The vitriol in his voice made me flinch. It was actuallyworsethan if he’d struck me. The words slammed into me, sending waves of shame and fear through me.
“I’m sorry.” I scooted back, trying to get out from under his hateful glare.
“This is private,” he hissed, cradling the painting to his chest. “You had no right to come in here and look at my private things without permission.”
The veins in his neck bulged, and his face was a dangerous shade of red, making him look like some sort of raging demon rather than the quiet and calm man I’d come to know. Fear pushed me to my feet. I shoved past him, sprinting to the door, terrified of being in the cabin another second. Even as I grabbed the doorknob and flung myself out into the cold, I cursed myself for doing something that stupid. As I ran toward the forest, I heard Levi calling my name. I couldn’t tell if it was in anger or apology, and at that moment I didn’t care. I had to get away. I couldn’t get the look of his face out of my mind as I plunged deep into the woods. All that anger, that rage, directed at me.
Small tree branches swatted at my cheeks, stinging and bringing tears that turned to sobs as I went. I’d truly fucked up. How could I have been this dumb? What the fuck had happened to me? From the light in the sky, it had to be nearly noon. HadI really been sitting there staring at that goddamn painting for over an hour? Where had the time gone?
My shoe caught on a stone, and I plunged down an embankment with a yelp of surprise. My shoulder slammed into the ground, and I rolled, crashing into rocks and tree roots on the way down. The only thing keeping me from breaking anything was the padding of the remaining snow and the soft moss beneath. My breath exploded out of me as I crashed to rest at the bottom of the hill.
“Fuck,” I moaned, trying to get onto my hands and knees.
That was when I heard the growling. The guttural sound came from my right. Turning, I spotted five massive male wolves emerging from the trees. Their lips were pulled back, quivering above saliva dripping ivory teeth.
“Hello?” I said, hoping to communicate. All shifters understood human words in their wolf forms, and these were most definitely shifters. “It’s okay. I’m, uh, from Hidden Grove.”
If those words meant anything to them, they didn’t show it. The lead wolf took a threatening step forward, and his eyes narrowed, the hair on his back standing on end.
Sudden, instinctual fear struck me then. These were not members of Levi’s pack. They were strangers, and they gazed at me with hungry eyes like I was a meal. One of the rear wolves shifted into a man with broad shoulders, and lanky red hair that hung down to his shoulders.
“Looks like we got us one of them Hidden Grove ladies, boys. I wonder what she tastes like?” he said, licking his lips obscenely as he leered at my chest. “What do you say, pretty lady? You got enough energy for all of us?”
I jumped up and ran. They were blocking the way back to Hidden Grove, so I raced in the opposite direction, away from them.
The man called after me as I went. “I like a good chase. Makes it that much better when we run you down.”
The thundering sounds of running wolf paws echoed behind me, drawing nearer with every step. Despite what had happened, Levi was the only person I could think of. I wanted to scream for his help, but he’d never hear me.
I was all alone, and the wolves were gaining on me.
18
LEVIATHAN
Juniper shoved me aside and sprinted out the cabin. The rage, surprise, and betrayal I’d felt upon finding her in my bedroom vanished in an instant. I looked down at the painting of Naphele. Would Ieverhave spoken to her the way I had to Juniper?
“Fuck!” I laid the painting on the bed before running after her.
By the time I reached the door, she was already at the tree line.
“June!” I cried, cupping my hands around my mouth to be heard.
She didn’t react as she barreled headlong into the forest.
“Levi?”
I turned, shame and regret warring within me. Eugenia walked up to the cabin, a smile plastered on her face.
“Can we talk? We haven’t had the chance in a while, and I thought?—”
“Not now,” I growled. “I’ve got something to do.”
Without giving her a chance to respond, I leapt off my porch and shifted, then took off after June. I heard her calling after me,but all I could think about was the look of horror on June’s face when I’d yelled at her.
Stupid idiot, I cursed to myself as I entered the forest.
I’d spent many years in my wolf form, years away from a lot of human interaction. Rainier was right; Iwasbecoming too removed. Finding a person in your house was startling, sure, but she’d come to look at the painting. If anything, that should have excited me. I’d wanted her to show some sort of connection to Naphele, and she’d clearly been drawn to the painting. And what had I done? Shouted and screamed. Terrified her. I might have broken whatever had been building between us all because I let my temper get the best of me.
