Page 32 of The Way We Were(wolf)

“But that’s all the more reason to let me go, Lucy. You know what I’m capable of.” He wriggled the rope to no avail. Why didn’t he have the strength to break it yet?

“No.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not letting you go anywhere.”

“You have to. You know what will happen if you don’t.” He was all for spending time with this woman, but even she had to know this wasn’t going to end well for her.

“I do know what will happen, and that’s why I’m not letting you go.”

He breathed a heavy sigh. “You want me to kill you?”

“Of course not,” she said with a laugh. “What kind of question is that?”

His throat tightened, all the adrenaline from moments ago morphing into frustration. “A valid one. Because once I shift, there’s no telling what I’ll do.”

“But I know.”

“What,” he scoffed. “Are you a fortune teller now?”

“No,” she responded simply. “But I know you love me—or at least, I think you do.”

“YouknowI do.”

“Then I also know you won’t hurt me.” She knelt in the grass beside him, placing a hand on a chest that wasn’t taking in air as quickly as it had moments ago. “I trust you, Eric.”

He stared down at his tied hands and feet, knowing they’d turn beastly any minute. “Well, you shouldn’t.”

Lucy pressed her lips together. Lips that, not a half hour ago, he’d claimed as his own, the mark of which was still branded on his. “Don’t tell me what to do, Eric. People have been doing that my whole life.”

“I know,” he said, pleading with her. “I’m just trying to protect you.”

“That’s what my folks used to say. I didn’t need it then, and I don’t need it now,” she said simply, like she was passing on dessert when the waiter asked if he could bring something sweet to the table. “All my life, people have tried to control me, push me around. Maybe I never fought for anything because I never wanted anything enough worth fighting for. But I’m fighting now.”

“What do you want, Lucy?”

“I want Cafthy Crathy’s runs—”

“See? It’s harder to say than it looks.”

“Shhhh.” She pressed a finger to his lips. “I want Crafty Cathy’s runs, cosmic bowling in see-through shirts—on you, not me. I want a partner, someone who supports me, someone I can cheer for. What I need isyou.”

Eric groaned. He wanted all those things too. And until a few nights ago, he thought there was a chance he could have them. “What you need is to get away, Lucy. I’m begging you. You’re trusting the wrong person.”

She plopped to the ground next to him, her back straight and her legs twisted in criss-cross-applesauce fashion. “No. I’m not.” She leaned forward, cupping his cheek. “I’m trusting myself, just like you told me. You see, I made so many wrong decisions in my life, trusted the wrong people. But you made me see that the person I really needed to trust was myself. I needed faith in my ability to make decisions. To follow my heart.” She brought a hand to her chest, and he noticed the slight tremble. She knew there was a possibility he could hurt her, but she stayed. For him.

“Lucy, you need—”

“My heart told me to hop on this vehicle and be there for you like you’ve been there for me so many times since we met.”

“But this is totally different.”

“No, it isn’t.” She shook her head, the hair of her frizzy, gray wig flopping in her face. “Because tonight, you’re going to follow your heart too.”

What did that even mean, follow his heart? Of course he loved her. There wasn’t any doubt about that. But love wasn’t enough. He’d learned as much from Nathan.

“I do love you, Lucy. But that’s why I need to go. I love you enough to go away.”

“And I love you enough to stay.”

He muttered a couple swears under his breath, and she had the audacity to chuckle. Which would have driven him positively mad if she hadn’t looked so dang cute doing it, her nose scrunched like a bunny and her smile as bright as the full moon that hung high in the sky.

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