Shut. Up.
A groove appeared between August’s eyebrows. “No,” he said after a long pause. “I just need to get away from Boulder for a while. I’ve been here for three years. I don’t like staying in the same place for long stretches. I have my entire life to grow roots, but until I have to, I’d rather run wild.”
“And going to fight in… Where are you going?”
“It’s classified.”
“And going to fight is your idea of running wild? Why can’t you run wild in the Rockies or in the Appalachians?”
A smile grew on his face. “Worried about me?”
“Um, yeah.” I felt the tips of my ears heat up. “You’re going God knows where to fight God knows who. Of course I’m worried.”
Amusement twinkled in his eyes. “Quit stalling, and give me your number.”
He had his cell phone poised in his hands. It was unlocked, so I lifted it from his fingers, created a new contact, and typed in my number.
“Don’t run too wild, all right?”
His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat. “You too.”
I felt all torn up over his departure. Ten years my senior, August Watt had been like a big brother to me way back when. He’d taught me to play backgammon while our parents had never-ending meals. He’d taught me to climb my first tree. He’d walked with me to the ice-cream parlor, and when the weather was crap, he’d collect me from school in his pickup.
Before good sense could knock into me, I hooked my arms around his neck and pressed my cheek against his chest, against the heart that beat there, strong and steady.
“Thank you for being nice to me. Since I came back, but also during all those years before I left.”
For a second he didn’t move, but then his arms wound around me and pulled me in tight. “Don’t ever thank someone for being nice. Especially not me.”
We stayed locked together until one of the dryers beeped so incessantly I broke the embrace to power the machine off.
“Keep in touch, okay?” His voice was a little thick.
I raised a paltry smile-the best I could muster. “I’d need your number for that.”
He pressed on his phone’s screen, and my cell phone started ringing.
“Pick up,” he said.
I frowned. “Okay.” I swiped my phone off the top of a pile of clean sheets, then slid my finger across the screen. When I saw him raise the phone to his ear, I raised mine too.
“Hey,” he said, and then he winked and turned around, disappearing the way he came. “What are you up to?”
Silly. This was so silly. But it got me smiling. “Laundry.”
“That’s always code for something else.”
“Is it?” I laughed. “What’s it code for?”
“Everyone knows what it’s code for.”
I touched my navel, which suddenly felt tight and hot. “Enlighten me, why don’t you?”
THAT NIGHT, just as I was falling asleep, a knock resounded softly through my bedroom. Since the pack had left, I imagined it would be Everest, but as I walked toward the door, I smelled menthol and bacon grease.
Evelyn.
Had she come to tell me she was leaving? My heart thumped as I drew open the door. Hugging her arms, she stood in the darkened corridor, her face free of her usual heap of makeup. The red rims of her eyes told me she’d been crying.
My fault.
My selfishfault.
She pressed her arms tighter in front of the plush black bathrobe Mom had given her for Christmas a few years back. To avoid parting with it, Evelyn had mended almost every seam. Would she impart on our relationship the same treatment she’d given her robe?
As her eyes raked over the bruises marring my skin, she pursed her lips.
I wanted to explain, but when I opened my mouth, a tiny sob lurched out instead. Evelyn’s arms came loose, and then they laced around me. She pulled me against her chest, combing my hair back as I soaked the fluffy fabric with my tears.
“You won’t leave me?”
“No, querida. I will never leave. Just as I could never hate you, even if you transformed into a dragon.”
A wheezy chuckle glided out between my blubbering. “Those don’t exist.”
“Gracias a Dios.” If she hadn’t been holding me, I was certain she would’ve crossed herself.
The corridor lights flickered and buzzed.
“I am ready to hear…more. Will you tell me?”
I nodded and tugged her inside. Once the door was closed, once she’d settled on the bed next to me and dragged her lotion-softened fingers through my hair, I told her about how I’d tried to become part of the pack after my father was shot in his wolf form by a hunter. I told her about Heath and what he did to Mom when she’d begged him to train me.
What I didn’t tell Evelyn was that I’d entered the contest to become Alpha. I neither wanted to worry her nor have her tell me how dumb it was.
When my phone rang on Wednesday morning, I answered without even checking the number. For the past three days, all my calls had originated from August. We talked every day, and when we didn’t talk, we texted.
I’d never communicated with anyone as easily. He made me laugh. He also made me feel things…things that were apparently against pack rules. Things that made me wish he’d come back to Boulder sooner than planned.
“Candy, you’re alive!” a chirpy voice said.
I rolled into a sitting position so fast I had to clutch the nightstand to avoid keeling over. “Hi, Sandra.”
“I’ve got a job for you, girl.”
“A j-job?”
“A client saw your profile-“