Page 26 of The Strongest Wolf

I glance at our joined hands. “A breakfast date, and now we’re holding hands? What are you up to, Galen Hunt?” I ask, growing more and more alarmed that he’s planningsomething.

“Not what you’re thinking,” he says, grabbing the diner door.

“What am I thinking?”

His eyes are knowing as he peers over his shoulder. “We’ll get to that.”

Get towhat?

After pulling the door open, he leads the way inside a yummy-smelling old-style diner with silver bar stools lining a counter and red leather booths on the far side of the white and black space.

With all the booths full and only one stool free, I follow Galen to the dark-haired guy in a white apron, smiling at us from the other side of the counter.

“Morning,” he calls out. “How can I help you?”

I lean a little closer to Galen and speak in a murmur. “Uh, Galen. There aren’t any free seats.”

Which is kind of surprising for a town this small. Guess this place must be popular.

“We’re not staying,” Galen replies with his back to me.

Just when I thought this morning couldn’t get any more confusing, Galen opens his mouth. “Then where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Before I can ask him why he’s being so secretive, he’s ordering an assortment of muffins and pastries, along with two black coffees, to go.

He doesn’t ask how I like my coffee or what muffins are my favorite, because Galen knows. In two weeks, he’s learned most of my likes and dislikes, and he’s not the only one. I could walk into a restaurant or coffee shop with Galen and be able to order something he liked without having to think too hard about it. I never believed I’d know anyone that well, or let them knowmethat well.

With so many of the casually dressed patrons casting curious looks at the strangers in their midst, I hold back my questions until Galen has paid and we’re heading out with our food. Just as Luka predicted, no one seems to even notice my bare feet.

“Galen,” I say the moment the door slams closed behind us. “What is going on?”

“It’s a surprise.”

I stop walking.

The second I do, he halts and turns back to me. “Sierra?”

My mind flashes back to all the surprises in my past. I can think of one good one: my parents giving me a locket filled with their pictures as a birthday present. That’s it. So the fewer surprises in my future, the better. “I’d rather you just told me.”

Concern softens his emerald eyes. “Baby, it’s nothing bad.”

His wanting to make me Luna might not be bad for him, but it might not be good for me. Since I can’t tell him that, I say nothing. Just grip my paper coffee cup a little harder and scramble desperately for a way I can get out of this date that’s feeling like more of a trap.

Galen regards me steadily. “Sierra, do you trust me?”

I don’t even have to think about it. “Yes.”

Relief flashes across his face as he takes a step toward me and bends his head close to mine. “Then trust me.”

A long, searching look later, and I nod. “Okay.”

His lips curve in a smile. “Good. Come on.”

So I follow Galen back to his truck, and even though I’m desperate to ask him where we’re going and why, I choke down my questions as he drives us back up the mountain, only half-listening as he tells me about his pack and a town called Wylder.

About fifteen minutes later, he turns down a side road which is little more than a beaten track before he slows and cuts the engine. It is most definitely not Blackshaw land.

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