Chapter 168

Grace

After we'd talked a bit more, Eason's timer went off. Cecil gathered all of her papers and put them in the accordion folder Charles had reserved for her. My heart melted as I realized she'd decorated it. It made me think of my own binder. She slid down from her seat and came to throw her arms around me.

"Don't stay in meetings all day, okay?" Cecil pouted up at me. "Uncle George says it's good to rest."

I smirked and glanced at Eason, who wiggled his eyebrows. "Uncle George, hm? Well, I can't argue with that, now can I?"

"Nope," Eason said as his phone started to ring. He rolled his eyes and answered. “Yes, Warden Gevorak?”

I chuckled and let Cecil go once Charles had packed all of his things up. Richard hadn't stirred at all during the whole meeting. He must be exhausted. What on earth had they done today? Eason closed his laptop and left with Charles, Cecil, and Richard.

"Bye, Mommy!" Cecil waved. "We'll make sure there's something tasty for dinner!"

"Thank you, sweetheart."

I waved goodbye to Eason and Charles as they exited my office, feeling a pang of guilt wash over me. I had been so caught up in my own thoughts and responsibilities that I hadn't even realized that Eason had been published. The gravity of what Eason had been forced to give up just seemed to grow every time I turned around.

As I sat at my desk, I couldn't help but feel inadequate. I was so far behind in my own pursuits. I couldn't remember which one of us had set the timeline for taking over Wolfe Medical and expanding it until it was so much bigger than it had started, and it didn't matter.

It was my fault both of us were so far behind. I thought back to my program and shook my head. All the times I'd had the chance to be published, and I'd slacked off or backed off from it. The research I had helped on but had only gotten a spot on the list of lab assistants instead of on the author byline ran through my mind.

It had been fine, I'd thought. After all, I went to college four years before Eason.

I'd had time, I thought, and look at where I was now: unpublished, just now going back to school after half a decade of doing nothing to further the goals I said were most important to me.

I sighed, pushing those thoughts away, and turned my attention to the document in front of me. I took note of all the names listed as advisors and contacts on Eason's paper. I recognized all of them, but my eyes were drawn to his name as the sole author.

As I read through the document, I felt a sense of pride swell in my chest. Eason had accomplished so much, and I couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. I almost cried as the implications of his paper hit me.

Werewolf medicine had so much farther to go than I had first thought.

My phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Are you alright?" Charles asked.

"I'm fine… Just having a stupid pity party."

He chuckled. "What's wrong?"

"Eason's published." He laughed. "And it's a damn good paper, as far as I can tell."

"Don't go down the rabbit hole searching for anything else he's written. He wouldn't want you wallowing."

"I can't decide if it would be dumb to ask him for help or pathetic not to ask him."

"With your dissertation?"

"Writing papers, even science papers, has never been my strength."

"You're worried?"

"It's going to be published in the Werewolf Academy Journals and peer-reviewed." The Academy's standards weren't the same as Northfall's, but there was a chance that my research would be circulated in the same pools as Eason's. "I can't look… like an idiot who spent half a decade as a housewife."

"You're not an idiot," Charles chided. "Riding the pity party train a little hard today, but not an idiot."

I sighed. "I'll get over it. It was just… A double whammy, I guess. I always thought that the vaccines had saved so many lives, and…"

"They did," he said. "They still do. Dying from shock and dying from the sickness itself is not the same thing…. I think they call that death due to complications."

I sighed. "If I can't come up with a pain medication that will lessen these numbers, I'm never going to rest."

"I'm glad you're… reorienting it in your own mind as a goal and not a failure."

My lips twitched. "Tell me that… after I get through this call."

He chuckled. "I think I'll have something different to say to you then."

After I got off the phone with Charles, I took a deep breath and went through the Inter-Pack Registry to search for the Duncan alpha's line. I dialed the number for the Duncan Pack.

A woman picked up the phone. Her voice sounded with a hint of weary resignation.

"Hello?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hi, this is Grace Wolfe, Alpha of the Mooncrest Pack," she continued, her voice wavering. "I was wondering if I could speak to the alpha?"

"Ah… I'll try to patch you through."

The familiar hum of the dial tone filled the brief silence before a voice, weary and strained, answered the call.

"Hello?" The woman's voice wavered.

"Hello, this is Grace Wolfe, Alpha of the Mooncrest Pack. I was wondering if I could speak to the alpha?"

The woman hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "That's not going to be possible," she said, her voice heavy with the weight of her words. "Our son is currently acting as regent, and we're in the middle of dealing with the Inter-Pack Audit. We're pressed for time, and I don't mean to be short with you, but we have a lot on our plate right now. Did you have an appointment to speak with him?"

I winced. "I'm so sorry to hear that. Is the alpha…"

"He's in critical condition," she said. "Could you… What did you call about?"

"I was actually calling to discuss a matter of potential assistance between our packs. I can imagine the strain your pack is under right now. I know it might not be the best time, but Mooncrest is willing to offer assistance. Medical supplies, resources — whatever you need."

There was a skeptical silence on the other end, a wariness that I could feel even through the phone. "Offers are easy to make," the woman said, her voice laced with caution. "Especially when they come with a cost."

I felt a pang of guilt. She had heard rumors of the attack on the Duncan Pack, but I hadn't realized how bad it was.

"I understand," she said, her voice soft. "But I want to make it clear that I am extending this help without a charge attached. To be clear, I will put together what I can based on what has happened. Please take care of yourself, and don't hesitate to reach out if you find it's not enough."

The woman on the other end of the line hesitated for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose… we'll see."

I hung up the phone, feeling a sense of grief wash over me. Then, a fresh wave of guilt washed over me. My jaw trembled, and my chest was tight with grief and anger. I could barely breathe around it.

I felt a pang of sympathy for the pack.

I called Amira, Gabriel, and Eason on a conference call. Amira answered on the first ring.

I explained what I'd found out about the Duncan pack.

Eason hissed. "A fucking audit, too?"

"I told her that we'll send everything we can," I said. "Gabriel… do you have a way to get supplies from Mooncrest to Duncan."

He hummed. "You have an airport. I could send a plane."

I bit my lip. "How big of a plane?"

"Let me check."

"Eason, Amira, could you look into our stockpiles? Figure out how much we've got and of what. Touch base with the hospitals and see how many people can we hire out to send to help."

I sent a message to Charles about an Enforcer escort for the plane and the supplies. Charles called a moment later.

"What's the plan?" Charles asked.

"Medical supplies, food…" I rattled off the list that I had compiled earlier.

It didn't take long for Amira to come up with most of the counts that we could spare. Gabriel explained that if he sent a cargo plane within a few hours, it could all be there in Duncan by the next morning.

Eason chimed in with other things as he combed through the media coverage about the attack. My stomach churned, listening to the havoc that Blood Moon had caused.

"I'll send the plane," Gabriel said. "Standby for your traffic controller."

"Thanks, Gabriel." I took a deep breath. "With any luck, they'll make it out alright."

And Mooncrest would have one more ally in the States.