An hour passed before the door upstairs finally opened.

I'd been sitting on the bottom step the entire time, listening to the muffled conversations above, trying not to imagine what Kayla and Ace's mother were saying to him.

The pack doctor emerged first, his expression carefully neutral as he descended the stairs.

"How is he?" I asked immediately.

"The poison has been neutralized. His natural healing abilities should take care of the rest." He paused, studying my face. ...