Page 17 of Hunted By Wolves and Shadow
I was supposed to end it.
I grunted as she caught me in the shin again with one of those feisty little feet of hers. I was sick of that, too. “Enough.” I told her. “Just stop. I don't want to hurt you.”
“Too bad, because I want to hurt you,” she spat back like an angry wildcat.
“Put your claws away, kitten. I might not want to hurt you, but I can’t die yet either, so that leaves us at a bit of an impasse.”
She fumed. Firelight reflected in her eyes and danced over her fair skin. Woodsmoke mixed with vanilla in the air, and the fire popped merrily in direct contrast with our tense conflict.
Done with this, I dropped her arm and strode to the window. A dark shadow flitted between tree trunks, low to the ground. Too small to be Bear. Lynx maybe? Or Fox? Whoever was checking on me, I wished they’d leave. Fenrir was still close, and I didn't like the idea of my people in danger before we could deal with the uncontrolled fenriswulf.Curses and clouds, this was my responsibility.
Those witches had lied! Their prophecy was a farce!
With a heavy sigh, I faced the witch in the room with me. “Look, you can keep trying to kill me, witchling, but it's not happening. If you're not going to use magic, then you definitely don't have the skills to end me.”
She glowered. I doubted she meant for it to be kind of cute. “You have to sleep sometime,” she threatened. “And it doesn't look like we're going anywhere soon.”
I could leave, of course. The wolf could roam these woods in the Mist without much concern. But despite Emi's presence being a wrinkle I never expected, I still needed to figure out why Ruby's death hadn’t worked, and I couldn't do that if I tucked my tail and ran away.
If Emi kept denying any knowledge of magic, then I was back where I started, unless I wanted to try torture. I’d save that option for now. As a last resort, I could kill her, and see ifthe witch’s blood part of the prophecy extended to her blood relatives. That idea soured my stomach. I had no desire to kill again when I didn’t even know if it would do anything, especially when, for some stupid reason, applying that thought to Emi made me want to throw up.
Either I’d missed something, or those scheming witches neglected to tell me some part of the prophecy. They probably did, knowing witches and their secrets.
“I guess it's a good thing I have the lock on my side of the bedroom door,” I told her with a smug flick of my eyebrows.
I would not feel bad for leaving her to the couch, that squirm in my belly notwithstanding. I had my reasons and they still stood, and that was that. And now I had one more reason to put a lock between us that I controlled. I needed safety and time to think over what to do about my feisty new problem.
“All this silly hand waving and handbags has made me want a nap,” I said, sauntering to the bedroom door.
My hand was on the doorknob when something whistled past my head. The knife from the kitchen counter quivered in the wood paneling on the wall beside the door frame. Slowly, I turned to face a trembling Emi, her cheeks as red as her hair, fury marking every line of her body. The sight sent an unexpected energy through me, like the crackle of a fire catching.
“Your aim needs work,” I said, ignoring the way my heart thumped and my body buzzed as I closed the door on her indignant scream.
Chapter 8
Emi
That man was the most maddening…the most infuriating…utterly vile, that’s what he was.
How had this happened? Where had everything gone so wrong? I’d set out to visit Grandma, and now she was gone, and Wolf was here, and he was so... He was just so...Ugh.
Another frustrated cry wrenched from my throat.
He didn't emerge from the closed door.
Aimlessly, I wandered to the kitchen, reaching for one of the leftover biscuits before remembering how Wolf had made them the night before. I took the last of them out the back door and hurled them as far as I could into the trees. Maybe that monster would choke on one and die.
I couldn’t see the beast anymore, but Mist lapped at the boundaries of the clearing, waves rolling and retreating as though they could draw the cottage into their wake. It was strange, the way it had never encroached on the cottage before. Somehow, I’d never given it any thought, but as I looked around at the banks skirting Grandma’s garden, I realized how odd it was. What about this place had always repelled the thickest fog?How had it been clear enough for Grandma Ruby to stay and even grow this lush garden when nowhere else could get enough light?
It had always been this way, so I’d taken it for granted that Grandma was safe here, but it truly was strange. Mist drew closer than ever now, which must be why I was just realizing this. Had it only been a matter of time? Was it coincidence that it had finally reached the cottage right after Grandma’s death?
My skin felt too tight, and I rubbed a brisk stroke up and down my arms. Grandma Ruby, a witch?Ha. No, I wasn’t letting Wolf get to me.
All that mattered was getting away from the killer who made me act without thinking. I had to be smarter.
As soon as I could, I was leaving. I'd find a hunter brave enough to come back with me, and we'd track down Wolf and exact justice for Grandma.
I wasn't letting him get away with this. I was done sitting by while life happened around me. No one at home ever took me seriously, but this wasn’t something that would be brushed off or ignored. They’d have to listen this time. They’d have to notice.
