Chapter Five
Nate had paid more for the twenty-four-hour access storage, and right now, he was grateful he’d done that.
Dawn was breaking on the horizon, and he was sitting at the edge of the clearing in Rogue Pack territory. A glance in the rearview and he saw the black wolf of his Alpha trotting through the woods, his eyes trained on Nate’s truck.
His human mate, Nory, was probably still asleep in the tent. There was a small chimney coming from one of those tiny, portable wood stoves, and smoke streaming into the dark sky. She would need the heat if Liam wasn’t there to keep her warm.
Was Delta warm? He looked at the old cabin but didn’t see any smoke coming from it.
The temperature had dropped overnight, and he hadn’t been able to sleep. He kept worrying about Delta.
Fuck, his head was a mess.
Nate inhaled steadily and pressed his boot onto the gas pedal, easing his truck forward as quietly as he could. He turned and backed it up to the cabin and left it idling as he got out and unloaded the furniture he’d strapped into the bed of his pickup.
He’d just grabbed anything he could think of that she would need. He didn’t know what the inside of her temporary den looked like, so he just guessed.
He secured a big, blue tarp over the top of the furniture pile to protect it from the snowfall that was coming down.
He paced to his truck, and then felt gutted, so he returned to the house.
He could smell her wolf. The animal had been all over this place.
She rarely Changed. He studied the smattering of paw prints all over the snowy yard.
They were in chaotic lines, like her wolf hadn’t known what to do or where to go.
The front porch was destroyed, and he couldn’t even get to the boarded-up front door without wading through tall piles of debris.
There must have been a back door with easier access, or a window.
Speaking of window…he studied the front one.
There was condensation on it, and a long crack in the bottom of the pane had been covered with an old, curled piece of silver tape.
The old seals were probably broken on all of the windows in this place.
The foundation had to be wrecked from parts of the house sagging, and others being removed.
He made his way to the side of the house and tested the corner that was rotting right off the cabin.
The wood crumbled in his hands. He stood back and studied the moss and snow covered sagging roof.
A two-foot by two-foot hole had been patched with a tarp at one point, but the tarp in question was blowing in the breeze and not covering the gaping hole adequately anymore.
This was what Delta was choosing over being in a warm hotel room with him.
And he got it.
Nate closed his eyes and hated everything that had happened.
“She doesn’t want to see you,” Nory said from behind him.
He hadn’t even heard her approaching. Without turning around, he said, “I know. I’m not pushing her. Just dropping furniture off.”
Nory didn’t say anything.
Nate pulled his beanie lower down over his ears and tried to smile at Nory, but whatever she saw on his face made hers go white as a sheet.
“I’m fine,” he answered before she could ask the annoying question.
She inhaled and scanned the cabin. “She went wolf at about two in the morning. She hasn’t been back since. I’ve been waiting up. Liam is looking for her.”
Fuck this felt awful. “Should I help him find her?”
“I think she’s taking some space to just not deal with the human emotions for a little while. She doesn’t want to do this in front of you,” Nory whispered. “She told me so. She doesn’t want you seeing it. She wants you seeing her strong on the other side.”
Nate swallowed hard and hooked his hands on his hips, cast a glance at the cabin. “Can I fix the roof for her?”
“She doesn’t want your help—”
“Well, she doesn’t know how to fix a roof.”
“And you do?”
“I can rebuild this whole damn house for her if it’ll make this awful…fucked-up feeling inside of me easier.” He swallowed hard again. “I’m sorry. I’m not trying to take this out on you. I’m just not at a good spot right now. It’s…” He gestured loosely to the cabin. “I can do it while she’s gone.”
“She’s not yours anymore, Nate,” Nory said softly.
“I know. I know that. She blocked me. I know she’s cutting me off. Can I just apologize how I want to? I won’t bother her or try to see her.”
Nory pressed her lips into a thin line and cocked her head. “I worry about the roof caving in on her.”
“I can help.” He inhaled deep, feeling the sting of cold air in his lungs. “I will feel better if I can help her. Quietly. Tell her Liam did it, or Vic. I don’t care. Not Dodger.”
Nory huffed a small laugh and hung her head. “Liam won’t let Dodger claim her. You don’t have to worry about him.”
“Claim her,” he repeated softly. Why the fuck hadn’t he done that when he had the chance?
“Save that growl in your voice for someone else,” Nory said quietly. “I’m an ally.”
“To Delta.”
“To Delta first, but you are Pack too. You are our Second. I’m sad for all of it. Sad for Delta and sad for you.”
He blew out a frozen breath and stared at the smoking exhaust coming from his backed-up truck.
“We’re giving her a ride to town as soon as she Changes back to get some groceries and cleaning supplies. We’ll be gone at nine if Liam can find her.”
His heart kicked up it’s pace. “For how long?”
“I’ll keep her out a few hours. Be gone by noon just to be safe.” With that, Nory bundled her coat tighter around herself and turned, then went back to her tent without saying another word.
A smile took his lips. A small one. It barely stretched his face. Nory was giving him a time to work on Delta’s den.
He hopped into his truck and eased back down the road, following his own tire tracks down the hill.
He was a werewolf with a plan, and a mental list of supplies.
He could get a hell of a lot done for Delta in three hours.
And then maybe, just maybe, this suffocating guilt inside of him would ease up.