It was at Gabriel's insistence that we walked together to his house the next morning—him in the same clothes he'd come over in the night before. Of course Ephraim had to know about us by now, as the whole pack did after our date, but something about my boss seeing me escorting the Alpha back on a walk of shame was almost excruciatingly embarrassing. Gabriel fucking loved it.

The consummate professional, Ephraim showed no reaction. He gave us each a polite good morning and made small talk while Gabriel brewed his coffee and my tea. A package had arrived that morning, he recounted, and he'd left it on Gabriel's desk.

The pink in my cheeks had only just begun to subside until Gabriel kissed the top of my head before retreating to his office. Immediately, they flushed crimson. I could have sworn I saw a smirk forming on Ephraim's lips before he, too, turned to head back to the medical room. I could only hope it was an expression of approval rather than reproach: Ephraim was becoming important to me. I didn't want him to view me in the same light as he had Odette.

We worked in silence for several minutes, side by side at one of the cabinets, pulling together ingredient to mix into a poultice for Elodie's aching back. I was pleased to find I was able to choose most by memory. Ephraim seemed impressed, too, as he watched me collect my half out of the corner of my eye, ready to issue corrections as needed.

"Can I ask you something?" We each carried an armful of jars to the counter and spread them out to measure into the large pot there. Ephraim opened several to smell and gestured for me to go ahead while his nose was buried in one. I took a breath. "It's about Gabriel. He's not well, he threw up last night. And these headaches he gets...I'm worried."

Ephraim hummed, sifting through a drawer for measuring spoons and a scale. I took it as my cue to continue my thought.

"I thought it might be from sending Odette away if she was his mate, but he said that she isn't." He stopped what he was doing and turned to look at me, lips pursed and eyes slightly narrowed. "We talked about it last night—his being bound."

His expression remained the same, though he seemed slightly taken aback that he would have told me. "What's your question?"

"I want to know if you know why he's been getting sick. You never gave me his file; I've seen everyone else's."

His face softened somewhat. "You're worried about him."

"Of course I am," I insisted. "It isn't normal. Ever since the Alpha gathering it's only gotten worse."

Ephraim hummed, thinking for a moment before he spoke. "Were you aware of the eclipse that occurred during the gathering?"

I shook my head.

"Lunar events affect us all differently. Gabriel has always been particularly sensitive to them," he explained.

"That was like two months ago, surely he wouldn't still be dealing with that," I argued. "Or, at least, he would be starting to get better by now."

"Such a large event as that can cause an energetic imbalance that can disrupt man and wolf both. Those things are hard to rectify, especially for Gabriel. He won't slow down long enough to take the time let his energies balance back out."

I nodded slowly, mulling over his words. It made sense, in theory. But why don't I believe him?

Before I could interrogate him further, Ephraim's office phone rang and he went to answer it. There was something more to Gabriel's illness, I could feel it. He'd shared so much with me the night before, I hadn't wanted to press the issue. But if neither he nor Ephraim were willing to tell me, there was little more I could do. I had to wait until he was ready.

When Ephraim returned, his face was grim and drawn. My stomach sank; I knew what he was going to say before the words could leave his mouth.

"Angus has passed."

Tears burned harshly in the corners of my eyes and I blinked them back. Tears of sadness, and of anger. Though I hadn't known the man well, he'd been kind to me when I visited. He didn't have to die—not this way. Not at all. If he had accepted treatment, or even been allowed to consider it in the first place, he would have lived decades longer.

"Oh." The one word was all I could manage.

"His body is being prepared now; the burial will take place later on today."

I nodded. I'd only attended a few wolf burial rituals at Sawtooth. The powerful ceremonies were woven from ancient traditions and practices designed to see both the wolf and the human souls onward to where they belonged. They were solemn affairs, melancholy but beautiful.

Ephraim left to share the news with Gabriel and left me to finish the poultice on my own. It was difficult to concentrate, but I did my best to set my emotions aside and focus on the task I'd been given. Death by anything other than age was so rare to us, it was almost a challenge to even comprehend.

Gabriel came into the medical room alone shortly after I'd finished bottling the poultice, startling me. The glass was hot and it nearly slipped out of my light grasp. He took it from me at once, setting it to the side so that he could wrap his arms around me in a tight hug. I rubbed my hands up and down his spine.

"I'm sorry." My voice was muffled as my face was buried in his chest. I felt him nod.

"Ephraim's gone to help get everything ready. I'll be leaving soon for the ceremony; I'd like you to come with me." His eyes were dark but he wore a careful, neutral expression. He'd already dressed for the occasion in all black, hair neatly tied into a bun at the nape of his neck and beard trimmed down to a tidy shadow.

I took a step back and let my arms drop from around him. "I'm sorry," I said again. I lowered my gaze. "I can't go."

He stiffened. "I'm asking you to."

