Page 4 of The Wolf I Sworn To Hate

“It would be my birthday present from you. All I want is to hang out with you.”

Smiling, Xyla shook her head. He knew exactly how to get to her heart and pull those strings. She adored her brother and helped raise him the best that she could until she left for college.

“Alright, fine. I’ll go.”

“Woohoo. I’ll tell Dad. I can’t wait. We’re leaving in the morning. Love you, bye.”

He hung up the phone before she had a chance to reply. Laughing, she looked at her roommate and best friend, Abigail.

“I guess you’ll be spending part of your winter break on the mountain, huh?”

Xyla nodded. “Yeah. I can’t resist Edward.” She grinned. “He insists on being called Edward and not Eddie because he’s grown up now. Yet I see the little boy in him every time we talk or hang out.”

“Wait until you have your own children. They grow up super fast.”

“You know, you could come with us.”

Abigail sighed. “I wish I could, but I have to finish my clinicals for my nursing degree. It would be frowned upon if I took a week off to go skiing. You’re just lucky that you finished everything last week and you have your license.”

“I know, right? Now, I just have to find the right place to work.”

“That should be easy. You finished at the top of your class and registered nurses are in high demand.”

“I hope so.” Xyla ran her fingers through her hair and blew out a long breath. “I guess I’d better pack. We’re leaving in the morning.”

“My guess is that your father knew that you couldn’t tell Edward ‘no’ and he already made reservations at the resort.”

Xyla grinned. “That’s my guess as well. I feel like I’ve been snookered by some kind of conspiracy by the menfolk in my family.”

Edward was excitedto see his sister when they picked her up early the next morning. He was even willing to let her ride shotgun, which was a spot he never readily gave up. Xyla shook her head and said she would be happy to ride in the back.

“We’re going to Montaña Maldita. Do you know why they call it that?” Edward asked excitedly.

Xyla did but knew that Edward was eager to tell the story, so she said, “No.”

She nodded and gasped in all the right places as Edward excitedly told about the warlock who cursed the mountain. He finished the story with a question. “Why did he curse them when they saved his life?”

“I don’t know, brother. Some people are naturally evil. Others are simply greedy or selfish.”

The rest of the five-hour drive to the resort went by quickly, mostly because Xyla slept the rest of the way. Getting through classes, clinicals, and the tests needed to get her license had been grueling and she hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep. She had been planning on sleeping most of December and then looking for work after the New Year. It seemed like no time had passed when Edward was excitedly waking her up.

“We’re here. We’re here. Come on, Xyla.”

Sara and William Butler were very charming when Xyla, Elliot, and Edward checked in. They were given the cabin furthest from the main building because it was one of the few with three bedrooms.

As soon as they toted their supplies and clothes over to the cabin, Edward looked at Xyla with his huge cobalt blue eyes and begged, “Can we please go to the slopes? Please?”

Her heart melted. She could never resist her little brother or tell him no to anything. Xyla ruffled his dark brown curly hair and grinned at him.

He swatted her hand away. “Stop that. Let’s go skiing.”

“Fine, but it’s been a while so we’ll start at the intermediate slopes until we get our ski legs established.”

“Awesome.” Edward grabbed his skis and shot out the door before Xyla could pull her hat back on.

Elliot followed behind them, chuckling. Xyla wasn’t the only one who spoiled Edward. Since their mother had died and Xylaleft home, Elliot had focused his entire attention on the boy. Unfortunately, that included Elliot’s dark moods as well as his good ones.

Edward chattered on about everything as they rode the ski lift to the spot. He hopped off and ran toward the top of the slope.

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