Chapter 37
RIPPLES IN THE WATER
By the afternoon I’m feeling much better and am able to sit up. I swing my legs over the side of the bed and take a breath.
“Looking spry,” Aisha says from where she’s leaning against the doorframe.
I laugh. “I’ve felt better.”
“The last time I came to check on you you were out cold, so by my estimation this is a pretty big improvement.” She rocks her head sideways. “Though of course, I’m not a scientist. Feeling up for a walk?”
“Actually,” I say, “some fresh air would be great.”
I pull on some jeans and a hoodie, and with Aisha’s arm linking through mine for support and also just to be cozy, we head out into the campgrounds.
Elite Pack wolves are still tidying up the battleground, sweeping up smashed glass, scrubbing blood off the walls of the cabins, but we make our way to the lake doing our best to avoid the muddiest spots.
We wander down the pebble-lined shore where, during that summer two years ago, we swam out to the platform and had our first heart-to-heart.
“It’s hard to believe it’s all over,” she says, stopping to look out across the water.
“Yeah, wild.”
“At least you can head off to college knowing the pack is safe.”
“I suppose.”
She eyes me curiously then turns back to the lake vista.
“That is still the plan, right?”
My hands are shoved deeply into my pockets and my shoulders rise to my ears as I take a big, long breath.
“It’s not?” Aisha says.
“I don’t know, I guess we’ve just been through so much, and after what happened during the battle, what I did . . . I guess I’m just wondering if there isn’t something more I’m supposed to do.”
She leans against me gently. “You’ve done plenty.”
“I know but while I was out I spoke to the blood wolves of the past, they told me I had a responsibility to use my powers, my . . . gifts for something worthwhile.”
“You’ve gotta be happy too though.”
“I know,” I say, swaying a little toward her. “But thanks for saying it.”
A gentle breeze picks up and I wander down the shoreline closer to the water, crouching at its edge and dipping my fingers into the coolness.
“You thought any more about whether you’ll stay in New York?” I ask, looking back.
Aisha wanders down to join me but stays standing with her hands on her hips.
“It’s funny I’ve been so torn about the whole thing, about feeling like I don’t belong here anymore, but then I was thinking, well, where else would I feel more of a sense of community, and you know what I decided?”
“What?”
“Community is just the people who care about you and they’re all in New York, so why leave?”
I shake the water off my fingers, sending out little ripples as the drops splatter across the still surface, then stand.
“That’s really cool.”
“I wouldn’t have figured that out if it weren’t for you though.”
“Huh?” I turn to her in shock. “Why do you say that?”
She turns to face me as well, her expression more serious than before.
“Do you know what happened?” she asks. “How you won the war?”
Pulling my hands from my pockets and wrapping them around myself, I try to think back to that moment. To the explosion of light that came from inside of me.
“Not really,” I say.
“Something happened, it was like a wave, or a ripple.” She glances at the lake then back to me.
“Whatever it was, it passed through me, it passed through all of us. And for a second, I felt connected, not just to the pack or my friends, not just to the wolves nearby. I felt like I could feel every wolf on the planet all at once. It was incredible. It was like I felt, for the first time, truly like I was part of something bigger, something amazing. You did that. You connected us all, every wolf in the goddamn world, like we were all one pack.”
My mantra comes back to me, and I mutter it to myself. “One pack under the moon.”
“Exactly.”
I meet Aisha’s eyes and they’re glistening, big and round with this sense of wonder shimmering in them.
“You showed us that we were all part of something bigger, that we didn’t need to look far to find our kin.
I think maybe the Axis Pack wolves resisted and that’s why it knocked them out.
Hell, it was pretty overwhelming for me.
For all of us. After it happened, we all stared at each other, every wolf out on that field, and it felt like no matter where we were we’d be home. ”
“That’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah.” She nods with big eyes pointing out how obviously cool it is. “Did you feel that too?”
I wrap my arms a little tighter around myself. Did I feel that?
“I—I think I did, or at least I think maybe that’s what I wanted to feel?”
She smiles gently.
“And I think that’s why I think that maybe .
. . maybe it’s important that I continue to, I don’t know, it’s corny but, bring people together.
Not like with another big metaphysical blast or anything but like .
. . The last few weeks as I visited the rogue colonies, I saw how disparate we all are, how separate.
Maybe I should do something to bridge those gaps, maybe that would help people feel more like they belonged. ”
Aisha places a hand on my shoulder, tears brimming in her eyes.
“That would be pretty cool too.”
“Hey, you two.” Jasper’s voice catches us off guard and we both wipe away a couple of errant tears before turning to find him standing at the top of the slope. “The Rocky Pack contingent are about to head off. Thought you might want to say goodbye.”
“Shall we?” Aisha asks.
“After you.”
At the top of the bank Jasper reaches out his hand for me and I take it, and with Aisha we make our way back to the lodge.
