Page 39 of A Little Red
“What are you doing?” his mother demanded. “Get out of there.”
“No,” said Scarlet and turned her back on them.
“Stop being a child. Come out of there at once!”
Scarlet didn’t bother to reply. Instead she put her arms around Liam’s neck and buried her face in his fur. He made the warm rumbly sound he always made when she hugged him and Scarlet let out a little sob.
“I am—”
Whatever the woman had been going to say was cut off as Paxton pushed her out onto the hall and slammed the door shut.
When they didn’t return after a few minutes, Scarlet took off her backpack and lay down in the cage. The wolf promptly lay down with her, snuggling into a good spooning position.
“Your mom isn’t going to believe me, is she? That I can help and that we should take you to my grandma, I mean.”
He gave a deep sigh and looked at her out of the corner of his eye.
“And if Grandma can’t help, and you don’t turn back, your mom will never let us stay together.”
The wolf didn’t respond.
“It’s fine,” said Scarlet. “We’ll go tonight. It will probably mean that I’ll have to figure outtraveling, which admittedly I’ve never done, but I was going to have to figure it out sooner or later. And then if Grandma can’t help us, then we’ll just… go to… Canada. There are some nice deep woods in Canada and I don’t need a job anyway. Our ancestors didn’t need jobs. I’m sure we’ll be perfectly happy there.”
The wolf picked up his head and gave her a very Liam-ish look.
“Don’t give me that look. It’s a back-up plan. I’m sure Grandma can fix you. I’m sure of it. We’ll go tonight after everyone is asleep.”
The wolf licked her face and lay back down again. Scarlet hugged him tight to her and tried to remember everything her Grandma had ever said abouttraveling.
Episode 21
Searching
Paxton
Paxton stood in the doorway and watched as his mother ordered the loading of the vans. She was going to go to the city and get her son back fromthat human harlot.
They had woken this morning to an empty cage. His mother had blamed him because he was the one who had convinced her to let Scarlet stay. He was still convinced that had been the right decision. Liam had been more human with Scarlet. And Scarlet had said she could help. He wasn’t sure how, but for a human she had seemed very unbothered by Liam’s wolf status or the warlocks.
Great Aunt Bryn sidled up to him.
“I think your mum’s got the wrong end of the stick on this one.”
“She says she knows where he’s going,” said Paxton doubtfully. “The alpha awareness…”
Aunt Bryn looked around carefully.
“It just says he’s in the woods,” she whispered, leaning in close.
“Which woods?” Paxton whispered back, gesturing at the panoply of trees that surrounded the house.
Aunt Bryn shook her head. “She doesn’t know.”
Paxton rolled his head around on his neck nervously. Saying an alpha didn’t know something that they claimed to know was asking to get into a fight.
“So, somehow Scarlet has done something to the alpha awareness?” suggested Paxton. Aunt Bryn shrugged her confusion. Paxton mulled it over. His mother had been annoyed last night, but now she was in a full-on rage, which probably meant that she had come to the same conclusion.
“The alpha awareness isn’t the only way to find someone,” murmured Aunt Bryn.
