81 | ADVICE

Things are tense between Blue and I. Our nightly ‘sleepover’ has become a drawn-out thing of lingering kisses and staying in different layers of the sheets. Nightmares about the Revenant become less common, filled by twisted recalled memories from the time before I even knew about my other half. Blue and I get less and less rest, both from him waking me when I start freaking out in my sleep, and from drawn out work. Him from Pack business and me because more reliable reports coming in from the West.

Craven had been able to make it a reasonable distance before running into the *draki* Clans in the Rockies. My cousin managed to stop by a few days after the dragon shifter left to go back to his territory, and filled me in on what he’d found. The six invading Clans from the North converged on the already claimed territories of the West and began having something called a Trial. The dragon-shifter equivalent of an Alpha challenge.

Only this isn’t something that happens very often, according the the little Craven managed to weasel from Kazamir before the *draki* left. But the invasion called all dragon shifters to the area for the dominance fights. I was too afraid to ask about what that kind of fighting left the surrounding territory in, but assume it can’t be too bad, or else we’d be hearing about it in human news.

Apparently, *draki* have heavy glamor. So thick, in fact, Craven had gotten turned around several times on his journey when he got too close to *draki* territories. What had originally been a stealth/reconnaissance mission turned into my cousin spreading his scent all over the dragon-shifter’s territories. It was why he’d been attacked by draki and how Kazamir was able to find him before he was injured. That kind of power seems to shield the Clans from Nikki’s all-knowing sight, for whatever reason. But now that the Ancient is aware of the presence of the L-Class supernaturals, she hasn’t been in contact with me. The old adage ‘no news is good news’ seems to be real when it comes to her.

We’re getting down to the wire, now, when it comes to the issue with the Hunter. Paris and I keep texting each other for updates, but it’s always the same responses. No sign of the elusive Hunter from either side. None what so ever. At this point, the literal end of the week, I’m busy shuffling over weeks of old reports for any mention of the Hunter. But since Craven and Ryker were never really able to Track them, I know I’m not going to have any luck on the matter. And there’s been no word from Shola, the Hunter from Darklight that said she’d ask around about her cousin.

I’m buzzing with the amount of coffee I’ve been drinking over this weekend, and now, at nearly midnight on Sunday, I’m feeling hopeless. Old repots are strewn all over the floor around me, mixed in with empty blood bags and the now-empty thermos of coffee. Finally, I lay back on the greenhouse floor, blinking rapidly as I get used to looking at something other than dry words.

The light coating of frost that’s collected from the outside casts a haze over the view out of the glass walls. Still, I catch a few twinkling flickers of starlight in the otherwise dark sky. My eyes aren’t completely adjusted when my phone begins vibrating in my pocket. Without sitting up, I answer the call and press the device to my ear.

*“Wisty?”* Before I can make my usual ‘hello’ greeting, Paris’ voice comes through. There’s no panic in her tone, nothing to give away how my cousin’s feeling.

“Hey, Parri, what’s up?” I ask, my ears catching the rustling of movement on the other end of the line. “Everything okay?” I catch her sighing and what sounds like a door thumping closed. “You guys doing okay?” I rephrase carefully, my heart picking up it’s normally steady beat at the thought that she may be calling with bad news.

*“What? Yeah. It’s fine. We’re fine.”* Parris rushes to calm me. I feel my shoulders relax a little and let out the breath I’d been holding. *“I just…I was wondering something.”*

“Okay,” I say slowly, trying to keep my focus on her words and the soft sounds of the evergreens rustling across the line, rather than letting my imagination take over. There are literally a billion things she can be ‘wondering’ at the moment. At the top of that list could be things having to do with our grandmother and the anniversary of her death that’s coming up, our current treaty, the Hunter, Ryker’s position as liaison to the Vampire Court, and Craven’s request to head back out West to do more sniffing. And that’s just the top five.

*“How can you trust us? After everything that happened, I mean.”* She asks, throwing off my brief line of thought and sending my mind careening in a whole other, much darker direction.

