Page 27 of To Challenge a Wolf

“But I want to eat themnow.”

“Well, then you’ll have to be patient.”

The redheaded toddler stuck out her lower lip, then ran to the cluster of adults seated around the fire pit. She let out a wail to be heard across the yard, sounding as if her heart would break. “April, Daddy sayslater!”

Jeremy rumbled a chuckle. “April is quickly replacing Malachi as Gigi’s favorite person.”

“Malachi?” Of all the possible choices for a two-year-old…

“Have you heard her nickname for him?”

“Definitely not.” Not something she’d forget.

“Then I’m not going to spoil it.” Jeremy grinned, able to show his teeth now that she was acclimated.

“But to answer your question—”

“Oh, right. I know you’ve met dozens of wolves; do humans just become impervious after that many acclimations?”

“I have no idea what happens to most humans. All I can tell you is, I still get the major adrenaline rush, but it feels controllable somehow. More like running a race, I guess? Rather than facing a fear. My pulse amps up, but in a few seconds, it’s like my brain recognizes how often I’ve done this, and I level back out.”

“That’s really cool.” He cocked his head in the direction of the fire pit, where Gigi had climbed into April’s lap, and where Rhettstill sat, Vivian’s place empty beside him. “You came all the way here for that wolf, huh?”

Vivian’s stomach tightened. Rhett could hear every word she said. She couldn’t lie to a wolf, but she couldn’t open up either. Not about Rhett. “His location’s been a mystery to me for years. I wanted to solve it once and for all.”

“Yeah?” Jeremy’s blue eyes danced. “That’s it?”

“He was a good friend of mine when we were younger,” she said.

She wasn’t lying, but the words tasted like burnt coffee on her tongue. She wished she could say to Jeremy,We’re going to try a few dates and see if this goes anywhere. She wished Rhett were less stubborn, less standoffish, though… Her neck flushed where his fingers had kneaded away her tension only a few hours ago. He hadn’t been standoffish then.

Great. All she needed were a few rogue wolf spies triggering his protective instincts for his pack, and she’d get to see the kind side of him he liked to pretend did not exist.

“Well,” Jeremy said, “I’m glad you came. That wolf’s been a mystery to me for the last three years. Still is, honestly, and I’ve said so to his face plenty of times.”

His head swiveled toward Rhett, and then he laughed. Jeremy’s laugh was one of the least wolf-voiced in the pack, no bark or growl behind it.

“Whatever, man.”

“What did he say?”

“Told me to get over it. His go-to answer.”

“He has his reasons,” Vivian said. Not that Jeremy had her hackles up over Rhett, but she’d learned from the conversations today that most of these wolves had grown up in the area, lived lives that, though not without conflict, couldn’t compare to what Rhett had escaped.

“I don’t doubt that.” Jeremy smiled. “He’s a good wolf, Vivian. I don’t doubt that either.”

An hour later, the sun was down behind the mountains. Jackets and sweaters had been donned by all humans present, and marshmallows were roasting over the campfire. Ember was walking off a backache just past the glow of the flames. Gigi and her sisters’ hands were sticky; come to find out, they considered a single warm, melty marshmallow the same thing as “s’mores.” Voices had quieted, and moods had mellowed while people gazed into the fire.

Vivian ought to be leaving for her room in town. Ought to be packing up for the drive home tomorrow. Ought to be texting Blaine an update on her day, asking whether he’d beaten insomnia yet. She yawned and turned to Rhett to suggest her departure, though the idea of leaving him—even to his happiness here—made her chest hurt.

“Viv?” he said.

“I should say goodbye.” She tried to keep the words from shaking, but suppose he never wanted to see her again? Blaine was right. A day with Rhett wasn’t enough.

“Stay,” Rhett said.

“Really?”

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