Page 47 of Balance

“But…” My heart skipped. Wewere?

“He’s challenging me,” Titus grumbled, kicking a rock. “I don’t think he knows who we are, and that bothers me. I’m not in the mood to deal with a wolf today.”

He was a shifter! That explained the unsettling feeling when he watched me.

I started to turn, but my movement was halted as Titus twisted his arm around my back, his large hand pressing against my waist and holding me to him.

“I’ll handle the rogue later,” he said. “We need to find Miles first.”

“Is it s-safe?” I didn’t know what this meant, but from their expressions, it was seriously deadly.

And I’d stupidly followed the ranger outside, alone.

We’d reached the SUV and, for the moment, I was blocked from view. Damen, who had been uncharacteristically watchful, silent, and grim, opened the door as Titus wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me into the passenger seat. They moved as one, almost as if their behavior was rehearsed, and the speed of their movements was almost dizzying.

Or maybe that was just because I felt nauseous.

Now that he’d mentioned it, I couldn’t stop seeing those eyes. My skin crawled.

“It’s fine, princess.” Titus lowered his head toward mine, uncaring about the peculiar, almost unnerving, expression Damen threw in our direction. Then, I could see nothing else as his loose hair fell into ringlets around our faces, throwing us into our own private world. “It’s okay to be scared,” he said, breath brushing over me. “That’s why I’m here. You don’t have to be strong right now, not if you aren’t ready for it.”

And a sob hitched in my throat as the dam threatened to break.

Miles, this lost feeling that threatened to consume me, messing up so badly with Damen, and now yet another reminder of my irrational fears.

I’d been so stupid—I thought everything was going so well, but justknowingthat there was a rogue wolf nearby—especially one that caused the boys to be wary—was enough to undo everything I’d been trying to pull together.

I didn’t evenremembermuch about Mr. Richards, but I did remember that look.

No matter what I did, I couldn’t escape.

But I wouldn’t give in yet. It wasn’t the right time. I had to hang in just a little while longer.

Gradually, my shaking subsided, and I sucked in a breath, the air scratchy against my throat. Another reminder that I hadn’t recovered yet—evidence of my weakness.

We had to find Miles and get back home before I lost it.

I could hear the others approaching, with Brayden being particularly loud and obnoxious, and I pulled back from Titus, steeling my feelings once again and composing myself.

Titus was already looking over his shoulder in the direction of the cabin, while Damen, who’d been resting his weight against the side of the vehicle, flickered his gaze once between the dragon and me—a pout on his lips and brows deeply furrowed.

Once again, what I wouldn’t give to know what he was thinking. He seemed to jump between moods so suddenly. It was slowly driving me insane.

“She’s sitting with me.” Titus’s tone offered no argument, and Damen’s eyebrow lifted slightly. “I don’t like the way he’s looking at her.”

I expected Damen to argue—he seemed the sort to want to sit in the front no matter what—but instead, he gave a short nod, pushing his glasses with his pointer finger. “Agreed.” He pressed a small stack of fliers in my hands. “It’d be better if you stayed up front with Titus and researched the area before we arrive. Stay with Titus until the idiot leaves.”

Research.

A reborn sense of urgency filled me. The pamphlets burned under my fingers, as did the weight of the papers Brayden had given me. Between the card game and Damen and my earlier fight, I hadn’t done any reading at all.

We arrived at the top of the mountain—Pete’s Point—almost an hour later, which was good time, Damen remarked dryly, considering that, apparently, Troy had no idea how to drive on the gravelly, muddy roads and was generally terrible to tail.

Still, it had given me just enough time to go over Brayden’s papers, and compare to the most useful of the pamphlets Damen had snagged for me. Sasquatch, of course, was out of the question. Everyone knew bigfoot resided in the western parts of the country.

But this other creature…

Why would Brayden print this out in particular?