Page 2 of Runaway Wolf
Penny nodded. Then whispered, “Good point. We go together. Safety in numbers.”
When Caitlin got out of the car, she and Penny huddled together, hands held, giggling at their frightened silliness.
Were they having a great time playing it up for each other? Sure, but that’s because they were best friends. Daughters born to well-to-do, public parents. Were they probably a little scared too? Sure, at least in Caitlin’s case. She didn’t think much scared Penny. Nothing would ever scare her, not even death.
Because one day, Penny would die.
And she would rise as a wolf.
Chapter One
WHEN THE DIRT ROAD twisted to the west, the brilliant orange sun lit up Caitlin Montgomery’s windshield. Oh, the shocking brightness wasn’t consistently blinding her—fortunately, the soaring trees blocked most of the rapidly sinking sun. But every now and then, the reddish hues would light her up as the rays popped through the spaces between the trees. Her hands were white-knuckled on the steering wheel at ten and two.
She cursed. The towering trees casting shadows had made her take her sunglasses off, but now the sunrays pelting between the branches burst through the car.
She was going to kill Penny, the selfish twat, for making her drag herself clear out here to find out what the hell was going on with her selfish sister.
Penny had made a brief appearance, had a screaming match in their father’s office, and had stormed out of the house. Of all the days to pull her shenanigans, Penny picked the worst day on the calendar. The most difficult one for their parents.
The day of mass shifter protests.
Her gas gauge was sneaking up on E. Good God, would she ever get there?
She should have stopped for gas in the main strip of town, but gah. It was so ancient… deserted.
An old man had sat in a rickety folding chair at the gas station like he actually pumped the gas for customers. Who does that?
Mountain men with control issues, probably.
Even though she told herself she was being ridiculous, she peeled right out of the station. She told herself she could probably make it deeper into the mountain on the tank of gas she had, could keep going without stopping for more without actually acknowledging the fear she had—the one she carried since she was a kid.
That one movie she’d watched with Penny. They were both under ten, way too young for rated R, but the babysitter had it on and they’d snuck downstairs to the home theater.
It was an old horror film, nothing really scary by today’s standards… except for the concept. Creepy old, half-deserted town. Curtains that would part when a car would drive by. Freaky mountain people with two teeth. Serial killers who preserved visitors in wax for their own tourist attraction. Everyone ranted and raved about how realistic the wax people were, not realizing it was because they were real people dying underneath that rapidly hardening wax.
Chills at the childhood memories made a shiver curl up her spine. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea, after all. What possessed Penny to move to a backwoods mountain town? Should she turn back?
But then there was a tiny dot on the horizon—the cabin, maybe. She released a breath. That had to be the place.
The car pulled up on a cloud of dust and at the last moment, she turned the wheels to park on the side of the cabin instead of the front. If Penny looked out the window and saw the car, she might not answer.
And now, the sunset was bright over the horizon, but sinking fast, casting an odd shadow in spots as she strode up to the front porch.
She pounded on the door.
She was about to pound again when it was flung open and Penny’s elated expression dropped. Instead, her sister stood there with her mouth catching flies. Obviously, she’d been expecting someone else.
“Caitlin? What are you doing here? Wait, how did you find me?”
She had the nerve to look all judgy and suspicious.
And Caitlin could tell her but why would she give away the secret to how she found her? Penny would know what to avoid next time she pulled a disappearing act. Why would Caitlin make it that much harder on herself to find Penny the next time she ran?
She blasted her. “I came to find out what’s going on. You left—after coming home just to scream at Dad on the day when he had such an important press release to make. Did you choose that moment on purpose?”
And from the guilt and her sister’s eyes she knew the answer.
Penny crossed her arms over her chest, and leaned against the door frame. “I guess you’re gonna find out anyway. I’m not coming back, Caitlin. I’m never coming back.”
