Page 40 of To Keep A Wolf
“Caught it myself late last night,” he says, passing right by where I stand and going straight to the smoker. He opens the hatch and breaks off a small hunk of meat before offering it to me.
“I’m okay,” I say.
He looks as if he wants to insist, but in the end, he eats it himself. The silence between us feels full to the point of uncomfortable. He doesn’t leave, though.
“Your friends explained a bit of what brought you here,” he says.
I stare at him. The comment is so layered, I don’t know if he meansherelike this mountain orherelike this predicament in life. In the end, I guess they’re both pretty much the same issue.
“You can stay here,” he adds when I don’t answer. “As long as you need.”
Still, I don’t reply. Every word out of his mouth renders me more speechless. Stay here? With him? I don’t even know how to feel about that.
“I can’t,” I finally snap.
His brows lift. “You got somewhere else to hide out?”
“I’ll figure something out.”
He nods as if he gets it. Gets me.
Impossible.
“What about your mom?”
“She sold me out.” I lift my chin. “Did they tell you that’s what brought me here? Her betrayal?” He frowns, which I take as a ‘no’ and push on. “She made sure I had no other option but to accept a marriage proposal from the biggest alphahole that ever lived—a fiancée who intends to kill me on our wedding night in the name of pure toxic masculinity.”
“Guess they left that part out,” he says, the first hint of a temper working its way into his eyes. “Where’s your mother now?”
“In Blackstone. Probably kissing Jadick’s ass and promising him all sorts of things now that I’m gone.”
“Jadick Clemons is the new alpha then.”
“You know him?”
“I knew his father,” he says darkly.
“Yeah, well, the apple didn’t fall far. And you can thank Mom for helping to put him on that throne.”
I expect him to offer up some excuse about my mother’s behavior, maybe even defend her, but he ignores her involvement and asks, “Why come here then? Your mother knows where I live. She could find you here if she wanted to.”
My hands ball into fists becauseshe knows where he lives?What the hell? All this time, she’s known where to find him and never mentioned it to me?
Anger works its way to the surface, but I shove it back, noting his watchful gaze. He’s weighing my response. Like he can actually read me—a perfect stranger.
“No one bothered to tell me they were bringing me here,” I eventually toss out.
When I find Levi and Tripp, I’m going to—
“Yeah, I can see that.” He smirks. “If you’re wondering where they went, they both ran and hid after spilling some of the story to me.”
My mouth opens. “Seriously?”
I glance toward the trees, sniffing, but their scents are too muddled to pick out with the wind blowing crossways.
When I look back at my father, he’s grinning. “I’ve never seen two grown male wolves tuck tail and run so fast. You must be pretty scary when you want to be.”
“I’m going to kick their asses all the way down this mountain if that’s what you mean.”
