Page 13 of Ruined Wolf

“There are petroglyphs down there? Are you sure they weren’t just scratches on the wall from driftwood or something?”

This time it was Lucas’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “Scratches from driftwood?”

I blushed, realising how dumb that sounded.

“No, definitely petroglyphs. Jaxon wanted to report them to the committee that heads ancient sites on the island, but I persuaded him not to.” He gazed out over the sea, a vacant look on his face.

“Why didn’t you want him to?” I asked.

Lucas shrugged. “There are plenty of ancient sites here, and tourists flock to most of them. Sometimes it’s nice to keep things sacred. Private.” He sighed. “This is where my father died.”

“What?” I blinked. “Here? Then why did you bring me...”

“I don’t know. I was trying something, I guess.”

“Trying what?” I asked, moving closer to him.

“I hate this place and have done ever since I was a kid, since he... fell.”

“He fell? From the cliff? That was the accident?”

Lucas shook his head. “He fell into the cave.” He gestured at the dark hole in front of him.

I stared at him, and then at the hole near where we stood. “He fell in there. Did he drown then?”

Lucas shook his head. “No, the fall killed him. Broke his neck.”

“Oh moons, Lucas, I am so sorry. You should have said something. We didn’t need to come here.”

“I did. Somehow, having you here makes it easier. I haven’t been back here since it happened. I think I needed to see it again.”

I slipped my hand into his without thinking, but he immediately snatched his away. “Sorry,” I murmured.

“Your hands are cold. I just can’t... Not when it’s cold.” He looked out over the sea, and I could feel him shutting down again and pulling away.

“Lucas, don’t do that.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Pull away. I told you what happened to me, and you shared your past too. Don’t close yourself off again. I won’t touch you if you don’t want me to, but don’t pull away from me either.”

He nodded and took a breath as if he was going to say something, then his eyes flicked over towards the cliff, and he gestured towards the beach. “The tour boat operator is back. We should go.”

I didn’t argue since there was no point and he was right. We couldn’t keep the guy waiting. I followed Lucas down the path to the beach, my mind tumbling over caving accidents, low tides, and pirate treasure.

Later that night, I lay in bed, wrapped in Maverick’s arms. He was dozing, and I was warm and cosy, my head resting on his broad chest. The heat of his body warmed me, even though we hadn’t pulled the covers over us yet.

I was still trying to work out how to get into that cave. Lucas had disappeared as soon as we returned to the cabin, handing me over to Maverick before muttering something about a job and disappearing into the woods. I’d let him go, understanding all too well the need for solitude when memories came to haunt you.

“What’s on your mind?” Maverick murmured, a deep rumble in his chest as he spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“I can hear the wheels whirring from here. What’s bothering you, Nova?”

I decided to tell him at least part of it. “When Lucas and I went on that tour this afternoon, it took us up the coast to this small beach, and the driver left us for a while. We went for a walk and ended up at the Devil’s Chimney.”

I immediately felt him tense and wondered whether I shouldn’t have said anything. It was his father who had died up there too.

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