Page 12 of Run Free

“What?” he said, truly looking shocked.

“This is my mission, Gage. I’m in charge. I give the orders. They do as I tell them. I’m not their puppet.” It wasn’t entirely true. They called, I jumped; just because I was allowed to lead on the ground, didn’t mean there wasn’t a little truth to what he was saying.

“How is that even possible?” he asked.

“I told you, I work with them.”

He switched subjects on me so fast it felt like whiplash. “You do know who you are to me, right?”

“Seriously? Do I look like a complete idiot to you? I have two PhDs, Gage—One in veterinarian medicine and the other in environmental studies, specializing in ecosystems. I think I can tell the difference between a mating call and infatuation.”

I was a doer, not a talker. I didn’t lose my temper easily, and I could turn my emotions off and on like a robot at times, but Gage Matthews was making it impossible to keep my head on straight. He was equally infuriating me and turning me on to the point that parts of my body were literally throbbing just being near him. The combination seemed to mean I couldn’t rein in my emotions or keep a level head around him.

He gave me a sly grin. “So you admit you like me?”

“Argh!” I growled in frustration. “You’re impossible. Take me back right now,” I demanded.

“Sorry, angel, but you’re on your own there. I’m not going back, and I won’t be sticking around this place for long either. So, my mate, what are you going to do about it?”

Was he really trying to give me an ultimatum? What an asshole! Without so much as a word, I stood, turned on my heel, and marched out of that cabin. I followed the trail of his scent easily. Each step away from him tore the hole in my heart a little bit more.

“How dare he!” I yelled to no one.

My wolf was agitated, but I knew if I shifted she’d run right back to him and I wasn’t sure I could stop her. She kept mournfully howling in my head and it was driving me mad. It had been a long time since I really ran in my human form. Why bother?

I had been on my high school track team, though. I loved running, and as I tore off across the field, following his scent, tears stung my eyes and my body vibrated. I pushed myself until I burned all over, and then it released, and I felt free, like I could run forever.

The zoo came into sight too quickly. I still had some much needed energy to burn off, but I slowed my pace and tried to control my breathing as my lungs tried to greedily gulp in air. Sweat dripped from my brow as I walked it off. There was a light stitch in my side, but it was gone by the time I reached the clinic.

Dave took one look at me and shook his head. “You okay?”

“No. Yes. I don’t know,” I said abruptly.

That caused him to give me an even more cautious look.

“Saw the wolf was gone too. I thought he was doing well. He didn’t—“

“No, he’s fine. Just a disappointing coward,” I said, before turning around and stomping into the building. I stopped outside Byron’s room and took a deep breath, planting a fake smile on my face before walking in. “Good morning. How’s my patient doing today?”

Tatum genuinely smiled back at me. “You’re making rounds again. Does that mean Gage survived?”

“I’d rather not talk about him,” I said.

She frowned, and her eyes started to well up in tears. “He didn’t make it?”

I sighed. “It’s nothing like that, Tatum. He’s fine. Already off and running away from here as fast as he can.”

“So that’s good. Right?” Byron asked.

I grimaced and tried to cover it with another smile I didn’t feel. “Of course.”

I could tell they weren’t buying it, so I switched gears and dove into my work. Tatum was healing nicely. They both were rehydrated, and I could set them free. Why didn’t that make me feel better? Oh, yeah. Gage! He had healed nicely too and without so much as a thanks, or have a great life, he’d left.

“Everything looks great here, you guys. I think it’s safe to say you’re free to go at any time. Or you can stick around and I’ll be happy to make those flight arrangements to get you home like we discussed.”

“Can we have a day or two to figure it out?” Byron asked, as Tatum reached for his hand for support.

The girl was still quite young, and I could see that leaving scared her. I’d seen it before in both shifters and animals, but once the fear of leaving passed, they were going to be just fine. I had no doubts.

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