Page 90 of Big Bad Wolf

“Rafe, I’m sorry.” Ruby pried one of his hands from the steering wheel and held it in her own. She pressed kisses to the back and to the palm until Rafe’s body relaxed.

“I should have left her alone after that.” His voice was rough and quiet. Endless trees flew past the windows and the road curved in front of them. “But I was a selfish bastard. I led my father right to her. I should have never⁠—”

“Don’t.” Ruby squeezed his hand and he tore his eyes from the road to glance at her. “What your father did is on his soul, not yours.”

His jaw clenched as he stared at the road ahead of them.

“I’m not her. This is different,” she told him.

He brought her hand to his lips this time, his breath warm across her knuckles when he spoke. “I know.”

This was different, but would it be enough?

They drove the rest of the way in comfortable silence, broken only by Ruby’s casual questions about his life. It was hard at first, talking about the past, like the words were stuck somewhere inside him. But Ruby just kept digging. She was like those archeologists who painstakingly brush the dust off dinosaur bones. Patiently working until the whole thing is revealed.

He told her about never knowing his mother and growing up with Theo’s instead. About his father’s expectations for him, about almost leaving the pack even before Scarlet died. None of it fixed anything, but he felt better, lighter just telling her.

He still didn’t know what to do about Ruby possibly being his Mate and he couldn’t bring himself to confess that piece of the puzzle, but God, it felt good to have her listen and still want to be near him. Maybe she’d been telling the truth the whole time. Maybe she wasn’t scared of him. He let a tiny sliver of hope work its way into his heart.

It was barely an hour drive from Maple Hollow to the trail that would lead them into the current pack lands. But by the time he was pulling the truck onto the gravel patch on the side of the road, the autumn sun was already dipping below the tree line. They should have just waited until tomorrow to come, left early and gotten to his brother and back before the sun even set, but he’d been impatient, desperate to get away, to escape his feelings for Ruby.

Clearly, that was going well.

“So, what’s the plan?” she asked as he parked.

“We’re going to have to camp here tonight and then hike in tomorrow. It’s only five miles but we won’t make it before dark.” When he’d made this plan, he figured he would shift and run the rest of the way, but he wasn’t having Ruby traipsing through the woods at night. Even though she used to do it all the time. But not for five miles and not headed straight into his brother’s territory.

Ruby’s eyes widened. “A five-mile hike? You clearly think I’m in better shape than I am.”

He couldn’t help his grin. “Your shape is perfect.”

Color crept up her neck into her cheeks. He shouldn’t take such pleasure in that. Especially not when he had no intention of fucking her. But maybe another taste wouldn’t hurt…

“And what happens when we get there?” Ruby’s question tore him away from thoughts of how delicious she was.

“Uh … not sure.” He’d been so determined to leave, to find another way to protect Ruby, a way that didn’t directly involve him, that he hadn’t really thought this plan through.

“Well…” Ruby leaned toward him, crowding him in the tiny truck cab. “I was thinking we could see if your brother has any thoughts about what Lena’s visions mean.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? I thought that was why we were going to see him.”

“I want to find out what he knows about Highlanders in our territory.”

“But you don’t want to tell him that Lena is a seer?”

Rafe swallowed a growl. The idea of telling his brother about any of this was turning his stomach. He must have been insane to think Knox could help them. He didn’t want to tell Knox anything he didn’t have to.

“As much as I hate to admit it, my brother has pull around here. He’s the Alpha. If something is going on, he’ll know about it.” He would decide how much to tell Knox later. Maybe they could get the information they needed without ever letting his Alpha brother know about Lena’s powers.

Ruby watched him as he spoke.

“He tried to kill you.”

“Yes.”

“Will he do it again?” she asked, fear threading in between her words. And the shortsightedness of his actions slammed into him. He’d brought her here. He’d led her directly into danger. Again. Just so he could keep her near. Just because she asked.