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“Do they normally plow the roads at this time of night?” he asked.
“If they do, it’s never out this far.”
My dad slipped back inside his yurt while Seff, Deck, and I stood listening, waiting for a sign the Snow Cat had turned around. But it didn’t. My mom and the twins emerged from the yurt in their wolf forms less than a minute later. Arteisma and Nereida ran to me. Their little wolf bodies were stiff with anxiety. I knelt and hugged them both.
“You know what to do.”
They wiggled away from me and jumped into Seff’s outstretched arms.
His dark brows scrunched together, and he said in a low, deep voice, “Show me your warrior fangs.”
His lips curled back, flashing his sharp, elongated canines as he let out a growl. Both Arteisma and Nereida looked stunned for a second. Then, they curled their upper lips, pinched their foreheads in concentration as their much shorter fangs descended a bit farther. The growls they returned in unison were menacing enough to prickle the hairs along the back of my neck.
“Good.” He kissed them both and let them go. “Go on ahead. We’ll find you after we check out this snowplow.”
Something inside me squeezed so hard I could hardly take a breath.
Arteisma and Nereida had run to Seff. He’d scooped them up like they were his own offspring, demanded their bravery without making them feel like they had to defend themselves, and he’d kissed them.
Seff grinned. “What?”
I just smiled. “Nothing.”Everything. “I...” I paused, the wordslove youstuck in my throat.It wasn’t time. I wasn’t ready. I should be. We were bound through thesakanabond. I should say the words, not hold them in as though I could tell him tomorrow. I sniffled and started again. “I—”
A hard nudge at my hip had me looking down to see my dad in his wolf form. Decker was already waiting, his clothing in a pile at the end of the walkway. The sound of the Snow Cat’s engine grew closer.
I sucked in a deep breath but caught no scent in the air. “We need to go.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
After stripping offthe rest of our clothing, Seff and I followed my dad, slipping between the snow-laden trees to run parallel to the road. Down the mountain, the row of lights across the cab of the Snow Cat twinkled in and out of sight. Two pairs of SUV headlights followed close behind.
“They weren’t foolin’ when they said they were on their way.” Seff had taken on his human form. “I know four of ’em, but one, a female, her scent...” He paused and stared out into the darkness.
I lifted my nose and pulled the icy air into my lungs. Each inhale of breath filled me with nothing but pine and the slight odor of diesel fumes. How had Seff scented them already? The wind barely moved the heavy snowflakes dancing around in front of my face. I glanced up and gave Seff a questioning look.
“There’s nine altogether. Eight wolves. A human is driving the snowplow.” Turning around, Seff sniffed at the icy air once more. “That’s weird.”
I looked in the direction Seff had turned. Bumping his hip, I gazed up at him.
“Is...was there an ancient wolf in your pack recently? A visitor or someone?”
I shook my head. Our pack rarely had outside visitors. The oldest wolf in our pack had been Coleman, and he hadn’t been much over one hundred and fifty years old.
My dad huffed, giving the signal to move on. Seff shifted back into his wolf. He sidled up beside me, nipped at my neck before rubbing the length of his big brown body against mine. I sensed no fear in him, no anxiety.
