Page 42 of Wolf's Fate
“Why me?” It was the fundamental question after all. “I’mnot his mate. I’m not his pack. I’m not a shifter. Why has Luna picked me? You don’t believe that explanation of me showing him what he’s missing out on any more than I do.”
“We don’t know.”
“Shouldn’t you?” I challenged, causing Doc to smile.
“We’re trying.”
Well, try harder.
Being told so emphatically that I had no future in his life cut deeper than I wanted to admit. It was like a punch to the gut I hadn’t seen coming or ever expected. The sharp sting of reality gnawed at me, taking root under my skin, and it didn’t make it easier to accept.
Denial had its limits, and I was already way past the city line. Every word, every dismissal, only pushed me closer to having to confront the mess of my emotions that I’d been avoiding looking too closely at.
But pretending that this didn’t hurt didn’t make it any less real, and I was running out of places to hide from the truth.
FOURTEEN
Willow
We wentout to get dinner. Doc was very casual in his approach to protecting me. I was sure Ned would have preferred me to be locked in the room, but Doc was more of a “let’s see what happens” kind of guy.
It was a little bit freeing and also slightly terrifying. I knew Caleb would disapprove, and it was probably for that reason that I was sitting in Doc’s truck, eating my weight in drive-thru burgers.
“Should we get Ned something?”
“He’ll eat on his own.” Doc didn’t look up from his fries. “You don’t need to worry about him.”
Was it wrong to say I wasn’t? I hadn’t given one thought to Ned until now. Opting for silence as the best answer, I ate my meal.
“So, apart from your ME,” Doc started, glancing over at me, “what else should I know about?”
I paused, my fry halfway to my mouth. “You mean like allergies?”
“Sure.”
His casual indifference made me frown at him, and I saw him hide his smile as he sipped his soda.
“You’re a terrible interrogator,” I chided him, causing him to chuckle. “Not much to know about me, I’m afraid. Family history, I can’t tell you, I don’t know them. I was pretty healthy as a child.” Popping a fry into my mouth, I chewed quickly. “Medically speaking, I’m allergic to penicillin.”
“Inconvenient,” he murmured.
“Well, thankfully, I’ve never had to test it.” Picking up a fry, I dropped it again. “I’m O-negative, but I am sure you knew that.”
“Also inconvenient,” he said with a grin.
“Other than that, I’m normal.” I waggled my eyebrows at him, and he laughed.
“Any food intolerances, hay fever, shellfish?”
“Isn’t shellfish a food?” I teased.
“Accepted.” He rolled his wrapper up, his food finished. “Nothing alarming,” he agreed. “Not sure I would say normal though.” He winked playfully.
“True.” I finished my meal, and we gathered our trash into the bag. “I’ll drop this in the trash,” I told him, reaching for the door handle.
“I’ll do it. You stay in the truck.”
So maybe he’s not as casual with my safety as I thought. I watched him stride with confidence to the trash can, and then he lingered in front of a small jewelry store. He idled for a few minutes, and with a glance at the truck, he looked like he remembered I was there.