Page 42 of Hart's Redemption

Even though I was still in human form, I could have sworn my ears twitched. “Surprise?”

Just then, the rustling of undergrowth caught my attention. I spun around as an equally naked man stepped clear of the dense foliage. His gray hair and brown eyes sparked recognition, though I’d only ever met him a handful of times. He raised a hand in‌ greeting, which Elijah returned.

“Eric?”

“Hello, Josh.”

Absolute chaos erupted in my system. The urge to flee warred with the instinct to stand and fight. It was no secret Eric wasn’t my biggest fan. Add to that what had happened the last time we’d been anywhere near each other. My body vibrated withcontradictory reactions while my mind scrambled for a logical explanation for his presence.

“What are you doing here?” I finally asked when I couldn’t come up with anything plausible.

He cocked his head to the side and gave me a considering look, but not before shooting Elijah a sour one. “Same thing you are, I imagine.”

I took a wary step backward and met resistance. My gaze flitted down to Elijah’s hand on my waist, stalling my progress.

“They’re not here to attack you,” he said gently.

“They?” I glanced at Eric, who shrugged and looked back the way he’d come. A young man in his late teens stepped out. I’d only ever met him once, but it was hard to forget those soft eyes and baby face. “Kale? What are you doing here?”

“We’re kind of a package deal.”

My gaze ripped free of the teenager to land on a man in his early-twenties.Hisface I was very familiar with as well as his entire life history, his likes and dislikes, and why he should in no way be wearing a smile. “Tommy.”

He offered a small wave, then glanced from Elijah to Eric.

Eric immediately nodded and stepped away to gather Kale, while Elijah leaned down to whisper in my ear, “I’ll give you two a minute.” Then, he too moved away, taking his reassuring presence with him.

I stared after him with wide eyes and no small amount of panic. When I looked back at Tommy, he appeared noticeably more unsure than when he’d arrived. “Tommy… I…”

He stopped rubbing his arm and held up a hand to stall me. “Don’t. I didn’t come here to make you feel guilty or to demand an apology or some kind of retribution.”

I swallowed hard, not exactly easy considering my mouth had gone bone dry. “Why are you here?”

His shoulders relaxed, and he gave me a small smile. “To show you it’s safe to run with others.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand. Why aren’t you furious with me? How can you stand to be anywhere near me?”

He glanced over his shoulder, then stepped closer. “Maybe I should start at the beginning. At first, Iwasfurious. I’m pretty sure I’d never been so angry in my life. I almost killed my brother because of you.”

I sagged in place. “Tommy, I’m so sorry. I—”

“Wait. Yes, I was mad, but I’ve had time to come to terms with things and why you did what you did.”

“There is no excuse for what I did.”

He smiled again. “Elijah said you say that.” He snagged a fallen branch and peeled away the bark one strip at a time. He kept his gaze fixed on the twig as he resumed speaking. “Did you know I visited you in the hospital? I mean, I doubt you knew unless someone told you, but I came a few times a week for a good while there.”

I shook my head. “I had no idea.”

“Yeah. Anyway, at first I came so I could yell at you, but when I got there…” He hesitated. “When I got there, I couldn’t do it. Seeing you that way and learning what you’d gone through to save us from your family–your mom–I couldn’t even imagine. So, I talked to you instead, and the craziest thing happened—it helped. Day by day, I was a little less angry until I just… wasn’t. I know it was one-way glass, but I swear there were some days that you knew I was there, that you could hear me and were listening. You’d lay right in front of me and stare at where I was standing like you were giving me your complete attention. Before I realized it, I wasn’t angry at all. I just liked talking to you.”

“I don’t remember much from when I was stuck. The wolf… the wolf remembers some things, but I’m still working out howto make sense of those memories.” I didn’t know what else to say. Here was the first Lycan I’d infected with the artificial Mien Zeke my sorry excuse of a mother had concocted in a secret laboratory, and he was offering me forgiveness, something I neither expected nor deserved. “Tommy, I don’t know what to say. We still don’t know how I’ll do around others. This is only my second run.”

“But you’ve been in wolf form longer than I have. Sabrina has a theory that the initial turn after infection is the most violent because the body is actuallyfightingthe virus as well. Can anyone say rage monster?” He chuckled. “Anyway, the point is, you’ve already burned through and adapted to the alteration.”

“You don’t know that.”

“But we believe in you.” I started at Elijah’s voice appearing beside me without warning. “You deserve to know what it’s like to run in a pack.”