Page 45 of Runaway Wolf
Isaac had given her a guest room to use. And that had set the tone for them. Things hadn’t been right. They felt stilted, awkward between them. He felt guilty, or maybe responsible, for her forced change. Or maybe she shouldn’t have asked him to be the one to bite her. Maybe she put this pressure on him.
Maybe it was expected that she’d choose him because she had no other options.
Outside it was snowing. She placed her fingertips on the glass, feeling the cold through the pane. It would feel good tonight. The wolf’s fur was heavy, a barrier against the cold. Might even make her change go faster since her human body would be naked and freezing until the fur sprouted.
How would she leave? How could she leave without her heart breaking? Because, even though it was wrong to pick Isaacbecause it was expected, her heart would miss him. She’d miss the way he smiled, the fine lines crinkling at the corners of his eyes. The way his scruff lined darker at his jaw. The way his eyes would turn icy blue every time they landed on her.
But she didn’t have a choice. Things couldn’t continue on this way. What would she do when he found a true mate—one who was born, not bitten—and fell in love? He would be awkward, refuse to toss her out, and would sacrifice his happiness out of his alpha duty. While she didn’t—and would never—fit in.
She turned away from the window and startled.
Isaac stood in the doorway, watching her.
“I-I didn’t hear you come in.”
“No. You were lost in your thoughts.”
She hated this. Hated the awkward, stilted conversations between them. Hated that he expected her to come to him, to choose him. Because that signified how he felt that he should take care of her—Penny’s sister. Maybe their relationship would have gone differently if she’d never gotten marked by Rhett. If she and Isaac had a chance to explore the budding love between them before she was changed. Now she had all these hormones and instincts and rage roiling through her that she shared with the wolf.
“We’re changing tonight.”
“I figured.”
“Tomorrow we’re going to get a Christmas tree. Set it up in the entry. It’s pack tradition.”
Another area she didn’t fit in. Their traditions.
“I-uh—I thought I’d go down to town. Put in a few applications.”
He raised a brow. “Now?”
“Holiday help is needed all over.”
“You just turned—”
“I have to tolerate people at some point.”
“It’s too soon.”
“It’s not. I feel ready.”
His stance looked deliberately relaxed but she knew it wasn’t real. He was tense under that show. “Take the holidays off. Take the winter off. Come spring, Penny’s going to need you. You don’t want to take a job and then need time off for her change, do you?”
“I can’t go months without a paycheck. My father will have frozen my accounts just like he did Penny’s.”
“If you need money, I’ll put money—”
Maybe her voice was a little harsh when she said, “No! I don’t want your money.”
His expression cooled. “Why not?”
“It’s not mine.”
“Not yet.”
Not ever. But she couldn’t say that. Instead, she smiled tightly. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense to get a new job right now.”
Especially because she still had to deal with her parents. Penny couldn’t go through what she had. Even if she made it outalive this… this emotional constipation afterward would cost her relationship with Noah. The one person who made sense to her. Caitlin had to fix this for Penny.
