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Brody raised a trembling hand into the air. “Raven?”
I took it quickly as I stood. “I’m right here, Brody. I’m right here with you.”
“I-I can do this. I can be—be alpha of this pack.”
I shook my head softly. “All you need to be concerned about is getting better. Getting stronger. I’ve got the pack for now.”
And I swear to hell on high, I found disappointment in his gaze once more.
Though, for the life of me, I couldn't figure out why.
25
DEAN
The night was long, and the morning even longer. Somehow, we managed to lose not a single soul in the second round of the onslaught of those bears. I knew it was because Raven had been at the helm of it all. She had guided us. She had controlled us. She had commanded us like the captain of the armies, and the pride that swelled my chest was incomprehensible. She got down and dirty with the women as they cleaned the streets of the evidence of our battle. She helped the men tug the bear carcasses off to the side so we could harvest everything possible in order to use it to benefit the greater good of our pack.
She helped vacuum-seal meat for deep freezers. She helped skin those dead bears so the fur could be washed and used for clothing. And rugs. And blankets. She even helped remove the tough sinew from their bones so that we could turn them into utensils and weapons for the impending revenge that we knew was sitting just upon the horizon.
And as the healers removed the last of the dead from her backyard, I stood behind her.
Watching her while she watched them.
“Brody’s finally up and moving,” she said mindlessly.
I massaged her shoulders softly. “That’s good. Means he’ll be okay.”
She nodded, but I could tell she wasn’t all there. “Do we have any idea why they attacked?”
“My assumption is that they view us as weak with your father gone.”
“Well, maybe they’ll think twice now that they see what I’m capable of.”
I smirked. “Damn straight.”
She turned to face me. “I really need a shower.”
“I’m glad you’re back, Raven.”
She sighed heavily. “As weird as it may sound with all of the fights I’ve put up, I don’t hate the fact that I’m back here.”
“So, does that mean you’re here to stay?”
She shrugged. “For the time being.”
“So, you still don’t know if you’re staying for good?”
“I don’t know, Dean. That’s a hell of a commitment, and one I can’t make when I’m still in the emotional throes of the aftermath of such… carnage.”
I kept forgetting that she wasn’t used to all of this. All of the bloodshed and the carnal desires that ran rampant through all of us.
“A victory like this should be celebrated,” I said.
She slipped past me. “Yes, with a long, hot-ass shower.”
I chuckled. “Need a hand?”
It was a flippant joke made only to make her laugh. But when she peered over her shoulder, I watched desire drip over her features.
