Page 93 of Wolf's Fate
“And left you to freeze in an abandoned house.”
“He’d have come back.”
“To bury you?”
Sitting back, I gave him a look full of reproach. “He didn’t get worse until he was here.”
“So…it’s true?” Doc asked, leaning forward. “He’s losing himself?”
“I don’t know. He’s not himself.”
“You’ve seen it?” Doc was watching me carefully, and when I nodded, he let out a sigh. “I was hoping you would anchor him.”
“Me?”
His eye roll was almost insulting. “He cares for you, alot. We thought if anyone would get through to him, it would be you.”
A wild idea popped into my head, and I placed my fork down. “You’re not the reason why my places were broken into, or I was in a car crash?”
“No!” He thought about it. “Well, Iamthe reason the truck rolled, but I didn’tplanit, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“You knew we were here though?”
“The shaman did. Luna sent a sign that he needed to be here on Shadowridge Peak. He turned up at our main hall and commandeered me, Cannon, and Royce to take him here.”
“Oh.” I resumed eating. “Caleb thinks your pack authority wants him to relinquish his claim on the Peak.”
Doc nodded thoughtfully. “I think it’s safe to say Caleb isn’t himself. His pack was one of the longest, oldest packs in these parts. Luna will want that bloodline continued. The shaman thinks that’s why she was sending visions of him to you.”
“But I’m not a shifter.”
“I know,” Doc agreed. “Still haven’t figured that part out yet.”
“I’m not following,” I admitted. “Who is after me?”
Doc looked at me, a speculative gleam in his eye. “Did he tell you?”
“About the attack and his revenge?” When his head dipped, I nodded. “Yeah, not the bedtime story I needed to hear.”
“There are some of his pack left. It’s very unlikely that any of them would want to harm him, but Cannon is looking into it.”
Finishing my food, I looked around. “So you’re coming to take me home?” I guessed.
“I came to check on you, make sure your ME wasn’t kicking your ass all over this mountain.” He saw my look and grinned. “And the shaman believes you are pivotal to healing Caleb.”
“Ah, the ulterior motive.”
“Do you think he’s rogue?” The question shouldn’t have surprised me as much as it did.
“I think he’s lost,” I answered carefully. “From what I’ve seen, I think he’s worse when he’s here. I know why he left this peak, and selfishly, part of me wished he had never returned.”
Doc rubbed his eyes. “The whole mountain needs purged,” he said with a grim look. “All that death in one place, no wonder he’s losing it.”
“Can the shaman help? Can Cannon?”
Doc sighed, getting to his feet and taking my empty plate. “Caleb needs to want to be helped,” he answered. “According to the shaman, it only works if Caleb wants it to.”
“And how do we convince him he wants to?” I asked skeptically.