TALIS
At the sight of a glass of water entering my line of vision, I tiredly peel my cheek off the toilet seat and smile gratefully at Savannah, who's sat with her back against the wall.
"Thanks," I murmur, taking it from her and using it to gargle before spitting in the toilet.
"No worries. How are you feeling?"
"Like death," I admit, shuffling back so I'm pressed against the bathtub and she's opposite me.
Savannah nods. "Yeah, you don't look the best."
"And dinner was so nice," I moan, "even if I knew I shouldn't have eaten so much of it."
I knew it even as I pretty much bullied Dayne into giving me some of his food as well.
But I hadn't expected him to share since I've seen what happens when shifters steal food off each other's plates and the results aren't pretty.
While I'm glad she's brought me water, I can't help but wonder that she's the one in here with me since I'd have expected it to be Regan or even Luka.
For a moment, we fall into an awkward silence, before I clear my throat. "Look, I don't want to sound rude, or ungrateful or anything. But why-"
"Am I the one here?" she interrupts with a half-smile.
"Actually, yeah. I'd have thought that after the whole… you know, me trying to rip your throat out thing, you'd want to stay as far away from me as possible. Not that I'd blame you for it. It was a shitty thing for me to do."
Savannah raises her knees and wraps her arms around them. "After what you said, I started thinking back over everything you must have seen and heard, and I realized why you must have thought what you did. Then Luka said you saw the picture of me and Dayne in my cabin."
Remembering the photo of Savannah and Dayne grinning widely with their arms wrapped around each other, I fight to silence the growly part of me that's back with a vengeance.
Seriously, now is not the time. Back off.
She settles down, but not until she's growled and snarled long enough for me to get ready to snap at her again.
"Right, the photo," I say, focusing my attention on Savannah.
"Look, I get why you'd think there was something between us. We are close." She admits this with a wary look in her eyes, as if she's expecting me to go for her throat for admitting it.
"But as brother and sister," I respond, remembering what she'd said in the bedroom.
When she nods, the relief I feel is amazing.
Now, when all this is over, I have to find Dayne and-
"We have to go after Dayne." I struggle to get to my feet, and when I don't feel the desperate urge to throw up, I sip a little of the water and head for the bedroom.
It's empty. "Where is everyone?"
I know I told them to go, but when they didn't immediately follow my instructions, I just expected them to still be here, listening to me throwing up.
"Downstairs. Waiting for you," Savannah says, trailing me. "Are you okay?"
Although her question is casual, I know it's anything but, and turn to face her. "The rest of the pack don't think I'm up to it."
Going by the carefully neutral expression on her face, I'm guessing she doesn't either.
"Look, Talis, you've been through a lot. No one would think any less of you if you didn't-"
"Go after my mate, after I know he's stepped into a trap? I would think less of me, and if you're honest, like deep down honest with yourself then you'd admit you would as well." I turn and start for the stairs.
"Talis, just-just wait for a second, okay, please?"
At the plea in Savannah's voice, I come to a stop and turn to meet her gaze for a long moment. "I'm guessing you weren't up here just to tell me about you and Dayne being like brother and sister, right?"
She nods and goes to perch on the edge of the bed. "Can we sit?"
Just in time, I stop myself from snapping at her because with Dayne gone, probably falling into a trap right this second, we don't have time to be sitting around having a heart-to-heart.
We need to be out there, saving him before Uncle Glynn gets his sick, twisted hands on him.
Before I lose him.
But then I remember Savannah loves him, too. She's seen Abel, and she knows Dayne's in danger. She wouldn't be pushing for this if it wasn't important.
"Two minutes," I grumble, not bothering to hide how much I do not want this as I join her on the edge of the bed. "So, what's all this about?"
Savannah fixes her gaze on the thick rug beneath her coral-painted toenails, and I feel impatience brewing when seconds drag on and she says nothing.
"Savannah, we don't have time for this. Dayne-"
"Dayne doesn't need you to be rushing after him when you don't even know if you've got control of your wolf yet," she snaps, jerking her head up to glare at me.
For a breath, I go silent, because, what?
