compliment, I’m saying you’ve changed. You’re stepping up…and I like it. Responsibility looks good on you, wolf lord.”
Raff mumbled something, stepping away from the Rover. “Get clear of the woods before nightfall. The mines can only protect you so far, so I’ll have a drone keeping watch until you get back to Pine Ridge.”
“Understood. Take care of yourself…and your new wife. I haven’t spent much time with her, but I can tell she’s a force to be reckoned with by the way she swings a sword.”
At Korin’s signal, the bulk of the wolf forces mounted up. The gates slammed shut behind the convoy, and he kept watch from the walls until the vehicles vanished from sight. Sky stood behind him silently, probably still stewing in her guilt.
“I have a new assignment for you,” he said.
Surprise lit her delicate features before she nodded. “Anything. I’m ready.”
As soon she heard, Sky headed to the library, where she should be safely immersed in Eldritch lore. Weariness set in, making Raff aware of all his aches and pains. He still wanted that shower, but he needed to talk to Titus, see what the great cat had in mind. If he didn’t have any plans, Raff had an idea there, too. Seemed like maybe Korin was right, and he was suddenly full of plans and schemes.
It’s because of Lady Silver. I’m trying to keep up.
If Raff was completely honest, he was trying to please her and make her proud, and never fucking give a reason to regret choosing him.
22.
Thalia found Raff in the makeshift field hospital, having Dr. Wyeth cut yet another bullet out of him. She flinched as the scalpel dug into him, as the red trickled out. The wolf lord didn’t know she was watching, but he still refused all anesthetic, though he did accept a unit of Eldritch universal donor blood. Who knew how that would turn out? Most of what they did together was unprecedented.
When he finally noticed her, he pinned a smile on immediately, no matter how unconvincing. She returned it, trying not to think of that terrible moment on the wall. He almost died. Again. If I’d
