Page 90 of Wolf

The following morning I’m expected to go to school. With each layer of clothing that covers my skin, I watch the Lilli who emerged from her cocoon disappear.

The day is long, and I have a tough time concentrating for the pain that consumes my system. With each new day after, it’s the same until I can walk without crouching like an old lady.

On Wednesday, I find myself out back of the school during lunch, sitting on the bench facing the water. Falling back into my role as the reverend’s daughter was deceptively easy.

Mama and Daddy have been cool toward me but as the days pass and I do what’s expected, they thaw.

Mercy was excited to have me home and if there’s anything to be happy about, it's seeing her and Rachel again. Although often I find Rachel casting me worried glances when she thinks I’m not looking.

Today, I managed to escape her eagle eyes and I’m enjoying the moment of solitude where I can let my facade of calm slide away.

Here, I let the pain invade my system and welcome the feeling because otherwise, I fear I’ll never come back to the girl I thought I was becoming.

I’ve pushed all memories of Wolf away. The only time they invade my brain is when I’m sleeping, and I wake with tears that I wipe away before anyone can see.

For such a brief time together, I struggle with how hard it is to be apart and wonder if he feels the same.

Does he miss me, or has he moved on to that Melanie chick? Or maybe, Toni has picked up where I left off. I wouldn’t blame her after the way I treated her.

“Done hiding?” Darcy says, dropping to the bench beside me.

Swallowing back a trickle of annoyance, I mutter, “Sure.”

She pulls out a rolled cigarette that I assume is marijuana and holds it out to me. When I shake my head, she shrugs and says, “You got balls of steel showing your face after what you did. Draven on your ass?”

“Draven? No.”

Draven is a junior. I don’t know her well beyond that she’s a little rough around the edges. Rumor has it, she beats up her peers for merely looking at her sideways, but I’ve evaded the possibility since we don’t have any classes together.

“Huh,” she mumbles.

“Why?”

“Dunno. Heard she was asking about you.”

After inhaling another dose of the drug without shame on the school grounds in the middle of the day, she says, “Well, Draven’s daddy is MC. Thought maybe it was about you.”

Is she? Hm.

My heart skips a beat at the notion that maybe Miriam is trying to send me a message through her but as much as I try to search her out after lunch, I can’t find her.

Glumly, I join Rachel as we walk home. My mind still swirls with the possibilities which is why I miss him standing on the sidewalk in front of me.

Rachel grabs my arm, and I look up with a frown. My stomach swoops and I sway as Wolf tips his chin toward his MC brother.

“Hey,” Rachel protests as the man grabs her arm.

“Wait—“ I cry but Wolf picks me up and stalks into the alley before dropping me on the other side of a dumpster.

The sickly-sweet stench tickles my nose but it’s hardly my focus when Wolf says, “You okay?”

My heart warms at his concern and I nod but words escape me. As good as it is to see him, I can’t go back.

The sheriff’s threats linger in my head like a tumor and I’m too afraid to find out what he’s capable of.

Besides, I know that I have zero chance of keeping Wolf. He’s strong, handsome, and fierce. His loyalty is to his brothers. He expects women to obey without question.

If I ever escape my life, I’m not keen on jumping into the same stifling world.

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