"I know, and I'm sorry I won't be there to support you. But Gabriel...he didn't have to die. I can't go to the burial knowing that it never needed to happen in the first place." My heart hammered in my throat; I was terrified he'd be angry with me. It was the last thing I wanted, but I couldn't in good conscience show up and act as though Angus' death was an unpreventable tragedy.

Gabriel ground his teeth together for several seconds, then nodded. "I understand. Here," he pulled a sip of paper from his pocket and passed it to me.

"What is it?" I unfolded it and found a phone number printed in Gabriel's neat handwriting.

"I got a phone," he said.

I looked up at him, wide-eyed. I knew now wasn't the appropriate time to tease him about leaning into human technology, but I could hardly help myself. "You got a phone?"

"It's not so shocking," he complained roughly. "It's not a big deal."

"How modern of you," I joked. "Why the change of heart?"

Gabriel shrugged and shifted his weight, suddenly looking almost shy. "In case you need anything."

"Wait—" It took me a moment to register what he was saying. "You got a phone just for me?"

"Don't let it go to your head." He smirked, using my own words against me. "And if anyone gets ahold of that number, I'll know exactly who gave it to them."

I pulled my own out of my bag on the floor and called the number on the paper, letting it ring twice before hanging up. "There," I said. I refolded the slip carefully and gently slid it into my pocket. "Now you have mine, too."

He pulled me in for a last kiss before he left and it lingered on my lips, buzzing and warm. Every once in a while, my hand dropped unconsciously to my pocket to feel the corner of the paper there. Though this would seem like a small gesture to anyone else, I saw it much differently. This was, by Gabriel's scale, a Grand Gesture.

When I heard Ephraim's car pulling up the drive after the ceremony, I went out to meet him on the porch. Apparently, I didn't hide my disappointment well when he got out of the car by himself.

"Gabriel will be back later," he said before I could ask.

"Not what I was coming to ask." My defense was weak and I knew it. I followed him inside the house. "I wanted to see how it went."

He gave me a look that said he didn't buy a word. "It went."

"So, where is Gabriel?" May as well own it.

"He got called into an emergency Council session to meet with Alpha Barrett." Ephraim spoke over his shoulder to me while he rinsed the stale coffee out of the pot and filled it with fresh water to brew.

"From Blackfoot? Was there another attack?" My fingernails found my palms and I dug them in. The Blackfoot Pack's territory was only a few hours from Sawtooth.

Ephraim nodded. "He came to ask for support to hunt down the rogues."

My mind went straight to worst-case scenario: Gabriel had come when Dmitri called for the same, maybe he would respond himself to Barrett's request as well. The thought made me sick to my stomach. Trying to conceal my panic, I handed Ephraim my poultice to check while I dug in my bag for my phone. I found Gabriel's number in my recent calls menu and drafted a text. Let me know what you'd like for dinner. I figured that was innocuous enough that he wouldn't sense the dread that had settled over me.

An hour later, he hadn't responded. Three hours later, still nothing. Ephraim was packing up to leave for the night and I still hadn't heard from Gabriel. I texted him once more, asking whether he was alright, but they weren't even showing up as read.

I couldn't bring myself to leave his house. Instead, I tried to keep myself busy. I cleaned the kitchen, then I paced. I tidied the medical room. Paced some more. I brought in a fresh stack of firewood, one log at a time. Lit a fire. Paced. Still, nothing. Finally, finally, just as I was contemplating emptying out the fridge to scrub down the shelves, I heard the front door open. I nearly flew into Gabriel's arms, flinging my own around his neck and burying my face into his hair that now hung loose around his shoulders. I didn't realize how worried I'd truly been until I set eyes on him.

His arms instinctively wrapped around me and he took a slow, deep breath, inhaling my scent.

"I thought you'd gone to fight," I said shakily after he set me down. He kept both hands on my waist, steadying me.

"You don't think I would have told you if I was leaving?" He teased gently.

"I don't know," I mumbled. "You didn't respond to my texts."

Gabriel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't even know how to open a text, Kiera, let alone respond."

I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my lips, so I was grateful when he smiled too, if only for a moment. I rested my head back on his chest and leaned my weight against him. He supported me easily. "I'm sorry I didn't come with you today."

"It's alright. But will you come with me later this week?"

I looked up at him. "To what?"

"The tattoo artist was at the ceremony earlier. She said she could fit me in for an appointment." He raised one hand from my waist to brush against my face, running his thumb lightly across my lower lip.

"Yeah? You need me to hold your hand?" His thumb remained there when I spoke so I nipped it softly. Finally, he cracked a smile that reached his eyes.

"Yes please. I'm sure she'd give you one too, if you'd like," he offered playfully.

I shook my head. "Not a chance."

"Give me time," Gabriel promised. "I'll convert you."

"Let's get you to bed." I reached up and touched the deep bruise-like circles under his eyes, thinking about what Ephraim had told me about the energetic imbalance. I still wasn't convinced it was the truth, but either way, sleep would do him good.