Will

"This is ridiculous!" Will's fist met the wall with a resounding thud. Icy hot pain shot up from his knuckles to his arm.

Surprised, Natalie's knife hit the counter with a clatter. Across the room, Cam shook his head and crossed his arms, leaning against the sink. "Nice going, killer."

Will dusted off the plaster sticking to his knuckles. He couldn't unclench his fists. The rage and frustration built and built and he was wound too tight. Even putting a fist sized hole in the wall didn't help.

Natalie sighed. "I wish you'd have done that somewhere else."

Cam smothered a laugh in a cough. "Guess we've got some HGTV shit to do." He stood up. "I'll go get the spackle."

"Will, go sit in that chair," Natalie ordered, "while I find the first aid kit."

"I'm fine."

He shouldn't have lost it like that, especially not in front of Natalie. If he had rage problems, he should have gone outside and ran it off like he usually did. Not let it fester and bubble.

"You are not fine." She dug around under the kitchen sink, then pulled out a slim white container. "If you were, you wouldn't have punched a hole in Alpha Mark's wall."

Not like he was the first person to put a hole through the wall. Wolves often worked off their emotions and as such, the pack house was in a constant state of renovation.

"I'm sorry, Natalie." His leg bobbed up and down. "I shouldn't have done that."

Natalie opened the kit and took out a small bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a cotton ball. She began dabbing at the small cuts along his knuckles. "Everyone is entitled to get angry now and again."

"It's just..." Will's jaw was still too tight, "I've failed twice now. I'm not used to having this much difficulty."

"If it were an easy job, everyone would do it."

Cam walked in, the container of spackle in his hand. "I think I can build my own home from scratch by now."

"I'll get it."

"Na," Cam popped the lid off. "I needed something to do anyway."

Natalie peered at Will, taking in his features. "When's the last time you got a good night of sleep?"

Will snorted.

"Well no wonder you lost the trail on this rogue--you're not at 100%." Natalie wrapped his knuckles with gauze and tsked. "I told Oliver he needs to look into another hunter. You can't keep going like this, Will."

"I can't let this wolf get away." Harley's face appeared in his mind. "You didn't see the way Harley looked."

The corner of Natalie's cheek came up. "Harley will understand. We looked, we did what we could, but sometimes rogues are hard to catch."

"She told me to go right away. I told her I wanted to let the trail settle."

"And it did."

"But I didn't think he'd go into the city!" Wolves hated the city. Too much noise, and nowhere to run. "That damn pollution messed the trail up."

Natalie put the first aid kit back and continued chopping carrots. "You're worried about what she thinks of you."

"Mathias would've--"

"Is that it? Is it because of Mathias?" Natalie interrupted, grinning down at her cutting board.

"Wrecked." Cam coughed into his fist.

"Is there a tickle in your throat?" Will hissed at Cam. "Or are you allergic to your own asinine jokes?"

"Harley thinks the world of you, Will." Natalie continued. "She doesn't show it often, but I can see it."

"Are you sure you can see anything with Cam's big head in here?"

Cam only laughed. Then, "Damn, Will, I'm going to need a lot more than some spackle for this."

The front door clicked shut and footsteps thudded down the hall. "Hello?"

Cam threw a wicked smile in Will's direction. "Speak of the devil."

Harley stepped through the doorway wearing a v-neck and, in spite of the heat, skinny jeans. She had her purse on her shoulder. "Where is everyone?"

Natalie munched on one of her carrot chunks. "There's a pack run later. They're getting ready."

The second Harley's expression started to shut down, Will wished Natalie could take her words back. "Oh." Harley looked out the window blankly. "That's cool."

She might've as well told Harley about a party she wasn't invited to. "Not that we're going. We've been put on babysitting duty," Will said.

Cam sent Will a look. Will was supposed to go on the pack run. With the rogue trapezing about, the Alpha wanted him to watch the perimeter. What was he supposed to do? Just let Harley be sad? No, he'd send Cam in his place and take over pup sitting with Natalie. "Cam's going to watch the perimeter." Will shot Cam a strong warning down the pack bond.

Harley still had that blanket over her features. She shook her head, clearing it away. "Natalie, do you need any help?"

"No, I'm fine for now." Natalie assured. "Did you just get off of work? Why don't you sit down with Will."

Will wanted to shoot himself in the foot. Being close to Harley right now would be a terrible idea, especially with all the built up frustration coursing through his veins.

"William over there is in time out anyway." Cam supplied.

"Time out?" Harley scrunched her eyebrows. "What for?"

Damn this girl. Even with her long brown hair tucked into a haphazard mess of a bun, she still managed to look beautiful. Some of the stray hairs dangled near the side of her face and Will wanted nothing more than to brush them back.

Mathias' sister. Mathias' sister. Mathias' sister.

"Unapproved renovations." Cam said, trying to spackle the edges of the jagged hole in the wall.

Harley blinked in surprise, before turning to Will. "You did that?"

His whole body burned hot with shame. He didn't meet her eyes. Luckily, Natalie saved him by asking, "Harley, where's your necklace?"

Pure panic snapped onto Harley's face. She automatically pressed a hand to her chest and, finding it missing, dragged her hands against her jean pockets.

"Oh dear," Natalie murmured.

Then memory sparked and Harley's shoulders relaxed. She let out a deep breath, and, after a second, snorted at herself. "I forgot," she said, digging through her purse, "I put it in my purse." Will watched as she dragged out a long silver chain with a delicate crafted butterfly caught in mid-flight dangling at the end.

"Your father gave that to you, yes?" Natalie asked.

Harley ran her thumb over the silver trinket. It was precious to her, anyone with eyes could see that. It was most likely one of the last things she had of her family. No wonder it meant so much to her.

Across the island, Natalie smiled down at the cutting board, the echo of the dull thunk of the knife spreading throughout the room. "Your father always was one for gifts. If he had the money, he loved to spoil."

"You knew my father?" Harley barely whispered, then blinked, "of course you did, nevermind. That was stupid."

Natalie was in her early forties. She didn't look it--rather, she appeared quite young for her age. Her skin had almost no wrinkles, her hair long and full with no hint of grey. Will liked to think that wolves aged gracefully because of the active nature of their lives. In reality, it was most likely the result of the magic voodoo-like transformation that made them wolves.

"It was not stupid, Harley. Don't give yourself such a hard time. Yes, your father and I were great friends. He often worked with the pack as a doctor when anyone was ill or injured. I gather there's a lot of wolves here who fondly remember your father."

Even Will's parents talked about the Pierces and what a loss they were to the pack. But he didn't want to tell Harley that. Sadness had already touched her life one too many times. The Pierces were a fundamental part of the pack--everyone was, but the Pierces a little more so. Losing them distraught the pack in a way no one prepared for.

Harley clipped on her necklace and then rubbed it between two fingers. "He was a great man."

"Yes he was." Natalie confirmed, "Why don't you go put your stuff away, Harley, and then you can come give us a hand down here. Will, grab those potatoes over there and start peeling."

Will got up to grab the potatoes and watched as Harley walked off, her feet almost silent against the hardwood floor. With her hair up in a bun, he couldn't help but stare at the little hairs that escaped to trace along the gentle curve of her neck. He stepped over to the table, nearly colliding into the corner as he continued to look.

Cam snickered.

And as he dutifully ignored Natalie's knowing smile, he chanted to himself, Mathias' sister, Mathias' sister, Mathias' sister.

Maybe if he said it often enough to himself, his heart would get the memo.