Page 15 of Tangled Fates

Why, Dad?

YEAH, DADDIO! WHAT THE FUCK!?

I let out a bark as I kept running while my stomach rumbled with laughter that my jowls didn’t know how to communicate. I closed my eyes, continuing to weave in and out of the trees in an attempt to work out some of my frustrations. Running was the only place where I felt free, even back in L.A. during my morning jogs. Running was the only time where my mind felt at ease. Where my body felt as if it could take on the world. And with every foot of bare ground, I put behind me, my soul mended and my mind settled back down.

Until the scent of another wolf ground me to a halt.

Who’s there?

I skidded to a halt just before I crashed into a tree and looked around. I sniffed the air again deeply, confirming what I had run into only seconds before.

COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!

A growl bubbled up the back of my throat. I dipped my face down and braced myself for whatever was headed my way. I silenced my footsteps and held my breath as my eyesight strengthened, and I swear to hell on high I saw each individual ant climbing up each individual tree trunk around me.

I know you’re here. Show yourself.

And as if the wolf could hear me, the soft crackling of dead leaves and twigs ushered my gaze to the right.

Where I found a stark white wolf that I didn’t recognize.

WHAT THE FUCK!?

I dug my front talons into the dirt, readying myself to charge if the wolf posed a threat. And I had to admit, the white wolf was expansive. Easily bigger than me by at least a hand and a half, and I knew that if it picked a fight with me, I’d struggle to take it down. I’d be able to, but I’d leave with a very serious need for a healer.

How far out from the pack am I?

AT LEAST TEN MILES.

Shit.

If I sustained serious injuries, I was too far out to make it back by myself. I racked my brain to try and figure out if any of the guys had mentioned another wolf pack in the area, but I came up with nothing. So, what were the dynamics when a wolf shifter from another pack encountered one alone in the woods? This was information I needed, and yet the men that had been tasked with teaching me hadn’t done shit.

So, I did what any sane person would do when encountered with a wolf in the woods.

I readied myself for a fight should the damned thing be a threat.

IT’S RUNNING. GO AFTER IT.

Just as I situated myself, the white wolf took off. I mean, tucked tail and fucking ran in the opposite direction. I pushed off, pounding the earth beneath me so furiously that I swear I felt it shake. But no matter how hard I pushed myself, that white wolf stayed in front of me.

ALMOST THERE. THE FIELD. IT’S HEADING FOR THE FIELD!

Wolfy was right, too. It wasn’t just any field, though. The second I skidded to a halt at the edge of the wildflower meadow, I realized that it was the same field where Levi and I had been. Where we had encountered a moment in our lives where I honestly thought the two of us wouldn’t make it out. It was where I had found my feelings for him. Where I knew that I’d do whatever it took to get Levi out of there alive. And as I watched the wolf shift back into human form, even Wolfy didn’t have anything to say.

Because as the human gazed into my eyes, I couldn’t believe my own.

Daddy?

5

LEVI

“And there she goes,” Hudson said without an ounce of shock in his voice.

I scoffed. “Figures. She’s a runner. Always has been.”

Dean shrugged. “Her mother taught her that. Can’t really blame her for who raised her.”

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