Page 6 of Wolf Marked

Thick white flakes drifted from the sky as Astrid walked deeper into the forest, following Erec’s footprints. She focused on his shadowy outline far off in the distance. Every once in a while, it would disappear in the shadows only to rematerialize moments later in the silvery light of the crescent moon.

It probably wasn’t her smartest idea to track him down alone, but at least she had been able to snatch one of her spears for protection. Erec had said something back there that resounded with her. He wanted to help their pack however he could, even if that meant striking Jerrick first. He wanted to fight, not sit around and wait to die.

And so did she.

She didn’t understand why Father had been so harsh with him. Or why he had refused to listen to his warnings. Erec had fought Jerrick’s men before. He knew what they were capable of, what to expect. And that’s why she had to follow him and bring him back to their camp. Maybe with her help, they could help her father see reason. Traveling farther west wasn’t going to protect them from Jerrick. If they ran, he would win.

A bitter gust of wind pushed against her and Astrid pulled up her hood, her gaze locked on Erec’s silhouetted figure gliding farther away. She’d been following him for at least a mile now. Because the pack had been so busy deconstructing their homes and loading the sleds, no one had seen her leave. Eventually someone would stumble across her empty tent and bed, so she had to make this quick.

Astrid picked up her pace. The soft and thick piles of snow under her boots muted the crunching of her steps. Every gulp of winter air froze her insides, icing her lungs and making her chest hurt.

Erec took a sharp turn ahead, behind the trunk of a wide oak tree, and disappearedfrom sight. Astrid sprinted toward him, her heart drumming against her ribcage, but as she rounded the tree, she stopped short, her feet sinking into the snow. Erec had vanished. Only a rocky cliff stared back at her with a cave opening just big enough for a person to squeeze into.

Erec’s footprints continued to the cave’s entrance before disappearing. Astrid approached and peered into the blackness. No shadows moved. She swung her head to the side, listening for any sounds. She heard the steady flow of the river in the distance, paired with the whistles of the icy breeze, but nothing else. When she inhaled, the alluring aroma of the forest filled her nose. Crisp pine needles, damp moss, and smoky cedar. They were so overwhelming, she almost missed the distinctive scent of man and wolf layered underneath.

“Erec,” she whispered to the nothingness, but only the echo of her own voice replied. “Erec, are you in there?”

A sharp crack came from above, and her head snapped up. She gasped. At the peak of the cliff, just over where she stood, Erec was staring down with his arms crossed. This time, he wore a gray fur cape draped across his shoulders, a linen shirt, and high leather boots on his feet. Had he gotten them from the cave?

“I had a feeling someone was following me,” he said with the same cool indifference he had when Astrid had caught him listening in on her and Filip’s conversation. It should have irritated her, but his tone, paired with the way his dark blue eyes studied her under hooded lids, made goose bumps rise on her skin.

“Although, I have to admit, I didn’t expect it to be you.” Erec leaped from the rock’s ten-foot height and landed in front of her in the soft snow. Just like before, she found it hard to keep her gaze from drifting, her imagination from stirring, and her words from getting stuck in her throat. He was leaner than the other men in her pack, with wide, defined shoulders. The shirt he wore was ripped wide at the collar, exposing most of his chest, and every inch of him that she could see appeared to be sculpted out of solid muscle. The pants she’d left for him rode low on his hips, and she couldn’t stop her thoughts from drifting to what lay underneath.

Astrid’s cheeks heated, and her gaze flew up to meet his eyes again. He was watching her with an arched brow. She swallowed roughly.

“You’re staring,” he said.

She shook her head. “I am not.”

“Uh-huh.” He glanced at the spear clutched in her hand, and his sideways smilereturned. “I remember your brother warning you not to leave the pack. Does he know you’ve followed me all this way? Better yet, does Boden?”

“Er—” Astrid took a short step back.

“They don’t know you’re here, do they?”

She cursed silently, preparing herself for the lecture. She had to go back because it was too dangerous for her; she was a woman in the forest and alone. She needed to obey the alpha’s orders. She’d heard it all before from her brother. It infuriated her. “No, they don’t, but—”

Erec’s growing smirk stole the argument right from her mouth. She waited a few more seconds for the familiar speech, but he said nothing.

“What? Aren’t you going to tell me I need to go back?” she asked, confused. “That I should have never left, and it isn’t safe to be out here alone?”

He shrugged, chuckling. “Why would I? You’re not a child. You can make your own choices.”

Astrid stood still, unsure how to respond. That wasn’t the answer she had been expecting. She always had to defend herself, but now that there was no need to, the words sank like stones in her belly.

“So…” Erec circled around her, his gaze traveling over her, and ran a hand over the blond stubble along his jawline. “How many Blue Moons do you have now? My guess is twenty, maybe?”

She glared at him. “Twenty-four.” She held up one of her hands to show him the blue ribbon-like marks around her fingers. “But my father and brother like to treat me like it’s six.”

“Hmm, you’re right there with me then. Twenty-four.” He pulled back his cape to reveal the similar swirling pattern on his shoulder and upper chest. “Three more weeks until our final one. Then, it’s all over.”

Pressing her lips into a hard line, Astrid nodded. She still didn’t want to think about the few days she had left to be alive. It was too sad and scary to imagine right now, even as close as it was. She’d rather ignore it and worry about what mattered most to her—protecting her pack, her family.

With a frown, Astrid glanced around for something else to talk about. Her gaze found the cave again. “Do you…live here?”

“Yes and no,” he said. “I travel a lot and don’t stay in one place too long. I just came back to pick up a few things before moving on again.”

Astrid had never met a rogue wolf before. Their kind was known for staying in groups. There was protection in numbers, and they became a family. She remembered Erec saying Mikel had taken him in when his parents died, and the pain in his voice when her father had brought up the alpha’s death. Erec obviously cared for him, so why did he leave? Why would someone want to be alone for the rest of their life?

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