Page 19 of Big Bad Wolf

“I don’t… I don’t understand.”

“The forest gave Wolf his mate. Fate says that Red belongs to Wolf. She is here now. And she will stay.”

CHAPTER 7

ESCAPE

He seems so certain, it would be cruel to set him straight. Especially since I need to make it through the next day and a half before I can leave Blackmoor and, as I meet his stare, I have to admit that I’m looking at my best chance of survival.

Still, I can’t stop myself from saying, “Shit. You really don’t understand the concept of choice, do you?”

He considers that for a moment. “Wolf understands. Red chooses.” He pauses for a moment, coming to an obvious decision. “Red will choose Wolf.”

Uh-oh. The way he seems so sure about that shouldn’t send a shiver down my spine the way it does...

I stand up again before he can notice. Fat chance since Wolf notices everything, but it’s worth a shot. “Just saying, but that sounds suspiciously like not understanding, Wolf.”

He rises, too, towering over me in that way that somehow feels less frightening now than it did the first time I saw him. Which is probably a terrible sign that I’m actually getting used to the giant wolf-man.

“Red stays,” he grates out. “Wolf goes.”

What? “What do you mean?” I ask him. That doesn’t make sense… “Goes where?”

He sets his jaw, fangs overhanging his lower lip before he rumbles, “Wolf needs to reinforce his territory. To make sure that no one else comes after his Red.”

Okay. Never mind. That does make sense. Territorial markings… that seems like something a wolf would do, whether he’s standing on two legs or four.

“Why? Do you think someone will?”

Wolf shrugs, though that makes me wonder if he caught something on the wind when he went outside to empty the chamber pot and fill the water basin for me.

He steps close enough to brush his knuckles down my arm. “Red stays here.”

I make a soft, vague sound that means absolutely nothing because, yeah… there’s no way I’m promising that.

Wolf holds my gaze for a long second, like he knows exactly what I’m not agreeing to. Torn between wanting to keep me safe inside and making sure there aren’t any threats out there, he bends slightly, pressing his nose briefly to my temple in an obviously affectionate gesture, then turns for the door.

Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool me twice, shame on me.

Despite every nerve in my body telling me to go, I’m not about to give Wolf the chance to catch me in the act. I force myself to count to one hundred before I tiptoe for the front door. I peek out of the window first, searching for Wolf. When I don’t see him, I ease open the door and stick my head out into the cool night air.

Still no sign of him.

I strain my ears, wondering if I’ll hear him before remembering how easily he stalked me last night. I didn’t know he was there until he wanted me to know, and I’m sure it’ll be the same now… but that doesn’t stop me.

If I stay like he wants me to, he’ll never let me go. I know that all the way down to my bones, and though I feel terrible cutting out on him like this, I don’t think I have a choice.

Outside, as late as it is, the air is cool enough to sting my cheeks. It doesn’t help that I’m basically half-naked without my cloak. My teeth begin to chatter almost right away, but I clamp my jaw closed before I lose the tip of my tongue, and I run.

Do I know where I’m going? Haha. Yeah, right. Considering I was still dead asleep in a faint when Wolf brought me here, I have no idea where I am or how far the cottage is from the place he found me. Not like I have any idea how to get there, either. I’m woefully lost, but all I need to do is put some distance between me and Wolf.

I do.

It’s not enough.

I want to think I was braced for it when I first heard the howl blasting through the night, but I’d be lying. I stumble as soon as Wolf makes himself known, trying to gauge the distance between us.