Page 68 of Wolf's Fate
“For who?”
“Everyone.”
Willow hesitated, studying me once more. “You can’t believe that.”
“Does it matter to you if I do? You’re still wanting to follow me up a mountain.”
The punch to my arm was uncalled for. “Tohelpyou, jackass.”
I let out a short laugh, seeing her rubbing her knuckles after she punched me. “Is that you also helping me?”
“Shut up.” She didn’t try to hide the small smile as she shoved her hands under her thighs and more or less sat on her hands. “And yes, by the way, I am helping. Hopefully, seeing it with my own eyes can stop my dreams or visions from showing me.”
“I hope you know what you’re getting into.”
Willow gave me a flat stare. “Or you can prepare me?” She rolled her eyes at my blank look. “Tell me, stop stalling.”
“I can’t.” Licking my bottom lip, I saw her disappointment as she started to protest. “I will tell you, but not when I am driving. My story will start when we start climbing Shadowridge Peak.”
“Okay.”
We settled back into silence, and the miles between the car and the mountain slowly disappeared while the quiet stretched longer between Willow and me.
We’d been driving for a long time, the steady hum of the engine and the quiet all around us lulling us into a comfortable silence. We could do that, I found, sit with each other in silence and not feel the need to speak. Willow spent most of her time taking in the scenery, and I knew she was probably itching to draw.
The sun had started to dip behind the mountains, casting long shadows across the landscape, showcasing the beauty of the autumnal scenery. I kept my eyes on the road, keeping a lookout for any cop cars in case they tagged my plates and got an alert for a stolen car. Every now and then, I glanced at Willow from the corner of my eye, waiting for or expecting a conversation about the line we crossed earlier.
Kissing her had changed things. Had it? Fuck, I was useless at this kind of thing. She wasn’t the first person I kissed, not even the first human, but this felt different. I didn’t know if I trusted it.
Trusted her.
Then why are you taking her to Shadowridge Peak?
I didn’t have an answer for that either.
Suddenly, she broke the silence, her voice catching me off guard.
“You said that there are other places shifters live,” she said, looking over at me. She looked out the window again. “I can’t think of wolves anywhere but mountains.”
“Wolves inhabit forests, tundra, grasslands, and of course, mountains.”
“And are shifters there too?”
“Why? Do you think we cohabit with them?” I asked her only half-seriously.
Willow made a face at me, causing me to smile. “No, silly. I was just thinking how difficult it must be for you to blend, but if your kind picks remote places, then maybe you’re harder to detect?”
“We’re careful,” I acknowledged. “Many of my kind live on outskirts of towns and cities, usually where there is access to large areas of land.”
“For crops?” she asked, and I could see my answer had confused her.
“To run.”
“To run? Oh…you mean when you shift.”
“Yeah.” Rubbing my cheek, I looked over at her. “I wasn’t suggesting a 5K regular route.”
Leaning over, she swatted my arm playfully. “Meanie.” She digested what I had told her. “So…there’s more of you than just in the Rockies.”