Page 80 of Wolf's Chance

I needed to start asking more pertinent questions, and Caleb had to start providing answers. Actual answers, that had information.

Caleb was ahead of me once again, and as I considered him,I couldn’t shake the feeling of unease as I watched him move soundlessly through the forest. I didn’t know how he was doing it; it was almost like he was floating over the rugged and uneven terrain. He was wearing heavy black boots, but his steps were effortlessly confident andsoundlessas he guided us along the trail.

“How can you move so quietly?” I blurted into the quiet.

With a glance over his shoulder, he smirked at me. “I’m making noise. You just can’t hear it over your crashing.”

Okay,crashingwas harsh. But when a twig snapped loudly under my foot, the sound echoing all around us, Caleb laughed as I blushed scarlet. I fell silent as I followed him, my clumsy steps making me wince as we progressed through the trees.

I didn’t know how long we walked, but I knew I was tiring. Caleb knew it too. With an unspoken agreement, he slowed, and soon we were walking side by side. The pace was slow, and no doubt for someone like Caleb, the progress was painful, but he never said a word.

I was just about to give in and admit defeat when Caleb came to a sudden stop, his hand curled around my forearm as he pulled me to a stop beside him. His body was rigid, and my open mouth snapped shut, the question dying on my lips as I watched him. Caleb turned his head up slightly, and I saw him sniff the air.

What could he smell? Smoke? I inhaled trying to smell what he could, but all I could smell was pine and damp earth. I was sure that there were parts of this forest that would never be dry, and the smell of dank, musty vegetation confirmedmy thoughts.

My attention was on Caleb, waiting to see what had caused him to stop, what had caused the line of his shoulders to tense.

“Caleb? What is it?” My whisper sounded loud in the quiet, and I could hear how shaky my voice was.

When he said nothing, I felt my heart rate pick up. We were in the middle of nowhere, in the true wilderness, being hunted byshifters, and I had the sudden realization I was most probably in the worst position I could be. Just the two of us, alone and defenseless.

What the hell had I been thinking when I followed him into the trees?

Caleb was wound so tight beside me that I knew he was ready to pounce on whatever came at us, but even that didn’t ease my panic.

“Calm down,” he suddenly said with another look around. “It’s nothing.” His voice was low and gruff, and with a quick look over at me, he nodded. “Stay close.”

Of that, I could absolutely guarantee that I would. Hell, I was so close to him already that I was almost glued to his side. “Okay.”

We resumed walking, and even though he’d said it was nothing, I couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just saying that to make me feel better. Caleb wasn’t acting as if it was nothing. He still felt tense beside me.

I knew I was in danger of freaking out. So I did what I did when I needed to focus: I concentrated on something familiar to me. Right now, that was Caleb.

Strange how it was him, but I was so far outside of my comfort zone, was it any wonder that he was the only familiar thing to me?

I watched him from the corner of my eye as we walked. His steps were sure and steady. He avoided the concealed knots and roots of the forest floor easily as if he already knew where they were hiding. He confidently plowed ahead, sure in his direction. The whole stopping and sniffing the air was strange, but was there anything about this whole scenario that wasnormal?

My steps were slowing even more. We’d been walking for hours, and the tension was growing between us. The thick canopy overhead was thinning, and I could see through the branches now. Night had fallen, and the sky had settled into a deep indigo, peppered with stars that gave no light.

It was getting harder to see, but Caleb had taken my arm a while ago and was guiding me through the fading light. This close to him, I wanted to ask more questions. I knew he couldn’t avoid them, he had nowhere to go that wasn’t here, and I knew even stubborn, secretive Caleb wouldn’t leave my side no matter how uncomfortable my questions made him.

But even so, despite having a captive audience, something still held me back. As I watched him, I’d also seen the number of times that he looked over his shoulder, as if he was waiting for our earlier pursuers to suddenly emerge from the shadows. I’d also watched him try to hide his frustration at our pitiful progress, and maybe it was guilt at the fact I was the reason we were making it so slow that I kept quiet.

Eventually, I had to admit defeat. “Caleb.” I slowed to a stop. “I can’t.”

He didn’t argue, didn’t protest; instead, his hand left my arm, and I felt him rub my lower back. “You did well,” he told me before moving away.

The sudden lump in my throat was hard to swallow past as I struggled to accept the unexpected praise. “I’m sorry it wasn’t more,” I told him honestly.

“You did your best.” He flashed me a quick smile. “I have protein bars.” He gestured to a fallen log. “Take a seat.”

I was glad it was night so I didn’t need to see what manner of creepy crawlies were my neighbors as I sat down. Or which ones I crushed under my ass.

He handed me a protein bar and a bottle of water, and I took both gratefully. I didn’t say that I would need a lot more than a protein bar, because the exercise had made me ravenously hungry, so I just ate what he gave me.

We ate our meal—snack—in silence. Caleb remained alert as he crouched beside me. He took the wrapper off me, shoving it into his pack. “You should sleep.” He pulled a blanket from his pack, laying it on the forest floor, and I was once again reminded why I hated camping.

“I need the bathroom.”

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