I lay back to humor him, but I was distracted. Jules ran his fingers through my hair and then plaited a lock of it into a small, skinny braid at the side of my neck. When he was done, I fingered the tightly woven strands between my thumb and forefinger. I remembered how he used to braid Storm’s hair when the three of us were together. I remember how envious it made me feel and I couldn’t believe my luck that I was the one on the receiving end of his braids now.
“Your hair has changed so much,” he murmured. “Your wolf’s changing too.”
He was right. I noticed it a few nights before when we ran. The crest on my chest had grown and spread over most of my body. When I looked down, I saw a light gray pelt on my forelegs, dappled here and there with tufts of black. I looked like a puppy that was shedding its baby hair. My wolf looked a mess. The whole hair business was strange. Highly irregular. It worried me but I was unable to give the matter my full attention. The feeling of home was too strong to be ignored. Since we’d been at the cabin, I’d hardly given a thought to our home. Other than a bit of fury toward Dalton now and again, I’d hardly thought of our families or of the vampires that were headed their way. It was awful of me. I felt like a bad son and an even worse pack member.
“We have to go back, Jules.”
“I don’t want to.”
I knew how he felt. I felt it too. Our life at the cabin was perfect. Idyllic. Up there it was easy to forget all about the world and what faced us when we got home. “Are you scared?” I asked.
He was quiet for a while and then nodded.
“I’m scared too, but I think it will be okay. I mean, Dalton has to see reason. We’re the last two Cleary wolves. What’s he going to do, kick us out of the pack?” Truth be told, as I said it, I had a feeling that was exactly what Dalton was going to do.
“What will we do if he does?”
“I guess we’ll have to make our way to Cedar Key. We’ll have to see if they’ll have us.”
“I’m pretty sure they would. Mason and Auggie are well respected in the pack. It might not be that bad.” Jules looked buoyed. I expected to feel the same but I didn’t. The thought of leaving Clearwater Valley felt terrible to me. Terrible. Rancid. Worse than death. “Do you think your folks will come with us?” he asked.
“Yeah, for sure.” I didn’t even need to think about it. I knew my mom would come. There was no question about it. And I knew my dad would follow wherever she went.
“I don’t think my mom and dad will.” His voice was small when he said it.
“Why not?”
“Because they stayed when my brothers left. I never even heard them talking about leaving. I don’t think they considered it.”
“They’ll come with us. You’ll see.”
As I said it, my resolve strengthened. I didn’t like seeing Jules feeling scared or unhappy. I couldn’t stand it. I wouldn’t allow it.
Your parents will come with us,I thought.If need be, I’ll make them.
We packed up the cabin with long teeth. It felt almost sacrilegious how easy it was. We’d finished most of the food so there wasn’t much to pack or toss. All we had to do was strip the bed and bundle our clothes into our duffel bags. We latched the windows and disconnected the gas.
Before we left, we stood at the doorway and looked in. The cabin looked identical to the way it had looked when we arrived. Identical. Everything was the same. Except for us. We were in no way the same. We’d arrived as two unshifted friends. We were leaving as wolves. Mates. Two halves of a whole.
I kissed Jules softly on his cheek. “We’ll come back.”
He put his shoulders back and adopted a far more formal tone than usual. “This you swear, Sully Cleary?”
“This I swear,” I replied.
On the way home, we stopped for gas despite strenuous resistance from Jules. “We don’t need gas, Sully. The tank is more than half full.”
“What’s the harm in getting more? You just never know, you know.”
I pumped the gas while he went into the store. It was the farthest he’d been from me since the infamous morning of the mushrooms. I was pleased with myself for being so reasonable and non-crazy about it. I told myself I was doing well. The reality was that I could see the top of his head as he made his way through the store. I tracked him ceaselessly. I didn’t lose sight of him once. When he came out, he had a bag of snacks and a big smile on his face. He looked terribly pleased with himself.
“Look what I got for you,” he said, pulling a T-shirt out of the bag. It was olive green and had the outline of a mountain on it, along with the wordsI’ve never been so high.
“That’s awesome.” I laughed.
I loved it. I loved it so much I pulled my old T-shirt off and put the new one on right beside the gas pump. Jules got a faraway look in his eyes and his jaw dropped open ever so slightly. I knew that look.
“Sully, once we hit the road, I’m gonna need you to find a secluded spot to pull over.”
