I looked away from him, my mind racing. Maybe I could get her to stay away from fights. I could convince her to stay at the pack house. Really our only danger was the Hunter right then. No encroaching packs or dangerous wolves. Surely, she would be okay with staying away from the Hunter.
Then I thought of how she had been willing to let the Hunter get her so she wouldn’t lead him to our pack house. She hadn’t even been a wolf then and I’d had to fight with her while she was being followed. She wouldn’t hide from the danger. She’d be right there on the front lines, trying to keep us all safe.
“She’s too small,” I tried to keep the plea out of my voice when I said it.
“Size has never mattered to Kailani or her grandmother,” he replied. He was right. Kailani was one of the pack’s best protectors, and she had inherited the position from her grandmother. Both women were tiny and easily overlooked as a danger in their human forms. As wolves they were formidable opponents that few in the pack would dare to challenge.
“Let Kailani and Aiden train her,” my father’s voice was gentle, like he was trying to coax me into agreeing with him. Like this wasn’t some foregone conclusion he had already come to. “They can work with Tegan, too. It’s time you quit sheltering her. Wyatt and Ryker can’t run those borders alone, and you and Jarren can’t fight off every aggressor. Packs need all kinds of wolves to survive, Alex. Alphas can’t do it all alone. I don’t do it alone.”
I knew I was defeated. I couldn’t keep holding back Tegan out of fear when she kept proving herself worthy of more, and if I held Zee back, I risked losing her in more ways than one. I looked up at my father and nodded, “If you can spare Kailani and Aiden I’m sure the girls will be happy to train.” I didn’t tell him that I wouldn’t be happy, but his face showed me that he knew exactly how I felt.
Chapter Thirty-One
Zee
Delilah was ignoring my calls. I hadn’t called when we first got home because it was the middle of the night, and all I could think about was crawling into bed with Alex and sleeping without worrying about all the jealous females and borderline hostile wolves I had met. No more talk of flowers and dresses and the wolfy parts of my upcoming ceremony with Ophelia.
In the morning I felt bad for not letting her know I was home. Once I knew that her early class was over that morning I started calling. The first couple calls rang until her voicemail picked up and I left her messages. Then the calls were being ignored after the first ring. Finally, when I tried to call one more time, the phone was off. I couldn’t understand. Even at her maddest Delilah would answer her phone.
“I’m going to my apartment,” I announce from my seat at the table. Alex looked up from the laptop he was working on. He’d been emailing his parents all morning, his face filled with worry and concentration. I didn’t know if it was about the training his dad suggested I needed or about the Hunter. Either way it was stressing him out and I didn’t like it.
“I’ll go with you,” Alex didn’t look up as he spoke. He kept typing for a minute before finally clicking something and closing the laptop. Then he looked up at me, smoothing his face into a calm mask that completely contradicted his agitation from seconds before.
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I hedged, knowing that Alex could be the very reason that Delilah was ignoring me. “Delilah doesn’t like you much. I need to talk to her about us and make sure she’s really okay. I don’t think having you there would be a good thing.” Alex seemed to contemplate what I had said. I knew I was right. Delilah wouldn’t talk to me at all if I brought Alex again. I watched the myriad of emotions on Alex’s face until he finally looked at me sternly. I knew I wasn’t going alone.
“I won’t go in, but I will go,” Alex spoke firmly. I started to shake my head, but he cut me off. “No, Zee. I’m going with you. We have no idea where the Hunter is, and at this point we don’t know if Silas is somehow involved with him. Jarren’s been following his movements, but last night he lost him. I don’t like it, and I won’t send you into what could be a dangerous situation alone.”
“Fine,” I said exasperated at his need to protect me. I could take care of myself. Any other day I would have argued more, but I was worried about Delilah. After telling Wyatt where we were heading, we took Alex’s new truck. His nervous energy filled the cab and made my skin itch, so I tried to distract us both with talk about the mating ceremony.
“Ophelia wants us to do it within a month,” I told him. “Tegan is convinced we should wait until spring. I tried to tell her that spring isn’t much different than winter most years. I’m leaning towards waiting for May or June. I know that’s a long time, but it will be warmer, and the forest will be beautiful. What do you think?”
“Whenever you want is fine,” Alex answered absentmindedly as his eyes swept the area around us while he drove. He had his window down despite the cold air. He was looking at each car that passed us carefully. I decided that maybe distraction wasn’t the best plan. I looked out my window at the town that was going by.
When we pulled into my parking
