Page 74 of Wolf's Providence

Standing, I went back into the house, locking the door behind me. Moving with a careful step, I entered the kitchen, and with my hip against the counter, I watched the night sky. It was a clear night, very few clouds, and the moon was merely a sliver of silver in the sky. The stars dotted the blanket of night with tiny pinpricks of light.

The view on the ridge would be breathtaking. The view I had from here was muted, tarnished with smog and pollution. I kept my gaze on the moon, hoping for some guidance from Luna.

But all I could sense was Willow. A steady warmth pulling me in, as unshakable as a shaman’s faith in his Goddess. I wanted to go to her, but… But I didn’t trust myself around her. Not when I knew just how thin the line was between protecting her and hurting her.

I would never forget that night my claws sank into her soft flesh. The look of love in her eyes as I held her broken body. The forgiveness she gave me so freely, which I had no right to claim.

Now look at me, right back there again. What might I do to her if I couldn’t keep my instincts in check? Willow was human, living in a world of normalcy. And here I was, throwing her into danger at every turn. She had enough to deal with in life without me adding to the list.

I paused outside her bedroom door, my hand resting on the doorknob. As I pushed the door open gently, my wolf sight could make out her silhouette as she slept, curled on her side. I could hear her deep regular breathing, no doubt exhausted from the events of the day.

My chest tightened at the sight of her.

So innocent.

So vulnerable.

As familiar to me as the scent of pine and soil.

I wanted to be in bed with her, holding her, telling her that nothing could ever come between us. That no force on earth or territory scheme could touch her with me by her side. But deep down, I knew Willow wasn’t the type of woman who wanted promises of safety. She wanted something that was slipping out of my hold.

Control.

I knew that I wasn’t as steady as I could be right now. As Ishouldbe.

The worst part was knowing she could feel my pull to Shadowridge Peak. She was seeing it more and more, the strain it was taking to be here, in this life with her, when it was so vastly different from what I was used to. Or needed.

First, I needed to handle the threat to her, one way or another. They needed to know she wasn’t bait. They needed to be challenged, but mostly, they needed put down.

Willow sighed in her sleep, her hand reaching out to search for me as she slept. How easily she had adapted to me in her bed. She murmured in her slumber. It was low, even too low for me to hear clearly, but it sounded a lot like my name. Pulling off my shirt, I gently kicked off my boots, getting ready for bed.

One night. One last night.

Tomorrow, I’d tell her I needed to leave for a while, maybe think of a reason that wouldn’t make her doubt me or my commitment to her. My wolf snorted his discontent at the idea, fighting me even as I fought it. Leaving Willow felt wrong and unnatural, but dragging her further into this would only make it worse.

I couldn’t protect her alone on Shadowridge Peak.

“Caleb?” Her voice was thick with sleep, but she turned towards me as I folded my jeans over the back of a chair. “Why are you up?”

“Getting some water,” I lied smoothly. “I’m coming back in now,” I promised. When I slid into bed, she moved into me so willingly, so full of trust, it almost erased the memory of her stepping back from me today, fear in her eyes.

Almost.

“I had a strange dream,” she murmured, snuggling into my embrace as I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling. “You were alone and needed me.” Her yawn was wide, making her voicesound even huskier when she spoke next. “Isn’t that silly, that you would need me?” A soft chuckle later, she was back asleep, and I wondered if she would remember her story in the morning or if she had still been deep in sleep’s thrall when she’d woke looking for me.

Either way, it wasn’t something she would need to think about soon.

Holding her close, like the precious thing she was, I closed my eyes and willed sleep to come.

Walkinginto the kitchen the next morning, I found her leaning over the counter, her eyes on the woods beyond her home, stirring a cup of coffee, a light frown on her brow. The early morning light painted soft shadows across her face. She heard me approach and looked up, a soft smile on her lips. I could let myself forget there was anything wrong if I just focused on that smile, I thought, as I approached her.

“Do you know, before I met you…met you properly, as in, spends all my time with you, that I rarely drank coffee. I prefer tea. But being with you, twenty-four seven, now I drink coffee in the morning.” She looked down at her cup. “Isn’t that the weirdest thing?”

“Weird?” Leaning over, I picked up her cup and took a drink of her coffee. “No? But I do like how you drink your coffee exactly like mine.” I dodged away from the grab of her hand trying to reclaim her cup. “I’ll drink this, you make yourself a pot of tea. You’re drinking what I drink for easiness. Get your tea leaves out. Enjoy your morning cup of tea.”

I could see her contemplating my words. I could see her considering the argument, and then I saw her simple acceptanceI was right. A few minutes later, she was brewing tea leaves in her teapot.

I cleared my throat, feeling the words tighten and twist in my throat, but I couldn’t not do this. “Willow, we need to talk.”

---