But if I had to be completely honest with myself, I wasn’t surewhatI was ready for. It was true that the divorce had only been finalized recently, but I’d had a whole damn year to get over him. Maybe I was more ready than I gave myself credit for.
He stepped over to his desk, unpinned a flyer from his bulletin board, and held it out for me. “Here’s the number to the garage in Darlington I use. Just let them know you’re with me, and they’ll take care of it. I need to do a quick survey of the area and make an initial report now that the storm’s over. I’ll be right back.”
He pulled me in close again and kissed me on the forehead.
As I waited for the call to the garage to go through, I peered out the window to watch him disappear into the woods.
There was a click, and a cheerful female voice with a southern twang said, “Grind and Shine Garage, how may I help you?”
Chapter 8
Axel
Itrudgedthroughthesnow, enjoying the newer, fluffier layer that had fallen this morning over last night’s snowmageddon. The new snow was deep enough to swallow my feet, and it muffled everything, making the world magically still.
I’d tossed on my jacket when I left my home, but I’d left it hanging on a tree branch. My boots, too, were sitting under the same tree. In fact, all my clothes were there. I’d stripped out of them the moment I was out of sight of my cabin.
There was nothing like letting the magical illusion drop and tromping through the wilderness after a big snowstorm in nothing but my fur. Considering I had nothing on and I couldn’t control the camouflage magic, I’d probably go invisible instead of turning human if I turned it on.
I didn’t pretend to understand how it worked. The magic had its own logic, and I’d learned not to argue with it. It protected me when I needed it most, and that was enough. Sometimes, being invisible or blending into the trees was a lot better than being a completely naked human man. We were a misunderstood group and the last thing I needed was for the human cops to come calling regarding a naked perv in the woods.
Only one of the older trees I had on watch had fallen from the heavy snow, but it wasn’t over any of the wildlife paths or roads, so I could leave it to nature.
I headed back toward the road, picking up the pace, my feet crunching through the denser layers of compressed snow. I tried to pay attention to the world around me, but all I could think about was her and the connection we’d had this morning.
I had to remind myself that she was human, and they didn’t move nearly as fast as we monsters did, especially when we’d found our mates. She said her ex was a wolf shifter, but he must have kept a lot from her—not just his identity, but details about mates and bonding. Would she understand if I told her?
What if he’d told her she washismate? And yet, he’d cheated on her and ruined her financially. No true mate would do that unless there was something really wrong with them. So I had to believe that she wasn’t his true mate.
Fuck. Of course she wasn’t.
Because she wasmine.
The main road looked like a smooth field of white. I continued just inside the tree line until I saw the mound of snow that must be her vehicle. I was so grateful I’d been there when I was. She wouldn’t have lasted long out here yesterday, and making the trek to Darlington wouldn’t have been viable either.
I continued looking for irregularities in the snow, but found none. Ella’s car had been the only one stuck on the road last night. Wonderful. I didn’t need to go look for any missing persons, which I appreciated because I wanted to get back to Ella as soon as possible.
I grabbed my phone, which I wore on a lanyard around my neck whenever I chose to patrol without my clothes. I quickly made my initial report; I’d send the written one after, detailing the incident with Ella and her vehicle. Several other rangers had already made theirs.
I was just turning to head back when the wind shifted. I scented it. It carried something sharp and mildly familiar, something that had the fur on my back lifting. Wolf.
And not the usual suspects either. This wasn’t Levi or one of the locals I shared this forest with. This was a stranger.
I scanned the road again, hoping to find something I’d missed, every muscle coiled and ready to spring into action. Nothing stood out to me, and there were no tracks, wolf or human. Butthen again, the scent on the breeze was faint, and any tracks would’ve been covered by the snow by now.
I added the note to my report, and the system alerted me that Mason, another EA ranger, a bear shifter, had already mentioned it in his report. I hadn’t imagined it.
I sent a quick message to Levi as well, just in case. Sometimes these things turned out to be nothing. But something told me this was different, especially since I knew that Ella’s ex was a lone wolf.
Levi replied almost immediately, saying it must have been after his rounds last night because he hadn’t noticed it then. Then he said he’d alert the rest of the pack, and they’d all keep their eyes out.
I thanked them for letting Ella’s family know that she was safe. I hadn’t realized her family lived so close. She hadn’t been kidding when she’d said she’d lived by Darlington all her life.
It really was a miracle that neither Ella nor her family had accidentally happened onto it. That Wall really had been something.
But I was glad it was gone. The world had been shocked by the existence of magic and monsters, but it was time. There was no other time in written history that would’ve been better.
The wind picked up again, and there it was, the scent of wolf. And it was coming from the direction of my cabin.
