Page 78 of Wolf's Providence

“Eamon,” he told me with an almost bored sigh. He cocked his head, the amusement back in his gaze. “I thought it was funny that he’d leave you behind, but then imagine how amusing it was when you followed about twenty minutes later, all hot and bothered and completely oblivious to the fact I’ve been following you since you left your house.”

“You followed me?”

Eamon looked bored again. “Here’s my thinking of how this morning has gone for you, Willow Harper. You woke up feeling good. Then Caleb, the joy killer that he is, ruined your good mood by being a self-sacrificing ass and deciding that the best thing for you was to stay put, while he set off to tackle a band of dogs alone.” His eyes held a gleam of wicked glee as he watched my face flush. “You, being the strong independent woman you are, thought, ‘Nah, fuck that’ and decided to follow. You’re going the wrong way by the way, but I digress.” He covered a smile with a fake cough when he saw me immediately look around in despair at the knowledge I was going the wrong way. “I’m assuming Caleb mentioned me, we’ve already met after all, and now you think the best person to get you to a shifter as stubborn as that alpha would be…moi.” As he held his arms out at his sides, his grin was now a wide smile. “And here I am.”

“You’re a bit of a dick, right?” I said bluntly, causing him to laugh out loud. “I’m going the wrong way?”

“Completely. North is…” He twisted to point behind us. “That way.”

“Shadowridge Peak is north?”

Eamon looked at me as if I were dense. “Yeah, north, and north is that way.”

“Will you help me find him?”

“He isn’t lost,” he quipped, pushing his hands into his jacket pockets. “I know exactly where he’s going.” Again, that annoying glint of amusement in his eye. “And so do you.” He considered me, his eyes narrowing slightly. “He thinks he left you behind and that you’re safe. Putting yourself out here isn’t going to please him. I could be one of the dicks trying to use you. Plus, Caleb, will not like you disobeying orders.”

“Orders?” I scoffed. “No one made him boss. It’s not his choice to make.”

“The GoddessLunamade him boss, so it is mostdefinitelyhis choice to make. You’re his woman.”

“I’m not a possession!” I snapped with a fierceness that surprised me. “We’re a team, whether he likes it or not.”

Eamon swept a glance over me, the corner of his mouth curling. “Well, aren’t you a little fighter,” he murmured. Turning his head slightly, he scanned the tree line, listening to something I couldn’t hear. He paused, and then he turned his attention back to me. “You really want to do this?”

“Yes.” My answer was so immediate I think I impressed him.

“It’s going to be tough. Winter comes early on Shadowridge Peak.”

“I’ve been there, I can handle it.”

“Okay, let’s go.” He turned around and headed back the way I’d just come. “First, we need to get you to change your boots. Those ones aren’t taking you anywhere.” Eamon turned to lookat me over his shoulder. “That Jeep in your driveway? Caleb leave the keys?”

The Jeep. I’d completely forgotten that we could use the Jeep.

“Yes. I think they’re—” Eamon’s sharp look made me bite my tongue. “Yeah, he did.”

“Good. Pick up your pace, Harper. We got a lot of miles to clock today.”

Hadn’t he just said we were driving?

“Oh, and you may want to tell your friends you’re walking out on them,” he added with a casualness that didn’t detract from the harshness of his rebuke. “It sucks to find out you’ve been left behind, as you know from the fact that you’re out in the woods already lost. You’ve got a phone, use it.”

Shame washed over me. He was right. I had been so focused on following Caleb that I forgot about whoIwas leaving behind.

Shit, I was not looking forward to this next conversation. I called Lily.

TWENTY-FOUR

Willow

I double-checkedthe bag I’d thrown together, nerves tightening in my stomach as I pulled it over my shoulder. My phone chimed just as I came out of my bedroom, and walking into the living room, I wasn’t surprised to see Lily standing there, her brows knitted in concern.

“A voicemail?” she asked, her arms folded tightly against her chest. “You left me a fricking voicemail?”

“You didn’t answer…”

“So you call again. You donotleave your best friend a voicemail.”

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