Just a subtle shift—his body going still, his focus narrowing like a hunting dog catching a scent.
“What?” I whispered.
He stepped forward, crouching near the walkway.
Boot prints.
Fresh ones.
Beside them… cigarette ash.
My stomach plummeted.
“Wolf?”
He stood slowly. “Someone was here. Last night or early this morning.”
Cold curled around my spine. “Why my house?”
He didn’t answer right away.
He turned, scanning the tree line.
The fence.
The alley behind the neighbor’s shed.
Finally, he looked at me. Eyes sharp. Controlled.
“Because you saw something,” he said. “And whoever it is knows you did.”
My breath trembled. “But I didn’t—”
“Youthinkyou didn’t,” he corrected gently. “But something about that night you can’t remember stuck with you. He followed you for a reason.”
My pulse thrummed painfully in my throat.
The world suddenly felt too big. Too exposed.
Wolf stepped closer, lowering his voice like he was talking someone back from a ledge.
“You’re safe,” he said. “I promise.”
I didn’t know whether to believe the words…
…but I believedhim.
“Come inside,” I said before I could think about it.
Wolf blinked. “Inside?”
“You should… look around. If there were footprints outside, maybe…”
He studied me, trying to gauge if I was saying it because I wanted safety—
or because I wantedhim.
Truth was… both. I didn’t have casual sex with men; I’ve only been with two, but I never felt the powerful wanting ever before. Wolf brought out the wanting in me.
