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Nathan smirked at their weird roundabout way of making up.
Jeremy stepped closer to the basket to look down at Diane. “How is it, Nathan? Do you feel different?”
“Yes and no,” Nathan said, joining him. I didn’t think I remembered them ever standing so close together without shoving each other. “Everything is new, but some part of me feels like she was always supposed to be here. Are you excited?”
“Nervous,” Jeremy admitted. “How do we keep something so small safe from the world?”
Perdita and Zara exchanged wide-eyed looks. Zara was often quiet, but she seemed to find lots to talk about with Perdita, so maybe she had encouraged Jeremy to make amends. Either way, Byron would be pleased.
Still, it hit me once again that Jeremy did have feelings. He cared and worried. I’d thought him selfish to make Zara travel with him, but for the first time, it was occurring to me that he might have taken her to be with his family because that was where he felt safest.
I was going to have to start looking at him through a new lens because that was the same way Nathan felt. Maybe they weren’t so different from each other, after all.
Jeremy and Zara left not long after my epiphany. As soon as the front door closed behind them, Nathan let out a huge sigh.
“He’s trying,” Perdita said. “He’s definitely making an effort.”
“He makes Margo uncomfortable,” I said.
“Did he say something to her?” she asked.
“It’s not that. On the run, being close to him made her feel uneasy. She said she gets how Victor feels now. She was on edge, and that’s how Victor feels at his place all of the time. Jorge calmed her down, so I was thinking, what if he could do that for Victor?”
“He’s a solid influence,” Nathan said.
“Jorge’s on his own now, and that hasn’t been good for him. What if Victor stayed with him, even for a while? He could learn a lot from Jorge.”
“Like a mentor?” Nathan looked thoughtful. “That’s a good idea.”
“Margo made me think of it. When she was explaining how she felt uncomfortable and aggressive around Jeremy, I realised that everybody’s comfortable around Jorge. Victor is fine when he’s here with us, but I get that there’s not much room right now.”
Nathan looked uncomfortable. “We should take him in.”
“You can’t take everybody in, and Jorge needs something to take his mind off things. Margo’s wolf thinks Jorge is lonely.”
“I think she’s right,” Perdita said. “Poor Jorge.”
“He’s used to having his family around, and Victor would give him something else to think about,” Nathan said. “I’ll see if we can figure something out.” He looked me over. “Something else bothering you?”
I shrugged. “I’m worried people are getting a little too comfortable. The harbingers are still a threat, but nobody’s acting that way right now.”
“Let them have their win,” he said, “but you’re right to keep your guard up. Everything that man does feels like a test. The real fight hasn’t even started yet.”
I felt that in my gut. Would we be ready if a bigger battle kicked off?
Wednesday wasthe first self-defence class Nathan had run since the baby was born. We were still stuck in the pack’s meeting shed, but that hadn’t deterred anyone from taking the class, and they brought an alarming number of baby gifts with them. It was pretty heart-warming how well-liked he and Perdita were by people their age in town.
Margo and I met up outside the shed. She was practically bouncing in her eagerness to get started.
“Since when are you so keen?” I asked, laughing at her visible excitement.
“Since Eli overpowered me,” she explained. “But I’m stronger now, so I’m never going to let it happen again.”
“Let’s not give him the chance.”
She balled her hands into fists. “I want to crush his stupid face.”
The darkness in her voice was concerning, but how could I blame her? Eli’s attack had a huge impact on her. As long as she remembered that it was easy to let the wolf too close to the surface but so much harder to push it back down.
