He had been exercising his shoulder more, and the pain had subsided enough that Wayne no longer had to use the sling that had impeded his movement so much. Still, the joint ached every time he moved it more than a trivial amount, and so he was working only slowly at adding more and more of his old duties until he reached his usual load. It was a tedious process, one that had the cowboy grinding his teeth at every instance of difficulty, but he'd get through this like he'd gotten through every other trial in his life.
Pack life was no easier than before in the way of socialization, however. He knew and liked some of the more outgoing members of the pack, and he retained a connection with the alphas even if he didn't know them as much on a deep personal level, but there were some goings-on that he felt like he should have been able to prevent. The drama with Selene, Hadley, and the new woman Ismeme for example had been taxing on his nerves. It wasn't long before he stopped seeing most of them around, their pack scent all but disappearing from the territory. Part of him thought he should seek them out, but part of him also spat at the prospect. After all, they were Cavalierites. They were expected to adhere to the rules of peace in the pack, and if they abandoned it, what good were they to begin with?
As his thoughts made obvious, the Labrador mongrel was not in a pleasant mood today.
The only upside to his darkened demeanor was that he was better able to control Maia as he led the pregnant mare alongside Buckeye for exercise. It was getting to the point where he was uncertain about riding her and Gypsy, with their foaling near, but they still needed to get out as much as the others. A rope lead connected her with the light bay stallion, and his growls and commands kept her from fussing more than was appropriate. She was at least getting used to him, though he feared she would only completely warm up to him when it was time to give her back to Saul.
He snorted, almost amused, when a booming howl broke through the calmness of the spring day. The birds fell silent momentarily before twittering again, and the Tronco wheeled Buckeye around in the direction of the sound. He was used to finding recruits at the borders, but this cry did not carry the same note as those did. It was demanding too, to a point, and he recognized the shade in the call that summoned one pack member in particular. Sebastian could come if he wanted, but Wayne would seek this stranger out himself.
He stopped a bit short of the borders, tying Maia to a tree branch so she wouldn't attempt to bite the caller. He continued on with Buckeye, though, remaining on horseback as the horse stepped out to the edge of the territory -- where Wayne was startled to recognize one of the pair of luperci standing there. Amy? he asked in surprise, then shook his head as his brow furrowed. He remembered the implications of his meeting with Hadley, and he was not very glad to see her here now.
So he cut to the chase: blunt, stern. What do you want?
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