“Well, old man. What do you have to say to yourself? How did this happen to you?” Oli stood at the end of the bed Elder Evans lay in. He frowned at him in disapproval. “I don’t just mean how you came to be injured, either. I want to know how you ended up with Lycan blood in your system as well. Wait, you know what? Why don’t you just start talking and tell me about everything from the beginning? How does that sound?” “You can go shove it. Lycan lover.” Elder Evan’s voice sounded raw and scratchy. Scratches and gashes twisted on his face when he grimaced in disapproval at Oli. “I’m afraid I’m no one’s lover at the moment and I’m just here to get the facts. So you have the floor. Please tell me how this all started and what your reasoning was for everything.” Oli had his phone recording the conversation, but Elder Evans wasn’t talking to him. “Fine, why did you take the Lycan blood?” “I’m not telling you anything. You weak-willed bumpkin.”

Dean found he couldn’t stay away from Kiera any longer. He needed to check in on her. It felt imperative, not just poke his head in to see how she was doing. No, he needed to see her, talk to her, and touch her. His mind was going back to her every time he tried to deal with anything. It wasn’t until he was stroking her long hair that he realized, that what he’d thought was his need to mate with her wasn’t the be all, it was only the slow starting burn. Now he stood there stroking her soft blonde hair with his cock throbbing in his pants painfully. Dean’s instinct to seal the deal with her was harder to resist now. It must have to do with her injuries’ healing. No need to hold off normally, but right now with this Lycan issue looming over them. He had to stay in control. To compensate for not sealing the deal, Dean risked getting his face clawed by his mate, by leaning in close to her bared throat so he could truly have her scent committed to memory

“How do you plan to go about this? With the Council of Elders and the pack itself? Elder Evans has pretty much made me look like a monster to everyone. I’m not sure how to change that. Don’t even tell me you’ll talk about this fever dream you had. No one is going to believe you. Why would the Moon Goddess contact you when the oracles and seers can’t?” Dean finally got comfortable beside his mate on the small bed. He was more than happy to suffer the small space for a little while. He rode the high of not only having finally received the proof he needed to know that Kiera belonged with him, and she couldn’t deny it. When he knotted within his mate, that was the final telltale clue of a fated pairing. “That’s the thing. She sounded distracted, like she was trying to keep track of something or someone. Like she was talking to me, but she knew she wasn’t supposed to. It’s more of an impression I got. Do you remember any images or stories of her wearing one of those old-f

Why was he being a coward? He’d known this she-wolf as long as he’d known Kiera. That was why he didn’t want this confrontation. They’d broken up the moment Cal realized there was nothing and would be nothing between them. When he thought about it, that was right around the time someone broke the spell during a rather odd business meeting with a rather creepy druid. His brain finally put two and two together. Dean could only blame his stupidity on there being so much going on that it was too much for him to see the forest for the trees. “Lucy, I’m working. You know how I hate you interrupting me while I’m dealing with sensitive pack business. What do you want you to can’t talk to Jerome about?” “Where’s Oliver?” She wouldn’t call Oli by his nickname because she enjoyed teasing him with the name he hated. “Travelling on business for the pack and myself. Out with it, what do you want?” “I came to see if I can help ease your baser needs.” She

Dean sat there and all but ignore the protests and threats he received from several of the Elders. Once they’d run out of righteous anger and quieted down, then he continued. “I have received nothing but hate, excuses, and insults in the last few months from the Council of Elders. Then add in the threats and demands that I do specific things that go against my sense and sensibilities. Several messages I’ve received reach far out of your place within the pack and on this council. It’s becoming dangerous for people. I also have noticed that none have asked about one of your long-standing members. Elder Evans is sadly not in good shape. He’s survived surgery, but that’s only temporary. Someone has been providing him with Lycan blood that he’s been injecting into himself. That blood he’s been using hasn’t turned him into a Lycan, instead has damaged most of the organs within his body beyond repair. That includes his brain, all because the Lycan blood was not compatible w