When we arrive, Morven and his circle are out front.
The sun is setting behind the trees, the evening air is warm and no longer carries the lingering scent of violence, but of honeysuckle and pine.
Jasper leaves to shake Morven’s hand while I head over to where Mason and Omar are standing with Mia.
Off to the side Olivia is saying a tearful farewell to Salazar, who is holding her by the shoulders, no doubt imbuing some sagely beta advice.
And Aisha heads over to join Katie, who is standing between Todd and Simon just outside the big oak doors.
“This is it, Cuz,” Omar says. “See you soon on the Lunar Plane?”
Jeez Louise, I’m already welling up.
Omar comes to me and pulls me into a tight hug.
“Thank you,” I sputter. “For everything.”
“Nah man, thank you. If I hadn’t known you, I would never have found my second chance.”
“I’m so happy for you.”
With a final pat on the back, Omar releases me. “Maybe I’ll come visit sometime?”
“You better.”
Mason steps forward and hugs me too.
“You look after him,” I say.
“Definitely, and you keep in touch.”
“For sure.”
Once we’ve hugged it out, Mason leaves me and takes Omar’s hand again, with his free hand Omar gives me a two-finger salute, and together they begin to head up the hill to the parking lot where their vans are waiting.
Mia comes over next, taking my face in both her hands.
“You’re freaking cool, you know that?” she says.
“And you’re going to be a sick alpha one day.”
“Fuck, I thought I wasn’t going to cry.” She wipes at tears with the back of her hand. “Anyway, give me a hug before I fall apart completely.”
I pull her close as well.
“All set?” Olivia says, approaching red-eyed from saying goodbye to her father, though, of course, putting on a brave face.
“Yep,” Mia says, sniffing and wiping away a few more tears.
Olivia clamps a hand on my arm. “Keep doing what you’re doing, Max. And keep an eye on that doofus for me, will you?” She nods in Jasper’s direction.
“A close one,” I joke back.
As if they could hear us, Morven and Jasper turn and make their way over.
“Time to go, ladies,” Morven says.
“Bye, Max,” Mia says, stepping back.
“See you soon, guapo,” Olivia says with a wink.
“Max,” Morven says, stepping closer and extending a hand. “I have to say you’re full of surprises.” I reach out and shake his hand, the gesture running longer than I expected. Morven doesn’t seem to want to let go. “We owe you a great deal. The Rocky Pack will not forget that.”
“Thank you, sir,” I say.
“And I owe you as well,” he says, glancing briefly at where his daughter and her mate are waiting, their arms around each other. “You’re a good man.”
Finally, the handshake ends, and Morven turns to Jasper.
“You’ll be a fine alpha one day,” he says, shaking Jasper’s hand one last time. “And you’ll always have an ally in the Rocky Pack.”
Jasper nods, accepting this compliment, and then Morven turns, heading up the hill, Mia and Olivia following behind.
“You okay?” Jasper asks, noticing my tear-streaked face.
“Why does it feel like something’s ending?” I ask.
“It is,” he says, moving to my side so we can both watch the departing group gather at the top of the hill, then sliding his hand into mine. “But something is also beginning,” he says. “A new chapter.”
Katie appears at my other side, and I wrap my arm around her shoulders, nodding at the bro twins, who smile and nod back.
Aisha joins us, slipping an arm around Jasper, and we watch as Morven disappears over the crest. The others—Mason, Omar, Mia, and Olivia—all turn back one last time to wave.
We wave back until it seems like we could stand here waving and crying all night. Then finally they’re gone.
I turn to Katie, who hugs me tightly around my waist, and I plant a soft kiss on the top of her head.
“You’ll see them again,” she says. “For now though, I guess we’d better go pack too.”
“Best-friend date when we’re back in New York?” I ask.
“It’s already in my Calander.”
She kisses my cheek, then, along with her mates, heads back inside the lodge.
Aisha pulls out her phone, which is vibrating, and turns the screen so we can see Troy is FaceTiming her.
“Would you believe I forgot to call and tell him the war is over?”
Jasper and I both laugh as she hits the button to answer. “Hey baby, good news. You can come home!”
She lifts her brows at us to say she’ll take the call inside, then makes her way into the lodge as well.
Leaving Jasper and me alone with the setting sun.
We turn and wrap our arms around each other and Jasper wipes a final tear from my cheek with his thumb.
“You think we’ll ever come back here?” I ask.
He lifts his head and surveys the campsite, breathing in deeply as if he’s trying to take in as much of the forest air as he can.
“I think we should,” he says. “Once in a blue moon.”
Just then the doors to the lodge swing open and Salazar comes running outside, cell phone in hand.
“Jasper, news from the city!”
“What is it?” he asks.
“Your father,” Salazar says. “He’s awake.”