I expect the wolf to hurry off into the brush. To my amusement, he follows me. Sticking much closer than a wild animal normally would, so close his fur nearly brushes my ankle.
“Hey, I’m really sorry about your mother,” I tell him. “Nothing personal. She was trying to murder a human.”
He keeps trudging along beside me, and there’s something sort of comforting about his company. If something bigger and scarier jumped out of the trees and tried to rip my throat out, this thing couldn’t defend me in the slightest, but at least I wouldn’t die alone.
“You remind me of Jim’s old cattle dog. Her name was Princess. She was always on his heels, everywhere he went.”
The wolf cocks his head, peering up at me. I swear he’s following my every word.
“Oh, you don’t want to know what happened to her,” I say glumly. “Trust me.”
One of his ears quirks up.
“Fine. You asked for it. She got mauled by a white coyote. It was such a sad day.” I step over a gnarled tree root. “I should name you after her. How about Prince? Do you want to be Prince?”
My jaw drops when he lets out a little yip.
“Oh my God, you totally understand me, don’t you?”
His tail is wagging now. I wish Uncle Jim were here. He always said I had a way with animals. He did, too. I think he liked them better than people.
My good spirits don’t last much longer, as I can barely see ten feet ahead of me now.
“We’re losing the light,” I say, biting my lip.
I stop to check the map. I’m still several hours from the Dagger. Shit.
The wolf trots beside me as I pick up the pace, but after another hour, there’s no light at all. I switch on my comm torch, but it’s not strong enough to cast more than a weak glow. If I keep going in the dark, I could trip and sprain my ankle. Or fall and smash my head against a rock. I can’t navigate this mountain blind.
Ten more minutes, I decide. I’ll walk ten more minutes and then call it a night—
My foot suddenly catches on a hidden root in the underbrush, and I go flying forward. I almost recover my balance, only to trip on another root and tumble down the hill face forward. I brace the fall with my hands, scraping them against sharp rocks that then proceed to shred the knees of my jeans.
I scream my frustration as blood blossoms on my palms, skin torn from my downhill skid. My knees are bloody, too. I push myself to my feet, my heart beating fast in my chest.
Breathing hard, I glance at Prince, who peers up at me in disapproval.
“Yes,” I grumble at him. “I fell. People fucking fall, Prince.”
After a second, he ambles toward me and nudges the back of my hand with his nose. I don’t know if he’s encouraging me to keep walking or stay put, but continuing is totally out of the question.
“Sorry, buddy. I think it’s time to call it.”
I hate admitting defeat. I hate it. But after hours of denying Adrienne, I finally reach out to her mind.
“Where are you?”she chides.“Ford is threatening to burn down the Dagger because he thinks we did something nefarious to you. And Gray is about to send out a search party.”
“I, ah, decided to camp out tonight.”
It’s a flimsy lie, but it’s better than admitting that Evlynne stranded me on the mountain. That doesn’t inspire competence on my part, and I want to prove myself to Adrienne and the others.
“What do you mean, camp out?”
“I needed to clear my head, so I went for a hike, but it got dark fast. I don’t want to risk hiking back when I can’t see my own feet in front of me. I figured I’d make camp and head back at first light.”
“You’re spending the night on the mountain. Alone.”Adrienne sounds baffled.
“I’ll be fine. I camped out all the time on the ranch, and I’m armed.”
