I heard the awe and wonder in his voice, which in a way made things worse. I knew without a mate that I risked death. There’s a bond, a connection that develops and intensifies during the first transformation, but it has to at least be hinted at before that magical night.
I didn’t want to go through this wondrous experience with a surrogate. But that’s all Daniel was offering me. A one-night stand-in for the real thing. I couldn’t even contemplate that it could develop into something more. Because I wasn’t even going to accept the offer for a one-night stand.
When we got to the condo, he stayed at the bottom of the stairs while I climbed them to the porch. I put the key into the lock and opened the door.
“Good night, Hayden.”
I looked back over my shoulder and forced myself to smile. “Don’t forget to come by in the morning for that bowl of cereal.”
His low laughter followed me into the condo. I hoped my parting words had assured him that I wouldn’t try to escape. Because the truth was I had every intention of being gone before he arrived for breakfast.
FOUR
Plan B involved traveling light.
In my room at the condo I stuffed a couple of sweaters, a pair of jeans, and a few other essentials into my backpack.
It was long after midnight, and the condo had gone eerily quiet or maybe it just seemed creepy because of my clandestine preparation to depart. The silence reminded me of Daniel’s stealthy arrival. I wondered how long he’d been observing me today before he made his presence known. It really irritated me that he could sneak around and I wouldn’t know it. I’d always hated this burden I carried, and here I was complaining because the one time I’d needed it, it had let me down.
I hadn’t even asked Daniel where he was staying. Hotels and bed-and-breakfasts were located all through the town. Maybe he had a room somewhere. Or maybe he was simply going to shift into wolf form and curl up in the woods. The village was in a valley, surrounded by mountains and trees. He could find someplace to sleep. I wasn’t going to feel guilty about any hardships he might suffer. I hadn’t asked him to come searching for me.
After bundling up in my outside gear, I slung my backpack over my shoulder. I took one last look of longing around the room. I really had known happiness here. I was going to miss it.
Opening the door, I peered into the hallway. No one was around. Drawing on the hunting instincts of my kind, I crept toward the stairs. Cautiously I descended into the living room. No one had closed the drapes. Faint moonlight spilled into the room, enough to guide me.
I crossed the room and went out the back door, closing and locking it behind me as I stepped onto the deck. I darted down the wooden stairs and headed toward the shed where I’d parked the snowmobile I’d stolen at Wolford the night I’d made my escape. In anticipation of having to make another hasty retreat, I always kept the tank full. But when I got around to the shed and opened the door, I discovered the snowmobile was gone. I swore harshly beneath my breath. Of course. The elders must have given Daniel an extra key, and he wouldn’t have trusted me not to try to make an escape using something that moved faster than my legs. He could have taken it at anytime after he arrived.
Fury lashed at me. I wanted to shriek, to tear into him. I stomped my foot in the snow, a less than satisfactory action because little sound accompanied it.
“Jerk,” I muttered as I glanced around. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he was hiding somewhere watching me now. “Double jerk.”
I wished I could sense his nearness. Only I couldn’t. What if he wasn’t keeping watch? What if he thought taking the snowmobile was enough to deter me or that his charm was enough to hold me?
I was just stubborn enough to decide that if I started walking now, I could reach the next town by dawn. Who knew? Maybe they even had a bus depot.
I pulled a flashlight from the front pocket of my backpack, then adjusted the straps and weight on my shoulders. I trudged toward the trees. I was familiar enough with the area to know that the woods would provide me with some cover that the main road leading out of town wouldn’t. Eventually I would connect with the winding road.
I was walking among the trees where the lights from town didn’t penetrate when I finally switched on the flashlight. It was amazing how black the night could be when only a sliver of moon was in the sky. I had a terrific sense of direction, part of my natural wolfish instincts. I wasn’t afraid of getting lost.
But the air was cold and I couldn’t feel my nose. Several more hours of this wasn’t the smartest thing I’d ever planned. And Daniel probably figured I was too smart to do something this stupid, so there was a chance that he wasn’t watching me. The woods were filled with a thick silence. Somewhere a twig snapped—no doubt beneath the weight of snow and ice.
I’d always been comfortable in the woods, but suddenly a chill skittered down my spine. My breath hadn’t been visible in the frigid dry air, but now it was. Just little wisps of fog. If it was at all possible, everything went even quieter. I couldn’t explain it, but it was as though I’d suddenly been submerged in water. My ears had a strange ringing to them.
Then I saw the bluish gray mist rolling in slowly along the ground between the trees. I stopped dead in my tracks. It was a strange sight in the crispness of the snow-covered landscape. It crept silently, and yet it was almost like a living, breathing thing. Ominous. Creepy. It was only as high as my knees, but still I didn’t want to walk through it.
It reminded me of the harvester’s retreat. But it couldn’t be here. It couldn’t have found me.
The flashlight flickered and went dark. All I had now was a spark of moonlight. Yet the fog somehow seemed more visible.
Time to go.
I spun on my heel and slammed into something hard. Strong arms came around me.
Shrieking, I broke free, lashed out—
“Hey! Easy, easy!”
Recognizing Daniel’s voice, I stopped flailing my arms and kicking. I sank against him, my breathing harsh. Taking the cold air so deeply into my lungs made my chest ache.
“Did you see it?” I asked.
“See what?”
I lifted my head to get a better look at him, but the darkness kept us both in shadows. “There.” I turned around to point, and everything inside me stilled.
There was no fog, no mist. Only my flashlight, now working, resting on the ground where I’d dropped it, its light pointing toward the depths of the forest and revealing nothing beyond the snow and skeletal trees. A snow bunny hopped through the beam, and I nearly came out of my skin.