Page 38 of Wolf's Fate

“No.” Ned turned to look at me. “Cannon wants you close, but we don’t know if this guy”—his finger jabbed at the portrait of the man from the station—“is friend or foe, so until we know, we keep you close.”

I waited, and when he said nothing further, I gawked at him. “Is that your pep talk? Am I supposed to be reassured?”

Ned sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Look, you’re tied to Caleb. People may know more than we thought. The link between you two is dangerous. It could have gotten out.”

“Caleb on that mountain is dangerous,” Doc grumbled.

My anxiety levels were possibly at their peak. That’s what it felt like. “Why would anyone care if I was tied to Caleb? I’m just me. Plain and simple.”

“Who has a mind link to an alpha,” Ned reminded me as if I needed it.

I was just a regular person, or at least I had been until Caleb came crashing into my world.

“We won’t leave you alone,” Doc assured me.

I nodded, though the reassurance didn’t settle my nerves. I didn’t sign up for this. Drawing a few innocent sketches of a hot guy shouldn’t have led me here. I felt like I was drowning, and the water was so deep I wasn’t sure if I’d ever make it back to the surface.

“We need to stay here tonight,” Ned told Doc. “See if she’s followed.”

Doc looked back at me. “You okay?”

“Does it matter?” Neither of them answered and I think that pretty much summed it up.

Doc merged with traffic, and as I buckled my seat belt, the weight of everything pressed down on me. Whoever the man at the platform was, it was clear this wasn’t over.

And I didn’t know what to do with that revelation.

THIRTEEN

Willow

We were in a motel,in adjoining rooms. Doc was in one, I was in the other, and Ned was “patrolling.” I assumed, though no one confirmed, that he had shifted into a wolf. Which they seemed to think was better, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they had ever consideredwhoit was better for. I knew if it was me—and not just because it was me—seeing a wolf lurking around the edge of my motel would freak me the hell out. It wouldn’t make me feel safe or protected even if there was a solid wall between me and it. I would scream, lock myself in the room, and call Animal Control or something, to bring their attention to it.

And I was a pretty level-headed person. I could already see Lily’s reaction. She would have things pushed up against doors and be demanding boards over the window just in case. How they could think a wolf wouldn’t draw more attention than a guy, was perhaps a demonstration of how out of touch they were with actual humans. A wolf, especially in a place like this, would only stand out, not blend in. People noticed that kind ofthing. “Oh, did you see the wolf?” From there, it would escalate, and if they wanted to stay under the radar, this was the complete opposite of doing that.

Or maybe I was overthinking it and the people using this motel were weary, blurry-eyed travelers who only saw the bed waiting for them.

Doc currently had the interconnecting door open, not open fully in an inviting manner but in an “if you want to come in, you can” manner. He knew I had questions, and I did want to ask all of them, but I didn’t want to askhim. I knew it was to my detriment, but the only person I wanted to tell me all about shifters was the one man I wanted to track down.

My fingers brushed along the cover of my sketchbook. Biting my lip, I looked between the door and the book. I wanted to draw, and I had a strong desire to do so, but I wasn’t sure if it was rude to sit down and lose myself in a sketch. I didn’t feel any other compulsion like I sometimes did when I drew Caleb. I just wanted to unwind and lose myself in some pretty landscapes inspired by my bus journey here.

“You want anything to eat?” Doc asked, startling me. I hadn’t noticed him come into view from his room. His eyes dropped to my hand and the sketch pad, but he said nothing as he waited for me to answer.

“Um…” I didn’t know. Was I hungry? “Maybe?”

He nodded, walking further into my room but not far. I think he was trying to let me know there were boundaries. A fact I appreciated.

“Same. I could eat, butdo I want tois pretty much how I’m feeling.”

“Exactly.” He was a relaxing guy. He would have beenperfect in a hospital or a GP’s practice. He just had a smooth manner. “Why aren’t you a doctor somewhere?” I blurted without thinking.

Doc chuckled at my embarrassment when I stumbled over an apology for my rudeness. “It’s fine, Willow. Iama doctor somewhere,” he reminded me. “My patients are just more specialized than others.”

“So…what kind of ailments do you treat them for?” I asked as I sat on the bed, and Doc took the unspoken invitation to come into the room. He looked at the one chair in the corner, and I nodded. “Please, sit.”

“Well, to be honest,” he began, “they don’t really need me for day-to-day things. If they get a bruise or a cut, they can shift, and the magic of the shift heals them.”

“Magic?” I could hear the skepticism in my voice, even though Iknewthey had to have something supernatural about them to be able to turn into wolves to start with.