“All the little town lights. I definitely knew it was a village.”
Her words make me very uneasy. The idea of innocent humans stumbling across the shifter towns and potentially running into the ancient snake is not a pretty one.
This is exactly why Wolf’s Shadow exists. To prevent breaches like this. What the fuck is going on?
“Hello, Brad,” Alisha snaps. “You’ve gone off planet. Come in, Brad.”
“Sorry. This is just really odd. Anyway, that’s where we’re going. It’s a nice place.”
“So, it’s your home? Like, you have family there?”
“No, not that kind of home. I recently retired from my work, and I’ve become alpha here to help the people.”
I cut the sentence off the second I realized what I’m saying. Alisha’s eyes widen a little, and she looks purely innocent and a little surprised. It softens me a little, but I keep my guard up, too.
I can’t reveal everything to her. Even though my time at WS has ended, it’s still all secret stuff, and I remind myself that I really have no idea who she is or what she’s doing out here.
And how she was able to find the town. Is she an agent? This can’t be random.
“How far is it?” she asks.
“Not far now,” I answer, gesturing up the track. “A couple of miles.”
“Okay, then,” she says, turning to walk ahead of me.
As I follow her, I notice how disheveled she is. Her clothes are smudged with dirt and torn in places. She looks tired and hungry, as if it’s been days since she had a proper meal or a shower.
If she’s an agent, this is a hell of a push.
Even though I try to keep my guard up, I can’t really believe that she’s out here to infiltrate Eccles. The more I look at her, the more convinced I am that she’s lost, hurt, and in extremely deep trouble.
And it’s my fault!
Even though I can’t be responsible for all the choices that led her here, I know damn well that if I hadn’t left her, none of this would have happened. At the time, I did what I had to do, and I knew that I was protecting her by leaving.
I just never really thought about what would happen after I was gone.
The woods begin to thin out, and I can see the first line of buildings ahead. I direct Alisha to a narrow street at the edge of town, and then to my small cottage. As I take her inside, I get ready for another verbal battle, but she just looks up at me with her wide, violet eyes, her pretty pink lips pressed together as if she’s holding back a scream.
My guilt rises, so powerful that a hard lump forms in my throat.
She looks so fragile. I can’t believe I did this to her. I will keep her safe now at any cost—even if I have to do it against her will.
“Alisha,” I say. “Are you okay?”
She shakes her head. A sharp stab of frustration pricks through my guilt and misery.
“Why don’t you go upstairs and take a shower? I’ll leave some fresh clothes at the door for you and make something to eat.”
She shrugs and turns away, heading for the stairs. I feel empty and lost, knowing that her silence is so much worse than her fury.
After she’s safely locked in the bathroom, I hurry to the bedroom and leave an old sweater and soft sweatpants by the door, then hurry to the kitchen. Even though I don’t cook much, I do happen to have some sweet tomato pasta sauce and a packet of ravioli.
It used to be her favorite food. Hopefully, it will cheer her up a bit.
It doesn’t take long to throw the meal together, and I heat up some garlic bread to go with it. By the time Alisha comes into the kitchen, I’m putting everything on the table. As she sits down, I grab two ice-cold beers and put one down in front of her.
“Thank you,” she says, almost gasping with pleasure as she grabs the small bottle and twists off the top. Alisha gulps the beer down, and when she puts it back on the table, it’s almost empty.
