Enigma

Chapter 40

The scent of Patrick's blood clung to Noah's nose, begging him to go back and finish the reckless wolf. His knuckles were still red.

Noah fisted the steering wheel. It groaned under his grip, and when he loosened his hold, his hands' imprint had twisted the wheel.

He glanced at the rear-view mirror. Lillian stared at the passing scenery in the window, her arms around herself and her face pinched.

Sean cleared his throat. "You didn't kill him."

Noah grunted.

"Why did you say it like it's a bad thing?" Lillian asked, coming to lean between them.

"Because it is," Sean said. "It was a challenge to death. Noah might have won the fight, but he didn't kill him. Rumors will get out. We can't afford other people thinking Noah is going soft. It's not going to be good for the pack."

"I kill when it's justified, Sean. I don't give a damn about tradition or rules," Noah said. "He's young, he just mated two years ago, and his mate is pregnant. I'm not going to take him away from his family."

Sean sighed. "Then he should be more careful. It's his fault if he gets killed. He's careless, weak and arrogant. Sooner or later someone will kill him."

"And it's not going to be me," Noah snapped. "If anyone thinks I'm weak for not killing him, they're welcome to come check for themselves."

Lillian was quiet for a long moment. "I think you did the right thing," she said.

"And that is exactly why it's not," Sean said. Lillian glared at him. Sean held up his hands. "Don't take it the wrong way. You're new to our world. If the man is stupid enough to issue a death challenge when he has no reason to, he has no one to blame but himself if he gets killed. He knew the stakes. Death is part of our world."

"Yeah. It's ironic, isn't it?" she said quietly, leaning back in her seat. "For a race of immortals, death comes too easily to you."

Noah kept his eyes on Lillian for the rest of the trip back home. For someone who'd just shifted, her wolf was surprisingly absent. It was odd, especially considering she was quite dominant. Other than some growling at those alphas back at the compound, she was rather subdued. Maybe she just had good control over her wolf. But Noah suspected she held her wolf back too much. He wanted to bring it up, but decided not to. It would be better if he let her learn her new self in her own time.

"The pack is definitely going to be surprised," Sean said as they rolled through the dirt road. It was dark under the thick trees in this part of the woods. They were approaching the territory's line.

"You didn't tell everybody, right?" Lillian asked, shifting in her seat.

"Not everyone, but news will have spread among all the adults by now," Sean said.

"Yeah, you guys gossip like old ladies," Lillian said.

Sean chuckled. "I guess we do."

"I wonder what the twins will-"

Noah glanced at the rear-view mirror. Lillian clutched her head, blinking eyes that had gone amber in the shaded car. He eased the brake and turned. "Lillian?"

"I'm fine," she said, frowning to herself. "It's just... so much noise."

Noah understood. He pulled on all the pack links, trying to find her thread. Unlike when she'd been human, her mental presence now was a burning star. Noah found her and shielded her with his mind, cutting the flow of links from her mind. He'd have to do it until she learned to filter through the pack links.