Page 45 of What a Wolf's Heart Decides

“Herd?”

He gave her another look. “Mom mentioned you used to work with horses.”

“Yeah.”

“Elder Lake has a wild herd. This time of year they tend to hang around my parents’ place.”

Ooh, he was sneaky. Glenna must have told him about her love of horses. Of course he’d use it to his advantage.

A little voice in her head whispered, “What’s the harm in looking?” She didn’t have to marry the guy just because she went on a hike with him.

Plus, it was almost her birthday. Dammit, she deserved to see those horses.

“All right,” she said. “Let’s do it.”

He took them to a clearing with a small parking lot. A trail led away from the pavement like a long snake. The mountains loomed against the sky, the peaks blocking the sun and casting a deep shadow. The nearest mountain looked like someone had dumped frosting over the top. Snow sparkled and winked in the sun.

Haley got out of the car and gawked at the picturesque scene like any good tourist. “It looks close enough to touch!”

Ben laughed. “I assure you, it’s not.”

“Do you ever ski up there?” She pointed to the snow, which descended down the entire side.

“Not around here. The incline is too dangerous. Disturb too much snow, and you risk triggering an avalanche. A few members of the pack serve as a ski patrol, mostly to keep curious humans away.”

She eyed the nearest mountain, which jabbed into the sky like a knife. “How do the horses even stay upright on that thing?”

He laughed and took her hand. “You’ll see once we get to the other side. This way.”

The trail was little more than a dirt path, and in places it seemed to disappear altogether. The incline increased as they moved closer to the mountains, and Haley’s thighs started to burn.

Still, it was an easy enough trek for two werewolves. Fortified by the pancakes and ice water, she lengthened her strides, reveling in the power her inner beast lent her.

To no one in particular, she said, “It’s awesome, not being a latent anymore.”

Ben kept pace beside her, his boots crunching against the loose stones and patches of snow. “I know what you mean. I’ll always be grateful to Max for letting me train in New York.”

Sabine’s face rose in her mind. “Why doesn’t every latent in Elder Lake go there? With Lizette at the Lodge, there’s a chance everyone here could make the Turn.”

“You mean Sabine.”

“Yeah.” Haley bit her tongue before she could say anything about the odd sensations she’d felt around the dark-haired woman. It was probably nothing. Or, more likely, the effect of Glenna asserting her dominance. Most wolves kept that sort of thing under wraps unless they were issuing a direct challenge.

Ben heaved a sigh. “Sabine is . . .”

Tall? Beautiful? Kind of creepy at times?

“She’s older than she seems,” he finished.

Okay, so that was unexpected. Haley looked at him as they rounded a curve. The sun beat down, and she squinted. “Really? She doesn’t look it.” Latents aged more slowly than humans, but they lacked a pureblooded wolf’s ability to delay the march of time indefinitely.

“Good genes, I guess,” Ben said, giving a small shrug. “To be honest, I don’t even know how old she really is. She’s looked the same since I was a kid. But it’s probably far too late for her to make the Turn.” He slowed, then kicked away some larger stones in the path before picking up speed again. “It’s why she stays away, you know. She says she’d like to work more, even though she doesn’t really need the money. I think she just enjoys Mom’s company. She comes to town every couple months or so, but it’s hard for her to be around so many wolves for too long. She has a cabin deep in the woods. A lot of our latents are like that.”

Sympathy washed away the last of the discomfort Haley had felt around Sabine. It was rare—almost unheard of—for a latent to reach old age. Most lost their grip on sanity well before that. Sabine was probably just trying to survive as long as she could.

That would have been my fate . . .

A tree root seemed to come out of nowhere, and Haley tripped. She caught herself just as Ben put a hand under her arm.

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