Page 76 of Wolf's Providence

“The place where all your demons dwell?”

“If you want to describe it that way…”

As she looked at me over her shoulder, I saw the fury return in her eyes. “I thought ‘the place that turns you batshit crazy’ was too harsh.” Turning back to me, she grabbed a dishcloth and wiped her hands dry. “But thatiswhere you almost lost yourself, where you’re at most risk, so I’ll ask again…why are you going back to Shadowridge Peak?”

“The mountain calls to me.”

My wolf rumbled with unease, but the other part of me, the darker part, was already stretching out, eager for the solitude of the mountains.

She gaped at me and then threw her head back and laughed. “No. Nuh-uh, you’re not going there without me. Your darkness will eat you up with a spoon and ask for seconds.”

“You’re not coming with me. It’s too dangerous,” I snapped.

“Which isexactlywhy I’m going.”

TWENTY-THREE

Willow

“No, you’re not.”Caleb glowered at me, standing up and moving away from me. “You barely survived the last time.”

I stared at him, my hands trembling at my sides as I tried to make sense of his words, put myself in his shoes, and recognize his need to protect me. But I didn’t need protection fromhim, and I needed him to understand that, but I also needed to let him see I was willing to listen to him.

And then I could tell the idiot man he was, well…an idiot.

“So your plan is what? Just…leave?” I tried to stay calm, the words felt forced out, and even though I was trying to be reasonable, I could still hear the hurt creeping into my voice. When we’d only been off those mountains for such a short time, the idea of him walking away, it felt like I was being cheated.

Caleb’s eyes were on the floor, his jaw clenched. “Willow, can you please understand that this is not a choice Iwantto make? But staying here putsyouin danger. If I leave now that I know what they want, I can draw them to Shadowridge Peak. Leaving you, it takes you out of the equation.”

I closed the space between us, reaching out, though my hand hovered just short of his and he never closed the gap. “Caleb, you keep saying the same thing, like it’s your job to protect me.It isn’t and if it was, leaving me is not the way to fill the job description.” His small huff of amusement encouraged me to keep talking. “You think that leaving is drawing them away and that it will make it easier for me to be safer.” I felt my insides swoop as I said the next words. “Have you ever considered that maybe I don’t want to be safe if it means beingwithoutyou?”

He lifted his head, and his eyes met mine, their intensity stealing my breath for a second. “It’s not about what we want right now, Willow. These shifters…they’ll be relentless. And I can’t stand seeing them use you against me. If they think you’re my weakness, they won’t stop until they have what they want. I killed one of them yesterday…” He exhaled sharply, stepping back to break the connection I was desperate to hold on to, despite his admission. “They will want revenge for that, against me. Their blood will be boiling to come afterme. Let me use their fury to my advantage.” He broke eye contact with me, staring out the window to the trees. “I…I don’t trust myself to keep you safe if I stay.”

A surge of frustration burned in my chest, pushing words out before I could stop them. “Fine. Then as I said, I’ll come with you. We’ll face it together.”

His head jerked back as if I’d slapped him. “No, Willow,” he said firmly. “Shadowridge Peak is the last place I want you to be. Do you remember the last time you were on that peak with me? Or were you too busy bleeding in my arms because of whatIdid to you?”

“Will youpleasemove past that? I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. No—” I held my hand up in a ‘stop’ sign. “No,letme speak. Was it your claws that wanted to churn up my insides? Yes, it was. Was it intentional?No, it was not. I’m not a victim, Caleb. You didn’t choose to hurt me. You were under the influence of something much darker than you, and if you go onto that mountain with no one at your back, then you may as wellhand yourself over to it. You think keeping me here, drawing them away from me to you, is safe. I think the most dangerous thing you can do is walk back onto Shadowridge Peak with no one by your side.”

Caleb looked away from me, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said, but his voice was softer, more distant. And just like that, I knew he’d already made up his mind and he was already slipping away.

“And what do I do, just wait for you to come back?” My voice cracked, and I hated how small I sounded, hated the feeling of him slipping through my fingers when I’d only just begun to know what it was like to have himwithme in my life.

A partner.

He lifted his hand, brushing his fingers along my cheek, and I stilled under his touch, savoring the warmth that I wasn’t ready to let go of. “I’m doing this for you, Willow. If something happens to you, because of me, I won’t come back from that, I know that. Let me do this. I don’t want to leave you, but I have to.”

I reached for him, fingers curling around his arm, feeling the tension there like he was ready to pull away at any second. “Let me help. Don’t leave me out of this. We’re in this together, Caleb.”

He pulled me close, his lips crashing against mine with fierce determination. I parted my lips, and his tongue slid in. It was a powerful, possessive kiss that left no room for doubt about how he felt about me, and I felt hope surge in me that he had listened.

Caleb pulled back, and before I could say anything, he was gone, a flash of movement out the door, and I stood there, heart pounding, frustration building in my chest as I looked at the empty doorway. I thought I’d gotten through to him. I thought he heard me, but he left me anyway.

The silence of my kitchen was louder than I expected.

I glanced around the room, my living room furniture, the kitchen, and the small breakfast bar. This was my life, but as I looked around, I felt how empty it was. This was the life he thought he was keeping intact by walking out?

He was wrong.

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