Nadia finished translating the newest section of the grimoire and sat back, her mind reeling. Oh. This was not good. Not good at all. Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them, blurring the page. According to the text, her lupine aunts would be excommunicated from the entire pack, all because she couldn’t keep her hands off Caidrik. The words felt cruel and absolute. There was a solution, buried deeper in the passage, but just thinking about it made her stomach ache.
She lowered the book and looked around the quiet room. The faint smell of canned soup still hung in the air. She’d cooked breakfast for them earlier, grateful for finding happiness with him but sorrowful that they’d lost the pack.
He’d left before dawn to meet Bussy, Margaret, and Solomon. He hadn’t wanted them anywhere near her until he made sure it was safe, until he knew they were alone. So he’d arranged a meeting spot about half an hour away and had taken Emily’s SUV. The silence he left behind pressed in now, thick and uneasy.
Nadia turned the page. There wasn’t enough time to finish the entire book. She read through the current section, translating faster now, the shapes and rhythms of the words finally settling into something familiar. There was one way out of this. Just one. And she didn’t want to tell Caidrik about it.
Didn’t want to say a word.
There were still several more pages to translate, but the words started to dance in front of her eyes. She leaned forward, elbows on her knees. What if they did go on the run? Would the pack stop chasing them eventually? Could they find another place to live? Last night had cemented something in her heart. She belonged with Caidrik. She’d thought she belonged with the Slate Pack, but maybe that wasn’t true anymore.
He was her choice.
She thought of the pack. They were wonderful wolves. Gail, with her funny handwriting. Paco, always talking about farming once the mines shut down. Glenys at reception. Even the doctor. Nadia had grown to love every single one of them. The idea of leaving them in Bulwark’s hands made her feel sick. She couldn’t do that. But she couldn’t risk Caidrik’s life.
The wind picked up outside, whistling through the trees. The cabin creaked softly, settling. It was utilitarian and isolated, built to disappear into the woods. The distant rumble of an engine snapped her attention up.
She hurried to the door just as the SUV came to a stop. Caidrik had shoveled a neat path earlier, and it made things easier as Bussy and Margaret climbed out, followed by Solomon.
He wore a three-piece green suit and a deep frown, which darkened when he caught sight of her. “How could you take the grimoire?” he shouted.
Nadia stepped back instinctively.
Solomon visibly caught himself, jaw tightening. “Sorry,” he said stiffly. “I have one duty. You took it. No one takes the grimoire.” His face had gone red as he walked behind the females. “I can’t believe you even touched it.”
“I’m sorry,” Nadia said quietly. “I needed to decipher the rest.”
“Why didn’t you just fucking ask me?”
She nearly dropped right there. She had never heard Solomon swear. Ever.
“They weren’t followed,” Caidrik said from behind them. “I made sure.”
Nadia hustled everyone inside. “Oh, Bussy, I’m so sorry.” She hugged the elderly woman and then turned to engulf Margaret in a hug. “I had no idea you’d be excommunicated. I feel terrible.” She stepped back from them.
“We didn’t do our job,” Margaret said, removing her coat and hanging it on a wall peg. “We should have just slept in your bed.”
Bussy rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Young love is young love.”
“I’m surprised you lasted as long as you did,” Margaret said softly. “We’ll go on a cruise with our husbands for a year. It’ll be okay.” She tried to smile, but sadness lingered in her eyes.
Caidrik walked inside then and looked toward the table.
Solomon did as well. He rushed forward, grabbed the grimoire, shut it hard, and held it to his chest as if he needed it to breathe.
“For Pete’s sake,” Caidrik growled. “It’s just a book.”
Solomon looked at him, eyes sharp. “It’s a book of our laws. Ones you would’ve had a chance to change if you could’ve controlled yourself.” He cut Nadia a look.
“Fair enough,” Caidrik said. “I have to admit that I didn’t take the chastity warning seriously.” He looked at the women. “Is everyone really coming to kill us?”
Bussy threw both hands up in the air. “I don’t know.”
“Is that really what the grimoire says?” Margaret asked.
“Yes,” Nadia and Solomon said at the same time.
Solomon glanced at the notes spread across the table. “Did you decipher everything?”
