Chapter 27

Kira is saved from having to answer too many questions by Mrs Parker's cooking, which occupies a large chunk of Will’s time and, by the looks of the portion sizes, a large chunk of his body too. 

The table is spread with the best that Woods has to offer. 

It isn’t for Will’s benefit, but she doesn’t have to know that. 

Mrs Parker wasn’t fazed by Kira returning after she had already cooked a full meal for the pack two hours earlier.

Everyone in this town competes to do or provide anything that Kira might need at the drop of a hat.

It is undeniable, now, that every single person in the town knows Kira Wilder, the once lost daughter of  Woods, is being courted by Jayden Knight , the Alpha of the pack.

People she hasn’t seen before or that she only vaguely remembers from the funeral come over to greet her for the day. Someone brings her a basket of eggs from their hens as a gift, and another a very beautiful bunch of flowers from their garden. 

All the while, Will watches over his bowl, slurping up soup before picking at his beef short ribs, a bemused smile on his face.

“It’s as if you’ve become some kind of town celebrity.”

Kira grimaces. “Oh you know, everyone has been very nice to me after the funeral.” 

“That’s all?”

Will has always been able to read her too well. Kira sighs.

“The guy... puppy-dog guy... he’s kind of a big deal around here. And you know how small towns are. Everyone knows that he and I have been seeing each other, so everyone’s interested. I believe they think I’ll trade information for eggs.”

Snickering, Will drags over a bowl of radish salad.

“What kind of big deal?”

This isn’t too difficult to explain outside of wolf terms. 

“He’s a golden child, you know? His family have lived here for generations and he’s their only son. He helps out the whole town with everything they need. If any elderly people need to drive to the big hospital in the city, he takes them there. If someone’s roof is leaking, he fixes it. He tills the land when the old farmers can’t do it anymore, and he teaches all the little kids how to navigate the woods.”

Realizing that Will is watching her with a curious expression, she stops talking. “What?”

Will smiles and picks up another bowl. “He’s just not your type. All the guys I’ve ever seen you with are skin pole, glasses propped up high, a stack of books in their arms. You don’t see anyone with anything less than a PhD.”

“Well maybe that’s why I never made it past a first date with them,” Kira shrugs. 

“Jayden is different, and I think that’s good for me. He’s shown me sides of myself I never knew existed.” Quite literally.

“I’m slowing down and spending time healing, and he’s helping me. I really like him, Will.”

“You barely know him,” whispers Will.

Perhaps her pack her only over-protective friends.

Kira diverts the conversation quickly to a discussion of the town and its history, skipping over the parts that would have Will calling a doctor to debate her sanity. 

She tells him about the discovery that her mother grew up here, and about how close she feels to her when she’s out in the woods. 

Will doesn’t need to know that she tends to have paws in those moments. At the mention of the woods, Will looks more flabbergasted than ever. Kira has never been outdoorsy.

“I’ll show you around. You’re going to love the woods, Will,” she says, hopeful, because Will likes plants. Houseplants, anyway, and cacti.

Just when they’re going to stand, Noel appears. He acts casual, but Kira knows he’s angling to come over, so she raises her hand to wave. 

“Hey!” Noel smiles. “I just came by to see my mom.”

Kira thinks that’s a shameless lie. Either Noel sent himself to dig for information about the newcomer, or Jayden sent him to make sure that Kira is okay. 

She rolls her eyes. “Well she’s in the kitchen,” she says, with an equally sweet smile in return that tells Noel she knows exactly what he’s doing.

“So this is your best friend? From the city?” Noel beams.

“William Sterling,” Will says, inclining his head. 

“I’m sorry that I didn’t introduce myself properly earlier. I’d had a long drive. This place isn’t the easiest to find, and I took my stress out on the rest of you.”

“Oh it’s okay! We were all a bit jittery too. We’d been working on the house all day and everyone was tired. What do you think of Kira’s house?”

Will hesitates. “I think it looks lovely. I’m sure that whoever buys it will be very happy.”

“Let’s take a walk,” says Kira, before the implication can settle in, because Noel’s serene smile is starting to look more forced. 

“I’m going to take Will around the town to show him everything. We might spin through the woods.”

“Do you need a guide?” Noel says. His strained voice suggests that he’s worried about her wandering around the woods with only a human for company. The threat of the neighboring wolves hangs over their heads, and while Kira feels safe with Jayden, she falters at the thought of being caught off guard without back-up by wolves bigger and nastier than her. 

She imagines the other pack as much more animalistic and dangerous than her own.

Almost a caricature.

“We’ll stay close to town,” she says, thinking that the pack’s protectiveness is, in this case, justified.

While they walk, Kira can feel Will stewing at her side. 

She knows her friend as well as he knows her and she can tell that he’s trying to figure out the best way to broach a controversial topic, the way he did when he told Kira that their utility bill went up in price or let him know that he’d torn the lining of her favorite jacket when he borrowed it. 

Pretending that she doesn’t notice, Kira shows him each sight one by one, like a tour-guide.

Evening begins to fall, so early at this time of year. They walk along the outskirts of the woods, and she can sense Will’s anxiety about being so far out in nature. It’s a step too far from his houseplants.

“Kira...”

Here it goes.

Kira sighs and looks up at him. “Will?”

“I don’t want you to take this the wrong way, but I wouldn’t be your best friend if I didn’t tell you the truth.”

“Okay. Hit me.”

“The thing is... you’re in a state of real emotional upheaval right now, and I can see that you’ve latched onto this town and the people here. It’s the town where your parents grew up, and after losing them so soon after one another, it’s understandable that you want to be somewhere that evokes their spirit to you, and I’m sure you feel a connection with the people here that remind you of them both.”

“Both?” She snorts. “I don’t care that my father is gone.”

“Yes, you do. I was with you. Remember the day it happened? Whatever he was, however much of a monster, he was still your father, and it still affected you.”

“Why are we having this conversation?”

Will takes a deep breath. “You’re very exposed, emotionally, at the moment, and if I’m honest, I don’t trust any of these people here. These guys are acting like you’re part of their gang, when five minutes ago they didn’t know you at all. This guy, Jayden... it’s clear that he’s swooped in, and you feel like he’s saving you, but I’m worried. We don’t know their motivations. They could want anything from you.”

Kira has no way to express the innate bond that she has with her pack. There is no human comparison. Her heart pounds against her chest. 

“You don’t understand.”

“No, I do. I do understand. Maybe better than you do right now because you aren’t thinking straight. You’re vulnerable. I need to stand up and be your friend and help you see that this place might not be what’s best for you. It’s like you’ve forgotten where your home is,” he says, a pleading tone entering his voice.

“Your life is in the city. It has already been dug up and replanted once, from one city to the next, and you need to plant roots.”

“Twice. I was born here, before they took me to Fairview.”

Will’s lips parted in surprise. Of course, he couldn’t have known this.

“If anything, I’ve come home.”

Considering a change in angle, Will stops and turns around. Rain is falling, light but with the promise of heavier downfall later if the charcoal gray clouds darkening the evening sky are anything to go by. He shields his eyes. “If this is about Jayden, then I understand I know what it’s like to fall for someone and I know how quickly they can become the center of everything, especially if you’re dealing with upheaval in the other parts of your life. But if it’s real, if this guy really cares about you, then he’ll go a long distance, or even follow you to the city.”

“If it’s real?” Kira knows she shouldn’t be too short with Will , who doesn’t know the whole story, but she can’t help herself.

“If he really cares about you, then he’ll understand that right now you need to be surrounded by your old friends, somewhere you know. Somewhere stable. Please, Kira, trust your Friend.”

“Come back with me. Come home.”