“Stay safe. Never go anywhere alone.” If Bessemer picked a fight, they would finish it, giving him all the reason he needed to descend on us. As strong as I knew the wards to be, I would rather not test them against a pack of foam-mouthed wargs. “We watch each other’s backs and keep inside the wards unless we’re escorted by a warg I trust.”

The twitch was back in Isaac’s fingers, the urge to hit the road and outrun our troubles pulling his skin taut.

“If things get rough with the wargs, we’ll go.” Giving him a contingency plan was the best way to soothe him. “I have a contact in Texas who’s offered her help if I need it.”

Gaze tagging the forgotten package, Isaac stilled. “The same friend who sent you this?”

“Yes.”

“Fine.” He rolled his shoulders. “Mom’s agreed to do this your way, and family sticks together, but if we’re going to get tangled up in this, then I want your word on something.”

“All right.” No hesitation. I owed them for standing by me, for trusting me.

“You’re going to practice your magic with me. Shifting. Recalling. The works. Every day. No excuses. You’ve got to get in shape if you want to hold your own with predators. Pack hunters are a whole different animal from the loners you usually track.” His expression turned calculating. “Is there anyone here you trust to be a donor?”

The wolf lounging on my lap perked his ears.

“I think so.” Dell would think watching Isaac kick my butt was a hoot. “It’s just...”

He waggled his finger at me. “No excuses.”

“Touching their bond is what started this trouble with the wargs in the first place,” I argued. “Bessemer might view it as me rubbing my connection with Graeson in his face. Is that smart?”

“You’re serious? We’re camping a stone’s throw from Chandler pack lands, and you’re asking me what’s smart? That ship has sailed.” He left me no room to maneuver. “Wargs are territorial. There won’t be any other fae or native supernaturals you can borrow magic from in the vicinity if you won’t use wargs as donors. The damage is done. What more harm can you do here?”

I fisted a clump of Graeson’s fur, and he flattened his ears in Isaac’s direction. “You don’t understand.”

The pack bond held the power to shatter me. It flowed across my senses like a molten river of contentment, filling the old wounds to the brim with peace, spilling over the cracks in my heart until I became better, stronger than I was alone. When I lost Lori, I lost that resonance in my soul that came from being so perfectly in tune with another person. The pack bond sang in harmony with me when I neared it, calling me to it, welcoming me home.