Page 12 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

Dammit. I wasn’t wearing shoes.

Should I leave without grabbing my soaked tennis shoes or take the extra time and grab them?

The longer I spent contemplating my options, the more likely he'd catch me before I escaped. A quick decision needed to be made.

Being barefoot would garner more attention, so taking the time to get them was the best option.

Making a mad dash back to Killian's sister's room, I tried to focus on one task at a time. Dad always said,If you get too many steps ahead, you make mistakes on the most pressing ones. I could almost hear his voice.

Almost.

And my heart somehow fractured a little more.

Focus, Sterlyn,I chastised myself as I slipped the shoes on. Water gushed around my toes, making me pause.

The back door opened, and Killian stepped inside.

There went my plan of sneaking out. Nonetheless, that didn't change my need to leave. I'd already been leery of staying here, and knowing I couldn't trust him made the decision to go so much easier. I hated that my instincts had been wrong, but I'd deal with that later.

Evolve and learn from your mistakes.

His footsteps echoed toward the room. "You're not changed yet?" Killian chuckled. "I figured you'd be out here, pacing the floor."

Dread pooled in my stomach. I’d had way too many confrontations today, but I might as well add another one. Putting it off would only make things worse.

I held the clothes harder against me, and more liquid absorbed into the dark shirt I'd put on. Apparently, there hadn't been a point in me changing after all.

"Uh..." He paused. "Dove?"

Dove?Maybe he hadn't been talking to me all along. Was someone else here? I sniffed, but all I smelled was him.

He knocked. "Are Olive’s clothes not working?"

"Yeah, they're fine." I pushed my cowardice away and opened the door.

His eyebrows shot upward, and he smirked. "The point of changing was to get dry." He gestured to the wet clothes against my chest.

"And the point of asking you to not tell someone about me was for younotto call someone at the first opportunity and spill my secrets." My voice rose as my anger bled through. I shoved past him, marching toward the front door.

"Hey, wait," he said as he followed me and gently grabbed my arm. "It's not what you think."

"Oh, so the whole ‘there's a girl I want to tell you about’ wasn't actually about me?" I lifted my chin, daring him to deny it.

"Give me a chance to explain." He raised a hand and gave me puppy dog eyes.

And the more insane part was that it worked. My resolve crumbled. "You've got one minute."

"You know how you were talking about how you didn't feel right staying here?" He jumped right to the point.

"Yes." This had to be some sort of trap, and I was walking right into it.

His dark eyes turned milk chocolate. "What if you staying here helps me too?"

"How so?" I hated to admit that I was intrigued.

He rubbed his hands together. "Date me."

I jerked back. “What?" I had to have heard him wrong.

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