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As I headed back down the stairs, my phone buzzed with a text. I pulled it out and my vision blurred so that I could barely read it. My head swam as if I might collapse and fall down the steps.
It’syour husband
I’m back from the dead
Aren’t you happy, honey?
We’re all going to be together
Come meet Dylan and me
My mother must have givenhim my phone number.
A second later, another text pinged, my phone buzzing in my hand. The feeling made me want to throw my phone in revulsion. Just having this connection to Nathan sickened me.
Don’t tellanyone
My pack is watching
Of coursehe thought I would keep secrets from my men and go off like an idiot to meet him so that he could murder me in front of Dylan. As frantic as I felt to get Dylan back and to see his face and to be there to protect him, I wasn’t going to do anything stupid. I wouldn’t play Nathan’s game, at least, not his way.
Instead, as I went out of the house into the dark yard where shifters were setting out to hunt, I said quietly to Cole, “Phone.”
I turned away, looking at the cell phone as if I was in shock and moving my feet. It wasn’t hard to pretend I was out of it. I could barely think when I was so filled with fear for Dylan.
Cole was receiving all my text messages too though. It was the only purpose for letting my mom—and now Nathan—text me. We had hoped he’d reveal himself.
With shaking fingers, I texted back:
Don’t hurthim
I won’t hurtmy son
And he is my son
You aren’t a whore
Are you?
There wasthe faintest low rumble of a growl from Cole’s chest. But his face looked normal as ever and he moved his fingers over his phone as if he were texting someone, so if anyone was watching, they wouldn’t guess that he might be communicating with me.
I watched as Cole made his way over to Stone.
No
Where do you want me to meet you?
Back out at the cottage.
Of course Nathanwanted me to go back to the cottage. So many beautiful, then terrible, scenes had played out there. It had been my one safe place, for a while.
Cold fear curdled in my stomach. I pretended that I needed to sit down, that I was on the verge of fainting. I could feel Cole watching me carefully from the corner of his eye. I would play at lying to my men, but they knew what I was doing.
My men would have my back.
As soon as I could slip away, I ran through the forest. Rain started to fall, a gentle mist hanging in the air, slipping through the trees overhead.
Alone—for the moment—I shifted into the wolf and ran at full speed for neutral territory.
