Rejected as Weak: The Alpha Wants Me Back

Then Three

"What did you do?"

The question hung between us.

"I told you. I got him breathing again."

"I saw the breathing." Silas's gaze didn't waver. "I've watched trained handlers use breathing techniques. It doesn't usually retract a partial Shift that fast. And it doesn't usually work on a kid who's never met them before."

I looked back toward the alley.

The medic was helping the boy to his feet now, one arm around his shoulders. He was still shaking, but the claws were gone. His face was human again.

"Then I don't know."

Silas studied me for a second.

"You've done it before?"

"Yes."

"With wolves who knew you?"

The question landed harder than I expected.

I thought of Noah, Cale, the young wolves in Blackridge who had grown up with my voice somewhere in the background of their fear. They knew me. Trusted me.

This boy hadn't.

"Usually," I admitted.

Silas glanced toward the alley again.

"He didn't."

"No."

For years, I'd never thought much about why it worked. Someone panicked, I stayed with them, and eventually they settled. There had always been something instinctive about knowing when to speak and when to wait.

I'd never needed a better explanation.

Until now.

"Does it always do that to you?" Silas asked.

I turned back. "Do what?"

"Make you look like you're about to fall over."

I straightened. "I'm fine."

"You're pale."

"I'm tired."

"Your hands were shaking before you hid them in your sleeves."

I looked down.

My fingers were still tucked into the cuffs of my sweater.

I didn't ask how long he'd been watching closely enough to notice.

Silas let the silence sit for a beat.

Then he said, "I'm Beta for Greyhaven Pack."

The name meant something, but not much. A border Pack. Rough territory. The sort of place Blackridge wolves mentioned with vague unease and very little detail.

"We have a few people who might be worth trying this with," he continued. "Young wolves. Some adults. People who don't respond well to the usual methods."

I looked at him.

"If you're willing," he said, "I can arrange something."

The answer almost came automatically.

Yes.

Someone needed help. Say yes. Figure out everything else afterward.

My head still throbbed faintly behind one eye. My legs felt heavier than they had when I stepped off the bus.

I stopped myself.

"What exactly are you asking?"

"One day." His answer came immediately. "You meet a few people. See if what you did here works with them. We pay you for the time. If it doesn't work, that's the end of it."

"That's all?"

"That's all."

I waited.

Silas didn't add anything.

But I'd learned in Blackridge that just one day had a way of turning into another morning, another emergency, another name on the schedule.

"I'm not joining Greyhaven," I said. "I'm not taking an oath. And I'm not staying past the day unless I decide to."

"Fine."

The answer came so easily that I almost missed it.

"And I need somewhere to sleep. Paid work doesn't help much if I spend everything on a motel."

Silas nodded. "Greyhaven keeps worker housing at the old border station east of town. Basic, but clean. The room's included starting tonight."

"Tonight?"

"If you want it."

That was better than the motel across the street, which looked cheap in the way that suggested thin walls and thinner blankets.

"How many people?" I asked.

Silas looked at me for a moment.

"How many can you work with tomorrow without putting yourself on the floor?"

The question caught me off guard.

"How many do you have?"

"That's not what I asked."

I opened my mouth.

The old answer rose up before I could stop it.

"As many as—"

I stopped.

The words died in my throat.

My fingers were still cold inside my sleeves.

I thought of Elin's warning.

You're not bouncing back cleanly anymore.

I thought of sleeping for thirteen hours and waking up shocked that my hands weren't shaking.

I thought of the sharp pulse behind my eye after helping one frightened boy in an alley.

One.

That was how many I'd helped today.

And I was already tired.

I tried to imagine tomorrow.

One person.

Rest.

Another.

Then another.

Could I do more?

Probably.

That wasn't the same question.

"Three," I said.

The word came out quieter than I'd expected.

Silas didn't react.

He didn't ask whether I could make it five.

He didn't tell me how badly people needed help.

He didn't say just one more.

"Then three."

I waited for the rest.

There wasn't any.

"Tomorrow morning," he continued. "Eight o'clock. Border station office. If you need to stop before three, you say

so. A medic will be there, and you won't be alone with anyone."

I nodded slowly.

It felt strange, like reaching for a step that wasn't where my body expected it to be.

"What happened with the boy?" I asked. "I should know if there's going to be trouble."

"His name's Jace. Local family. He's had a few bad episodes." Silas glanced back toward the alley. "The medic will keep him overnight."

"Will he be okay?"

"Probably."

I looked at him.

"That's reassuring."

"It's accurate."

Something about the answer almost made me smile.

Almost.

Silas continued, "You won't be asked to handle him again unless you agree to it."

I looked toward the medic helping Jace into a waiting van.

A part of me wanted to ask what happened during his other episodes. Who usually helped him. Whether his family knew what triggered them.

I let the questions stay where they were.

Someone else had him now.

I had agreed to three strangers tomorrow.

That was enough.

"I'll do the day," I said.

Silas pulled out his phone.

"I'll send you the address for the guest block. Check in under your name. Someone at the desk will have the room key."

"And tomorrow?"

"Downstairs office. Eight."

"Paid?"

His eyes flicked up from the phone.

"Yes."

"You hadn't said how much."

That earned the smallest pause yet.

Then he named a number.

It wasn't generous enough to make me suspicious, but it was more than enough to cover food and a few days somewhere cheap if I decided not to stay after the trial.

"All right," I said.

His phone disappeared back into his pocket.

"Eight tomorrow."

"Eight."

He turned and headed back toward the alley.

No promise that I was special.

No speech about how much Greyhaven needed me.

No attempt to convince me to stay longer than I'd agreed.

Just one day.

Three people.

A room for the night.

I watched him go, then picked up my duffel from beside the bus shelter.

I needed the money and the room.

But that wasn't the only reason I'd said yes.

I wanted to understand what had happened in that alley.

Why Jace had responded to me.

Why my head hurt afterward.

Why the same thing I'd done without thinking for years suddenly looked strange when someone else watched closely enough to question it.

Three people tomorrow might not give me an answer.

But it was somewhere to start.

I looked down at my phone when Silas's message arrived.

Old Border Station — Guest Block.

Below it was a room number and instructions for the morning.

I shouldered my bag.

Three.

I'd said three.

And for once, no one had tried to make it more.