Maybe she’s close with Thad, and he told her to go easy on me?
Could this werewolf be my ally?
The possibility is hard to fathom after my experience with the Bear Valley pack. Most of those wolves knew the kind of partner Cory was. They saw the bruises. With their supernatural hearing, I’m sure they caught the way he would yell at me, even if he did it behind closed doors.
None of those wolves offered any help or comfort. In fact, there was a faction of the pack, led by the pack leader’s daughter, who went out of their way to make my life hell, even outside of the house. Janeen was a tall, blonde, gorgeous woman who could be meaner than a honey badger when she didn’t get her way.
She wanted Cory.
He wanted me.
Therefore, she hated me.
After I learned the truth about Cory’s personality, I would’ve been happy to hand the asshole over. Mainly because I’d be passing him to a fearsome werewolf that could tear into him if he tried to lay hands on her. But I had no way of conveying my longing to leave him to Janeen without word getting back toCory. The moment he found out I was trying to pawn him off, I’d pay the consequences. So, I kept my mouth shut and dealt with her small acts of cruelty. All the while, we could have been on the same side.
Still, Janeen probably wouldn’t have teamed up with me even if she knew how I really felt. Humans were seen as less than in the Bear Valley pack.
I’d thought Cory was different at first. He didn’t pretend I was invisible or sneer at me when I tried talking to him. When we first met, he was charming, flirtatious, and protective. I thought I’d found a man to build a life with. I thought I was in love.
Turned out, Cory thought of me as property. Something to be owned. Something to be used. He’d said he loved me, but how can you claim to love a person if you don’t see them as an equal?
“Do you ever worry about paper cuts?” Courtney leans back in her chair so she can talk to me around Zoey, who sits between us.
Her question pulls me from the past and back to the present moment in The Wild Rabbit.
I’m not trapped with Cory anymore. Pine Falls is my home now, and I’m going to make friends and build a life here without fear.
“Not really.” I extend my hand to show her the calluses on my fingertips. “My skin is tough.”
She reaches out her own palm to cup mine briefly, and I’m proud that I don’t flinch at her touch. “Damn, these are farming hands. Don’t tell me you earned them from working in a library.”
I chuckle in response to her teasing smile. “No. Got these from rock climbing.”
Courtney’s eyes widen. “Rock climbing? That’s badass!”
“Yeah.” I smile and shrug. “Haven’t gone in a while though.” It’s been so long that I’m surprised my calluses haven’t disappeared.
The last time I went climbing was when I lived in Bear Valley. There was a decent cliff face a couple of miles outside of town, and as long as I went on foot, Cory didn’t give me a hard time about going. When I hiked somewhere, he could track me down.
I’m always aware of that now. How my scent must cling to things. How it could give me away if Cory ever goes to a place I’ve been.
The thought of it makes leaving Pine Falls, even for a short trip, uncomfortable. As if I might expose myself.
But that’s letting fear rule my life, and I’ve decided I’m done with that. If I was brave enough to camp out overnight with Zoey, I can be brave enough to travel for some good cliffs to climb.
And maybe even be brave enough to befriend a wolf.
“Do you ever climb?” I ask Courtney.
“Me? Ugh. No way. Heights are not my thing. Feet firm on the ground is what I say!” Then she leans toward me, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. “But legs in the air if the moment is right.” That comment comes paired with a waggle of her brows.
I bite my lip to keep from laughing, but Zoey lets out an inelegant snort, having overheard.
This woman has no filter.
Hester’s words come back to me.
“Do not get comfortable around the nice people in the world. Get comfortable around the honest ones.”