Flashes of the past flutter through my head. The time before I settled in Kiwina, endless time spent running from the family I’d live with for ten years, and the fights in which my life was at risk. And then everything that ensued after I got to Kiwina and became friends with the Azures. How the Reiniers’ antics became worse before everything was finally out in the open and I discovered my grandmother had been controlling the Pack.

For a long moment, I just want to laugh. Her question’s so broad that I can’t even begin to think of an answer. I mentally search for the words as the seconds tick by. Paris remains silent on the other end of the line, but I can hear the sound of the trees rusting around her, so I know she’s still there. Giving me time to answer, I assume.

“Uh,” I blink at the far wall of the greenhouse, my eyes catching on the sticky notes from the Hunter event and tracing the edges of the small squares of paper. For some reason, I can’t look away from the spot as I think.

*“I just mean that I’m not sure I would have been so ready to trust us if I were in your shoes.”* Paris explains, seeming to realize that her question was too much for my strained brain at this time of night. *“Even if we are family. We hunted you for years.”*

“I know it wasn’t something you guys really wanted. It was grandmother’s warped influence and the Pack law that made you guys do what you did. That and your love for her.” I tell her honestly, tipping my head back so I’m staring up at the sky through the frosted glass once more. “I knew you- most of you - were good at heart and weren’t in it to kill me. Not really.” I shrug as I think it over, the words coming more confidently as I continue. “I thought you guys were trying to kill me cause you hated me at first, but when the moment came for Petra to kill me, you proved me wrong.” I consider what I’d discovered and how that night changed everything between us. “You made me trust you with your actions. You wanted peace. Not revenge. And now we’re allies.” The words ring true aloud, and I want to say more, but I know this relationship we have is still somewhat new. And some things are better left to be said in-person.

*“Now we’re allies.”* Paris agrees softly, a note of relief in her voice as a sigh comes from her end of the line. *“Thanks, Wisty.”* She adds gently and clears her throat. *“We’re going to be having our annual family reunion this year. I expect you and Marissa to be there.”* Her voice becomes more nonchalant, but also lightly prodding. I smirk at the sky and let out a little laugh.

“You think that’s wise?” I question once my surprise and mirth fades a bit. “Not sure that’s a good idea this soon, Parri.” The very idea of Mom and I going to a ‘family reunion’, something more like a meeting of allies and an excuse for a part from what I recall from my childhood, is laughable. Aside from Paris, Ryker, Craven, Ivy, and Fallon, I haven’t spoken to any of my extended family in over a decade, let alone met with any of the Reinier Pack’s allies.

*“They’re going to have to welcome you guys back at some point, Wisty. We’re only allies with the Packs that agreed to also consider the Azures and you off limits.”* Paris surprises me yet again, leaving me to stare, wide-eyed, into the darkness. *“And, of course, the Azure’s are also invited.”* She adds, the hints of a smile in her voice. My stomach flutters nervously at the thought of the two Packs socializing outside of a need-to-work-together setting.

“Uh…”

“*At least talk to your mate about it*.” Paris tells me, the sound of her smile translating even stronger at the word ‘mate’. I feel a slight warmth in my chest and chew my bottom lip as I consider.

“I’ll tell B- Zane.” I say, managing to correct myself at the last minute when I say Blue’s name. It still feels weird to say it, since all we really ever use in relation to each other are nicknames.

*“M’kay,”* Paris hums from the phone. *“And don’t worry about the Hunter, Wisty. We’ve got it covered.”* The certainty in her words has me frowning a little, wondering if my cousin’s found the Hunter and helped them already. Before I can voice my question, I hear something like a door opening. *“I gotta go, Wisty. We’ll talk later.”* Paris whisper into the phone, not sounding concerned, but a little breathless now. My frown deepens, eyes narrowing, but I don’t get to even take a breath before the line disconnects.

The knot of worry that had been following me around the last week slowly begins to unravel. Something in me relaxes, like I know on a primal level, that everything’s going to be okay. Well…everything regarding the Hunter, at least. I let out a deep, sigh, my whole body feeling the last few days of restlessness ebbing out of my body and leaving only exhaustion. I know I should get up and go into the house to sleep, but the more I think that, the heavier my limbs feel. Then, from one breath to the next, the world falls away, and I fall into a peaceful sleep.