During the height of winter the forest was closed completely to the public. It was so beautiful and peaceful out in the wilderness then. I’d spent some time exploring the woods when the emotions at Wolford had become overwhelming. It was a good thing that I enjoyed my own company, because often it was all I had. I’d relished the solitude. As much as I didn’t want to go back to Wolford, I couldn’t deny that I missed it.
I went around to the back of the condo and stomped up the steps to the wooden deck. I dusted the snow off an Adirondack chair, sat down, pulled my knees to my chest, and sipped on my chocolate while enjoying what surely would be my last days of peace. I had a great view of the woods. Evergreens were sprinkled among the bare-branched trees. I watched as some deer walked through. And then, as though catching the scent of a predator, they bounded away.
I heard the sound of boots crunching on snow, getting louder as they came up the stairs. Even though I couldn’t detect his emotions, I knew who it was, knew his gaze was homed in on me, because the hairs on my neck prickled, but it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation. It was more along the lines of anticipation—which irritated me. I didn’t want him around. I brought my steaming chocolate to my face, allowing the mist to tickle my nose, anything to distract me from this strange reaction to his arrival. I didn’t turn my head, just kept staring out through the wisp of steam.
I wondered when he’d left the condo, why our paths hadn’t crossed, if he’d been out spying on me.
“Didn’t trust me to come back?” I asked tartly.
“I’m not a fool, Hayden,” Daniel said, his voice laced with humor, as he sat down in a chair beside mine.
It annoyed me that I amused him. “I didn’t see you.”
“I was there…watching.”
“That’s really kinda creepy, you know. They arrest people for stalking.”
“I wouldn’t have to do it if you’d give me your word that you wouldn’t run off.”
I glanced over at him. He was wearing a maroon sweater today, and I realized that he had some clothes stashed somewhere. “You’d believe me if I gave you my word?”
“Not on your life. Did you bring me one?” He indicated my insulated mug.
“No. Wasn’t even sure you were still around.”
He chuckled. “Right.”
Then he took the cup from me and sipped on my chocolate. I wanted to lash out at him, but for some reason my vocal cords knotted up, maybe because my throat and chest had tightened. Watching him, the intimacy of our sharing a drink, was unsettling. He seemed so at home with me, totally relaxed, and yet there was still that alertness to him as his gaze wandered over the landscape in front of us. I could sense him listening intently, as if not quite believing the peacefulness surrounding us.
“Expecting trouble?” I asked as I reached over and regained possession of my cup. I almost turned it so I wouldn’t touch where his lips had touched, but I could sense the dare in his gaze, so I sipped from the same spot he had.
“I always expect it. That’s part of being a Dark Guardian.”
I wrapped my gloved hands around my cup and felt the warmth seeping through. “I don’t know how to make you understand how badly I don’t want to go back,” I told him.
“I don’t know how to make you understand how imperative it is that you do.” With a deep sigh he leaned forward, planting his elbows on his thighs and staring into the trees before us as though he had the ability to see clear through them. “Last night you asked me what I knew about you. What do you know about me?”
Not much, I realized.
“I know you came from Seattle.”
“Not Seattle exactly but the area around there.” He bowed his head, studied his clasped hands.
I eased up in my chair, trying to get a better read on Daniel and what he was going through. He was as still as a statue, as though he thought if he moved, he might crack or crumble. “Did something happen?” I asked quietly.
“My family—my parents, my older brother—were killed.”
Empathy swamped me and brought tears to my eyes. It was so strong, so powerful. I’d lost my own parents in a car accident. Shifters had this amazing ability to heal quickly—but only in wolf form. And when an eighteen-wheeler slams into you…
It was death on impact. No time to shift, no time to heal. The authorities said my parents wouldn’t have even known what hit them.
I’d never willingly reached out to touch another Shifter. Even though I now knew that I wouldn’t be slammed by Daniel’s emotions, old habits are hard to break; long-held aversions are difficult to overcome. Still I forced myself to remove my glove. Taking a deep breath, I laid my trembling bare fingers over his hands. They were clasped so tightly that they felt like a solid rock. “I’m sorry. I lost my parents when I was a child. I know how difficult it is to lose your family.”
He unclenched his hands, turned one over, and threaded his fingers through mine, studying the intertwining as if it was the most fascinating thing he’d ever seen. “Did you feel their emotions?”
My throat constricting, I nodded. “I shouldn’t have. They were so far away. They’d left me at Wolford because they were going to celebrate their anniversary. Their tenth, I think. I don’t know. I just know I was mad they’d decided to leave me. Then I felt them die. The elders said it was because of the blood connection that distance didn’t matter. I woke up screaming. The fear was so intense but brief. Mercifully brief for me and for them.”
He squeezed my fingers. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge up old memories.”
“What happened with your family?”
He shook his head. “At the time I wasn’t exactly sure. They were dead when I got there. We…our clan…it’s not like yours. You’re all a tight pack. We’re more scattered. I thought if I came to Wolford I might find some answers.”
“Did you?”
“The night Justin died. Like him, my family didn’t shift back.”
“Oh my God. You think it was a harvester?”
“I don’t know for sure. Maybe. Like I said, they were dead when I got there. And they didn’t shift back to human form.”
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Is that why you’re so intent on taking me back to Wolford?”