“What are you doing!?” I asked. She looked at me like I was insane.

“I’m following the healer’s orders. I thought you would like me not arguing.”

“I do,” I said as I walked up to her. “But you shouldn’t be walking around,” I added as I lifted her into my arms. She smiled at me and looked like she was about to kiss my cheek, but scrunched her nose.

“We both need a shower; we might as well take one together. I’m suspecting my brother will check in on us sooner rather than later,” she said. As I liked the first part of her plan, I headed for the bathroom.

“Can’t we just pretend not to be home?” I asked. She laughed, and it warmed my heart.

“No, we can’t. I think it would cause more problems. Now put me down. I need to undress. I suggest we put the clothes in the sink for now and then throw them out.” As I gently placed Amie down, I got a look at myself in the mirror and almost took a step away from the image. I understood why she hadn’t kissed me. I was not as blood-covered as Elder had been, but I wasn’t far off. A light spray of red covered most of my upper body, with splashes in places. Yeah, my clothes were a lost cause, I agreed. We stripped naked and stepped into the shower. It was our third go at it, and this time we turned on the right sprays on the second go. I washed off quickly and then spent a long time washing every inch of Amie’s skin. I wanted any trace of my brother off her, and I could check for injuries as I went. The longer we spent in the shower, the more I noticed Amie’s scent returning. I pulled her to me and nuzzled my nose into her neck. She giggled as I took in her scent.

“You smell like you again,” I told her. I felt her hands roaming over my back.

“That’s nice,” she said. “Thank you for coming to get me,” she then said, leaning her forehead against my shoulder.

“There was never any other option, Red.”

“I’m sorry you had to kill your brother.”

“I’m not. He wasn’t my brother any longer,” I said, and I meant it.

“What should we do about your mother?” Amie asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure I want her in our pack.” It was hard for me to say the words, but a big part of me believed she could have prevented a lot of the suffering if she had stood up to my brother.

“We can make sure one of our allies takes her in and gives her a good life,” Amie told me. I hummed. I knew our time alone would soon be over. Amie had been right in thinking her brother wouldn’t stay away, and I suspected some of our closest allies would drop by as well. We dried off and put on some comfortable clothes. I made sure Amie was comfortable in bed and sent a message to Jake that he should get the top tier ready for a meeting. There was a knock on the door. I kissed Amie’s forehead and went to open it. It was Elder and the head of the council.

“Is it okay if we see her?” Elder asked.

“Sure,” I agreed. I was on my best behavior as both Elder and James had been of great help during Amie’s rescue.

“Sis, looking better,” he said as he walked into the bedroom.

“Elder, I can say the same. Red really isn’t your color, leave that to Mom and me,” she told him, and they both laughed.

“Luna, you look better, and I noticed you have got your scent back,” the head of the council said as we followed Elder into the bedroom. He had taken a seat on the edge of the bed, holding his sister’s hand.

“Thank you. I feel better, and whatever was blocking my scent washed away in the shower,” Amie told him. I wanted to push Elder off the bed and take his seat, but I didn’t think Amie would be impressed by it. Instead, I walked up and stood next to the nightstand.

“Have you found something?” I asked the older wolf. He nodded.