“It’s enough.”
The rogue’s scent still hangs faintly in the air, but it’s already thinning. I don’t like how close he came, or how deliberate the approach felt. I turn my attention back to her.
“Inside,” I say.
She hesitates. “You going to explain what that was?”
“Inside.”
Her jaw tightens, but she pushes the door open and steps through. I follow immediately and shut it behind us.
The cabin is small, square, and exposed. Windows on three sides. Curtains thin. The overhead light casts too much glare onto the glass. I cross the room and kill it, letting the place fall into low lamplight.
“Hey,” she says sharply.
“Too visible,” I answer.
I check the front window first, then the side, then the narrow one above the sink. The clearing sits open and bright under the moon. Anyone watching would have had a clean view of the porch.
“Anyone who might be watching,” I add.
“That’s not comforting.”
It isn’t meant to be.
I pull one curtain halfway closed, leaving a narrow slit for visibility. Then I move to the back window and dim the lamp beside it until the cabin is mostly shadow.
The door clicks softly behind me.
The moment the space encloses us, the problem becomes obvious. Her scent saturates the air, warm and immediate. Lavender, adrenaline, and the faint copper trace from the tear in her shoulder. My wolf presses forward hard enough that my teeth feel like they’ll be forced from my gums.
Claim her.
I plant my feet and lock my posture.
She steps closer, not intimidated, not retreating. “Okay. We’re inside. You’ve checked the windows. You’ve turned off half the lights. Now you’re going to tell me what I saw.”
“No.”
She stares at me. “No.”
“You’re packing your things,” I say evenly. “You’re leaving Briar Ridge in the morning.”
Her brows rise slowly. “You can’t be serious.”
“I am.”
“That’s your solution.” She gestures toward the door. “I get attacked, and your answer is send the biologist home.”
“You’re in territory you don’t understand.”
“I handle predators for a living.”
“Not this kind.”
Her arms fold across her chest. “Then explain the difference.”
I don’t.
