River Wolf(9)

Another gift of Gillian’s—her healing ability worked on humans. A truly rare gift and one they kept quiet. For human pack mates, it was an essential gift, but if the outside world learned… No, Brett didn’t want to countenance such knowledge in the open. Gillian was one wolf, she didn’t need to be worn to bare threads.

“The woman, Tabatha, was very badly hurt. She had a ruptured spleen and internal bleeding.” Despite the severity of the topic, Gillian never sugar-coated her wisdom for the pre-teen. She’d told Brett once that she believed Trent would be a powerful healer one day. He showed every ounce of the potential and a certain amount of skill even at his age. To shepherd his talent, however, meant also being honest about everything. He had to understand what would one day be asked of him. “Wolves can heal many severe injuries, even without our assistance. Will it take them longer? Yes. Humans, however, are far more fragile. Internal bleeding and infections can kill them rapidly. Tabatha needed my assistance far more than they did. Also she was innocent victim of their stupidity. Since they decided to steal cars and race them, with the full knowledge they could survive their idiocy, they deserved less of my assistance than she did.”

“That sounds like a judgment… or like a punishment. I thought parents and Brett and the Hunters did the judgments.” The struggle in his expression beckoned to Brett. The confusion was his to clear up.

“Judgment and punishment are mine to mete out.” He spoke slowly and kept his tone level. The last thing he wanted to do was scare the kid. Trent, however, needed to understand. “Your mom disciplines you when your father isn’t home, doesn’t she?”

Quizzical and hesitant, Trent nodded. “Yes.”

“Your teachers, they see to your discipline at school?”

Another nod.

“If you and your friends are misbehaving when you’re playing, other pack mates and neighbors correct you, don’t they?”

Dislike flared in the child’s eyes. Healer potential or not, he was still a boy. “Yes.” The sullen note earned a faint smile from Gillian, one she hid but Brett didn’t bother to disguise his grin.

“Healers have the right to administer justice as well, particularly if a wolf has been stupid. Remember, it’s your energy that is used up to fix whatever issue they’ve created for themselves. They aren’t going to die from their broken bones, but they are going to ache. If they do shift, they can fix their injuries themselves.”

“That’ll hurt, though.”

“Pain teaches us,” Brett said, agreeing with him. “Pain reminds us we shouldn’t do some things. We have to listen to our pain. In this case, if they remember how much it hurt, maybe they won’t commit another dangerous act that could kill someone.”

“Killing humans…”

“Is a punishable offense. Whether through accident or design, if that young lady died as a result of their actions, they would be facing far more serious consequences. I don’t want to ever punish them for that failure, and they don’t want to feel the guilt associated with killing another person.”

Grimacing, Trent blinked back tears. “I didn’t think about her dying.”

Rubbing the younger man’s back, Gillian smiled gently. “You’re still young, and you’re learning. I don’t enjoy chastising anyone, even the most foolish, but they could have killed themselves as well as that girl. We’re wolves, but we’re not indestructible. Sometimes a little bit of pain, if they learn from it, is better overall. Think of it this way—if you burn your finger on the stove and I heal it, would you be more or less likely to burn it the next time?”

Since Trent had endured that very injury just six weeks before, grabbing a hot pan fresh from the oven in his hurry to get to the cookies, he understood the issue. “I won’t ever grab a pan of cookies right out of the oven again.” The solemn dedication in his tone earned a grin from all of the adults.

“Exactly.” Brett ruffled his hair. “Now, it’s your weekend with your parents. Go, have fun, play with your friends and make sure you get your homework done. We’ll see you on Monday.”

Trent hugged Gillian, then threw himself at Brett. The ease of affection and the trust in the child warmed his heart. After giving him a careful squeeze, Brett set him on his feet.

Owen straightened and met Brett’s gaze with a nod. “C’mon, kid. I’ll walk you home.” In addition to Owen’s escort, the Hunters Jess and Milo kept regular eyes on Trent when he was away from the Alpha or Gillian. His life was extremely valuable to them all—not only because he was a healer, but also because he was one of their most vulnerable. Hudson River could brook no more losses.