His first surgery was scheduled for two days from now. The doctor hoped that would give his arm enough time to heal along with the rest of his bruises and the concussion.
Rhodes stepped into the room, looking as exhausted as I felt. He dropped into one of the two chairs in front of the desk with a groan.
“I fucking hate people,” he muttered.
“That good, huh?” I tried not to smirk.
“Lowman is planning to ride this out. They think that since they’re so isolated in their tiny little Canadian territory that Norwood won’t care about them.”
I sighed. “They’re north of Windale, right?”
He nodded.
“I’ll ask Dante to call Griff. Worst case scenario maybe he can offer them a place if they can get out in time.”
“Speaking of Griff,” Dante said, walking in and sitting next to Rhodes. “He’s officially in. He can’t come out here in person since they’re surrounded by Norwood on all sides, but he’s announcing to his pack tonight that they’re formally joining Blackwater.”
“Thank fuck,” Rhodes mumbled, rubbing his temples.
“Is Michael still here?” Dante asked.
I shook my head. “Zoe was taking the evening shift at the cafe and Michael went to stay with her. He’s worried she’s doing too much since she’s so far along.”
Now that Zoe was in the last weeks of her pregnancy, Michael was becoming more and more protective of his mate, which I understood completely.
I had already made peace with the neanderthal in me that would have Skye wrapped in bubble wrap and doing nothing but relaxing when she had our kid. I would hire a dozen people to wait on her hand and foot for whenever I wasn’t there to take care of her myself.
And she would probably kick my ass for it.
“I talked to Tate earlier,” Dante added. His mouth flattened. “She’s thinking it would be best to cremate Luke. When all this is over, we’ll take him back to Brooks Ridge and spread his ashes. But we could still have a memorial service, if there’s time.”
“We’ll make time,” I said firmly. “Luke was our friend. More than our friend.”
Dante’s eyes dropped, and I knew he was struggling to reign in his feelings.
“We all need this,” I finished quietly.
Rhodes nodded, clapping a hand on Dante’s shoulder. “He’s right, man. And we’ll do whatever Tate wants. We’ve got her back.”
“I’m just waiting for her to get back,” Dante admitted. “Everything feels wrong without her here.”
“I know,” I murmured, rubbing my jaw.
He winced. “Shit. I’m sorry, bro.”
I waved it off, even though the reminder that Skye wasn’t here was like an unexpected gut punch. “Don’t worry about it. I’m glad you and Ryder have each other.”
“I’m just glad you and Ryder figured your shit out last year,” Rhodes cracked with a grin.
Dante flipped him off, but a small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
“Seriously,” Rhodes added. “If I had to watch you two dance around each other any longer, I would’ve helped Tate lock you in that damn room.”
I snorted.
“What the hell does that mean?” Dante demanded, eyebrows raised.
“He means Tate was about to lock you two into a room until you sorted out your issues and realized what we all did,” I told him, laughing.
His eyes widened. “No way.”
Rhodes nodded gleefully. “Oh, hell yes. She actually recruited us to help. She had the lock to your bedroom door changed so it locked from the outside. She had a whole plan on how to get you two into the room and leave you there until you worked it out.”
“But you two managed to do it yourselves,” I added.
Dante sighed and shook his head. “It was me, you know? Not Ryder. Ryd’s been my best friend since we were kids. I didn’t want to fuck that up when things started to change, and I let expectations for being an Alpha get in my head.”
“I still don’t know how you can share your girl,” Rhodes admitted. “If Remy touched Lark, I’d rip his arms off.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Same, fucker.”
“I think it only works because I love Ryd as much as I love Tate,” Dante confessed. “Even when neither one of us wanted to admit it. ”
“You know, everything’s different now,” I told him. “Once we stop Norwood, it’s a new world. You can go back to Brooks Ridge with Tate and Ryder. No one will judge you.”
He shook his head. “No. I mean, I appreciate it, but Brooks Ridge joining Blackwater was the best decision for the pack. We’ve been struggling for years. And