Page 63 of Sweet Tooth

“Jesus christ, where have you been? Mom and Dad are out there looking for you.”

“They won’t find me.” Not unless they were willing to cross through another pack’s territory.

“Holy shit. You went to see her, didn’t you?” He laughed, then spoke again. “You’re insane. You know that, right?”

“Kate said the same thing.”

“So how did it go?”

I glanced at Kate whose face was a mix of expressions I couldn’t read. “It’s going. There’s a lot for us to talk about.”

“I bet. At least she didn’t report you. That’s gotta be a good thing, right?”

“I’m lucky I didn’t get caught. If she hadn’t found me on the street, I–” I shivered, then chased the thought from my mind.

“I’m glad you’re safe,” Dustin said, his voice softer than before. “Tell me the next time you’re planning to do something like that. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“At nineteen years old?” Was that even possible?

“It could happen,” he said as though he’d read my thoughts.

“Sorry for taking off.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe. Call me if you need me to pick you up, okay? I’ll head out there as soon as I can.”

“I will. And thanks.”

“What for?”

“Everything.”

“Hey, that’s what brothers are for, right?”

“Even the little ones.”

“Well?” Kate asked once I hung up the phone. “How was he?”

“Surprised. Relieved. I never should’ve run off the way I did.”

Kate’s brows pinched above her eyes. “It probably isn’t my place to ask, but why are you here? Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see you, but I thought for sure it was a dream up until a few minutes ago. What were you thinking wandering around the city like that?”

“That’s the problem. I wasn’t. Not entirely.” I let out a long breath, then leaned into her. “My wolf got away from me. By the time I realized where she was going, I didn’t have the heart to stop her.”

“And she brought you here.”

“Pretty much.” Then, thinking back to the events of last night, I said, “What were you doing out so late?”

“Probably the same as you. I couldn’t sleep, so I decided to take a walk.”

“By yourself?” The words slipped past my lips before I could take them back. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

“It’s easier to walk around when you aren’t a wolf.” She gave me a pointed look, then sat up so she could fix her hair. “I’m assuming you didn’t just come here because of your wolf. Did something happen at home?” She knew I was planning to confront my dad, but I never got around to telling her how it went.

“Not really. Sort of. It’s hard to explain.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing.” Kate offered me her hand and smiled when I took it. “It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me about it right now.”

“It isn’t that. I just don’t know where to start. We’ve been lied to. Or I have anyway.”

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