Page 70 of Wolf's Fate
The fact that she immediately fell asleep after her declaration didn’t take away the fact that those five words gave me the strength to keep driving and take her to the mountain where she’d learn about my darkness.
Yet, I didn’t turn around. I kept driving.
There was no going back now.
TWENTY-ONE
Willow
Caleb had beengenerous in his estimation of how long I’d be asleep for. I lay in the back, curled into a ball, trying to ignore the pains in my legs from not being stretched out, but I was content to lie as I was for as long as possible.
The sky was still dark, a deep indigo that blurred against the horizon. The faintest hint of dawn lingered beneath the clouds, and the world felt still. From my position, my view was limited, but I imagined the landscape was much different for Caleb, who was silent as he drove.
“I’ll pull over,” he spoke suddenly, causing me to jump. “You need to stretch and a bathroom break.”
How long had he known I was awake? I could ask him, but I doubted he’d tell me because he would think it irrelevant.
When I was finished, I emerged from a clump of bushes on the side of the road and found Caleb standing with his arms folded across his chest, his eyes on the mountain range now much closer than it had been.
“It doesn’t get easier peeing in nature,” I joked, even thoughI was deadly serious. I saw his lips twitch and dutifully held out my hands when he offered me hand sanitizer. “It also doesn’t get easier knowing you’re on the other side.”
“This is a human hang-up,” he told me smoothly, capping the bottle and fighting the smile as I vigorously sanitized my hands. “Shifters don’t care.”
“So, what, you’re all nudists squatting to pee here, there, and everywhere?”
The look I got was one of astonishment, confusion, and general bewilderment.
“Yeah, okay, I’d ignore that too,” I muttered, climbing into the passenger seat. “Let’s forget I woke up?”
“But you’re so delightful in the morning,” he murmured as he got in the car.
“Ha.” Looking pointedly at the still-dark sky, I settled back in my seat. “It’s not morning yet.”
“Then go back to sleep.”
It was a command, not a suggestion, and I decided it was too early in the morning to argue with him. The headlights of the car lit up the gloom, illuminating the road ahead as it curved through the open landscape. The Rockies’ jagged silhouette beckoned us forward, and I worried about how in the heck I was going to climb a mountain.
Again.
Caleb flicked the heater on for me, and I murmured my thanks as warm air fell on my feet.
Leaning against the window, I felt the cold of the outside air as I watched the passing landscape. Pine trees that had been sparse were growing denser, their towering height blocking the view at times.
Caleb was silent, focused on the road, his hands firm on the steering wheel, and I felt the weight of all the things we hadn’t said yet. I couldn’t help but wonder what waited for me, for us, in the mountains. We rounded another curve in the road, and the Rockies rose in front of us, like a promise, an untold truth waiting to be told.
Dawn broke through from the cloud cover, the first light touching the mountain peaks, casting a faint purple glow over snow-capped summits.
“Snow?” I squinted at the top of the peaks.
Caleb leaned forward and gave a non-committal grunt.
“It’s still only October.”
“Down here, it is.” He pointed out the window. “Snow hit the peaks a couple of weeks ago.”
“Is it snowing where you are? I haven’t drawn anything with snow.”
Caleb glanced at me, and his smirk was bitter. “Well, that must make it right,” he muttered, “if you haven’t drawn it.”