Page 8

WOLFF

I hardly sleep all night. The look on Wendy's face when I told her the truth replays in my mind, and I wish I could take it back.

Perhaps there's a way I can lie to her and tell her I was joking, but I don't think that would resolve any problems. If I'm going to be with her, she has to know the truth about me.

I end up going into the woods again and shifting, letting my wolf free to roam as I try to calm my mind.

It's usually the perfect balm for any of my problems. I can run free and forget about anything in the world.

There's nothing as calming as running through the woods, hunting foxes, and allowing myself to give in to the feral nature of my wolf.

But even that doesn't help me today. My wolf yearns for Wendy almost as much as I do.

I had her. However fleeting it was, she was mine.

Maybe I told her too soon because I could feel her desire for me even after I told her the truth.

A part of her wanted to go with me. I don't know if it's because she was afraid, or if she didn't believe me, but she didn't tell me what she wanted to do.

When the morning comes, I lie in bed and stare at the ceiling, thinking about my options.

I know Wendy wants space. I want to give that to her, too.

Asking her to give up her entire life here to come live in a strange territory with people she doesn't know is a lot.

Maybe I didn't think about how this would affect her as much as I should have.

I've been waiting for her my whole life, but she is only just learning about my kind and our mating bonds.

Perhaps I moved too quickly. I was just so caught up in the moment yesterday.

I look at the alarm clock beside the bed and see that it's almost 4:00 a.m. I haven't had a wink of sleep since I left her, and my exhaustion is starting to set in.

But even though I want to give her space, I can't forget about what happened to her the day we met.

I don't want her walking alone right now.

If I’m unwelcome accompanying her, I'll at least make sure she gets to work okay.

I get dressed and make my way over to her house.

It's a little after four o’clock, and plenty of lights are on.

Faint music is audible from the house, and I don't have to think long to know that's probably her dad and stepmom still up partying.

It's a wonder she can get any sleep in a house like that.

Not long after I arrive, the front door opens, and Wendy steps out in a pair of loose-fitting jeans and a long-sleeved sweater.

It's not like the cardigan she wore the first day I met her, something she could remove if it were too hot.

It's like something you would wear on a cool autumn morning.

Right now, it's about eighty degrees, and the humidity is unbearable.

Why would she choose to wear something like that?

I can only imagine that working in the bakery with all the ovens on will make it much worse.

She starts walking, and I stay out of sight, tiptoeing through the tree line to ensure she doesn't hear me snapping twigs or crunching on leaves. She seems preoccupied, and I wish I could climb inside her mind to see what she's thinking.

Is she still thinking about last night? I'm too far away to see her face, but I can only imagine she didn't get much sleep last night.

As she's walking, I see her hold her hand to her stomach and wince as if it's hurting her. I stop moving and watch for a second, wondering what could be causing that pain. She looks uncomfortable and somewhat exhausted as she keeps moving, and I need to know what's bothering her.

Despite my better judgment, I walk out of the tree line and approach. She doesn't see me right away, preoccupied with whatever is bothering her.

“Wendy,” I say as I approach, wanting to alert her so I don't startle her. She stops moving and turns around to look at me with a surprised look on her face.

“What are you doing here?” She looks around nervously, as if she's worried someone will see us together. “You need to leave.”

“Not until you tell me what's wrong,” I say, moving closer and reaching a hand out for her. She pulls away from me and turns around to continue walking toward the bakery.

I stride up beside her and reach out to grab her arm to stop her so we can talk.

As soon as I make contact with her arm, she hisses and pulls her arm away from me like it’s hurting.

She stops walking and looks at me with worry in her eyes as I push the sleeve of her sweater up to reveal a dark bruise in the shape of a hand wrapped around her forearm.

Seeing it sends me into a spiral I can't control. My wolf howls, begging to be free to find whoever did this to her and rip their throat out. I can taste the copper of their blood on my tongue, and I won't be happy until I've had my fill of it.

My breath quickens, and I clench my jaw tight, trying my best to hold back my wolf before he breaks free, and I shift right in front of her. I let out a guttural growl and have to back away from her because of what's about to happen to me.

“Wolff, take a breath,” Wendy says, rushing up behind me and resting a hand on my back. “It's not worth getting this upset about.”

I look over my shoulder at her and see the concern in her eyes. I nod, trying to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. I might disagree with her. It is worth getting this upset about. Someone laid a hand on her and left a mark on her body, and because of that, they deserve to die.

But seeing the look in her eyes, the fear brewing behind the concern, calms me down. Knowing that she's seeing you like this, in such a primal state, is unnerving. I already scared her yesterday, and I don't want to do that anymore.

“Tell me who did this to you,” I demand, gesturing to her arm.

She hesitates for a moment, clearly not wanting to give them away because of my reaction.

I can see the doubt crossing her mind. Does she think I'm going to find them and kill them on her behalf?

Honestly, there's a chance I might. “Wendy, tell me right now.”

“He didn't mean to do it,” Wendy says in a meek voice that breaks my heart.

“Who didn't mean to?” I take a step closer, feeling the intensity in my chest grow stronger with each passing moment.

“My dad.” A moment of silence passes between us, and I immediately turn around to start walking back to her house.

He laid his hands on her, and he's going to pay for it.

Before I can even get ten paces away, Wendy rushes behind me and grabs both of my arms to stop me.

“Wolff, please! You can't go back there. I don't want you to hurt him.”

I turn around and look at her, seeing the desperation in her eyes. I don't understand why she would try to protect him. She's told me about what kind of a monster he is. How could she stand in front of me, someone who wants to actually protect her, and tell me not to do that? It doesn't make sense.

“He hurt you, Wendy,” I argue, shaking my head. “I can't let him hurt you. I have to protect you.”

Wendy watches me, and realization crosses her face. I can see her finally realizing what this bond means to me.

“I can protect myself, believe it or not. If you care about me like you say you do, you'll let this rest,” she says. She squeezes my arm with her hand and stares at me with a silent plea in her eyes.

“Only if you promise me not to come back here,” I say, shaking my head. I point at her house, which is barely visible now through the tree line. “If he lays a hand on you again, I won’t be able to hold myself back. You have to leave, Wendy.”

She shakes her head, and I can see the water pooling in her eyes. “I can't do that, Wolff. I can't leave my sister.”

Of course, how could I have been so foolish. She told me that she's Naomi's main caretaker, which is why she can't leave. Leaving now would leave her young sister at the hands of these two monsters, who don't care about either of them.

It all makes sense now. Wendy was willing to sacrifice her own happiness just to make sure her sister was safe. It's noble, and I admire her for that.

But I won’t let that stand in the way of her happiness. Wendy deserves the world, and I'm going to give her that. Her parents won't stand in the way of it anymore.

I move closer and cup her cheeks with my hands, forcing her to look up at me. She raises her eyebrows in surprise, but thankfully, she doesn't pull away from me. I lean forward and press my lips against hers, feeling the relief of having her close to me once again wash over my body.

“Wendy, I swear to you I'm going to fix this,” I say when I pull away. She wrinkles her eyebrows and stares at me in confusion. “You won’t have to worry about any of this anymore.”

I run my fingers through her hair and offer her a reassuring smile that seems to comfort her. Wendy smiles back and nods, the tears welling in her eyes once again.

I have an idea of what I can do to make all of this better. I just hope Wendy will be on board with it.