Page 128 of Blood and Trouble

He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head. “Try again.”

“You were right,” I admitted, cupping my throat so I could touch both marks at the same time. “How the hell do you do that? How do you know so much? Things people don’t even know about themselves?”

Kodiak sighed and rubbed his palm over his bald head. “It’s a heavy burden, being alpha. Everyone pledges to me. I carry the blood of the pack. It carries mine. I close my eyes, and I see a web, a tree, everyone connected to everyone else.”

“Must be exhausting,” I said, focusing on the bags under his eyes and the drawn muscles around his mouth. “When do you sleep?”

Kodiak barked a laugh. “Sleep? What’s that?”

Maybe it wasn’t my place. Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. But someone had to say it.

“You shouldn’t carry so much alone,” I said. “It’s lonely at the top, but you don’t have to stand there by yourself.”

He clearly hadn’t expected that. Both eyebrows shot up, and his wolf sent a warning growl through our pack bond.

“I just mean,” I clarified, “you should delegate more. Maybe take a mate.”

“My mate’s dead,” he said.

The mother of his children, Kendra, had died in a car accident eleven years ago. Though they weren’t officially mated by bond or mark, Kodiak believed she would have been his mate had she lived longer. I wasn’t sure I bought that, but what did I know? All this time, Lycan had been my mate, but it took meeting and falling in love with Ava for magic to take the reins.

“That’s what you say,” I continued. “But that sounds like an excuse not to put yourself out there. As the king of excuses, it takes one to know one.”

Kodiak sighed. “I’ve called Church after the next new moon. Bridge is hanging around until then to give her official report before heading back to Asheville. Lycan told me his side of things, but I think the pack needs to hear it from everyone. There are a lot of pieces to put together.”

Maybe I’d stepped too close to the sun with that one, and his quick change of subject reminded me of my place in the pack. I wasn’t a high-ranking dominant wolf. Kodiak would never disparage me for it. Everyone in the pack had a purpose. The hierarchy existed for a reason. But I wasn’t in a position to tell the alpha to get laid and vent some pressure.

But it did seem like a deflection, like I’d hit something tender and sensitive, and he didn’t want me to see any more than I already had.

“As for your triple bond, I’ve never seen one like it before,” he continued. “But it hums and glows like any other mating bond in the pack. It’s strong. Stable. I don’t sense any threat to the pack.”

I’d say I was relieved, but I already knew that. My bond to both Lycan and Ava was the purest thing that had ever happened to me. In a lifetime of running and scraping and survival, knowing I had the two of them so deeply rooted in my soul grounded me in a way I never expected or believed it could.

“I’ll perform the mating ceremony at the next new moon,” he said, “and officially welcome Ava into the pack.”

“Thank you, Kodiak,” I said, nodding before pushing to my feet.

“Thank you, Poe,” he said. “I won’t forget this favor. And trust when the alpha says he owes you one, you can expect repayment in full plus interest.”

I smiled and turned to walk to his door. Just as I pulled it open, a tall strawberry-blonde shoved past me, her heels clicking on the floor, her emerald eyes flaming with righteous fury.

“Can you tell me why Royal Unlimited is refusing payment to our Canadian investors?” Guin put her hands on her hips and glared down at Kodiak, who pinched the bridge of his nose and scoffed.

“Guin. Come on in. Take a seat. I always have time for you.” His sarcasm made me grimace as I carefully shut the door behind me.

Channing pushed up from the wall opposite the door, raking her gray eyes over me before cracking a grin.

“So you mated the idiot after all?”

“Shut up,” I groaned and turned to walk down the corridor. She fell into step beside me.

“It looks good on you,” she said. “You’ve lost a certain ghostly presence that’s been haunting the hallways for months.”

“If you have time to track me down just to insult me, you have time to find someone else to annoy,” I teased, shoving my hands in my pockets.

“Can’t a girl be happy to see her best friend all mated and settled down and disgustingly happy?” Channing flashed her brilliant smile, but that twinkle in her eye suggested an ulterior motive.

“What do you want?” I stopped and turned to face her, my wolf skeptical.