Chapter 14

I got an image of Nimbus on his own feet, so I paused long enough to let him down. He sprinted ahead of me, and I followed, hoping he had an idea of where to go.

I’d dashed up one of the large house’s driveways and then crashed through their side yard into the wooded area that ran behind the houses. Branches and leaves snapped and cracked under my feet, and the tree branches tugged at my clothing. Nimbus raced along, but just as I wasn’t used to sprinting long distances, he was young, and I sensed his energy flagging.

There was no way we could outrun a werewolf, anyway.

Nimbus came to a creek and turned to run alongside it.

I didn’t hear any pursuit, but if Kerin had shifted, I probably wouldn’t until it was too late.

A whiff of cinnamon caught my attention just as shadows swirled from the depths of the trees and solidified into a now familiar six-legged, dog-like monster. Hopefully, from the cinnamon, it was Oliver.

Nimbus barked his high-pitched bark then kept running. The shade ran back the way we’d come. I chased after Nimbus until he slowed. I stumbled to a halt, clutching my side, gasping for breath, trying to stay alert, but wanting to fall to my knees until I regained the ability to breathe.

Wolves dashed out of the trees and surrounded us, setting my heart racing again. They faced outward in a ring, and I guessed they were friendly. Either that or they, rightly, knew I couldn’t run and were keeping me in one spot.

I heard yelping in the distance followed by ominous silence. The cries had sounded canine, not the eardrum-destroying cries of a shade. Before long, the creature dragged an unconscious, or dead, wolf into the clearing and dropped it at a large gray wolf’s feet.

The six-legged creature flowed back into the shadows before fluidly shifting into a familiar human shape.

“Oliver!”

He nodded and approached the circle of wolves. The big gray glanced at me, huffed, then began his own shift.

I watched, fascinated, as bones popped and cracked, fur receded, and before long a man kneeled where a wolf had stood.

It took me a moment to realize that, unlike Oliver, Davin had not shifted with his clothing.

I blushed furiously and looked away, though I’d mostly gotten an eyeful of his muscular backside.

“Are you okay?” Davin rose to his feet.

I finally let myself drop to my knees. Nimbus came over and pressed his fluffy face against mine and rooed softly.

“No,” I answered. “But Nimbus is safe, so there’s that. What happened?”

“Apparently Kerin isn’t as loyal as we thought. We’ll question her, and she’ll face pack justice.” Davin didn’t sound happy about that. I hadn’t stopped staring at the ground, so I couldn’t see his expression.

“If you like, I will walk with Nimbus and Hannah,” Oliver said. “While you deal with your rogue wolf.”

Davin’s pause made me think that perhaps he wasn’t thrilled with that idea, but he finally agreed.

“If that is all right with you, of course.” Oliver kneeled next to me.

“Yes, please.”

He held out his hand and I took it, letting him pull me to my feet. “Let’s leave the wolves to their business. Davin can find us later.”

“Thank you for coming for me and Nimbus,” I said in Davin’s general direction. “You too, Oliver.”

Nimbus rooed as if agreeing.

“Of course,” Davin replied. “Any time. Hannah, I’ll catch up with you and Oliver in a while. I’ll make sure I’m wearing clothes, too. Sorry about that.”

“Uh, yeah, sure, it’s fine,” I stammered.

He chuckled. “It would be far more convenient if our clothing shifted with us, or we could talk in wolf form. Unfortunately, we have to deal with nudity instead. We’re all used to it. I’m sorry for subjecting you to it before we had a chance to discuss it. I’m shifting back now. Thank you for texting me when you did, or we might not have caught up in time.”

“Thank you,” I said again.

I let Oliver lead me away, cheeks still flaming.

Nimbus trotted ahead of us, nose working, as if staying alert for trouble.

Once we were out of the clearing and heading back toward the road, the reality of what had just happened hit and I started to shake.

“Fuck.” I hugged myself.

Oliver put his arm around me, and I leaned into his touch.

“We’ve got you, Hannah.”

