Page 77 of Wolf's Providence

He had become as much a part of my life as anything else, and he needed to be reminded of that.

A sudden surge of anger bubbled up, surprising me.Did he think he could just walk away?Did he think I would just sit here? Waiting? I took a deep breath, the anger solidifying into something more stubborn, a resolve that steadied my trembling hands.

If Caleb thought he could make this decision for me, he was wrong.

Taking a shaky breath, I forced myself to stay calm. I would never get up that peak without a shifter to help me. I couldn’t ask Cannon; he’d probably agree with Caleb that leaving me behind was the safest option. I thought about it again. Was he right in his assumption that the shifters would leave me alone? Those who wanted to get to Caleb by using me would know that Caleb had figured it out, wouldn’t they? I mean, they were one less in their group now, weren’t they?

So was I really in danger anymore? Maybe not if he was right in the fact he had drawn their attention off of me. But that meant Calebwas, and that was not acceptable to me. He thought it was for territory. Now that I knew there were more survivors of the Shadowridge Peak pack than he let on, what if there were more survivors of the Cristone Pack? I already knew I wasn’t going to stay behind; I just needed to find someone who would take me up an unclimbable mountain.

In my bedroom, I pulled on jeans, a shirt and a sweater. I grabbed my jacket, and stuffing my phone and wallet into a purse, I headed for the front door. Caleb may think I wouldbe safer here, hidden away, cowering in fear, but he was underestimating how much I was willing to do for him. I was not the delicate human he had to lock away and protect, not anymore.

Checking I wasn’t forgetting anything, I shoved my boots on. After checking everything one more time, I was ready to leave. Without any more thought, I closed the door behind me, locked it, and set off at a determined pace straight for the woods that enclosed the town.

He’d mentioned Eamon would still be here, by choice or chance? I knew what he looked like; I just needed to find him. If he was the same kind ofanyonethat Caleb was, then I knew I would find him in the woods.

Anger at Caleb and his bullheaded ways made my steps quick and sure. The threat he was facing wasourthreat. Had he learnednothing? This fight was one we’d fight together. He would accept it because I planned on being right there with him.

It shamed me to admit it, but I had never walked any of the hiking trails that ran through the woods up the mountains near Whispering Pines. I wasn’t outdoorsy when I was a young teenager, and by the time I moved here, I was a woman who had ME, and that kind of activity was foreign to me. My approach to the first signposted trail was cautious, my pace slowing as I looked at the trees, the path that disappeared where the trees grew thicker and wilder.

Doubt flickered through me. I knew if I had been looking for Caleb, the woods would be where he would be. I guessed Eamon would be the same…but what if the others who were out for Caleb also stuck to the woods?

It was almost their natural habitat, wasn’t it?

I would not back down. I hadn’t even been gone from my home for fifteen minutes and already I was filled with doubts. No, I wasn’t. I could do this. My steps became more confident.

I may not know what I was getting into, but I was still getting into it.

The woods were silent, which freaked me out. The quiet was eerie. My footsteps sounded loud as they crunched over leaves and broken twigs. There was a strange feeling out here, like I was being watched, and I felt an awareness on my skin that I was trying to convince myself was my overactive imagination. If I shouted for this Eamon, would he answer?

Caleb called shifters hunters; was I willingly making myself prey?

I felt the low thrum of our bond, and it tightened my resolve. I had learned a few things in my time with shifters—the weak didn’t stand a chance.

I was not weak.

Pushing further, I heard a faint rustling to my right, and while I tried not to look directly at it, I was sure there was something keeping pace with me in the shadows of the trees.

The underbrush rustled louder and suddenly a rabbit jumped out, stopped suddenly at my loud yelp of fear, and then ran across the trail and disappeared.

“Whoa!” My pulse was racing. “It was just a rabbit.”

“Not just a rabbit.”

Spinning around, I gaped at the man behind me, his posture relaxed but his eyes sharp and assessing.

“Willow Harper,” he greeted me with a slight smirk. His voice was steady, confident, and edged with an unsettling familiarity that I couldn’t place. “Imagine my surprise when you wander right into the woods, dressed for a casual stroll as you decide to pick one of the hardest hiking trails around here.”

It was? Moving back, I looked him over. He was wearing thick tread boots, worn jeans, a zipped-up hoodie under a padded jacket, a backward baseball cap, and an attitude that just put me on high alert.

“Who are you and why do you know me?”

He leaned forward, still non-threatening. “I think I’m who you’re trying to find,” he whispered loudly.

Swallowing down my nerves, I tried to keep a hold of my composure. “You’re Caleb’s friend? Right? You’re friends?”

Eamon chuckled, stepping forward. “Friends? Wouldn’t call us that exactly.” He saw my reaction and he held up a hand in reassurance. “But…I owe him a favor, and that would at least make us acquaintances…right?”

Could I trust him? “What’s your name?”

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