Healing The Wolf's Heart

Healing The Wolf’s Heart A Friends To Lovers Shifter Romance Silent Ridge Pack Book 3 Skye Wilson Contents 1. Savannah 2. Kaleb 3. Savannah 4. Kaleb 5. Savannah 6. Kaleb 7. Kaleb 8. Savannah 9. Kaleb 10. Savannah 11. Kaleb 12. Savannah 13. Kaleb 14. Savannah 15. Kaleb 16. Savannah 17. Savannah Healing The Wolf’s Heart Chapter 1 Savannah “Would you just behave yourself for once?” I hissed as I pinned a stubborn curl alongside my head for perhaps the fiftieth time. But just like the other forty-nine times, it lasted maybe twenty seconds before defying all known laws of physics and springing out from the pin. I groaned, longing to sink my head into my hands but knowing I would ruin the makeup I’d spent so much time putting on. “When my abuela told me that I had magic in my veins, I didn’t think it would manifest in such a shit way.” I could still remember that day perfectly clearly when the wizened mother of my mother took my hand and led me into her sitting room. There, she explained to me that while I was of shifter blood, I wasn’t quite a shifter. I was something else entirely. An alma. It had been twenty years since then, and while I had learned so much about my special designation within the pack, I sometimes still felt like that nine-year-old girl who just found out that she couldn’t shift like a normal member of the pack. But that wasn’t the biggest kicker of being an alma. No, that little factoid was that almas didn’t even get to stay with their packs because each pack only needed one alma, and yet the birth of one wasn’t guaranteed. Not like alphas, omegas, or betas. So, it was very possible for packs to end up alma-less for generations. And it was because of that dangerous lack of power that almas were often sent off once they were of age to help other packs. The assignment could be refused, of course—it wasn’t slavery—but refusing wasn’t looked on very charitably. The Silent Ridge Pack hadn’t been my first assignment. No, that was a pack that had lost their alma to old age, and their next one was only seventeen. They’d wanted her to have at least five years to learn, grow, and come into herself as an alma. I’d appreciated that, considering my abuela had delayed my training until I was fourteen and told my pack I wasn’t to be sent anywhere until I finished my schooling. If I could pass that freedom onto another alma, I was all too happy to. So, I ended up staying there for the full five years, from twenty-two to twenty-seven, then went back home to rest. I had about one year to reconnect with my family and my pack and settle in before I heard of an urgent case up north. It was a fairly large pack whose alpha had lost his heir several years earlier and had accepted that he would have no more biological pups. Their city was full of tensions, and the alpha was certain that a greater danger loomed on the horizon. How right he’d turned out to be. I hadn’t known that at the time, of course. But there had been something so vulnerable in his plea, something so visceral in his fear that when he died, he would leave his pack to untold dangers. So, I agreed to the permanent assignment and traveled there. Less than six months after I’d joined, that same alpha had been murdered. It had been a whirlwind of misadventures since then, to say the least. Missing shifters, power struggles, witches, curses—the works. It was a trial by fire, but finally, things seemed to be settling down. Which was the whole reason for my date. I couldn’t remember the last time I had the energy and spare hours to get dolled up and go out. But hopefully, it would become a more common occurrence. Unlikely though. I would have more time if I gave up my nursing job—the pack would support me, after all—but I wasn’t willing to do that. And I would have more time if I just quit being an alma, but that was like asking me to stop loving plants, or to stop healing. It just wasn’t in my nature. Oh, well. At least my partner understood. For the most part. I could feel my thoughts slipping into a direction I didn’t want them going. But before I could get too far, my phone rang. I braced myself, ready for some tragedy, emergency, or attack, but instead, I saw Hannah’s name illuminated across the screen. “Hey,” I said cautiously, debating for a moment before accepting her request to FaceTime. Normally, I was happy to talk to one of my best friends, but chatting right before going on a date made me nervous. I was keeping my whole relationship secret from the pack. Mostly because I liked my privacy and absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my boyfriend was stunningly and unabashedly… Human. Whoops. Yeah, not exactly the best way to keep my life low-key, stress-free, and otherwise breezy, but it had kind of happened that way. At first, I kept it a secret because what was the point of introducing a new relationship if it failed right away? But by the time I thought our relationship was worth introducing, too much time had passed, and I felt awkward. And heaven forbid I felt awkward. Sure, I could feed my new packmates my blood, stitch their wounds, have them drink healing salves, and reset bones. But feeling awkward? Far too much for my delicate system. Sigh. “Hey there, Savvy! You’re looking good!” I jolted, having gotten lost in my thoughts and forgetting that I’d just answered the phone. “Hah, thanks, Han. I clean up pretty nicely, don’t I?” “You sure do! What’s the occasion?” “Oh, just a little work thing. Nothing special.” I