Page 29 of The Weakest Wolf

Luckily, Galen didn’t order me to leave the farmhouse. He seemed content to stay in the lounge watching a football game on TV. Not that I went in there.

Even though I set the table for lunch and dinner, and made enough food for ten, when I went in after to clear everything away, only his plate was dirty.

It seemed like he wanted as little to do with the pack as I did.

Just as I’m about to call my wolf again, I feel the barest flicker of emotion. The wolf side of me doesn’t speak, at least not in words. She uses images and memory and feeling.

The image that flashes up in my mind is of a dark brown wolf covered by a heavy blanket. She’s burrowing deeper. Wants to hide.

I know you’re afraid. I am too. But we have to do this for Mom and Dad. We have to make them pay.

An image of a wolf sprinting through a forest too lush and green for it to be Stone pack land plays like a movie in my head.

I know we’re not in Dexter because she’s happy. Not only happy but free, at ease in a way that I’ve never felt here.

The sleek brown wolf runs and runs, and as she does, I feel her joy.

My eyes fill with tears because she’s never had that before. But she wants it. I feel her need.

That’s what I want for both of us.

But first Bowen has to die.

We can’t run away. Not now that we’re so close. We have to stay and fight.

There are no more images, but I know she’s still there. Still listening. I fill this new silence with all the things I could never—would never—share with anyone. I show her my fear, my terror, how alone I feel.

I don’t want to be alone anymore.

It isn’t fair.

Her presence surrounds me. Makes me feel warm.

I know I have you.

Now I show her a picture—my deepest want—one that will never feel complete while Bowen is still alive.

I show her the same brown wolf. This time she isn’t running alone, but with a pack.

With family.

More tears fill my eyes because I know how bad this pack run is going to be. I’ll be hurting my wolf, but I can’t walk away from this. I justcan’t.

“If you’ve changed your mind,” Galen’s voice rings out. “That’s okay. We can go for a walk and maybe work something else out.”

His tone is friendly, but I know he’s no friend.

I don’t respond. At least not to him.

We can’t tell him where Eden is. He would hurt her and she’s suffered enough. You remember, don’t you?

I feel her agreement, and a second later it’s accompanied by a memory of Eden’s eyes, one blue, one green, but both filled with torment.

All Eden was to Jared was someone to clean his house, warm his bed, and be a punching bag when things didn’t go his way. And when he wasn’t around, she had to deal with his brother, Jaxon, who took every opportunity to grope her.

We can’t tell him where Eden is. We can’t.

My shift begins slowly, as it always does. An alpha can shift in seconds, but submissives aren’t that lucky. When I’ve slipped away for a rare run on my own, it's taken ten minutes for me to shift. This time, it feels even slower than usual. If it takes less than twenty minutes, I’d be surprised.

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