Page 29 of Secret Wolf Baby

“Of course,” I said. Back in our old pack, we had gone on hunts together. Those private moments together were when I started realizing how I felt about her. I was hoping that doing something that we used to do together might ease some of her stress and anxiety. I knew she didn’t fully trust me, but I hoped that this might be a small way to re-earn that trust.

She chewed the inside of her cheek as she shifted in her seat. Her eyes glanced out the window, where warm sunshine beamed down invitingly on lush green trees. I knew that longing expression on her face, and the way her fingers twitched as if she was imagining them as paws running along the ground.

After a moment, she turned back to look at me and gave a short nod. “That sounds nice,” she said, almost whispering.

A few minutes later, I waited outside. I had shifted, and my wolf itched to run through the woods, to dig his claws into the earth and charge after prey. But the instant the smaller auburn-furred wolf emerged from around the house, all thoughts of hunting were temporarily driven from my wolf’s mind. I had forgotten how beautiful she looked as a wolf, her fur sleek and her eyes bright copper.

She dipped her head to me, waiting for me to take the lead.

We ran through the woods, darting between trees. My wolf loved getting the chance to get out and run again. It had been too long for him. But he was more interested in the fact that Audrey was here. Her presence kept distracting him. He was more interested in being close to Audrey and her wolf than in catching any prey.

Audrey, for her part, seemed determined to focus only on the hunt. Her nose twitched as she followed the scent of prey, her ears pricked for any sound of rustling in the bramble. She almost refused to look at me.

At least, at first. After some time, she seemed to relax and get into the hunt. She would glance my way to see if I scented prey or if I had noticed any danger. Her tail swished excitedly as we tracked a deer through the forest, moving slowly. When we caught up to it, we both stilled.

Audrey looked at me, her head tilted. With a jerk of my head, I told her to go ahead, that I would come behind her. She bobbed her head as if nodding and turned back to the deer, every inch of her alert. She dipped into a half-crouch, waiting for the perfect moment. I watched her form, admiring it. She had always been a skilled hunter. It was nice to see she still had that knack.

At the perfect moment, the exact time I would have moved, she struck, jumping into the air toward the deer. Before it could get two steps in, Audrey landed on its back, bringing it down to the ground as I arrived. Together, we landed the killing blow.

We shifted back. Audrey’s eyes shone bright with exhilaration as she beamed, looking more like herself than I had seen her since meeting her again.

“Good job,” I said.

“Thanks.” She pushed her hair from her face. “It’s been a while since I’ve hunted. I forgot how much I missed it.”

“I wouldn’t have known it from that performance,” I remarked. “You’re a natural.”

Her smile faded a little at the words, and she hesitated. “Thanks,” she muttered.

I frowned. I had said something wrong, but I couldn’t figure out what it might be.

Before I could ask, though, she said, “Are you good to take this back to the house? I want to hunt on my own a bit.”

Blinking, I nodded, trying to hide my surprise. “Yeah, I’ll meet you back at the house. Is everything all right?”

“It’s fine,” she said, though it wasn’t convincing. “I just want to keep going.”

Before I could press her any further, she shifted again and ran into the woods, leaving me alone with the deer.

***

Audrey was back home by the time I got out of the shower. I was planning on asking her what had happened in the woods, why she had run off, but the instant I saw her, I knew it was a bad idea. She had a serious, contemplative expression on her face that put me on edge.

Something was wrong. I didn’t know what, but I wanted to see if I could help. I reached out and touched her shoulder. I felt her muscles tighten beneath my fingers as she slowly turned to face me.

“Is everything all right?” I asked.

“You keep asking me that,” she said with a sigh. “Why?”

I raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t exactly an answer. But I had a funny feeling that pointing that out wasn’t going to get me any further than I already was.

“You’ve been acting odd ever since we ran into each other again,” I said. “You’re not…”I trailed off. What I wanted to say was that she wasn’t her anymore. I could still picture the fiery woman she used to be when she came to my house all those years ago. That playful smirk and the glint in her eye she always used to get when she bantered with me. Now, she jumped at shadows, and her shoulders were always hunched over.

“Everything’s fine.” She tried to shrug her shoulder from my grip, continuing not to look at me. “Really.”

I didn’t let go. Instead, I gently nudged her back around to face me. I took her chin in my free hand and tilted it up so she had to look at me.

“Is it something to do with Reacher?” I asked. “Or your father?”

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