Page 71 of Big Bad Wolf

Sawyer blew out a long breath from across the room. “Holy shit. You okay, Ruby?”

Ruby offered him a weak smile. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

Rafe grumbled softly, his intense gaze on the screen, waiting for Eloise to return. Callie’s hand was still on Ruby’s leg, and she gave it a light squeeze.

“It’s going to be okay,” Callie said but even as she said it, rain pelted the window and a rumble of thunder echoed in the distance. “Ignore that,” she said with an apologetic smile.

A soft brush of fur ran across Ruby’s calves, and she looked down to find a gray cat staring up at her with amber eyes. She reached down and scratched between its ears. The cat purred in response.

“You got a cat?” Ruby asked, grateful for the distraction.

“Oh, that’s Iggy.”

Ruby let the little cat’s purr vibrate through her fingers, focusing on that instead of her racing heart. She hadn’t seen her own cat in days, she realized now. He must be hiding from their new house guest or hanging out in Lena’s room away from the giant wolf that had taken up residence in Ruby’s.

Iggy weaved in and out of her legs before settling on top of her boots.

Eloise appeared back on the screen. She set a stack of books on the table with a thud.

“Now, let’s see what we’ve got,” she said with grim determination and opened the first one.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The ride home was quiet, both of them processing everything they had discussed with Eloise. She’d given them exercises Lena could try to still her mind and access her visions as well as some history she’d found about this power. But none of it would help if they didn’t actually tell Lena what was going on.

Not to mention the whole wolves were trying to kidnap her and may still want to kidnap Lena theory. Ruby didn’t love that. And by the way Rafe was death-gripping the steering wheel, Ruby assumed he didn’t love it either.

Rafe pulled the truck in front of the tiny cottage Ruby called home. She didn’t budge when he turned off the engine.

“Should we go in?” he asked, his voice gruff.

“I just need a minute.”

“Okay.” He stayed facing the windshield, watching the rain drops slide down the glass. Between the early sunset and the gray clouds covering the sky, it was already getting dark. Ruby used to love the dark back when she could daydream about what lived in the shadows of the trees. Having it all confirmed was more terrifying than she would like to admit.

“I have to tell you something.”

Rafe’s jaw ticked. “Okay.”

“I had a dream when I was a kid. Or I thought it was a dream. But maybe it was … something else.”

He turned to face her. “What do you mean?”

“Before my parents’ accident I had a dream that it would happen. I tried to convince them not to go but they thought I was being silly. They went anyway … and then…”

“Jesus, Ruby.”

“I know! I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before when you asked if it ran in the family. I didn’t think it did. What happens to Lena is so different from what happened to me, but now with this whole mistaken identity thing… Maybe it isn’t a mistake. Maybe they would take either of us?”

“They won’t take either of you,” he growled through clenched teeth.

“Okay,” she whispered.

The windows had fogged over, their warm bodies competing with the cold air outside. She turned to face him, one leg tucked under the other.

“You have a hole in your tights.” He said it like it hurt him. He traced the tiny hole with one big finger. Ruby shivered.

“I’m sorry,” she said.