Page 2 of The Girl in the Forest

The wolf shook his head and bared his slobbering canines.

“You have five minutes,” she said, her voice nearly growling, her hand sweeping tensely toward the trees where she’d stacked my clothes. Then she glared at the wolf’s eyes—probably searching for me there. “It’s been five days, Gray, and I don’t give a gods-damn if you’re the Alpha or your wolf doesn’t like it. You have to stop.”

The wolf growled as he relinquished control. He hated arguing with Fallon, had a soft spot for her. Preferred to let me deal with her anger because he was an obnoxious, fuzzy prick when it suited him.

I shifted, stalked naked to the jeans and shirt Fallon left, while she looked away. Quickly, I sorted through the neat pile. She disliked messes. Drove me crazy whenever she straightened my kitchen. Fallon was one of my seconds in command, one of my best friends, the girl I saw as a younger sister. In her current mood, I considered teasing her, trying to ease the tension. But her arms were still crossed, and she stared at the ground like she was burning holes in the grass.

Besides, I understood why she was here.

I walked back to where she stood, tucking my shirt, straightening the jeans, my body cool and decent because the wolf’s sweaty exertion had been his and not mine. “He wasn’t indulging me.”

“What do you call it,” she demanded.

“Patrols.”

My smile snapped with the built-up aggression that hadn’t quite eased, and Fallon’s laugh turned evil.

“Gods, Gray,” she said sharply. “You’re so blind at times.”

When her gaze jerked upward, the way she looked, with that frustrated hurt, reminded me of when we were kids and I’d catch her following me. She’d always dared me to make her leave, her chin lifting, her eyes flashing in brave defiance. But that was when it didn’t matter, what we did or said. When the challenges we’d faced were harmless.

I missed those days, pushed the longing down while flicking her blonde braid. “What am I so blind about?”

Fallon shrugged my hand away. “Remember the Gemini Witches?”

Odd, that she’d bring up that memory, as if she was thinking about what I’d been thinking—our adventures. She’d been twelve. Mace and I were fifteen. Too inexperienced to be sneaking into Alpen territory, wanting to visit the fabled witches who lived in a cave. When the alpha found out, he had us doing double-shifts for a month. We’d never patrolled so much in our young lives.

Fallon tugged at her leathers, then flipped the braid I’d flicked so it fell behind her shoulders. “I thought I’d pee my pants before I went in,” she said. “I never told you that.”

“I almost pissed mine.” I scratched at my jaw. “Mace did it on a tree and pretended it was normal.”

“We were standing there, staring at each other, trying to decide who went in first, and do you remember what you said? The worst part with the witches was facing the fear. If we did that, the rest would be easy. And I know we’re not supposed to reveal what the witches told us.”

“Big secrets.” I grinned. “What did they tell you?”

“Nothing you need to know.” Her chin jutted up. “But they probably told Mace he’d be the pretty boy of the pack, and you… I think they said you’d do great things one day. I’ve noticed, Gray. No one else has, but what you have, magic or power, or whatever it is, it’s grown stronger since Noa arrived.” She kicked at the grass. “Laura has a theory about what’s happening.”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“I’ll respect that. For now. But it’s a possibility we should consider. At least be open to the idea.”

A muscle ticked in my jaw. “I’m not open to the idea of fate fucking up my life.”

“Maybe it isn’t fucking up your life,” she insisted, stubborn as ever. “Maybe this is your path. And hers, too.”

Then it was a fucked-up path for both of us. But as long as Fallon and Laura were guessing, I could still pretend they were wrong.

“I should have followed your advice, treated Noa like a recruit and sent her back to training.”

“No, Mace was right.” Fallon brushed at my arm as if a leaf was there. “Noa lives in her head. She needs time to decide what to do.”

I hoped she’d decide to go on with her life while she still had the chance.

Fallon tipped her head as she looked at me. “Do you grieve for her?”

An absolute silence fell while my heart thudded.

“No.” My voice rumbled. It wasn’t the truth, but it wasn’t a lie, either. I grieved for what we could have had under different circumstances.

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