AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Instead, I dug out my phone. My soul clenched as my message thread with Sterling popped to the top of the list. No new messages. Of course. I gripped the phone while grief so intense my body trembled rattled through me.
He isn’t dead yet. It’s not over.
But the hope wassohard to cling to. I’d fallen over the edge, and now I was falling, falling, falling.
I forced myself to scroll to Hamid’s name instead.
The breeze through the open window was nice.
Winter [Hamid]
I need a plane on standby for a flight to Norway. Not sure when I’ll be leaving, but when I decide, I need to go.
Little dots danced for a moment.
Hamid
Which airport?
Winter [Hamid]
A major one. Your choice.
Hamid
Just you?
Winter [Hamid]
Probably.
Hamid
Are you visiting family?
Winter [Hamid]
Yes. Unsanctioned, unapproved, unscheduled.
Hamid
Understood.
I put the phone back in my nightstand just as Searle came out of the closet, finishing the button on his shirt. I twisted towards him. “So is AmberHowl etiquette for me to grovel, or for me to be invited back?”
“Neither. We approach the food. If we are growled at, we retreat. Otherwise, we proceed on as if nothing happened. Follow my lead.”
“What do you think the odds are of us eating?”
“That depends. Do you want to tackle this this morning, or would you prefer to antagonize the situation?”
Continuing a power struggle with Marcella sounded intriguing, especially if Searle was on board with it. Ambition was a dangerous vice to indulge in a wolf pack, but only pups got spoon-fed. Everyone else took. “Tell me more about the second option.”
“We can find our own meal. I’ll take you to the mill with me.”
“I can hunt my own food.” Although I had a twinge of curiosity about this feed mill Searle managed. He always came home smelling of hay and grains and sunlight and earth.
A chuckle from him. “Food banishment comes with loss of hunting privileges. You’re reduced to scavenging. I don’t like your scent, so I’m not letting you go hungry.”
