Page 15 of Cold Moon

Somehow, I didn’t think telling Dante that would help him. If the alpha of the Reid pack had been the one to hurt Dante, I doubted a later Reid alpha would welcome him back. Plus, for all I knew, Cain had been the last family Dante had in the world, and even if they’d fought, it probably wasn’t a thing to celebrate.

Also, it wasn’t relevant to the discussion. No Grove wolf was going to go into Reid territory to get Dante’s clothes, and if the Reids had been the ones who’d tried to kill him, Dante definitely shouldn’t either.

I’d spent the last week helping the man relearn how to walk, so I was well familiar with how big he was. He was maybe a little smaller than Linden, but Linden’s clothes would probably fit him. Not that I was going to try to steal any of his precious sweaters, but I was sure he had some extra T-shirts and jeans he could spare. The guy was rich.

I shook my head and waved at the bed. “Don’t you worry about that. We’ll get you some clothes. I mean, not that you’re going anywhere right now, but I’m sure—”

“Tomorrow,” he interrupted. “Your alpha says I’m leaving tomorrow.”

I blinked at him, my brain taking too long to process the information. Linden was kicking him out of the clinic? That couldn’t be right. Linden would never...

Somehow, Dante turned even more shamefaced, hanging his head and not meeting my eye at all. “I already owe him a lot. I don’t, um”—his voice dropped to a whisper—“have any insurance.”

Insurance?

What the hell?

I opened my mouth, then closed it, then did it again. In my entire life, I’d known one werewolf who had medical insurance: me.

The pack paid for my insurance, in case the Condition ever had a resurgence while I was outside of pack territory. Admittedly, the point was moot, since I also never left Grovetown, but it was a kind precaution that the pack took, because the pack took care of its members.

But werewolves didn’t need medical insurance. We didn’t go to human doctors, and maybe other packs worked differently, but Linden didn’t charge.

Anyone.

Anything.

Ever.

He was the pack doctor, so he doctored the pack. Heck, I wasn’t sure he even had a billing system. He didn’t take a paycheck, because he didn’t need money. He was a Grove. I was paid out of pack funds, and I wasn’t the pack treasurer to know for sure, but I thought that was a mix of pack tithes and the Grove family’s enormous investments.

I opened my mouth to stop him, to tell him that Linden would never, ever expect money from him, and not having insurance was completely irrelevant, when he took another deep breath and went on. “It’ll be okay. Alpha Grove says I can pay the pack back, I’ll just... I’ll work for the pack, try to help a guy. Um, Ridge something, and everything will be fine. Alpha Grove was very fair about it.”

It was like he was speaking another language. Linden wanted him to pay the pack back? That was so far out of Linden’s personality that if Dante hadn’t seemed so serious, I’d have laughed. I was tempted to laugh anyway, assuming he just had a really dry sense of humor, but no. No, he wasn’t joking at all.

My sweet, kind, humanitarian boss had told this victim of violence that he owed him something.

I clenched my jaw but tried to smile around it at Dante. “Well don’t you worry. We’ll find you some clothes before you need them. I’m sure someone in the pack wears your size. For now, you need to keep resting.”

Half an hour later, when I heard Linden’s SUV pull into the parking lot, I gave Dante another smile as I slipped out the door and met my boss as he climbed out of his car.

He started to smile at me, then stopped and cocked his head confusedly as I scowled at him.

I had no such concern. I marched right up to him and poked him in the center of the chest. “Insurance?” I hissed, hoping my voice was low enough that Dante wouldn’t hear. “You asked for his insurance? You’re going to charge him?”

Instantly, he reached out and held a firm hand to my neck and shoulder. It was strange, how part of me wanted to throw myself at that firm, reassuring touch. I wanted to wrap myself around him and cry to him about how awful... he was.

Seeming to understand exactly what I needed, Linden pulled me in for a hug. I started to push away, so I could glare and hiss at him some more, but then he whispered in my ear. “It’s fine, Skye. He’s fine. I’m not punishing him, I promise. Just trust me, okay?”

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” I muttered into Linden’s chest before pushing away, staring at the ground and straightening my glasses.

“I know,” he agreed. “We’re going to have to convince some other people of that, though. Show everyone he’s a good guy. Starting with the most important person.”

“Aspen?” While Linden’s enormous, terrifying brother hadn’t accused Dante of anything, he definitely had not been thrilled to have him around. And having the alpha’s brother dislike and mistrust you was not a position anyone wanted to be in, in the Grove pack.

Linden gave a warm chuckle, wrapping an arm around me, and turning us both around to head into the clinic. “Himself, kiddo.”

9

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