Page 2 of Season of the Wolf

“Turn back,” he called out into the night, gesturing toward home with the wave of his hand.

Those words went in one ear and out the other.

“Evangeline!”

I ignored him and stayed focused on the black bag that came into view. I’d tucked a watch inside one of its pockets, a means of keeping track of when the bus would arrive. If I had to guess, I was cutting it close.

Thanks to Dallas, I had to alter the plan. Instead of stopping to change, I now gripped a canvas strap between my teeth, deciding I’d try to lose him first.

The thick underbrush of the woods suddenly thinned and the town’s lights glittered on the horizon like distant stars. There was no way I could run the streets looking like an overgrown Husky. Especially not with a backpack dangling from my teeth. People would assume I’d eaten someone’s kid and, needless to say,thatwouldn’t go over well.

There weren’t many options, and when Dallas swooped in front of me, I knew he was equally aware of my plight.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

That question flitted through my thoughts and each of my motives came rushing in. Short answer: I was doing this because, if I didn’t, I’d die inside. The options were to be proactive and do all I could to find this witch, to bring her back so she could fix things, or continue to sit by watching, waiting for him to wake up.

And if he didn’t …

Don’t think like that.

I tried to shove the thought aside, but it’d been harder to get rid of lately—the longer it took Liam to show signs of life.

I wanted to scream at Dallas, to yell for him to get out of my way. However, as my wolf, I wasn’t afforded the convenience of verbal communication. When he slowed in front of me, I darted to the left, narrowly dodging his reach … and a tree.

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” he asked, his voice fading behind me for only a moment until he caught up, nearly matching my speed. “Because if you’re doing what Ithinkyou’re doing … alone,” he added, “you may as well just run out into traffic, kid. Death by semi-truck would be a walk in the park compared to what Sebastian will do if he gets his hands on you.”

Truer words had never been spoken. I was certainly at the top of the Sovereign’s list of people he wished to end with slow, painful torture. However, what Dallas, and maybe others, failed to realize was that being in limbo with Liam’s life hanging in the balance for weeks was just as bad. Maybe even worse.

The flare of light beside me dimmed and I glanced in that direction, toward Dallas when he darted away. For a split second, I thought I might have convinced him to let me continue on, but that moment was fleeting.

The sound of wood splintering seemed to come from every direction. It wasn’t until I was rolling through the snow with the sky tumbling around me that I realized the noise had been straight ahead—a tree Dallas leveled in my path. Likely, with one blow from his shoulder. Without enough time to react, I tripped and barreled toward the thicket of bushes that finally stopped me.

My head spun and I now stared at my paws in the air. Snow crunched to my left, followed by a rugged face covered in blondish scruff popping into my line of sight.

“You all right?” he had the nerve to ask, that drawl of his making the question seem all the more cynical. It didn’t help that, judging from the tension in his jaw, it took everything in him not to laugh.

Smug bastard.

If I could have told him to ‘suckit,’I would have.

Instead, I righted myself and sat, shaking off the temporary daze … and all the snow I accumulated on my fur as I rolled.

Dallas circled me now with no flames shrouding his tall, broad frame, only the lava moving in his veins for warmth.

“Sorry I had to do that, kid, but … Elise would kill me if I came home without you.” He smirked again. “Plus, Hilda and I kinda like having you around, too, so you can imagine how rough it would’ve gotten at the house if I hadn’t stopped you.”

Dallas wasn’t the most expressive person in the world, which made it even more surprising to hear him admit such a thing.

His large hands came to rest on his waist and he let out a breath, eyeing me as I sat there, still panting from the run.

And maybe a little from the rough fall, too.

Our gazes locked and there was a softness behind his I hadn’t expected. Perhaps that look meant hewasn’ttotally oblivious as to why I’d taken such a risk tonight. Seeing him with Elise over the past few months, I was positive he loved her. It wasn’t so farfetched to think he could relate to what it would feel like to lose that—to loselove.If something were to ever happen to either one of them, the other would be torn apart with grief.

“So, are we in agreement that you have to come back home?” he asked. “Or are you gonna make me knock down every tree in these woods?”

I’d just lowered my snout to grab the bag again, deciding to ignore his lecture and make another run for it, but then there was a sound … one that made the fur on my back stand on end.

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