Healing Ties (Ties, Book 2) | ✓

Chapter 33

Yore was really starting to wish he'd bandaged his neck before leaving his cabin. Every person he encountered wanted to know what had happened to him. That wasn't a bad thing, of course. They were family, his friends. His pack. Of course they wouldn't just overlook bite marks on his throat.

Yore was glad they cared, it just got exhausting having to explain what had happened over and over, especially since he wanted to paint a balanced picture of the situation in which Sani wasn't some grand villain to be hated. It was hard to have the same nuanced conversation three times in a row with his neck stinging and his body aching more and more as the stress he had put it through in the fight slowly caught up with him.

When Yore finally tracked his mother down, she was sitting on the dock down by the river with Slone, eating freshly caught fish for breakfast. He hadn't thought to look for her there. She was so often busy and Slone so often away that they rarely spent time together. It was a shame that he had to disrupt them with this.

Yore's mother turned as he approached, relaxed and at ease for a second, and then she was instantly on her feet the second she saw the state of his neck. "What happened?"

"Sani challenged me. I won."

She came in closer, but Yore leant away, holding a hand up to discourage her from touching him. Somehow, he'd been more comfortable having Fanner close to his throat.

"Sani did this?" she demanded.

"Mm. Not who I expected to challenge me first."

She sighed. "This isn't good. If it had been one of the stronger contenders, your victory might have discouraged the lot of them. Sani, though... I don't know that she's not a skilled fighter, but she's always been a bit of an outcast. She hasn't made a name for herself. Her losing might not mean much to the rest of them."

"Especially not since she did manage to get her teeth into me. I know."

"Did she fight fair?"

Yore made a face. "She didn't jump me with a group of her friends or anything, but you'd have had a few things to say about how things went down."

"I bet I would have, and I bet that's why I wasn't given the opportunity to witness it. No more informal fights. That's a rule I'm giving to you as my son and heir, as a member of my pack. If anyone else challenges you, it's not your decision to make. You bring them back here and we arrange a formal and fair fight. Understood?"

Yore inclined his head. "It was a mistake to fight her without proper witnesses."

"I'm glad you learnt that lesson without suffering any serious consequences. You should get Duffy to bandage that for you."

Yore reached his hand up near his throat and grimaced, then dropped it again without touching himself. "That won't be necessary. I'll patch myself up and then get started on whatever we have planned for the day."

"You'll patch yourself up and then you'll rest. Have Fanner give you a massage if it helps. Sani obviously timed her visit for when she knew you would be tired and vulnerable. Let's try to avoid exhausting you so that the next challenger doesn't have that opportunity."

Yore wasn't sure how he was supposed to do that while fulfilling his responsibilities, but then she probably didn't realise just how much living demanded of him these days. He did his best to hide just how much he struggled. "Well. Maybe I'll lay down for a couple of hours, at least."

"Nah," Slone said, finally speaking up. "Mum's right. You're burning yourself out. You go sleep, or read a book if you can't do that, and I'll bring you something to eat at lunch time."