Page 39 of Wolfsbane

CHAPTER 20

Daire

“I like Drew,” I offered at once. Buddy wasn’t really a name, anyway. Maybe for a pet? But Drew was clearly more than I’d known, and he deserved a name someone had given him out of love, not . . . not convenience’s sake. Not because saying, “hey there, raccoon,” felt weirder than just calling him Buddy.

Fuck me, I’d been feeding an actual person kibble for years.

At least you fed him.

Sure, yeah, after my coven had left him an orphan. I’d heard of shifters going into their animal skins and staying that way. The world could get too much, or a traumatic loss might trigger it. But we had done that.

Had I still been a wolf, I’d have made my way to the river with my tail between my legs. To be totally frank, I didn’t much like the idea of taking a dunk in the river in late autumn, but I’d also just fucked on a cave floor and walked barefoot through the woods for hours.

This was easiest, and the last thing I was going to do was inconvenience the wolves on top of everything else. From the way Cash had stalked off, and the alpha with him, I suspected there’d be a long conversation about what to do with me.

Somehow, I doubted the pack had a cell to put me in, which just made my stomach roll over again.

Drew drifted close to me while we walked. He shrugged out of Viktor’s shirt and held it toward me. “Here, you can have this.”

I held up my hands. “Oh, no. No, it’s really okay. I’m⁠—”

One of Drew’s jet-black eyebrows arched high. “Really. This bothers you way more than it bothers me. It’s okay.”

“I—”

We’d killed his parents. And there he was, smiling at me and offering me something he should’ve kept for himself and⁠—

Fuck, my eyes stung. I did my best to discreetly wipe my tears away before anyone could make a big deal of them.

“You don’t have to be nice to me,” I whispered.

Drew’s lips puckered into a frown, like I’d just said the most confusing thing imaginable. “I know. Take it.”

My hands shaking, I held the bunched-up shirt against my chest and whispered, “Thank you.”

I pulled it overhead. Even though I could hear the flow of water, that cotton shield did make me feel a little better until we got there. It wasn’t just the shirt itself, but Viktor’s scent on the fabric, surrounding me. Safe.

The other werewolves had let us go alone, mostly. It was Drew and Viktor and me, sure, but otherwise, only his twin brother had followed us toward the water.

He didn’t say anything, but I could feel his eyes roaming between me and his brother. I noticed the way he stuck close to Drew.

I didn’t mean Drew any harm, but . . . but I didn’t begrudge him the protection either.

At the river’s rocky edge, I stood with my toes submerged. Yeah, this was too fucking cold, but I’d be fast.

I was bracing to take Viktor’s shirt off when his brother stopped directly beside me. His hair was neatly trimmed, and his face, while handsome, wasn’t as sharp as Viktor’s, like he’d eaten more or—or maybe it was the subtle smile lines around his mouth that Viktor didn’t have.

His gray eyes were twinkling when he introduced himself. “I’m Leo.”

“It’s, um . . . nice to meet you. Daire,” I said, offering him my hand.

He snorted. “Yeah, I know.”

He stepped into the water ahead of me, sinking down without so much as a shiver.

With a heavy sigh, I pulled Viktor’s shirt off, set it on a larger rock, and followed him in. Drew splashed along the edge, and for a few moments, Viktor just watched.

His gaze skimmed the trees—looking for threats? I didn’t hear any. Just the night bugs and frogs croaking nearby.