I turned and buried my face against his chest. Oliver put his other arm around me and held me while I shook. “I thought I’d be safe here.”

Nimbus came back to my side and leaned against my leg.

Oliver stroked my hair. “I feel there’s more to that statement than the current circumstances.”

“I can’t talk about it,” I muttered into his chest. That helpless feeling brought more tears to my eyes. I wanted to talk about it. I wanted to be safe. I wanted to be held and loved and not to have had to walk away from my old life.

For his part, Oliver simply held me. He didn’t protest my silence, try to get me to talk, just kept me close while I soaked his shirt with tears.

“We will figure something out, Hannah.”

I leaned back and tilted my head up so I could look at Oliver. He brushed his fingers along my cheek.

I licked my lips when I met his gaze and considered that maybe I didn’t care if he was my landlord anymore.

His grip tightened before he took a breath and broke eye contact.

I remembered to breathe and took a step back. He turned and I followed quietly, though I did take his hand. I needed some reassurance and his hand in mine helped a lot.

Nimbus trotted along beside us.

“Did you drive?” I finally broke the silence between us.

“Yes. I’m parked near where your last screenshot showed you. The wolves ran. Davin will take care of retrieving your car from the bookstore, if that’s okay. He’ll make sure it’s clean.”

“Thanks.” I took a breath and started thinking of all the things I’d learned about avoiding trafficking. My car was certainly something I needed to be aware of. I had to have it, but it wasn’t difficult to drug me with a contact drug, or disable it, or any number of things I’d been trained to look for. Training I’d hoped to leave behind.

The grass was springy and lush under my feet as we cleared the woods and cut through someone’s yard.

Nimbus dropped his shoulder and flopped over onto his back, wiggling around and grunting a little in enjoyment.

His simple delight pushed back some of the darkness threatening to overwhelm me.

Oliver chuckled. “If only your fluffy dog staining his white patches green were all we had to worry about.”

“Yeah.”

Once Nimbus finished his roll, we continued to the street. A sedan crawled past. I recognized the driver immediately. Drake glowered at Oliver and me. His passenger looked vaguely familiar in a way that sent chills down my spine. I knew I hadn’t seen that person since moving to Beechworth. Did they just look like someone I’d known once, or were they actually someone I’d encountered in my past life? The man peered at me, and I stared back, knees trembling. Things had just gone from bad to worse.

“Hannah,” Oliver said. “He won’t hurt you while I’m around. Let’s go.”

I let my landlord lead me down the road and got into his car in a daze. Nimbus hopped into the back seat.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?” Oliver asked after he got into the car.

I wanted to tell him everything. Almost did. But I held back.

“I just want to get back,” I finally replied.

“Of course.”

The car started and I breathed a sigh of relief that they hadn’t messed with his vehicle, too.

“Oh, she threw my phone out the window. I don’t know where it is.”

“We’ll find it,” Oliver assured me.

I fidgeted the entire drive back to the apartment complex, no idea what I should do. Did I move again? Take Nimbus and hide away until he was older? Hide at the coffee shop and in my apartment until the outside world was safe again?

Though my mind reeled, I had not come up with any answers by the time we got back to the apartment complex.

Oliver stayed right with me while I let Nimbus take a potty break and then he walked me inside and to my room. The cool, dark hallway contrasted so sharply with the afternoon sunlight, and though I’d grown used to Oliver’s aroma of baked goods, it tickled at my nose now, making me hungry. Hungry for the lunch I hadn’t had, and hungry for touch.

He offered a hug and I stepped into his embrace. This time I tilted my head back and met his eyes. I wasn’t sure he was breathing, and I certainly held my breath. Was I going too far? Asking for too much? And what about Katsuro and Davin? It was all too much, and I pushed those worries away.

Hesitantly, Oliver cupped my jaw and brushed his thumb lightly over my cheek. My pulse raced as I leaned into his touch.

“Hannah…” he trailed off, instead lowering his lips until they were a breath away from mine. “I don’t want to take advantage,” he finally whispered.

“Maybe I’m the one taking advantage,” I replied, and closed the distance between us.