Page 61 of Season of the Wolf

I forced a smile, feeling the same awkward tension resurface that lingered between us the last time we saw one another. I couldn’t help but to wonder if he heard it even now—that sound, the one he described as a persistent buzzing … the one that made him take off into the woods like it might drive him to do something drastic if he didn’t.

I focused on training again, doing my best to ignore the questions that all seemed to pop into my head at once.

Eventually, things settled down and I nearly forgot about all the outside distractions. We were winded and sweating already—the result of keeping up with our partners’ otherworldly speed and agility.

“You’ve gotten so much faster,” Beth panted, pausing to catch her breath.

“Finally,” I joked, making her smile. It wasn’t lost on me that I hadn’t regressed from not being able to attend. Somehow, things were easier, more natural.

Her eyes drifted to the clock on the wall, prompting mine to do the same. “Ten more minutes,” I acknowledged.

Soon, I’d be headed home for a shower and dinner, which sounded like music to my ears. No, it wouldn’t make for the most exciting Friday night, but neither did myoldroutine with my parents—our ritual of kicking our weekend off with a movie. I suppose I was simple because, tonight, I mostly looked forward to lazing around in Liam’s bed, listening to music or just talking about whatever randomness popped into our heads.

It was as close as we got to normal and being with him took my mind off things, which was a miracle in and of itself.

A few combat exercises later and Dallas blew his whistle, signaling all of us to gather in the center of the room. Not too far on my left, Nick shifted from one foot to the other, giving off so much nervous energy I could feel it from where I stood. With his eyes so focused on Dallas, I got the impression he was intentionally trying to avoid making eye contact with me. And then, when he popped an earbud into one ear—the ear that would have been most susceptible to the buzzing—I guessed all my assumptions were spot on.

He still heard it.

I faced forward again.

“Good work today,” Dallas announced, glancing around the room at us all. “It’s obvious we have a ton of new faces, but from what I’ve seen today, even the newcomers pulled their weight.”

There was only a hint of a smile on his face. In this role, he was all about military precision and order.

“We’ll be meeting again in a couple days,” he went on. “Same place, same time. In the meantime, anyone got questions?”

A couple hands shot into the air and Dallas cleared up confusion about what one kid needed to work on before the next session, and another inquiry about what shoes he thought it was best to train in. Both questions seemed to annoy him with their simplicity, but he answered politely.

“Anything else?” he asked with an eye roll.

When no one spoke, we were dismissed.

Beth and I chatted a bit while going to retrieve our bags from the bleachers. When we got there, Nick was getting his things, too. We were standing too close not to acknowledge one another, which I’m guessing was the only reason he did.

His hand lifted into the air with a quick wave. “Hey, how’s it going?” His tone was dry and impatient, like he couldn’t wait to get away.

That same anxious energy I sensed before made electricity scatter across my skin.

“Everything’s good,” I answered, trying to imagine what this noise must have sounded like, what it could have meant.

“Where’s Roz?” I forced out, needing to fill the dead air. “I noticed she’s not here.”

He seemed distracted as he shoved a towel inside his bag. “Yeah, um … she had a … thing with her dad, the Elders,” he explained vaguely.

Had it not been for the conversation I just had with Beth, I wouldn’t have had a clue what the meeting was about.

I nodded and had just decided to make small-talk so this conversation wouldn’t be such a fail, but he hiked his bag up his shoulder and spoke before I had the chance.

“Uh … listen, I have to take off. Richie just texted to say he’s waiting outside, but I’ll catch up with you in a bit,” he said, flashing a weak smile. No, it was apainedsmile.

I felt concern spread in my expression and was certain he could see it.

“Sure. Yeah … okay.”

As soon as the words left my mouth, he started in the opposite direction of where I stood.

“What’s up with him?” Beth asked, popping a stick of gum into her mouth.

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