couple of old cats, purring on a sunny windowsill.
Tina, though, she could picture turning into a sleek fox with a beautiful ebony sheen. Make that a crafty fox. Because for all that Tina sat quietly, Stef suspected something was up. Not that she didn’t trust Tina—the woman seemed genuine enough, just as everyone on the ranch seemed to be. But in the meetings yesterday, Tina seemed every bit a part of the leadership team as her brothers. So what was she doing, touring a stranger around the ranch and lingering over lunch?
When Tina glanced at her watch and suddenly declared it time to get going, Stef was sure she’d been stalling all along. The question was, stalling for what?
She had her answer shortly after they thanked the older women and turned a corner to the central square of the ranch. A group of men was just filing out of the council house. Meeting adjourned?
Stef pulled up short as a wave of anger stiffened her spine. “So, they’ve finished deliberating my case?”
Tina turned, a shadow of guilt veiling her eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like? Tell me.”
The others were coming up now: Cody, with a sunny expression that didn’t quite reach his eyes, along with a tight-lipped Ty and two others she didn’t recognize. Behind them, Kyle emerged from the council house looking like a man blindsided by a surprise verdict. Her heart sang on seeing him but clenched on reading that look.
“It’s complicated,” Tina started.
Stefanie all but bared her teeth as the men came up to face her. “Try me.”
Tina exchanged looks with Ty and Cody, and Stef could sense words flying though no one spoke. More secrets?
“Tell me!”
It was Cody who finally met her eyes and spoke. “Look, we want to help you, we really do.”
Not a promising prelude. A twitch started in her left eye.
“This is the thing,” Cody continued as Kyle came up and locked his eyes on hers.
His face wore an expression she knew all too well from the old days: the same bitter look that followed one of his stepfather’s rampages. The look that said he had to accept his fate, much as he despised it.
Cody was going on, explaining that they couldn’t shelter her on the ranch for fear of trouble on a larger scale. Something about shifter laws that forbade one pack from harboring a fugitive from another. “And technically,” Cody added, “you’re a fugitive.”
She threw up her hands. “Technically?” She hammered the man with a glare that held all her pent-up frustration. “Technically?” Then she stomped off, leaving Cody protesting behind her.
“We have a solution, though,” he called. “There’s another pack, a hundred miles west—”
“So glad you’ve figured everything out for me,” she shot over her shoulder and hurried away. They’d been stringing her along, all this time. They were shipping her out to her fate. She clenched her hands into fists, but then jerked them apart at a jab of pain. It felt like her fingernails were being pulled out by the roots.
She paled. Were those claws in there, ready to break free? The rage she felt was far, far more intense than anything she’d ever felt before.
At the sound of footsteps, she spun, not sure whether she could keep the wolf locked away. Not even sure if she cared.
It was Kyle, though, not Cody or Tina, and the rage receded just as quickly as it had come. He looked worn and weary, a decade older than the day before. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she whispered, cocking her head at him. “You okay?”
Kyle shoved his lower jaw sideways on its hinge and grunted a reply. “Yeah. Good.”
The man looked like he’d been pushing boulders up a mountain all night, only to have them roll straight down again. The blue of his eyes was a little pale, his look equal parts exhaustion and determination. The familiar look of a kid fighting impossible odds and refusing to give up. Before she could process her own thoughts, she had her arms around him, squeezing
Tina, though, she could picture turning into a sleek fox with a beautiful ebony sheen. Make that a crafty fox. Because for all that Tina sat quietly, Stef suspected something was up. Not that she didn’t trust Tina—the woman seemed genuine enough, just as everyone on the ranch seemed to be. But in the meetings yesterday, Tina seemed every bit a part of the leadership team as her brothers. So what was she doing, touring a stranger around the ranch and lingering over lunch?
When Tina glanced at her watch and suddenly declared it time to get going, Stef was sure she’d been stalling all along. The question was, stalling for what?
She had her answer shortly after they thanked the older women and turned a corner to the central square of the ranch. A group of men was just filing out of the council house. Meeting adjourned?
Stef pulled up short as a wave of anger stiffened her spine. “So, they’ve finished deliberating my case?”
Tina turned, a shadow of guilt veiling her eyes. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like? Tell me.”
The others were coming up now: Cody, with a sunny expression that didn’t quite reach his eyes, along with a tight-lipped Ty and two others she didn’t recognize. Behind them, Kyle emerged from the council house looking like a man blindsided by a surprise verdict. Her heart sang on seeing him but clenched on reading that look.
“It’s complicated,” Tina started.
Stefanie all but bared her teeth as the men came up to face her. “Try me.”
Tina exchanged looks with Ty and Cody, and Stef could sense words flying though no one spoke. More secrets?
“Tell me!”
It was Cody who finally met her eyes and spoke. “Look, we want to help you, we really do.”
Not a promising prelude. A twitch started in her left eye.
“This is the thing,” Cody continued as Kyle came up and locked his eyes on hers.
His face wore an expression she knew all too well from the old days: the same bitter look that followed one of his stepfather’s rampages. The look that said he had to accept his fate, much as he despised it.
Cody was going on, explaining that they couldn’t shelter her on the ranch for fear of trouble on a larger scale. Something about shifter laws that forbade one pack from harboring a fugitive from another. “And technically,” Cody added, “you’re a fugitive.”
She threw up her hands. “Technically?” She hammered the man with a glare that held all her pent-up frustration. “Technically?” Then she stomped off, leaving Cody protesting behind her.
“We have a solution, though,” he called. “There’s another pack, a hundred miles west—”
“So glad you’ve figured everything out for me,” she shot over her shoulder and hurried away. They’d been stringing her along, all this time. They were shipping her out to her fate. She clenched her hands into fists, but then jerked them apart at a jab of pain. It felt like her fingernails were being pulled out by the roots.
She paled. Were those claws in there, ready to break free? The rage she felt was far, far more intense than anything she’d ever felt before.
At the sound of footsteps, she spun, not sure whether she could keep the wolf locked away. Not even sure if she cared.
It was Kyle, though, not Cody or Tina, and the rage receded just as quickly as it had come. He looked worn and weary, a decade older than the day before. “Hey.”
“Hey,” she whispered, cocking her head at him. “You okay?”
Kyle shoved his lower jaw sideways on its hinge and grunted a reply. “Yeah. Good.”
The man looked like he’d been pushing boulders up a mountain all night, only to have them roll straight down again. The blue of his eyes was a little pale, his look equal parts exhaustion and determination. The familiar look of a kid fighting impossible odds and refusing to give up. Before she could process her own thoughts, she had her arms around him, squeezing
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