Page 44 of Forbidden Love

Her thoughts wandered uninvited and persistent back to earlier that day. Talking to Janna had been… strange. Good, in some ways. Hard, in all the others. She’d said what she needed to say. Finally, but even with forgiveness offered, something still didn’t sit right.

It wasn’t just the drinking that had driven her to say something so cruel back then. Sure, that had been part of it, but it hadn’t been the root. Linda and the poisonous little seeds she’d planted in Deb’s ear had played on her worst insecurities at the worst time and had also fueled Deb’s hatred of anyone happy.

But in truth, the fault of that day and every evil thing she said about others was all hers. Deb owned it.

And Garrett… Deb leaned on the counter, her eyes still fixed outside.

There had been a time, long ago, when she thought maybe there could’ve been something there. Before Janna...before everything. But her heart had already started drifting toward someone else entirely. Someone no one here knew about.

Not even Linda. Deb had once thought she could trust her. But not withhim. That relationship had been her own quiet secret. Something special. Or so she thought.

She scoffed under her breath, took another drink of water, and shook her head. Howincrediblystupid she’d been.

She’d believed in him. She believed in the promises, the plans, and how he looked at her like she was his whole world. And then she found out she was just a chapter in a very long, ugly book of lies. She didn’t cry over him anymore, but she second-guessed herself because of him, which could very well be her downfall. It pissed her off that he still had a certain hold over her.

“Bastard.” She growled, taking another drink.

A bright flash of lightning lit up the backyard in stark white light—and something moved. Small, white, and definitely furry.

“Oh, dammit,” Deb muttered, setting her water bottle on the counter with a sharpclackbefore heading for the back door. She yanked it open and stepped beneath the overhang, cool rain misting her face. “Pepper! Get your ass back home! How did you get outagain?”

Standing just beyond the porch, soaked and unbothered, was Mr. Grayson’s rebellious little poodle, tail wagging like this was some grand adventure. Deb groaned. She could’ve sworn she patched the spot where the dog had been slipping through the fence.

“Please don’t tell me the old man’s out in this mess looking for you,” she grumbled. Spinning on her heel, she dashed back inside to grab her tennis shoes, slipping them on with practiced speed—no time for a coat.

“You’re going to make me come out there and get you, aren’t you?” she called as she trudged into the wet grass. The rain had shifted from a mist to a steady drizzle, soaking her hair, white t-shirt, and shorts within seconds. “You’re lucky I love dogs, and you’re sweet.”

Pepper wagged her tail harder as Deb approached—then suddenly went stiff. Her tiny frame quivered, and her ears perked toward the woods behind the house.

“What is it?” Deb asked softly, eyes narrowing. She didn’t see anything, just shadows, and trees but the dog’s sudden growl sent a chill crawling down her spine.

Before Deb could grab her, Pepper bolted.

“Shit!” she snapped, and without hesitation, took off after her. “Pepper! Get your hairy little ass back here!”

The wet branches slapped against her arms as she chased the dog through the tree line. Thunder cracked again, louder now, and lightning flashed through the woods, giving her brief, eerie glimpses of trees and thick underbrush.

She caught sight of Pepper’s white fur just ahead, darting through the brush like a ghost. “Pepper,stop!”

Deb’s foot caught on something half-buried beneath the wet leaves, sending her stumbling forward. She barely caught herself before hitting the mud, but one of her shoes didn’t survive the save.

“Dammit!” she hissed, wobbling to regain balance as the wet squish of the forest floor soaked through her sock.

She glanced around, realizing she had no clue where she was. The trees all looked the same in the dark, and the steady curtain of rain distorted everything. She’d gotten turned around, disoriented in the chase. Great. Just great.

Another bolt of lightning cracked across the sky, bathing the woods in eerie white light—and that’s when Deb saw it. She froze, every muscle in her body going still.

Ten yards ahead, half-concealed in the shadows, was something massive. Something that definitely wasn’t a poodle.

It was low to the ground, broad and still as stone. And in the next flicker of lightning, she caught a glimpse of eyes—pale and glowing, locked onto her like a predator sizing up its prey.

Her breath hitched. Her heart thundered in her chest. That wasn’t a coyote. That wasn’t a stray. That was a wolf.

Averylarge,verymean-looking wolf stared at her. No, not stared, but glared.

Brock’s words from earlier echoed in her brain.Taz found some tracks around this area.

“Please be a shifter,” she whispered, voice barely audible over the rain. “One ofourshifters. Or, like… a very friendly, lost forest wolf with a calm demeanor and good intentions.”

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