Page 32 of Season of the Wolf

Her dark eyes danced up to meet mine, and she smiled. “I didn’t tell him,” she beamed, seemingly proud of this newfound freedom she carved out for herself.

If I had to guess, it was driving her father insane that he could no longer control her with a glare. I knew this because I’d seen the same look of frustration bleed through Richie’s expression every time I defied him as well.

But still, this was bigger than some random act of defiance. No, Officer Chadwick and I weren’t exactly on great terms, but as someone who’d put his parents through quite a bit lately, I didn’t want Roz to be guilty of the same.

She’d never accept me telling her what to do, so I left it alone for now.

“So,” she began, that one word so loaded, “… has it happened again?”

My ears perked at the question, taking a moment to understand fully. When I did, I set the half-eaten burger aside.

She was referring to the blackouts.

I shook my head. “Not since the one you know about.”

“If therehadbeen another, would you really tell me?” There was curiosity behind her gaze, but not distrust.

I nodded. “I gave you my word.” Hopefully, she knew that meant something, wasn’t just an empty promise I made that night just to get her off my back.

Her gaze slipped from mine and I wondered what she was thinking when she focused on her hands, twiddling her fingers together as she seemed to daydream.

“What you said the other night, aboutmebeing the thing that stops you from having episodes … do you really believe that?”

This was another of those rare, vulnerable moments when she couldn’t hide from me, couldn’t keep it locked inside that she felt the pull toward me like I felt it toward her.

“I do,” I admitted, trying to pin down the words to explain. “The darkness is there. Always,” I clarified, “But I can see my way through it when you’re around. It’s like … something about you makes it so I’m able to fight harder; makes it so I’m able to just be …me.”

That was the easiest way to break it down. Mostly because I didn’t fully understand how it worked myself.

She was thoughtful for a bit, but then shared something she hadn’t before.

“These moments when I’m able to break rank, it feels like more than just … defiance,” was the word she settled on. An uncertain stare landed on me. “I feel more powerful than him. Like, I can sense his weakness. Like, if I wanted to, I could forcehimto submit.”

She blinked and I referenced my tie to Richie, noting I hadn’t quite felt what Roz had—so much power. While, yeah, I could break free from Richie and do my own thing, I hadn’t felt his weakness yet. I guessed it was coming, but to me, this meant Roz was progressing more quickly than I was. Soon, her father would become her beta.

A long, dragging sigh left her mouth and she raked a hand through her hair.

“But I don’t want to talk about that. It’s weird and only hints at evenmorechange,” she shared. “And I don’t know about you, but I’d love for two freakin’ weeks to pass and things stay the same.”

A small smile broke free and I smiled back, agreeing with her wholeheartedly.

“How’s your mom?” she asked, leaning forward to pick up the half-eaten burger I set aside.

I shrugged and thought of the many different ways to answer that question.

“She’s … managing,” was the best I could do.

In truth, she was going stir-crazy, which was driving mydadcrazy, but none of us made a huge fuss about it because we knew what the alternative was.

Imprisonment.

Exile.

Death.

“She’s trying on new hobbies to make time pass faster,” I grinned, thinking about the too-small hat she knitted Richie just last week.

“Any word on how long they intend to keep her on lockdown? I mean, I know she’s got it better than a lot of people, being afforded the luxury of serving her sentence at home, but … still. It must suck,” Roz concluded.

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