Page 25 of A Wolf's Wound
None of us have a response to that.But I know that we have to figure out what is going on.
Not just to protect Stonehaven and our family, but to protect Hannah too.
Chapter 14
Hannah
“April?”Icallouttentatively, closing the apartment door behind Shadow and me.
“In here,” she returns and I walk into her bedroom and see a half-filled suitcase on her unmade bed.
“Are you going somewhere?”I hesitate in the doorway.
“Yeah.I need to get out of Stonehaven for a while.Out of thisapartment,” she says pointedly, tossing a stack of shirts in the suitcase.
“April, please don’t leave,” I beg.“Not because of me.I’m so,sosorry.”
“Hannah, I don’t care how many times you apologize.”She turns to face me and crosses her arms.“I’m not going to accept.”
“But please let me explain!”I cry.Shadow curls around my feet and looks at me with kind eyes.I pick him up, needing the comfort of him in my arms as he clings to me.
“Explain what?That you decided to hook up with my date?My horrible, rude, boorish date?”
“I didn’t know he was your date when I met him!”I burst out.
April looks at me in surprise.“You didn’t?”
“No!”
“But you said he came here to apologize.”April frowns.
“I know.I lied.It was stupid.”
“It was,” she agrees, but in a nicer tone.“Why did you?”
“Before you came home from the bar that night, I was attacked in the apartment,” I begin.
April gasps.“Oh, Hannah!Why didn’t you tell me?Are you okay?”
“I am,” I assure her.“Because of Ryder.And I didn’t tell you because it’s all so confusing, April.This guy I’d never met before…” I don’t need to go into all the politics of how I recognized a local councilman and that he’s a shifter.“Comes barging into our apartment saying I’ve made a grave mistake and should have stayed home.I tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn’t go.And then Ryder just bursts in and pulls him off me and gets him out of here.”
“Whoa,” April breathes.“That’s so messed up!”
“I know.”I nod.“But Idon’tknow why that happened.”
“How did Ryder know what to do?”April asks.“Or even what was happening?”Her eyes widen.“Oh!Maybe that’s why he ran out on our date?Like he somehow knew you were in trouble?”
“Maybe,” I say, sitting down on the edge of her bed.She joins me.“Like I said, I don’t know how to explain any of it.But even after the councilman left, Ryder was afraid he’d come back.He had me hide in the closet when he heard someone approaching.But it turned out it was just you coming home.”
In my lap, Shadow is nodding and squeaking furiously.I know he’s doing his best in his way to back up everything I’ve said, and I love him for it.
“Oh!”April says, putting the pieces together.“Oh, Hannah, I wish you’d just told me the truth when it happened.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say sincerely.“But please believe me, April.I wasn’t trying to go after Ryder.I really don’t even like him.And I’d never try to date the same man as you.”
“I know,” April says.“And you don’t need to keep apologizing.I get it now.”She shrugs and looks embarrassed.“To be honest, I know Ryder’s not my type.The date was a bust even before he ran out.I guess my ego was just bruised.”
“Trust me, you can do a lot better than him,” I say.But my heart isn’t in it.
