Page 72 of Knot What I Expected

Whatever. Wild animal and all.

But I do have manners.

Sometimes.

Besides, Gia is family now.

Or whatever the hell we’re calling this thing we’ve built up on the mountain.

Clan. Pack. Crew.

I don’t fucking know.

But she’s Wreck’s mate, which means she matters.

The cashier comes back carrying Wreck’s bag.

“Oh, that journal is lovely,” she says when I set it on the counter. “Is it a gift?”

I stare at her.

She swallows.

“Right. Of course it is.”

I grunt.

“For someone expecting?”

Another stare.

“Sorry.”

She finally shuts up.

Smart woman.

Next, she rings me up. I pay, grab both bags, and head for the exit.

Mission accomplished.

Now I can leave this cursed fucking place and never return.

I’m maybe fifty feet from freedom when it hits me.

A scent.

Faint at first. Almost buried beneath cinnamon pretzels, perfume, floor cleaner, and a dozen other smells.

But Monster catches it. And the Wolf in me explodes to attention.

I stop dead.

Woodsmoke.

Crisp blue skies.

September mornings when the air is cool enough to bite at your lungs.