Page 43 of Stealthy as a Wolf

I couldn’taffordto be that girl.

“Do we have a plan?” Burke walked toward the window, scanning the still dark parking lot, the sunrise just a hint on the horizon.

When Grady stirred beneath me, I wanted to smack Burke for waking him and the other guys up. As if he could sense my irritation, Burke turned, but his dark expression stopped me from ripping into him. “What’s wrong?”

“We don’t have much time left before they locate us,” Boone was the one who answered. “We can’t linger much longer. We need a plan.”

Knowing they were right, I reluctantly sat up, wrapping my arms around myself when a chill seemed to seep down to my bones. Because if I was going to travel with the men, I needed to tell them the truth. Going with them would put them in even more danger, and they had a right to know I was a wanted woman.

I just had to gather enough courage to tell them.

* * *

MATTY

Ignoring everyone else in the room, I focused on Maggie, and the hairs on the back of my neck lifted. As I watched, her bright golden eyes dimmed, darkness swallowing every spark of her glittering personality, leaving behind only a ghost of the girl who was becoming my new obsession.

While she might’ve been here physically, she essentially vanished before my eyes.

Call it instinct or intuition or second sight, but I knew with a certainty that she was going to leave.

That thought was worse than the prospect of being captured and sent back to prison.

Warmth filled my center as the animal I bonded with surged forward in protest, and I completely agreed. I had always been content to be alone, doing things my own way, so I wasn’t surprised when a standoffish dick of a house cat chose me as its person.

Things were different with Maggie.

She made me yearn for more. I wanted to see her smile, cuddle with her when she was sad, and protect her when she was scared.

She was a piece of myself that I hadn’t known was missing.

I couldn’t lose her now, or I very much feared the mangy cat who adopted me would finally turn feral. I fought it when my sister went missing and my family fell apart. I fought it while I had been locked up in prison.

I didn’t have the heart to fight it anymore, not without Maggie standing by my side.

I rose to my feet, then dropped to my knees in front of her, my cat clawing up my insides with the need to convince her to stay.

Though it was stupid—we just met, for fuck’s sake—I was convinced I wouldn’t be able to survive without her. Maybe I was being dramatic, but only my own determination had kept me alive this long. If she left, I wouldn’t have anything left.

“Maggie…talk to me.” The rest of the room fell silent. I grabbed her hand as if I could keep her with me through sheer will alone.

“I can’t go with you.” When she tried to pull away, I tightened my grip.

A lump clogged my throat, my insides churning with dread, but I refused to let my fears take hold. “Then I will go with you.”

It was the obvious choice.

Theonlychoice.

Maggie cupped my cheek, and I leaned into her touch, hope bubbling up in my chest. It was like she was caressing my very soul.

Then she shattered it with her next words.

“You will have a better chance of reaching the Summit without me.” She pulled her hand away, already shutting down, already shutting us out, and the loss gutted me.

“Don’t.” I tightened my grip to keep my hands from trembling, struggling to keep my lungs from seizing in panic.

“You already have a group of people after you. If I go with you, that number will double, and your chances of survival will drop drastically.”

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