Page 84 of Ravaged Wolf
“You good?” I ask. He’s got his water and his quilt. Flora is cleaning up after breakfast. I’m sure she’ll be over soon.
“Good as I can get.”
I go meet Izzy on her way back over. The sour scent of her nerves has dissipated, but a whiff of Rosie’s scent clings to her. It’s not a bad smell, but I don’t care for it. My wolf butts against the barrier between us. He wants to rub against her until she smells like only us again.
“We’re good to go,” Izzy says as she grabs my hand. “Let’s go find the phone so I can call my parents and tell them.”
“We’re doing that now? Okay. Let’s go.” I like this. I want everything settled as soon as possible, too. I’ve been on edge since she agreed to stay with me. It’s everything I never even dared dream of, and something in my bones warns me that Fate has never had a better opening to destroy me completely.
Technically, there is more than one phone at Old Den, and service is bad but not nonexistent, but there is one satellite phone that Cadoc has mandated remains on a specific table near the TV. That’sthephone.
“You know what you want to say?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No, but I know what I’ll say first.” We arrive at the table. “Will you stay for this one?” she asks.
My throat sticks. I nod. If she asks, nothing could make me leave.
I make eye contact with Danny and the other young males playing video games. The other males duck their heads and hop right up, but Danny, of course, waits until my wolf rumbles before he sets down his controller and stalks off, mumbling about a save point.
Izzy takes no notice. She’s psyching herself up, taking deep breaths.
I wish with all my heart that I could do this for her, but I’m also so proud of her. I used to think she was mouselike, but she’s not. She’s all wolf. A small one, but still—all wolf.
“Are you ready?” she asks as if I’m the one about to do the hard thing. I’m on to her. It’s easier for her to care for others. It’s the healer in her.
“We’ve got this,” I say, and her mouth curves in a wary but fierce little smile.
She dials. Her mother picks up. She’s not on speaker, but with shifter hearing, I can hear everything clear as day anyway.
They exchange a few pleasantries. Her mother’s tone makes it obvious that even though she says it’s a good time to talk, she still considers the call an imposition.
Izzy quickly gets to the point. “I’m calling because I spoke to Cadoc Collins, and I’m staying here at Old Den with Trevor. With my mate.”
For a long moment, there is stunned silence, and then her mother barks, “Hold the line.”
I hear footsteps. An urgent knock on a door. Raised voices that are far enough away that I can’t make them out.
Izzy’s gaze locks with mine. At first, there is a paralyzed fear in her eyes, but as I watch, her expression shores up into something more certain. Steelier.
Still, she jerks when her father barks, “Isolde! What isthis crap your mother’s telling me about you staying at Old Den?”
She swallows hard. She’s not looking at me anymore; she’s staring blindly into the distance, her free hand curling into a fist. My wolf growls.
Protect her.
I force myself to stand back. It’s as hard as reining back my wolf. She needs to do this herself, though. If I’ve learned nothing else about her during these weeks, it’s that the more I doforher, the more unsure she gets, but if I work beside her—and ease the way when she doesn’t notice—she thrives.
This is different from home improvement or navigating Old Den pack life, though. This is the male who terrorized her to the point she had to sneak away to meet her fated mate.
“I’m going to stay here with Trevor. Cadoc Collins has agreed.” Her voice is even, although quieter than usual.
“Bullshit. You will be on that bus on Monday.” He laces the words with command.
Izzy’s fist curls tighter. My chest constricts.
“Dad, I’m staying here with my mate,” she says even quieter.
He snorts. “The mate who raped you in the dirt and left you bleeding out on the sidewalk?”
