Chapter 889 Chapter 889
Foster paused and looked around. Everyone was outside moving supplies, prepping areas or just hanging out, talking. The vibe here had improved in the last few days and it made him feel good.
He didn’t see Ena anywhere. Setting down the ladder, he turned and looked at Orson’s house. He sat there talking with Jesse. Maybe she was inside doing something for her aunt.
His animal moved closer to the surface, which had been happening every ten minutes for the last few days. He wanted him to check on her. He looked around again. It would be easier if he knew where she was.
He glanced at his reflection in the window of the van as he walked by, certain he was going to have grey hair now with the amount of worrying he’d been doing. Ena had climbed to the top of a tree to help run the line for the booster. His heart had sat in his throat when he walked out of Orson’s to see that. Jesse and two of her clansmen had stood on the ground and watched her. None of them had an issue with her climbing forty feet in the air.
When her feet were on the ground again, he had to walk away before he did or said something he shouldn’t. He’d gone for a run with Savan after that so he could show him the perimeter of their lands. He wanted to talk to her when he returned, but everyone else was busy prepping the buildings for repairs. For the rest of that day, he hauled rotted wood and was so tired by dinner time he avoided talking too much to anyone. Too many months spent driving and not enough physical activity had him out of shape.
The next day, he’d helped strip two of the rooves on the homes. He was honestly shocked that the one even held his weight. The whole time he was going it, guilt rode him. For years, he’d felt events in his life were unfair. Friends disappearing and family dying—he was sure no one could understand what it was like to go through so many bad moments. What Ena and her clan had been going through was so awful that he didn’t even have a word to describe it.
Jesse turned and looked at him. His smile faded, and he pointed to the trail that went behind the houses. He didn’t know what Ena would be doing back there. All of the work was out front, but she’d gone this way because he could distinguish her scent without even trying. Of course, his coyote was practically looking over his shoulder made it very easy to track her. He was going to have to go for a run soon or his animal was going to make an appearance with or without Foster’s agreement.
When he rounded the corner, he saw the trail led away from the area of their homes. Ena came out of the trees, putting her jacket on. His breath caught in his throat. “Were you out for a run?”
She nodded. “A short one. My animal is driving me crazy. I think it’s because there are so many others around now. We’re not used to it.”
His animal tensed. “You can’t go for a run alone. We don’t know who the traps belong to or those pits. There could still be people out there who brought shifters to Waylon.” He realized he was speaking louder than he planned. Yelling. He was yelling at her.
She held his look, and it didn’t take a genius to see that she wasn’t happy with his tone. “I didn’t go far. I just did a few quick laps around the property.” Her hands were waving around as she spoke.
“You need to be more careful. Climbing trees, going up on a roof, and now running alone…”
She growled, and he stopped talking.
What was he doing? He hadn’t raised his voice to anyone since he was sixteen when his favorite uncle vanished.
“Foster.”
He turned to see Jesse standing on the trail.
“I need to talk to everyone.”
Ena brushed by him and walked quickly away from him. Putting his hands on his hips, he dropped his head forward and exhaled.
When he lifted his head, Jesse still stood there with his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. “They’ve been on their own a long time. She’s got her own way, Foster.”
Foster nodded. He was right. “Like Leah?”
Jesse gave him a non-committal nod. “In some ways. We can’t just tell them they have to stop everything they’ve been doing their whole life.”
“I know. I just—” He sighed. “—lost it. She takes so many risks.”
“To her, they aren’t any different than the ones she’s been taking since she was a kid.”
Foster dropped down into a squat, rested his elbows on his knees, and ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Jesse.”
Jesse chuckled. “None of us do, but you’ll figure it out.”
Closing his eyes, Foster took a few deep breaths and relayed to his animal that he needed to chill before he caused him to do something really dumb. Like the stupidity of yelling at her because he was scared for her. He looked at Jesse. “What do you need to talk to everyone about?”
“Walker had to go deal with something urgent, so Shepard and Devin asked if I would discuss Alpha and other Alliance things.”
Foster stood up. “We should tell them what’s been happening all around them so they know to not go running alone right now.”
“We can cover some of that. First, we need to let the new people know they have two weeks to decide if they’re staying here and ninety days to become part of this clan. Otherwise, they just help and are still under Alliance observation. Of course, the alpha has to agree.”
“Is anyone related to the last Alpha?” He turned and started going back.” He needed to make sure Ena was all right.
“According to Harland and Betty, Ena and her aunt are distantly, but still the same blood line.”
Foster stopped. “Ena could be Alpha?”
Jesse started walking again. “I guess we’ll find out.”