“Lily was released late yesterday, in fact. She’s on her feet again, vitals stable. The physical recovery is one thing—the emotional healing will take longer, but Kendrick was eager to bring her home. At least, her home here, for now. I’m not sure what their long-term plan is. As you know, Kendrick’s both Lune of his clan in the Pacific Northwest, but also Máni of our people. He won’t want to stay here much longer, I’m sure.”
My smile gets obnoxiously brighter the more he talks. Wolves and privacy—two things that apparently don’t mix. Aside from Lily’s medical condition, I’m grateful for his candidness. Because now I know. Whether Kendrick is my biological father or not, this place isn’t his home, and he isn’t staying here.
I guess I’m not either.
The thought twists inside me. Another place that was almost mine. Love I could almost hold onto.
“We should get going,” Andrea says, eyes narrowing on me, as if she can sense the spiraling panic threatening to cut me off at my knees.
“Right,” I agree. But my eyes linger on Doc’s face, on the smile that crinkles at the corners of his eyes. How many centuries has he walked this earth? And still, he finds joy in life. A reason to smile. Before I can stop myself, my feet are moving, and suddenly my arms encircle his tall frame. His chest rumbles with laughter, a sound both wild and warm.
I can feel him absorbing my omega energy, and I let it calm my nerves. This is good. I’m doing the right thing. I kiss Doc on the cheek, and he’s still chuckling jovially when we exit the hospital. Gingerly, I lift myself up into the seat, careful not to clink any of the glass vials in my pants.
Andrea is not stupid. I catch the slight tilt of her head, the way she’s studying me. It doesn’t matter. My plan has to work—there’s no other option. I gesture vaguely at the road ahead.
“Ready when you are,” I say, voice flat.
Andrea makes a noncommittal sound as she shifts into drive. The hospital shrinks in the rearview mirror as we wind our way down the mountain.
I force myself to stare at the trees as I leave this place that has become my home, possibly for the last time. But when we turn onto the dirt road that leads past the diner and toward the gas station, reality settles over me like a shroud.
This is it. I’m leaving.
It’s unrealistic to imagine I might ever return. I’ve seen what Deidre does to her toys. And if I’m the only one left… if she gets what she wants, and we’re still buried in some silo, somewhere in this country, there’s no way my mates will ever find me.
My vision blurs at the edges. I blink rapidly, refusing to acknowledge the tears.
The diner comes into view, and before we can drive past it, I hear myself blurting out, “Stop. Wait, pull over.”
It’s a bad idea, reckless. I’ve got too many secrets I can’t afford to expose, there’s too much on the line. But somehow, I know he’s here. And I need to see him, just once, before I leave.
My throat tightens as I push open the truck door and plant my feet on the ground, moving before doubt can pull me back.
Andrea scans the empty road, first left, then right. “You know, we’re really not supposed to leave grounds without a team of enforcers. Gray and Kendrick assured me the witches aren’t an immediate threat, but…” Her eyes find mine, intense and insistent. “Just stay where I can see you. Alright?”
“It’s just a diner, Andrea.”
“Sure,” she mutters, then yanks the door open. A bell announces our arrival with a cheerful jingle. The diner buzzes with activity, which seems unusual for a weekday morning—every head swivels toward us as we enter.
I’d planned on slipping away at the gas station, but this crowd might offer better cover.
I didn’t know he’d be here, but I suspected. Maybe it’s that familiarity I couldn’t place before I knew who he was to me, but now I recognize it—I feel his presence differently, like there’s an awareness of him I don’t have with other shifters.
We barely make it through the door when the ambush begins. Lily’s recent release, and since they own the diner, means her entire family has gathered here, and her mother zeroes in on me immediately. She tries to thank me for finding Lily, refusing to listen to my protests that I had nothing to do with it.
I take advantage, though, and ask if I can order one of everything, like I did last time. “To take home to my mates,” I tell her numbly, which earns me a grandmotherly pinch on the cheek before hurrying away to prepare a bag.
I tug on Andrea’s sleeve. “You grabbed cash from the hospital?”
She nods. Silent Peak, and most other shifter clans, share their finances. Money means little to them, and community buildings like the hospital, the meeting house, the dining hall, all have a small cash box in case someone needs to run an errand or buy something from the humans.
I love the way they live. And I feel another pang of regret when Andrea hands over her entire wallet full of cash, without question. “I’m going to pay for the pastries,” I tell her.
Not lying, not really. But Andrea’s nostrils flare slightly, as if her wolf can scent my half-truth. I’ve been lying all morning, and wolves can sense lies. When she finally just shrugs, the tension in my shoulders ease.
Slipping through the crowd, I feel her at my back, following diligently. I need to find a way to shake her.
My opportunity arrives in the form of a brown-haired shifter whose fixed, genial smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. He stares at me with unsettling intensity, then he presses his lips to his mate’s temple before sliding out of the booth and making his way toward me with deliberate steps.
