Seven
Leo must have gotten word to George in time because the scent of warm pot roast, sweet salsa, tortilla chips, and apple pie perked up her exhausted body. It still took extra concentration for her to carry the tray inside her room and not spill anything, but she managed.
She might not have killed the wolf inside her. After all she'd been through, the universe or wherever wolf shadows generated from, didn't give a damn about the human hosts they occupied. Kellen might have been born with his wolf shadow, but hers just showed up and expected the party to start. Well, her wolf shadow—if it still existed—could go screw that right into a four-by-four.
The maddening part was, she couldn't do anything about it. If she so much as touched a computer and started searching for ways to kill a wolf shadow, Josiah would find her. Kellen was right, Josiah hadn't gotten to be alpha by playing nice and following the rules—if there were any. He got there through brute force instilling terror in anyone who opposed him and used his charisma to seduce the rest. He was also smart enough to have someone monitoring the internet, using algorithms to alert him if someone started a deep dive into wolf shifter lore.
With dinner came more energy. If she were smart, she would take a shower and go to bed, but there was no way she'd get any sleep tonight. She was too wound up and felt wide awake despite the long day. Looking past the two cacti growing in the garden window, she saw the forest beckoning to her.
Searching the nightstand drawer, she found the clothes she'd worn while on the run, cleaned and neatly folded. Kellen thought he was doing her a favor, but it only made her more wary that someone had been in her room while she was working. But, it wasn't her room, was it. It belonged to Kellen, and he allowed her to stay there. Why he hadn't escorted her out of town became more obvious every second she was with him.
He wanted to watch her, make sure that Josiah couldn't find her so as not to create a violent situation that could get his friends killed.
Jerking on her pants, shirt, and sweater, then checking to make sure her knife sheath was secure, she nearly ran out of the apartment. She needed time to herself. She didn't even bother to lock the door behind her. What did it matter since he could come and go as he pleased anyway?
Downstairs, she found a large flashlight in the breakroom. From behind the bar, she snagged a bottle of Jameson’s. Kellen could take it out of her pay for all she cared. Outside, she followed the same path she had that morning, around the parking lot and toward the tree line. Once under the canopy of trees, everything changed.
As the sun started to set, the darkness grew thicker the farther she walked. There was no path to follow. She tried to walk in as straight a line as possible so she wouldn't get completely lost. About fifteen minutes into her wandering, she saw the tree she needed—sturdy trunk, low branches, and plenty of cover. It was perfect for brooding.
Sinking down onto the cold earth, she opened the bottle of whisky and gulped the sharp liquid until the sting faded, and the liquid warmed her. After six weeks without even a shot, the alcohol hit her hard. She'd regret this in the morning, but at this point she didn't care. She'd gotten so used to almost no human contact while riding the rails that sitting alone in the forest, getting drunk and listening to the night sounds of owls and rustling leaves felt natural and perfectly soothing. Her eyes closed after a while and her anger scattered as far as her thoughts had drifted. If only she could stay here in this bubble of peace.
How long she slept on the ground, she had no idea. All she knew was her body stopped turning colder with the night's progression and became warm enough to find the comfort she needed. The world outside the forest couldn't touch her until something brushed her forehead. Shifting her position brought a shock. Instead of leaning against the tree clutching the whiskey bottle, she found herself curled around a huge furry body and it sure as hell wasn't a teddy bear.
The morning twilight gave her just enough light to look into the deep brown eyes of the wolf that she was wrapped around. Wolves didn't have dark brown eyes, but this one did, the same shade as Kellen's. She sat up...and immediately regretted the attempt. Her head pounded with the force of an avalanche and the stitches in her neck didn't help.
Kellen growled and pushed her with his nose. The last thing she needed right now was a fight, so she slowly twisted her body around and saw a bottle of water, a box of aspirin, and a cellophane wrapped muffin. Her stomach roiled, but she forced herself to sit up and grab the muffin.
"You do think of everything, don't you?"
Only after she'd taken a couple of bites of the muffin and swallowed two aspirin, did her vision clear enough so she could appreciate Kellen’s wolf. By God, he was gorgeous, with deep pewter fur along his body, and two white patches on each side of his muzzle. Black fur outlined his ears and ran down his legs. She reached out to stroke the fur along his neck, soft and silky instead of the rough coat she’d expect from a wild animal.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see two other wolves lounging in the growing light just far enough away to give her and Kellen some privacy. Her wonder over touching Kellen’s wolf abated. The other two had to be Leo and Stephen. Great. Just what she didn't need—wolf shifter babysitters.
"Now what?"
Kellen nodded toward the direction she assumed would get her out of the woods.
"Okay, just give me a few more minutes."
He did more than that. He rose and strode over to join the other two wolves. They stood side-by-side, just like the brotherhood they claimed to be. Then they whirled around and gracefully loped into the forest with almost no sound.
Point, check, and mate. Well, not the mate part, because that was off the table for the foreseeable future. They did have her cornered though, regardless of the amount of space they gave her. As much as she wanted to believe their decision to leave wasn't her fault, it was. But she just wanted to stay alive and one step ahead of the Riverstone Pack. She wouldn’t allow herself to carry the blame for ending up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It took about an hour before she could shove herself to standing, brush herself off, and find her way back to the apartment. Breakfast was waiting for her again. This time she showered first, which eased her hangover even more.
Sitting down on her bed, she contemplated her next move. She still had some time before her shift started. Would she see Kellen? Would they talk? What would they say to each other?
His wolf was beautiful.
She couldn't imagine her wolf being beautiful or graceful. As a wolf shifter, she had felt as if a ball and chain were wrapped around her neck. It was a weight she had thrown off, but had she truly gotten rid of it?
Kellen was the only one who could help her find out. But she wasn’t ready for that just now. Thankfully, he wasn't anywhere to be seen when she joined Carlie in the dining room.
"Hello, there!" Carlie greeted and immediately looked at her neck. "Well, your blue lips have faded a little more, but you sure do know how to pile on the pain. What happened?"
"Just a clumsy moment." She reached up but stopped herself from touching the sutures. "I tripped while walking back from the gym and face-planted on the ground. A sharp branch decided to go for my throat. Kellen got me inside and sewed me back up."
"He sure has many talents."
