Sage’s hand was still entwined with his. He squeezed it. Her eyes opened and she blinked.
“Thanks, Wulf,” Canyon said.
Sage sat up. “I’ll do it.”
She got out of bed, beautiful in the moonlight streaming in through the windows, looking lithe, and agile, just like a forest fox. Canyon could imagine her shifting into a petite red fox and gamboling about a meadow in starlight. He grabbed her hand. “Can you shift?” he asked.
She shook her head and dropped her eyes. He rubbed her palm with his thumb. “That’s cool,” he said.
She pulled away and grabbed her purse, getting the paste out, then she went into the other room. Canyon followed, holding a light for her. Timber lay sprawled on the couch, a blanket over him.
Canyon shook Timber’s foot. “Bro, hold your arm out for your bandage change.”
Timber muttered, “Leave the spoons, Mac, they’re all I have left.”
They both stifled laughs. Sage took the bandage off, then applied the paste and a new bandage. By the time she was done, Timber was snoring.
Canyon switched off the light, then met her in the darkness of the room, holding her hips and whispering into her ear. “Can I sleep with you?”
“Please.”
Canyon followed her into the room and curled into bed behind her, making her the little spoon and putting his arm across her.
Sage entwined their feet and held his hand, sighing.
Canyon fell asleep quickly.
76—Prisoner One
Sage woke up slowly, alone, confused for a moment because she thought she was at home—but the windows were on the wrong side. She sat up and looked around, remembering—she was with Canyon and Timber Wheeling at an apartment in lower Serenity, and she’d fallen asleep with Canyon wrapped around her. They were hiding—both from the othervodand from her family, until they figured out what was going on. Canyon thought they were mates, and Sage was beginning to believe, but every time the good feelings surged, she was overrun by negative thoughts of what would happen and how her family would react.
She covered her head with the blanket, thinking about the night before. It had been so wonderful. Canyon had been so attentive, and sweet. But then he’d asked her if she could shift and she’d had to admit, no, she couldn’t. He hadn’t seemed upset, but for Sage, the question had swirled old, familiar hurts around her like flies. She brushed the hurt away as best she could, hearing talking in the other room. She got up and grabbed her bag, peeking at the males. They were fully dressed, sitting on one couch, the robot on the coffee table in front of them.
She zipped by, calling, “Can I take a shower?”
“Yeah, go ahead. There’s a towel on the rack for you.”
The bathroom was steamy and the shower already wet, with two damp towels hanging to dry. Sage found her towel, got undressed and into the shower, washing quickly. She finished, dried herself, and dressed, then braided her hair in two Dutch braids, then got her makeup out and stood at the sink, putting on her face, listening to Canyon and Timber talk in the other room.
“Do they know his name yet?” Timber asked
:Negative—
“I want him out of the cellblock,” Canyon said.
“But still in custody…”
“Yeah, so his mark doesn’t hurt.”
Sage put a hand to her mouth, instantly captivated. She stared in her own eyes in the mirror.Who were they talking about?
“How could we do that?”
“We could tell Trevor we want custody of him and keep him in soft cuffs.”
“Sounds like a plan. He can stay at our place and sleep in Jaggar’s old bed.”
“Perfect.”
