Page 36 of Wolf's Chance

Swallowing down the pain, I tried to appear as though I wasn’t affected as they showed me paintings of my past. A past that I had left behind, but here it was, following me. Painted by a woman who didn’t have a fucking clue that she was ripping my heart out with each brush stroke.

“How much longer before she sees more than you?” Cannon spoke quietly. “She’s seen where you come from; she’s seenyou; how much longer before she sees you shift?”

“She won’t.”

“Caleb, you aren’t stupid.” Cannon’s reprimand was warranted. “I don’t think distance will make a difference,” he told me bluntly. “Either you stay here and figure it out, quickly, or we take her to the Pack Council and damn the consequences.”

“I say we put her in front of a shaman anyway,” Royce muttered.

“I say, you put one hand on her, and I will cut it off.” They both looked at me, neither of them surprised by my outburst.

“Fine. You have two weeks.”

I looked at the alpha as he pulled his shirt over his head. “Two weeks?”

“Two weeks. You have no answers by the time I return, then she comes with us.” Royce was already undressed and ready to shift.

“I’ll have answers.” Cannon nodded and then the black wolf was in front of me, his beta at his side. I stepped aside as they moved past me, a lone wolf giving due respect to an alpha and his beta. When they were gone, I sat on the ground, my eyes on the paintings.

How the fuck was I going to unravel the mystery of Willow Harper in two weeks when she never wanted to see me again? I had no idea.

I should have kept moving. The first time I saw her, the first time her scent called to me, I should have kept moving.

“Luna guide me,” I pleaded to the Goddess in the heavens above. “I need a little help, and a lot of luck.” The wind whistled through the trees, but no answer came. Standing, I gathered the discarded paintings, intending to break and burn them like I had done before.

My thumb grazed over the rocks of the mountain I used to call home. “What are you, Willow? What do you want with me?”

Placing the paintings gently against an overturned log, Iturned them so they were facing away from me. I didn’t need to look at them to know what I’d lost.

TEN

Willow

“Why are you so down?”Lily asked me, handing me a bottle of water from the grocery bag that had our lunch in it. “You’re telling me that you’re not, but every time I look at you, I see sadness.”

“I think you’re exaggerating.” I tried to smile, but I knew it was flat. Tucking my hair behind my ear, I tried to lift myself out of my low mood. “Maybe it’s because I never got a slice of wedding cake brought home.”

Lily rolled her eyes, but the distraction worked as she launched into telling me again why the wedding cake was so hideous and why she couldn’t possibly bring me a slice. In truth, I think she ate mine on the way home, but the cake was elderflower and lavender, which sounded like a tea blend I would avoid, never mind eat.

Lily sighed dramatically, unwrapping her vegetable panini absentmindedly. She hadn’t met anyone at the wedding. She had flirted plenty from what I had been told, but there were no sparks. Not even a flicker. I wanted to commiserate,I did, but whenever I thought of “sparks,” I remembered the feeling as Caleb bit into my wrist.

“Do you think vampires are real?”

Lily stopped midchew, her eyebrow arched in question. “No. Maybe?” She shrugged. “Would you rather an Edward or a Lestat?”

“Neither,” I told her honestly, feeling stupid for my question.

Lily took another bite of her sandwich. “Of course, you’re team Jacob.”

“I never understand why anyoneisn’t,” I pointed out. “And anyway, who wants to drink someone’s blood?”

“So they live.” Lily opened the bag of chips she’d brought for us to share. “They feed to live, it’s all very?—”

“Parasitic.”

“Romantic,” Lily countered. “Oooh, okay, how about Damon? Youhaveto admit he’s better.”

“Than what?” I opened my sandwich. Simple cheese, lettuce and tomato. “A leech?”

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