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“Oh,” she said, eyeing me up and down. “It’s you.”
Shit. “Can, hm, can I talk to you?”
Dom walked out a second later. He glanced at us, then continued moving toward the truck parked along the sidewalk. He picked up another box and carried it inside the infirmary.
Lucille stared at me. “Sure.”
We walked to the edge of the main square and I turned to her. Once upon a time, Lucille had been my bully. Then she became an ally, trying to free the pack.
Now, what would she be?”
I shifted my weight. “Lucille, I—”
“I know,” she said, forcing air out.
I frowned. “What do you know?”
She glanced around and lowered her voice. “That you and Shane are mates. I could tell from the moment I saw you two.” She snorted. “Honestly, I look back now and I see it all there. The way he never engaged when we teased you.” Teased was a light word for what they did to me, but I wouldn’t stop her now. “In fact, he often tried distracting us with something else. I remember I often caught him staring at you and I thought he was either pitying you for being the omega, or planning to terrorize you.” She flinched at her own words. “He might not have known back then, but deep down, he knew. You know?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry,” was all I could say. “I swear I always thought you would end up with him.”
“Me too,” she whispered. “Even though the mating bond never snapped for us, I hoped he wouldn’t find his mate, I wouldn’t find mine, and we would be happy together.” She offered me a tight smile. “But he found his mate.”
“I’m sorry,” I repeated. “I just … I know you’re hurt, but Shane and I, we don’t want others to know yet, so please, if you can—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.” She waved me off. “I’m not stupid. I know that outing you both now will only make the pack turn against him, and that’s the last thing I want. I might be hurt, but I can’t hate him.”
“You’re reacting better than I would,” I confessed.
She snorted. “Look, last night, I was ready to scream bloody murder, but I would like to think that this past year changed me. That I grew a little, that I matured. And that means facing what life throws at you with a brave face.”
“Wow. Impressive.”
“Don’t tease me,” she said. “I’m still hurt. I’ll need time to digest this, but yeah … you’re okay. You look good together, actually.” She paused, her lips pressed tight, then she finally said, “If I’m being honest, you’re perfect for him. You worked harder than anyone else would to keep the pack safe last year. I know that if it weren’t for you, things would have been much worse. Many more of us would have been killed.”
My eyes brimmed with tears. “It was desperate times. Many people would step up and do more than they believe they would.”
“Maybe, maybe not.” She nodded at me. “Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”
“Thank you. Your words, your trust, your secrecy. It all means a lot to me.”
A dark gray wolf pounced toward us.
I pulled Lucille behind me, but then the wolf skidded to a stop and shifted right in front of us.
“Raika,” Tyren said, breathless. “It’s Minsi.”
* * *
In the distance,Shane carried a limp Minsi to the infirmary. My heart sank.
Tyren shifted back and ran into the infirmary. I ran after him.
When I got there, Shane hovered over Minsi in a bed in the back of the infirmary. Tyren held a bedsheet around his waist, and Jay stood beside him.
“What happened?” I asked, my legs growing weak at the sight in the bed. Pale and sticky skin, sunken eyes, frail mien, and black-tipped fingers. I pressed a hand to my mouth. “Oh, no.”
I leaned over the bed and ran my hand over Minsi’s face, her skin hot against mine. Her eyes fluttered open, a faint smile spread over her lips, and then she went back to sleep.
