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Oddly enough, I believed Ridge. Something told me he wouldn’t lie to me. There was some driving force inside my head that told me Ridge was to be trusted, that I didn’t have to worry when it came to him. We had a connection I didn’t fully understand. I wanted to fight to the death about that because I didn’t trustanybody, and I didn’twantto trust him, but I accepted his version of events.
I didn’t want to keep thinking about what could have happened between when I left Ridge and Zander fighting and woke up in the woods. It made me sick, because although Ridge didn’t believe it, that time left open a wide gap for me to have been the killer.
Ridge’s absolute confidence in my innocence was difficult to wrap my head around. How could he have so much faith in my monster? It wasn’t like she hadn’t tried to do this before. What made now any different? The deputy had angered her and upset me. She’d seen an opportunity, and she’d taken it. The monster had wanted her revenge.
Indecision and anger rumbled in the pit of my stomach, and I no longer wanted to think about it. It was best to change the topic, or I’d work myself into a frenzy, and who knew where that would take me.
“Thank you for telling me what happened last night, but I don’t want to connect with shifters. I don’t want to become one with my wolf.” I lifted a finger. “Which, I may add, I’veneverwanted. So, I’d appreciate it if you could give up now on trying to get me to cozy up to the damn creature. It’s not going to happen.Ever. You may be happy to accept your monster, but I don’t have to accept mine.”
Ridge’s face fell, but I didn’t miss the determined resolve in his shoulders as he leaned closer. I stopped him before he could say anything else.
“Ridge, if we don’t move on from this topic, I will walk out the door right now.” I wasn’t playing games, and I never made idle threats. I always followed through on what I said I’d do. The look Ridge gave me satisfied me. He believed I’d do exactly that.
I gave him a pointed look before moving on. “Now, about what we’re going to do moving forward. I’ll still stay at the Bogford B&B and keep working at the Moonlight Café.”
That was how it was going to be. I had to work and save money. Paying to stay at the B&B would hurt the pocketbook, but it was doable. I’d done it before, repeatedly. Hopefully, I could save up some money to get a new laptop so I could do some more freelance work. That was where I could make some good fast money.
Ridge moved around in his seat and was about to interject, but I pushed on over him.
“I also want to help with the case in any way possible. If I am the one who did this, I have no issue with turning myself in, and if I didn’t, then it’d be a relief to clear my conscience.”
I could tell he wanted to argue with me about being the killer again. He rolled his tongue over his teeth as a heavy breath left him, but I was grateful that he kept his opinions to himself.
The next part was trickier. I wanted to tell him everything I could about the hunters and their capabilities, but I didn’t want him to know exactlywhythey were hunting me and just how much experience I had with them. That was my battle and my burden alone; nobody else should be dragged into that mess. If people in town didn’t make it out alive because of me, it would haunt me for the rest of my life.
It would be best if I held those cards close to my chest—or better yet, if I got away from this town and these people. It was best if I was alone.
“I will teach you everything I’ve learned over the years, all the little things I’ve picked up about how they track and hunt shifters. I don’t assume it’ll be much help, as I did my best to avoid them completely, but I’ll give you what I’ve got and what I’ve been doing over the past years. Maybe you can extract something from it.”
I tried to play down my involvement with the hunters. It wasn’t heroic, after all; it was fear and hiding. Making sure I kept my head down and kept moving—nothing remarkable or inspired about that.
Alpha Ridge started making an appearance. I could tell by his hardening demeanor. He made himself more visible, more prominent, which I didn’t think could have been possible.
He folded his arms over his chest. “You’ll be much safer here at Blackwood Manor. Everyone in town would expect my fiancée to live here.”
I scoffed at him, then mimicked his posture. “Well, since I’m not really your fiancée, the town can make do with us just acting lovey-dovey in front of them. And, you know, sporadically mentioning wedding planning or something. That should be perfectly fine. I mean, how hard could it be to convince them? Noteveryonewill be invested in this whole charade.”
He was ridiculous to think this engagement was so important to the entire town. People had their own lives and worries. Our so-called engagement meant nothing to them.
Ridge laughed and sat back, shaking his head. “You’ve never lived in a small town like Blackwood Creek before. It shows.”
I arched an eyebrow and looked at him like he was missing a screw or two. Or four.
“Here, everyone—and I do meaneveryone—is nosy. Add in my family name and everything attached to it, and the interest increases tenfold. The people here never lose interest, and it’s been a pain in my ass for years. They didn’t even know I was seeing someone, thenbam, I’m engaged. The townspeople will be buzzing and circling the gossip ring like a band of vultures. There’s no question about that. You, little wolf, have become numero uno on the gossip list.”
“That sounds a bit over-the-top, Ridge.” Not to mention egotistical.
“I’m serious, Tori. We’ll be the talk of the town for a few weeks, at the very least. They’ll gossip about every time you and I leave the manor or don’t leave the manor. They’ll document every time one of us so much as glances at another person in town because then they’ll think our engagement is going downhill. If we don’t hold hands enough or kiss enough, then our relationship is going downhill. If we are over-the-top lovey-dovey, forcing it too much, our relationship is probably going downhill.” He laughed a little. “If we don’t attend certain gatherings together, people in town will complain that they’re being slighted by missing out on our company and that we’re not being considerate enough. Oh, and you better be prepared for thousands of unsolicited wedding ideas, marital advice, honeymoon advice.” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Mating tips from the shifters.” A smirk came out on that last bit. He liked that part a little too much. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they start in on children and how fast or slow we should start having them. Shifters will give tips on what to do once we have pups.”
My eyes widened and my heart seized. Children? Pups? My womb suddenly ached, and there was absolutely no reason for that. I’d never thought of passing along my monstrous genes. But why did the mention of Ridge and me having children leave me aching for it?
“Living in a small town makes people think they have a say in our relationship and know what’s best. I’m just warning you about what to expect. It’s going to come from everybody.”
My leg started bouncing under the table. That couldn’t be true, could it? My survival these last years had come from being invisible, a ghost in the wind. I couldn’t live under a magnifying glass. I had to maintain as much anonymity as possible.
But hell, who was I kidding? Anonymity had gone out the window when I left the bar with Ridge that first night. How could I have been so stupid? So naïve?
Trying to breathe through ever-narrowing airways, I choked down several dry swallows before meekly saying, “Is it too late to back out now?”
