Page 77 of A Wolf's Wound
“Why didn’t you leave a note, at least?Then I wouldn’t have tied up the entire pack by having them combing the forest and compound and city for you!”
“I didn’t ask you to do any of that!”Hannah protests.“Ryder, I just needed to be alone.And I didn’t feel like I could be on your family’s compound.Or even in the cottage with you right there.Everything that’s happened—it’s been a lot and I wanted to sort out how I felt.”
“Oh.”I don’t know what to say, and I don’t think she does either.“Um, did you?”I finally ask, feeling a little foolish.
“No,” Hannah says with a wry smile.“Or if I did, all of those thoughts fell out of my head when Mystery Creeper showed up.”
“Did you get his name?Not that he couldn’t have given you a fake one,” I add.
“I didn’t.We didn’t talk for very long before I realized that something was off.”
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” I tell her and she smiles.
“And I’m glad you showed up when you did.Even though he’d already left,” Hannah adds.
“Hey, can you let me at least pretend I could have rescued the damsel in distress?”I joke and she laughs.
“Sure.How you doing, buddy?”Hannah asks Shadow as he sits up.
Shadow chirps something to her, and Hannah nods before looking over at me.“I think he’s feeling better, and I guess maybe we should go back to the cottage.”
“Maybe.”I nod.“Would you be okay with that?”I ask her.
Hannah surprises me by nodding.“I stopped by my place earlier and the door was just about done,” she explains.
“Oh, right,” I say, trying not to look disappointed by her incredibly practical response.
“And the cottage is pretty nice,” she adds casually, opening the passenger-side door and getting in.
“I’m glad you think so.”I grin, getting behind the wheel.Shadow curls up in the back seat as I start the ignition.
After a quick stop by Hannah’s place for her to get her bag, we’re on the road back to the compound.Hannah’s quiet, so I am too.
I notice that the scent hasn’t totally disappeared.Traces of it hover around Hannah.I hope they dissipate soon.I don’t want to think about the stalker every time I’m around her.
I run over Hannah’s story as I drive.Everything she’s saying makes sense, even her reasons for leaving the compound earlier.I don’t doubt anything she’s told me.
But I can’t shake the feeling that I don’t have the full picture of what’s going on.Something’s coming, something bad.I know that much.But what is it?And what if I’m not prepared for what it truly is?
Chapter 44
Hannah
Thedrivebacktothe compound passes in silence.Ryder looks preoccupied, and I know I am.
Now that the shock of the encounter has worn off, I’m struggling to make sense of everything that’s happened.I can still feel that man’s hands on my arms, his hot breath in my face.He was so close, and then he just…vanished.
I’m not upset that he fled.But it makes the entire episode that much more confusing.Had he just wanted to scare me?If so, why?And what does Ryder have to do with it?Was this guy the same one who left the notes?
Ryder pulls up to the cottage before I’ve made much headway in sorting out how I feel.He shuts off the ignition and gets out of the car, but I stay where I am.“You okay?”he asks as he leans down to close his door.
I look at him, and he gives a crooked smile.“I mean, I know neither of us are actuallyokay,” he says, and I smile too.
“If we’re grading on that curve, then yes, I’m okay,” I say, opening my door as he goes around back for Shadow.
“That’s good enough for right now,” Ryder says.He leads the way to the cottage, disarms the alarm, and then unlocks the door.“Welcome back.”
“Looks the same,” I remark and grin.“It feels nice being here.”
