Chapter Fifteen

Wynter

I waited until the still of night to sneak out. My stepsisters banged and thrashed around in the house like hippos in a glass museum, creating who knew what horror of a mess for me to clean up tomorrow. They stomped and complained for about an hour before their words slurred and their giggles quieted.

They had started round two of the celebrating at home, apparently.

When they finally settled down, and the lights went out, it was my time. My wolf wanted freedom, and I was damned tired of keeping her shut in.

It was time for her to be unleashed whether they liked it or not.

There was only the sliver of the new moon to light my path through the woods and away from the house, but just in case, I wore a baggy black coat I’d saved from the rag bag and hidden my silvery hair under a scarf. Good thing I could rely on my shifter sight to get me through even in the darkness. The thing was, even with my better-than-a-human sight, the forest that I knew from my day walks was a whole other animal at night. The sounds weren’t the same. Branches snapped and creaked above me. My footsteps frightened the birds trying to get some sleep for the night, resulting in flapping wings. Movements out of my sight had me giving myself whiplash as I reacted to every one.

Even the scents were different at night. The cool night air had a smell of its own, deeper and somehow thicker than the one during the day. My wolf was so eager to shift and get out of my human skin, she was denying anything scary was happening, though my innards were already shaking. Yeah, I was a wolf, but even wolves could be prey to bigger predators, especially those hungry in the dead of winter.

With my hand against a tree, I got my bearings before my overthinking ruined my night trek. The bark was hard and rough with deep fissures, each one having their own unique shape. With one touch, I knew where I was in the for—one step, maybe a few steps from the farthest I’d ventured from home—from the line that divided my father’s land from the rest.

Another pop of a small stick caught my attention, but this time also my wolf’s. Now, she was paying attention.

Not liking what she heard and felt, either.

Despite the fear, she had to get out. She was right under the surface, almost so close that I could imagine the fur rising under the thin layers of skin, demanding that I pay attention.

Another pop—this time closer.

Something was stalking me.

Something bigger than my wolf or even me.

I had to give up my quest, although I didn’t think my wolf would understand. She’d been fighting for her freedom for so long.

“Not tonight, girl,” I told my wolf, but out loud so whoever or whatever was out there knew I was leaving. “Soon…I promise.”

Defeated and annoyed with myself and whatever was out in the woods, I kicked at the leaves and anything in my path on the way home.

One day, I would be fearless. One day, I would be strong. One day, I would shift when and how I wanted, and no one could tell me otherwise.

Big talk for a little wolf no one wanted to see.

Still, despite my self-lecturing on the trek back to the house, a sliver of hope remained.

Maybe I could be free.

Where there was a will there was a way—a good adage, at the least.

I sighed and sucked in one last breath of the chilly air.

One day seemed like forever away.

***

I woke to the sound of the rooster’s crow, telling me the sun had risen, but I clearly hadn’t. My stomach was in knots. When you grew up with whiplashing emotions coming from the person who is supposed to love and take care of you, you went on high alert, aware of every single change in tone, mood, movements, even eye contact.

I was hyperaware of anything signaling a threat.

And that feeling gnawed inside me.

They had seen me with the man in town and them letting it go was simply a fantasy. They never let anything I did slide.

Nothing.

After pulling my tired bones out of bed, I went about my chores. I needed the distraction. I needed something to occupy my mind other than impending doom.

I prepared breakfast, sliding into the oven a simple quiche that I was sure they wouldn’t like, but I would save a piece for myself to snack on in secret. After feeding the animals and making sure everything immediate was taken care of, I piled up the trays and sighed before facing my fears.

The fact was, I needed them. I had no skills other than my domestic ones, and the last thing I wanted to pursue was being someone else’s servant. I had been under my stepmama’s thumb since the day my father died.

Entering the dining room, a swift push of relief filled me. I usually was subjected to groans or complaints before I even presented their food. This time, there was none of that.

Then my stomach dropped. Silence was the scariest of all.

Sometimes, I wished they would just physically hurt me. At least, that way, it would be one event. They would beat me. I would recover. Life would go on.

This emotional hold they had on me was like nothing tangible. I had a wounded soul, and their mission in life was to keep scraping the scab off, making me bleed over and over, the scars getting deeper all the while.

Being alone and in poverty without a coin to my name would be better than this.

At least, it was in my mind.

In reality, poverty could rob one of any happiness. Everything was more difficult. And without any support, and the gods knew I had no friends other than the chickens and Goliath, I had no hope.

“What are you gawking at?” my stepmama asked while sneering at her breakfast.

“Oh, nothing,” I replied, realizing that I was allowing my thoughts to take over.

“Better not be about Xerxes,” Violet said, jabbing at her quiche with her fork.

“Who?” I asked. I knew who he was. He was the focus of all my thoughts lately, though I had no business thinking about any alpha.

“Don’t give me that, you worthless idiot. Your fate is sealed. You are going to live here and serve this family for the rest of your life. Dreaming is just self-torture.”

Violet wasn’t wrong. I needed to get back to reality and face the facts she’d just laid in front of me.

People like me didn’t have mates. I was forbidden to shift. Forbidden to acknowledge my animal.

I was being silly. Silly and immature. The best thing I could do for myself would be to focus my thoughts on my work and give up on anything else.

Too bad my heart completely disagreed.