Canyon whirled to face his brother, not sure what to say, already pitching forward, shifting into his wolf.
Timber looked him in the eyes, serious for once in his life. “I smell her. Go. Me’n Wulf’ll get your truck and follow you.”
Canyon yanked free of his clothes and took off at full speed down the road, after the car.
60—Long-Awaited
Sage stopped at a stop sign, feeling woozy. She dropped her forehead to the steering wheel and stayed that way until someone honked behind her. She lifted her head like a shot and sped through the intersection. She wasn’t going to make it to her place downtown. She felt heavy and tired and like she shouldn’t be driving.
She drifted to the side of the road, letting the car pass. She coasted, realizing she was close to ‘House A’, which was a cute A-frame cabin her Aunt Bristol owned and Sage had a key to. Bristol and a couple of her other aunts had some magic, which they used to shroud House A from Nana. A handful of them had access to the place and they used it when they needed an escape from Nana’s constant notice.
Decided, she turned at the next road and soon she came to the driveway and pulled in. She drove slowly down the rutted two lanes while tall grass whispered against the underside of her car. The yard was full of trees, some bare of their leaves, others full of green needles. The driveway stopped and she pulled off into the grass. The place was completely off the grid, with no address, powered by generator, with well-water, and satellite internet.
Sage turned the car off and stared at the dashboard for a few moments, her mind uncharacteristically bogged down. She couldn’t finish a thought. Her attention landed on her bag and she picked it up, then got out of the car and made her way unsteadily to the front door. She let herself inside and went straight to the couch and tumbled onto it, dropping her bag to the floor. She closed her eyes and held her stomach as her braindid loop-de-loops, and she might have even fallen asleep for a couple of moments.
…
Her eyes popped open and she stared at House A’s high ceiling, grasping for some mental place to rest.She just felt so strange.She found her phone in her bag, hoping for a response from Conri… but there was nothing.
She closed her eyes for a moment, almost… falling… asleep--then she shot bolt upright. The WHIT-WHIT! She’d left it in the car!
She hauled herself to her feet and lurched outside.
***
Canyon followed the scent of the female at an all-out run, not caring who saw him running as a wolf on the side of the road in broad daylight. The scent called to him, reminding him of warm bread glazed with orange syrup and vanilla cream, making his mouth water.
Ahead, the small sedan rounded a bend and he lost sight of it. They were at the bottom of the bluff, and he rounded the bend, then stopped in the road, unsure which direction she’d gone. He ran a short distance down one route, ignoring a car that swerved to the side with three phones pointed out of three windows, filming him. He caught the scent again and was off after it at full speed, following the scent to a private driveway.
A hundred yards in was a two-story A-frame house with the car he’d been following parked in front. Canyon loped around the house, startling a squirrel, which ran up a tree and scolded him. Some birds joined in. Canyon growled and all thecritters fell silent. He circled the house slowly. Through the window he could see someone inside lying on a couch.
Canyon crept forward right up to the car and smelled all around it, trying to get a sense of the female who’d driven it. Could this be Sage Greene, aka White? She didn't scentfoxen, she scented like dessert. He growled deep in his throat and circled the car again, calling his brother inruhi.
Bring me clothes.
When I find your truck.
What?
I mean where are you?
X street half a mile south of Y street.
Got it. Gotta go, bro.
The door to the house opened. Canyon froze, then turned and locked eyes with the sexiest female he'd ever seen. She was petite, with long brown hair to her waist, her curves calling out to him. Recognition filled her eyes, then something stronger. Fear? Anger?
She matched the driver’s license picture of Sage Greene, aka White, which meant she wasfoxen, which meant she knew exactly who and what he was.
Hey girl,he said inruhi.You’re sexy.
She backed inside and slammed the door.
Damn. He’d come on too strong.
He retreated to a spot in the trees where he could see both the driveway and the front door, and he lay down to wait.
***
