Page 46 of Wolf's Providence

“Then I’ll look into it with you.”

“And Willow does what? Stays on a mountain peak for the whole of winter?” he asked me, and I could see he was losing his patience.

Iwas losing my patience.

“They targeted Willow,” I told him through clenched teeth.

“I know, and they will pay. We do not hurt humans.” Cannon looked at her, noting how quiet she was. “I will do everything I can to ensure you are safe, Willow.”

She nodded, but I wasn’t sure she was really listening. “How would they know I was even connected to her?” I asked him. “The drawings? The visions she has? They wouldn’t know about them. Unless someone told them.” I knew I was borderline accusing him and was rewarded with an angry glare.

“I didn’t fucking tell anyone,” Cannon said through gritted teeth. “I won’t tell you again.”

“Then how do they know about her?” I asked, equally pissed off.

“You.”

We both looked at her. She was sitting almost curled in a ball, her arms wrapped around herself, her gaze on the window.

“You kept coming back to Whispering Pines,” she said. “Coming back tome. Perhaps they thought they could target someone you cared about—or theythoughtyou cared about—to get your attention. They wouldn’t need to know the reason was nothing like that?—”

“Then.” I looked down at her with a challenge in my eye when I cut her off. “They wouldn’t know our relationship wasn’t thisthen.”

Cannon’s gaze was steady. “So, thisisabout you.” He looked at Willow with a hint of sadness. “I think you’re right,” he told her. “It was never about what you could paint, not to them.”

“The two may not be connected,” I corrected him, “but they’re still two things we need answered. Who are they, and what did they hope to achieve?”

Cannon was thoughtful, his gaze directed on the door. “New pack? It’s a good packlands, secluded, and a nightmare to get to in winter. Plenty of game.”

“Haunted by the dead,” I added drily.

“Only for you,” he quipped back. “It makes sense.”

It did. I hadn’t been mad with the darkness, I’d been right. Someone was trying to take over Shadowridge Peak and was using Willow as collateral damage.

“I want her back in Whispering Pines,” I told Cannon. “Agreed?”

He nodded. “Surrounded by humans is the safest place for her right now.”

“I want to stay and help,” Willow protested. “I can do sketches of the ones I saw.”

“I’ll need those,” I told Cannon. “I may know them,” I added, and I saw his agreement. Turning to Willow, I held out my hand. “You’re going home. I’m coming too,” I assured her. “I won’t leave you alone.”

She slipped her hand into mine, and I pulled her gently to her feet. Willow still looked scared, and when she asked if she could use the bathroom, Cannon showed her where it was.

When he came back, he left the study door open and stood close to me, his voice low so she would never hear him.

“When you told her that if this was her ever after, you placed a lot of emphasis on theif.”

“So?”

“Noso. I just found it interesting that you didn’t mention this was already yours.”

Observant bastard.“And?”

“Your choice is your choice, Caleb.” He watched the hall for Willow. “But if a human is who you choose to stay with, she will never give you an alpha. She will never birth a shifter.”

“Your point?”

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