Trace couldn't focus--Cyclone finally stirred. The juxtaposition of everything--where his wolf didn't seem to care--made him worry about his other half. He had been lucky to have a wolf side after Jodi. That was the punishment for going against the Goddess.

Its the same threat again, yet still the damned wolf didn't protest, only looking around inside Trace's head once this new mate left them before settling down in the corners of his mind.

At 2 O'Clock Layla walked in, "Excuse me Alpha Keller...we never talked about..."

"I can't do that anymore." He cut her off, in case she got the courage to persuade him. He lost most of his self-control--one of many things that had slipped since Jodi. A swift denial was safest. "Even if I can't reconcile with her."

"She told me it was eating my soul to be with you." Layla ran a hand through her hair. "We drive Beta Walker nuts, wasting my potential on mindless sex."

"Well, you both have my blessing. How long has he noticed you?" Relief warred with guilt, knowing he'd be rid of her so easily.

"He claims since we were teens, but..."

"First time was two weeks after we started? Nothing like scenting power in us old dogs."

She laughed a bit awkwardly. "Ambushed me after a meeting--I was so mad at myself at first because you needed me."

"I do admit that you pulled me out of a very dark place, Layla, and I am grateful for that."

"I can hear the but coming."

"You've worked with me for three years--you know me better than that poor girl does." Trace grimaced as another truth hit home. "But I only needed you for two months before Cyclone came back. We were more using each other than anything. That means excuses put off Walker for too long."

"Your mate covered that--some Oracle as an ancestor. She didn't seem impressed, so it wasn't bragging." She yawned and stretched, distracting him for a second, showing old habits. "Oh, and that was some sort of snake stew she brought up--not a local's cooking, so she came up here with a meal she had prepared and hunted herself."

"She went out last night with a good chunk of the pups and hunted frogs. Some of them didn't go to school today, and we have a truancy threat."

"This shouldn't be coming from me, of all people, but you're not really listening to yourself, are you, Trace?"

"What?"

"Name something good that she's done."

He was quiet, thinking for a while. "Everything I can think of is tainted."

"I bet it's more that everything is tainted with a woman that still haunts you. Give that girl a chance, figure out what she's thinking."

The blows to his pride just kept coming, didn't they? "That's if she'll have me after this."

"They're teaching the pups how to handle stupid, these days. They're better prepared for it." Layla sighed and forced herself to squarely face him, hiding weakness. "Oh, and don't ever abuse my trust like that again, Alpha Keller."

"Even if she's prepared, it's just another thing to add to the load of the burden of me." He shrugged. "And I expect no less from you. I am sorry for not better explaining what was going on, for your sake."

Trace dismissed Layla from his office and thoughts to dwell on rejecting Eva. Was it just the bond, or was there a part of him that wanted more than the ennui of life? Was there more to him than an aging Alpha lurking, struggling to overcome what he'd become?

If that was so, how had he missed it for years?