That makes me pause mid-bite. “Saved her life?”
Over the next few minutes, Evan tells me how someone broke into his mom’s house while trying to track down Evan and Jericho. The pack had only known them for a couple of days, yet they stepped in to help anyway. Calling in favors with other packs just to get her here safely.
It makes me nervous. If Foxx knows where Jericho is, does that mean Rip knows where I am?
Somewhere in the middle of his story, though, I realize my fingers have stopped shaking. The picture he paints, not just of Jericho but the entire pack, is so different from the one I had painted in my head. I don’t know what to think.
Part of me still wants to run. Pray I can get somewhere far, far away. But another part clings to their courage like it’s a weapon. If I can be as brave as they are, maybe I can face Rip and demand my freedom. Because after all,theywantto take down Foxx. Isn’t that what I want too? To really be free of the monsters?
“Did you know he was the one who tried to free you?” Evan asks.
I snap my eyes up.
“Jericho, I mean. He tried to break your chains at the club.”
I nod slowly. “I remember.” It’s hazy and shrouded in fear from everything that happened, but I do remember him. “He told me he would help me.”
“Then you know what a good guy he is. He never would’ve left you with those assholes if he could’ve helped you.”
A soft knock comes from the door. I don’t jump this time.
Rowen fills the doorway, seeming a little too sure of himself, but there’s something different about him now. A spark in his eyes, maybe. Or the faint flush in his cheeks that might be from a run. He looks equal parts rejuvenated and uncertain, like he’s not sure if he should interrupt.
Evan straightens immediately. “If you’re here, that means Jericho’s back?”
Rowen nods. “Yeah. Just got in a few minutes ago.”
Evan seems to hold his breath. “And?”
“Everything’s fine. The snow snapped a tree. We think that’s what he heard.”
Relief rushes over Evan. He glances at me before heading for the door. “I think I’ll go check on him then. Nice to meet you, Tobias.”
“Yeah.”
The man I saw through the window with the three wolves—was that Jericho?
I want to ask what they were doing out in a snowstorm, but Rowen doesn’t give me a chance. He crosses the room and drops onto the bed beside me, propping himself up on one elbow like he’s been doing it all his life. His dark hair is messy and wild, sticking up in funny angles, andhe smells like snow and pine and something warm. Rowen smells like Christmas.
Is it really Christmastime? All that time lost to my illness and the coven. Time I can’t get back.
“Have a nice chat with Evan?”
“He was filling me in,” I say quietly. “About Jericho.”
Rowen’s expression softens, that easy half-smile curving the corner of his mouth. “Do you believe me yet? That he’s a good guy?”
I open my mouth, ready to deny it out of habit. Instead, what comes out is, “Yeah. I think I do.”
The surprise that flickers across his face makes my chest lighten a little. Like he hadn’t expected me to give him—or maybe anyone—that piece of trust so soon.
“Or, I want to anyway.”
Rowen smiles.
He stays with me while I finish eating, sitting close enough that the mattress dips. Every now and then he taps his fingers against his leg, a quiet rhythm that only he hears.
When I set the empty bowl down, he stretches and grins. “So, do you feel like meeting everyone now? Because my sister is threatening to bite my head off if I don’t introduce you soon.”
