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I closed my eyes and did my best to ignore the ache in my heart. “As well as can be expected, I guess.”
“Meaning it’s still all going to hell and you’re hanging on by your fingernails.”
I laughed. “Could be. But the council has apparently decided to hear final arguments tomorrow instead of calling my father and me to the stand, so I might be home sooner rather than later.”
“Good” was all he said to that.
But everything he didn’t say seemed to echo down the line between us. I bit my lip against the words that pressed against them. Words like I miss you, I love you, I need you.
Words that would only make the situation worse than it already was.
Words that couldn’t be spoken out loud again until he had been ratified as the alpha for his pack. Only then did our relationship stand a chance of gaining the approval of his pack and the greater council.
Because without any of that, there was no “us.”
After a long pause, he added, “That’d suggest your father has changed his plea, and from the little I saw of the man, I wouldn’t have thought that likely.”
“Except that we lost Juli today, so maybe he’s had a rethink.”
“Ah, Liz, I’m sorry to hear that.”
I hesitated. “I’m not sure how I should feel, Aiden. I didn’t love him, but he was my brother and... well, you know.”
He’d lost his father and his uncle recently, so he, more than anyone, would understand, even if he was far closer to his family than I’d ever been to mine.
“Have you spoken to your mother? It might help.”
“I haven’t had a chance.”
And in truth, really didn’t want to. The depth of her grief would contrast starkly against my own and make me feel lacking yet again.
I scrubbed a hand across my face. I didn’t want to think about my family or grief or even the wraith right now. I just wanted to talk to the man I loved and forget all about the danger that loomed.
“How’s things going there? Belle said Monty has only made one call so far today, which sounds rather ominous to me.”
“The situation hasn’t really changed. The wellspring continues its rumblings, and Monty has declared there’s nothing he can do to prevent it and that we’ll all just have to live with it until you come back to see if it settles.”
I hadn’t even thought of that possibility. What if the wellspring’s conniptions had nothing to do with my absence but a deeper problem involving my connection to it or even Katie’s immersion with the other wellspring?
“As for him not calling,” Aiden continued, “I dare say it has something to do with the welcome home surprise he’s planning for Belle.”
My eyebrows rose. “What sort of surprise?”
“I’ve been sworn to secrecy and cannot possibly say.”
“Well, that’s just annoying.”
He laughed. “You can’t warn her. Tuck the information deep in your memory banks and don’t let her see it.”
“I will. But do warn him that she hates surprises.”
“Which will make it all the more interesting.”
I grinned, and we talked some more, keeping it light while a hundred different emotions swam under the surface, unspoken but nevertheless weighty.
I had no idea what would happen when we returned home or even if the situation with his pack would be settled by then, but that spark of hope I’d felt at the airport was brighter by the time I said goodbye and hung up.
I drained the last of my tea, then rose and walked down to my bedroom.
