Page 11 of Starting a New Life

“At least that’s what the barrier is telling us.”

Raising my eyebrows, I looked at Rhett. “You don’t trust the barrier anymore?”

“No, I do. It feels… Oh, god, I hate the feeling of them entering packlands. My whole mind is screaming at me… I just… I have an issue with how strong the reaction is getting. How strong the barrier is getting.”

Yeah… that was the other issue.

“Do you think maybe our barrier gaining strength and the intrusions are connected somehow?” I asked—again, not for the first time.

“I don’t know.” Rhett threw his hands in the air and huffed. “Everything that’s happening goes against everything I’ve been taught about how barriers work. Either our ancestors got it all wrong, or…”

“Or there’s more going on than we know,” I finished for him. With a sigh, I turned my head back toward the forest. Winter was fast approaching. The branches were bare already, the leaves covering the forest floor in a blanket of reddish brown, and it was just a matter of days or weeks until it’d all be covered in white; the air already had this crisp, fresh hue to it. A promise of snow.

It’d make hunting both easier and harder.

“I have a theory,” I said. “About the barrier.”

It was a reach. But at this point, everything we came up with was us grasping at straws, desperately trying to find a reason for what was happening.

“Okay?”

“What if the barrier has been dormant for the last few decades?” I asked. “I mean, we didn’t really have active threats, so maybe the barrier has been asleep? And now that there are people regularly intruding and threatening our safety, it’s woken up?”

It was an idea. Granted, not a great one, but an idea nonetheless.

“Interesting thought,” Rhett said.

“But…” I definitely sensed a but coming.

“But I don’t think that’s the answer. The barrier never felt asleep. It always felt somewhat… cognizant? It was just a lot weaker.”

“So, the question remains: where is this new energy coming from?” Which was where we always ended up.

My wolf growled in frustration, and I couldn’t blame him. Weeks. We’d been going over this shit for weeks, and instead of making progress, it felt like we were taking steps back.

Rhett raked a hand through his hair, a faint hint of frustration and anger wafting from him. “This is bullshit. I hoped we’d have this issue resolved by now.”

I snorted. “Me too. But what can we do?”

Nothing.

Not a damn thing until we finally got our hands on one of those intruders.

Rhett remained silent, staring straight ahead, his face twisted in a complicated mix of emotions. Listening more closely, I heard his heart hammering in his chest.

Huh.

Something was up. I cocked my head and studied him more closely. He was wringing his hands in his lap, his knuckles white. His shoulders were tight with tension. I waited a couple of seconds for him to share his thoughts, but he remained silent—and I was not a patient guy.

“What’s up?”

Rhett’s head snapped up, his eyes filled with guilt and worry.

My stomach plummeted. What the fuck was that change in demeanour about?

“Come on, out with it.”

Rhett sighed, raking a hand through his hair. “There’s a reason I was hoping we’d get this issue dealt with quickly.”