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I’d only been running for a few minutes before I ran into a tawny wolf. I didn’t recognize him by sight immediately, but I knew his smell.
Cody?
My wolf was curious enough that she allowed me to shift back, and he did the same.
“Hey!” he greeted, all cheerful and breathless. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Uh-huh,” I said. “I’m surprised to see you out here. I thought you were going to pick things up and put them down.”
To my surprise, Cody blushed a little. “Hah! Aw, yeah, I dunno. Fenris warned me not to be too intense right away or I might frighten Morgan. She seemed sort of surprised when we met, you know? I didn’t want to make it worse, but I had so much energy!” He motioned wildly with his arms, and I certainly got the picture. “She’s just—I just—I justreallywant her to like me, you know? But no one wants to be smothered! So here I am, running! Until my wolf chills out.”
“Is it working?” I said, my eyebrows rising even higher. He seemed more energetic than ever.
“I dunno. Better than freaking her out, though!” He paused, giving me a once-over. “Hey, is it true Fenris freaked you out when you met? He said he made a bad first impression.”
I blinked, surprised to hear that Fenris would ever admit that to anyone, much less to the Californian shifter. “Yes,” I said a moment later, shrugging. “But he also whisked me here when we’d only just met. He was gruff, prickly, and private, and I felt completely kept in the dark.” I snorted. “I get the feeling none of that will be your problem, though.”
He laughed. “I don’t think I could pull off dark and mysterious, but I get it. Fenris is like the shifter god, practically, and he’s been around so long! Who knows what he’s seen?”
“Yeah,” I said, sighing. I only had the slightest notion of how lonely Fenris had been.
And now he might be losing one of the only people he has.
That reminded me—I still hadn’t seen Lyka. “I have go check on something,” I said. “You keep running that energy off, yeah?”
Cody just laughed and gave me the finger guns. “You got it!” he chirped, turning around before dashing off into the jungle, his tawny wolf’s tail spinning wildly behind him.
I returned to the mansion, and Walter directed me to the saferoom beneath the home. It wasn’t difficult to find once I knew where to look.
I let myself into the hallway and found the lone room. Fenris had apparently returned here after Cody chased after Morgan. He stood silently, staring at a heavy metal door.
Approaching quietly, I stopped beside him and listened—the silence was intense. If I didn’t know Lyka was in there, I might have struggled to sense him at all. “How is he?” I asked softly, unable to listen to the stillness any longer.
Fenris sighed, tearing his gaze away from the industrial door. “I need to talk to you about something,” he said quietly, taking a step away from the door. He motioned for me to join him, and despite feeling like someone had just dropped several stones into my gut, I followed.
“What’s up?” I asked, making sure I kept my voice low. The last thing I wanted to do was disturb Lyka with whatever I was about to hear.
Fenris licked his lips, watching me with a somber expression. I’d never seen that look on his face before. I felt my stomach sink even lower, and now it dropped to my shoes while my heart rate began to pick up. I had no idea what he was about to say, but the what-ifs were already bombarding me.
What if Lyka is dying?
What ifFenrisis dying?
What if he’s going to—
“I need to apologize for what I did earlier,” Fenris said, his voice solemn.
“What?” I blurted out before he could continue. My heart skipped a beat.Apologize?That was one of the last things I’d expected from him.
He sighed heavily, and I realized he was almost physically struggling with what he wanted to say. “For almost…for almost using an alpha command on you,” Fenris continued.
I blinked, barely able to process what was happening, but at least I was staying quiet.
“I was scared—no, I was terrified of what might happen to you if you continued doing that. In that moment, I allowed myself—and my wolf—to react like we always would. But you aren’t everyone else, Celeste.” Fenris drew a sharp breath as if that very thought offended him. “You are nothing like them. I shouldn’t have treated you like that.” He paused, and I held my breath, afraid to break whatever spell had fallen over us. “And I am sorry I almost used an alpha command on you. That shouldn’t have even crossed my mind.”
I licked my lips, suddenly at a loss for what to say. “I think you might have if I hadn’t interrupted you.” It wasn’t meant to be an accusation, but I couldn’t help myself. What Fenris had done, what he’dalmostdone…that hurt. “I feel like you don’t trust me.”
“I think I might have, too,” Fenris said, and that honesty stung, but I knew a lie would’ve hurt more. Both of us knew what he’d planned to do in that moment, and it wasn’t okay. At least he’d admitted to that. “And Idotrust you, Celeste, but if I lose you—”
