“They’re both fine. They’re in town fueling up and gathering supplies for the trip. Isaac mentioned hitting the post office while he was there too. The rest of the pack made it out with mostly bumps and bruises.” Gold rimmed his irises where the wolf pushed against his emotions. “You were the only near-fatality.”

“What happened after…?” My fingertips brushed the edge of the bandage that crinkled when I spoke.

“I returned the favor.” Simmering fury roiled in his eyes. “Aisha has been exiled from the pack, not for what she did to you, but for abandoning her station as Emily’s guardian.”

I doubted she would be missed. “Clearing the way for his new mate by getting rid of the old one.”

“So it seems.” He fussed with the fabric knotted around my feet. “With Harlow missing and Aisha wounded, Bessemer called off the hunt.” He rubbed my toes with his palms. “While you were recovering, he and I had a long-overdue talk about the health of the pack.”

I scooted to the edge of the mattress. “Does that mean you talked him into accepting Dell back?”

“No.” A half-smile crooked his lips. “It means she won’t be going into exile alone.”

“Oh no.” I gazed around his bedroom, through the door leading into the living room and stalled out on the row of neat shoes lined along the wall. “You didn’t.”

“It’s been a long time coming.” His warm palm covered my knee. “The only reason he didn’t kick me out when I started making waves is my mother was a Chandler. I was the only warg in the pack who could have challenged him at any time on the grounds of the land and people being my birthright.”

A sense of awe rolled over me. “Your parents were the alphas?”

“My great-grandparents founded this pack.” His thumb made circles on the inside of my thigh. “Families loyal to the Chandlers haven’t been making Bessemer’s job any easier either.”

“You can’t leave.” I clapped my hand over his. “Graeson, think.”

“I can’t stay here.” He tilted back his head. “The memories… I can’t.”

Tears pricked the back of my eyes at the magnitude of his loss. Marie. His pack. His home. His birthright. “Are you sure?”

His nod was tight. “Any children I have will inherit the right to challenge for control of the Chandler pack, but I gave Bessemer my word I don’t want it. I’ve promised him twenty years of peace, time enough for his daughter to grow into her role, for his pack to strengthen and…for me to form my own.”

My head spun. “You’re founding a new pack.”