I raised a brow as I stared him down. “If you’d confided in me sooner, you’d have had this information sooner.”
He sighed loudly. “Not now, Callista.”
I was inclined to argue some more, but the slump of his shoulders stopped me. My brother was a good guy and a great alpha, he just needed a reminder once in a while that he had more resources than just his enforcers. And that he didn’t need to protect his sisters from every bad thing out there. We were stronger than he gave us credit for.
“All right,” I conceded. “I’ll head back. But just know that we’re having a chat soon. All of us. It’s time you stopped keeping secrets in this family.”
His only response was a grumble about how much easier brothers would have been, but I ignored him. With one last look at the poor woman left in our woods like trash, I turned around to head back toward the lodge.
I knew Wyatt was close behind because, even in wolf form, I could feel him deep inside me. Somehow, it was even more intense than it usually was. Like he was an organ I’d been missing my whole life. Something integral to my survival.
I wish I knew what it meant, but there were other things occupying my thoughts right then.
“I wonder who she was.”
Wyatt fell in step with me. “I wonder who she left behind.”
“She might have a family waiting for her to come home. A husband or kids that’ll never see her alive again.” The thought sent a wave of emotion coursing through me.
“Yeah, she might, or she might not. Either way, she’s got a mom somewhere worried about her, and that’s what gets me the most. I couldn’t imagine how my mom would react if she lost one of us. It was bad enough when my dad died, but no mother should have to bury their child.”
I turned to study his wolf’s profile, noticing how somber his caramel eyes were. “You’re really close with your mom, huh?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Some people grow up and grow apart from their parents.”
“Not me.”
“I see that.”
Wyatt turned to look at me, our eyes meeting and sending that warm feeling rushing through me again. It felt like I was at the top of a steep rollercoaster, ready to tip over the edge and plunge head-first into the unknown. Alongside the excitement and fear was the most comforting feeling I’d ever had. Like his eyes were home and I’d been lost for a long time.
I looked away before I did something stupid and concentrated on the pine needles and old leaves beneath my paws. “I’d like to meet her,” I said before I could really think it through.
Wyatt was quiet for so long that I risked glancing at him again. It was harder to read him in that form, but he looked uncomfortable for some reason. Had I said something wrong? Was there a reason he didn’t want his mom to meet me?
“Yeah. We’ll have to do that one day,” he choked out.
Part of me wondered at his curious behavior, but the rest was back in that clearing with the dead woman who’d lost her life to a werewolf like me. For the first time in my life, it made me ashamed of who I was.
Sure, we had several physical advantages over humans, but we never took them. And it was true that most wolves didn’t care for humans, but werewolves were by nature peaceful and only wanted to live their lives without fear of discovery. The fact that one of us had gone so bad they’d become a serial killer didn’t sit well with me
To make matters worse, it had to be a wolf we were familiar with. Someone from a neighboring pack that one or all of us knew. Otherwise, why mask their scent? And if it was a wolf from a neighboring pack, did the fact they were leaving bodies in our woods mean they held a grudge against us? And why?
“Can we run?” Wyatt asked, breaking into my dark thoughts. “I feel like I need to get some of this energy out of me.”
“That actually sounds great.”
Our eyes met once more, and I gave myself a moment to get lost in them before I shook my head and leapt into a sprint.
“Callie! I’m supposed to be escorting you back to the lodge!”
“Then I guess you’ll have to catch up!”
The run back seemed shorter, but isn’t that how it always is? Before long, the familiar scents of my pack filled the woods and then we were in the clearing behind the lodge. There were wolves scattered around the field in various activities, but I was looking for two in particular. Soon I found Del and Evey by themselves near the tree line, which was good because I had a lot to tell them and didn’t want anyone else involved for now.
I turned to Wyatt. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around.”
“I guess so.”
The awkwardness seeped into the space between us until it felt like I was suffocating. Part of me didn’t want to leave his side, but that didn’t make sense and I hated when things didn’t make sense.
“Okay. Bye,” I said awkwardly before turning around and walking away. He didn’t respond, but I could feel him watching me as I crossed the distance to my sisters.
Just before I reached them, I turned around to find him just where I’d left him, those light brown eyes trained on me like I knew they’d be. I shook out my fur and tried to forget him. I had bigger things to deal with right then.
After I filled my sisters in on what happened in the woods, we spent the rest of the night speculating about the murders and complaining that Abey had kept us in the dark. Even though most of my brain was centered on my sisters and what we’d found out, that didn’t stop a small part of me from keeping tabs on Wyatt.
Despite my best efforts to push thoughts of him aside, I watched him like a hawk for the rest of the night. It was easier when he began sparring with an enforcer named Jason as it gave me a reason to watch him. Other pack members circled the two wolves to observe their match, but I knew no one watched as closely as I did.
Wyatt was magnificent. He was fast and agile. Quick and smart. He won round after round as I tried to keep my tongue in my mouth and not let it drag on the ground.
Worst of all, it seemed like he was watching me too. Over and over his eyes would meet mine, and every time, there was a sadness in his. A resignation that I didn’t understand. His gaze would trace my body up and down before gritting his teeth and looking away. I wished I knew him better so I could have a chance at understanding, but I had no one to blame but myself for the distance between us.
Now, for the first time, I wondered if that was the right choice.
As the night wound down, my packmates began to curl up in groups to sleep off the rest of the full moon. I’d wandered away from my sisters a while ago and found myself walking the perimeter of the field. I didn’t want to be alone, but I also didn’t want to be with my sisters right then.
My mind was full of thoughts of the woman in the woods, of Abey’s secret-keeping, but most of all, Wyatt. He’d disappeared into the forest a while ago and I hadn’t seen him since. I knew he wasn’t far though, because that feeling in the pit of my stomach was still so acute.
When I’d fully worn myself out, I circled a small patch of lush grass beneath an elm tree and curled into a ball. Tonight had been emotionally and physically draining, and I just wanted it to be over. In the morning, I’d deal with everything I’d learned and figure out how I could help, but for tonight, I just wanted to lose myself in the blissful ignorance of sleep.