I feel my anger stirring, and I sit up. "Wait just a fu-"
Except Savannah raises her hand, and her eyes are filled with so much remorse that I stop to hear her explanation. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that." She pauses. "Well, kind of. I just mean it serves no purpose you going after him if you get yourself killed. You don't know what that would do to him, but I do."
The sadness I see in her eyes is so intense that my rising anger at her for snapping at me can't stand against it.
This conversation she feels she needs to have with me is coming from a need to protect Dayne. To protect me and my baby. It would be pretty crummy of me to be pissy at her for it.
"His family?" I guess since Savannah had to have been around when their previous alpha killed Dayne's family.
Since Dayne hasn't gone into the why, it's still a massive mystery to me.
I wonder if her reason for living in a cabin in the woods instead of the main house has something to do with it.
Since it looks like my theory that a nasty breakup with Dayne drove her out there, I'm guessing the reason must be pretty serious.
"Our family," she quietly corrects me.
I stop trying to assume or guess anything at this point and just wait to hear what she wants to tell me.
After another long pause, one I don't rush her to fill because I can tell what she's about to tell me is painful for her, she releases a long breath and speaks.
"I won't go into all of it since it's as much-or more Dayne's story than it is mine, and he should be the one to tell you."
I raise my eyebrow since Dayne's hardly been the most willing to share.
To my surprise, Savannah smiles faintly at me. "He's not the most open person in the world, I know. But this is the reason why. Just give him time, okay? I promise he's worth it."
Even though he can be an alpha dick, I don't deny Dayne isn't worth it.
When I think of all the things he's done for me, taking me to see the mountains, wanting to celebrate my birthday, coming to save me, I know he's worth it.
"You love him," I murmur, surprised when my wolf doesn't lunge at what is unmistakably love in her voice.
Savannah gives me another half-smile. "My parents died when I was young. I barely remember them now. Dayne's parents took me in." She pauses again and shakes her head with a wry smile. "No, that's not right. Dayne took me in. He decided I was his sister from then on, and his parents just had to deal with it."
"Wow, how old was he?" I murmur.
"Six."
I get a mental image of six-year-old Dayne with dark blond hair, glaring ice-blue eyes, and already full-blown alpha from the sounds of it. I can't help my bark of laughter. "Good grief. His poor parents." And then my smile fades when I remember what happened to them.
And Savannah too, having lost two sets of parents in her lifetime. I've lost one, and it nearly killed me. I couldn't imagine how hard it must have been for her.
"Well," she says, "there's a lot I could say, but I think it would be better coming from Dayne. The reason I wanted you to know this is because responsibility is really important to Dayne. Your former pack-your alpha-should have treated you better. A lot better, but they didn't."
I come close to smiling at her for referring to them as my former pack.
"But now you're a Blackshaw. And you're pregnant. I get that you want to go after Dayne, more than anyone I get it. I want nothing more than to go after him right this second. But you and your wolf need to figure some stuff out before we go, and before you get either yourself or one of us killed."
I recoil at her gentle reprimand, and I shoot to my feet, ready to unload on her.
How dare she accuse me of-
"You are Luna, and we will give our life for yours," Savannah says, rising more slowly. "But can you shift? And when you do, are you going to go for me, or the Merrick pack?"
I fall silent because I don't know.
I want to tell her I have everything figured out, and of course, I won't go for her or anyone else. But that would be a lie. The truth is, I'm not sure.
Yes, I may be able to force a shift since I did it to attack Abel, but the rest of it?
"Take five minutes at least," Savannah says, heading for the door. "Because you're right. In Dayne's absence, you are alpha, which means you're responsible for us. Whatever you decide to do, we will follow you."
With that, she leaves.
I stare at the door.
Even if that means me leading them to their death.
Savannah didn't say it outright, but that's what she meant.
I'm not just deciding on my own course of action. I'm deciding for the pack, and if I choose wisely, yeah, I may be able to get Dayne back.
But if it costs him half or all of his pack, is that the best choice I could have made?
I'm Luna now. I have to start thinking about the pack.
I sit down on the edge of the bed and close my eyes, then I reach for my wolf.
Savannah's given me five minutes. I intend to use every single second of it.