“That’s going to be problematic,” Range said.
“Absolutely,” Davin added.
They looked at Jason. “Agreed.”
“Why?” Emme asked.
Asa knew the answer, but it wasn’t for him to say.
“Because our wolves are not happy about it,” Range explained. “Think of us as eight brothers. Four human, four wolf. One of the brothers has possibly killed a brother. Or at the very least, banished him to a place where we will never see him again. Do you think the three wolf brothers will sit well with that?”
“That’s a fair explanation,” Asa told Emme. “I don’t expect you to understand because you’re not a shifter. You don’t have this other part of you. When my wolf turned on me, it was like turning on myself.”
“That metal can’t be a permanent solution,” Range said. “We have to find a better one.”
“How?” Asa was open to finding an answer but not to being subjected to assaulting himself again.
“Let’s call Mae,” Jason suggested. “She has answers. And when she doesn’t, she knows someone who does.”
“Mae, Mae, Mae,” Davin said. “Do you think she has the answers to everything?”
“Damn. She did well enough for us for a few years, what’s your beef with her?” Range asked.
“No beef. Just thought we should solve this for ourselves. For once.”
“Nah, I vote we call Mae,” Range said.
“Aye,” Asa said in unison with Jason.
“The ayes have it,” Range surmised, turning to Davin. “You’ve been outnumbered. Deal.”
Davin shrugged. “Fine.”
“But first, can we have a meal? I haven’t eaten in two days,” Asa said. “Plus, I’ve shifted and done a bunch of healing. My reserves are tapped out.”
“You guys stay here. I’ll whip you up a sandwich,” Eira said.
“I’ll help.” Emme rose and joined her sister at the door.
Chapter Twelve
Emme followed Eira to the kitchen, where her sister began to lay out the fixings for sandwiches.
“Why didn’t you tell me what you were doing? Where you were going? That you’d met someone special? Why didn’t you tell me anything at all?”
“I didn’t want to make you a party to my crime against the sisterhood. They’d have blamed and questioned you. You would have lied to them. This way, I kept you from lying. Not to mention, how could you have understood my feelings for Range? It isn’t the Valkyrie way.”
Emme realized, a few days ago, she wouldn’t have understood, but for some reason, things were much different now, even after such a short time of watching her sister interact with Range. How she saw a side of Asa that was so different than any man she’d ever had a few hours with after a night of clubbing.
“Help carry?” Eira handed her a tray of sandwiches and picked up two six-packs of beer from the refrigerator.
“Sure.” She took the tray. “Who’s Mae?”
“She’s their foster mother. I met her once. We spent a few days in Bear Canyon Valley at her bed-and-breakfast. She’s a good woman.”
“When did you go to Bear Canyon Valley?”
“Shortly after we cleared out of Houston. I guess you’d call it a shifter honeymoon.” Eira winked.
Emme took a step back, leaned her hip against the counter. “You’re married?”
“We’ve couple-bonded. It’s a shifter thing. We haven’t had an official ceremony. Yet.” She shrugged. “If you stick around long enough, I’d like to have one. You can be there.”
“Is this like a maid of honor thing? Because you know Valkyrie don’t do that.”
“I’m no longer Valkyrie, Emme, don’t you realize that?”
“I don’t think it’s something you can easily cast off.”
Eira shrugged, clearly not interested in arguing.
Back at the table, sandwiches and beers passed around, Range picked up a remote control and pressed a button. A partition moved aside, revealing a set of monitors. Jason brought him an iPad. He pressed and swiped in-between bites and slugs. The monitors came to life. “Calling Mae,” he announced.
Shortly, a screen appeared, a stunning woman—brunette, dark-eyed, probably in her thirties, if Emme were to guess—appeared on the screen. Her smile was genuine as she looked on. “Range, you have the gang with you. And… who’s that?” She pointed.
“Mae, this is my sister Emme,” Eira took the helm.
“Emme. Nice to meet you.” Mae’s eyes flashed deep indigo, making Emme wonder if she was some type of shifter, what with those eyes.
“You as well.”
“This must be big,” Mae said. “All of you calling me. What gives?”
A dark-haired man with a hellish scar that ran down his face stood off to the side behind Mae, but no one made any introductions though Emme was curious.
“Something’s going on with Asa’s wolf. After that study, well—”
Mae’s expression was crestfallen. “That study,” she murmured.
“Yeah, we should have listened to you,” Asa said.
“That aside,” Range pressed on, “his wolf’s been trying to kill him. And then—bear with me as this is convoluted.” He explained how Emme had shot him, thinking she had to, and how the special metal of the arrow she’d used kept his wolf at bay, and how now he had fashioned an armband to keep the wolf away and to stay alive.
Mae shook her head, expression somber. She glanced at the man behind her. “Griz, do you think—”
“I’d like to know more about our history,” Jason said. “Why don’t we have any memory of our youth from before we came to you?”
The scarred man stepped forward. “Your memories were wiped to protect others.”
“Well, that ain’t working now,” Range said. “Griz, we need to do something. The three of us have wolves that are losing their shit inside. It’s making matters more than a little disharmonious.”
Griz? Emme wondered. What kind of name is that?
Chapter Thirteen
Asa could only imagine Emme’s head was spinning, but he’d have to clarify matters for her later. Right now, he had to make things right for his brothers. If their wolves were making things uncomfortable for them as his wolf had for him, if they tried to kill their humans, he’d strangle each of those wolves single-handedly.
This was not the time to keep secrets, so he needed to push the matter to the forefront.
“We need help, Griz. We need our memories unlocked. We need to figure out how to make my wolf sane, so it doesn’t set my brothers’ wolves off.” A thought occurred to him. He turned to Range. “Your eyes turned red when you attacked me. So, I’m not the only one with red eyes.” He glanced at Jason and Davin. “What about you two? Have your eyes turned red?”
They looked at him as though he’d gone crazy.
“So, then not yet. Maybe it’s something that will happen later? Does this have something to do with the study?” Asa’s mind raced. What did it mean that Range’s eyes had been red? Did that mean his wolf was going to turn on him as his own had? He wished he had some answers.