“I’m still not sure coming was a good idea, to be honest,” Dallas told Jared as they made their way toward Jared’s infirmary.

“I don’t know. I understand why you think that, of course, but maybe now is the perfect time to make sure the pack has an infirmary. I’m sure you’re expecting trouble.”

Dallas nodded. The entire pack was waiting for the other shoe to drop after what Tom had done. They were still dealing with what remained of Tom’s council, and as if that wasn’t hard enough, they were waiting for someone from the government to drop in and arrest Kameron, or something like that. Dallas wasn’t sure the pack would survive without Kameron, no matter how strong and capable Nick was as a beta. Kameron had guided the pack through a lot of things since he’d become the alpha, and everyone loved him. Well, mostly everyone, but the exceptions didn’t matter.

“Have you heard anything yet?” Jared asked as he pushed open a door.

“Not yet. I’m not exactly privy to a lot of information, though. I’ve had so much work, what with setting up the infirmary and the fight with the other council.” The infirmary hadn’t been ready, but Dallas had had to deal with the wounded anyway. Luckily for him, the hospital and Jared had helped, and he’d been able to transfer the badly wounded to more appropriate structures.

“I’m sure Kameron will tell you if something happens. From what I was told, the humans are very cautious, but then I wouldn’t expect anything different. They did just find out about shifters. They don’t know what we want or how to deal with us.”

They stepped into Jared’s infirmary, and Dallas looked around. He liked what he saw, and he wanted the same thing in Gillham. He was getting it, actually, but he wanted to make sure he knew how to deal with it. He’d worked in hospitals all his life, both before he was kidnapped by the Glass Research Company and after he’d been released. He loved his job, but he was glad he’d be able to slow down, although that wasn’t a certainty just yet. He’d thought working in the pack’s infirmary would mean a slower rhythm, more time to finally be able to focus on other things, but he’d obviously chosen the wrong moment to accept that job. He wouldn’t back out, though. He was never one to back out of challenges.

“How many patients do you usually have?” Dallas asked Jared.

“I have at least one pride member in here every day. It’s usually small cuts, children who get hurt while playing, things like that. Then, of course, there are the pride members who get injured while fighting the hunters, but that’s exceptional.”

The big room was empty of patients, even though Dallas could hear people talking in another room, probably a private one. “So you don’t have a lot of people working with you.”

Jared shook his head. “No. There’s me and Noem, and Adrian helps when I need him, but he usually doesn’t. He spends more time focusing on his research.”

Dallas had heard about Adrian. Who hadn’t? He was one of the few humans who’d become a shifter, and he’d been the one to do it to himself. Some thought he was a genius, some that he should be killed for what he’d done to humans and shifters alike, but no one could touch him, not while he was under Dominic Nash’s protection. Dallas didn’t have an opinion—he knew better than most what one had to do in desperate circumstances. He wasn’t innocent either, and he certainly hadn’t wanted to do what he’d done. He’d wanted to survive, though, and he’d done just that.

“So Jago and I should be enough?” Dallas asked, wanting to steer his thoughts away from the past.

“You should, especially now that Tom has been dealt with.”

“I’m not sure it will be as easy. Tom might be out of the picture, but he left us with a mess, and the rest of his council isn’t exactly easy to deal with. We’ve been having problems ever since we took Tom in.” And Dallas had had to take care of more wounds than he liked to see on an everyday basis.

Jared gestured toward an open door, and Dallas headed that way. He entered what had to be Jared’s office and sat in front of the desk while Jared rounded it, sitting in front of him. “You should probably get yourself a Nix nurse or doctor,” Jared said, tapping his finger on his desk. “I’m sure we can find someone from the hospital. Most of them would be over the moon to be able to work with the pack.”

Dallas had seen firsthand how popular the pack seemed to be. That popularity wasn’t something isolated either—all the shifter groups led by a council member seemed to be just as popular. Apparently, working with one of them looked good on a résumé, not that Dallas would know anything about that. He’d never worked with the pack, even though they’d rescued him from the company. Kameron had been the one to approach him with the proposition of manning the infirmary.

“I’d rather not have to work with someone who wants to be there just for the fame,” he told Jared.

Jared grinned. “I know all about that. You wouldn’t believe how many applications I get every week.”

“How did you find Noem?”

“He’s been working with me ever since he arrived in Whitedell almost two years ago. I know I can trust him and that he’s in it because he loves what he does. This is his home, not just a job.”