Page 1 of Wolf Crowned

One

Sawyer

The icy chill of dread zipped down my back as I ambled up to the porch. Dad was waiting for me, his hands on his hips, and a scowl that should make me cringe.

I didn’t. I stood straighter and marched ahead as I tried to make eye contact.

Ever since we’d lost the Dennings, he’d been keeping tabs on me more than normal. He always knew where I was, where everyone was. I wasn’t even sure he was sleeping. His paranoia had gone into overdrive.

The lack of rest was obvious with the dark circles under his eyes. His cheeks were sunken and his stare vacantly fixed on something over my shoulder. I fought the urge to look behind me.

I swallowed hard and jogged the rest of the way to the porch. My feet thumped up the wooden steps, making the whole porch rattle. “Everything okay, Dad?”

Dad blinked a few times and turned away from me. “I received some news today.”

That sounded ominous. I arched my brow and crossed my arms over my chest. “Oh?”

He blew out a long breath as he turned toward me. He rubbed his jaw and stood ramrod straight.

Was he nervous? That was so unlike him. He might be a little out of his mind, but he was always sure of himself.

Gooseflesh pimpled my skin. I clenched my draw. Luna, what was it?

I squinted. There was a fine sheen of sweat on his brow and his nostrils flared out with each breath he took. His chest rose and fell rapidly like he’d just run a marathon.

Since he still hasn’t answered me, I put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s going on? Did something happen?”

My pulse spiked. I hadn’t seen him like this...in well, ever.

My mind raced, searching for a cause for his odd behavior. No alarms had gone off and there were definitely no signs of any altercations. I would’ve heard about it by now if there had been. I hadn’t gone for that far of a run.

My heart hammered as another thought occurred to me.

Oh no. What if he knew? I’d been found out.

No. Not possible. He wouldn’t react like this. He’d be angry. Pissed. I wouldn’t even have a chance to talk. This was something else. But what?

He still said nothing. His face a hard, unreadable mask. It had taken on an ashen color.

I gave him a little shake as every muscle in my body tensed. “Dad? You’re scaring me. What’s wrong?”

My fear was real. I couldn’t fathom what could have him this shaken. I’d seen him slaughter packs without batting an eye, so whatever this was...maybe I didn’t want to know.

“Dad!”

That seemed to snap him out of it. He shook his head and then swallowed hard. “Sorry. I’ve just got a lot on my mind.”

Goodness, would he spit it out already? My stomach twisted; bile crept up my throat. I coughed to cover my gag. The anticipation was killing me.

He pulled away from me and scrubbed his face with both hands as he backed up to the swinging bench and plopped down on it. The chains rattled under his weight and it creaked as the white swing rocked back and forth.

I leaned against the rail, knowing that if I tried to go over to comfort my dad, it would not go over well. But something wasn’t right. The way he was acting had every hair on my body standing on edge. “What is it? Is it something I can help with?”

Just say it already!

He leaned forward with both elbows on his knees and rested his jaw in his palms. “It’s okay, I think. Just some news I never thought I’d hear.”

He didn’t sound so sure with the way his voice was cracking. He used the back of his arm to swipe sweat off his forehead.

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