Hot Blooded (Wolf Springs Chronicles) - By Nancy Holder Page 0,92

occur in less than ten hours.

When it was finally time to head over to the Fenners’ she made it downstairs with her duffel bag.

“Have fun at Paulette’s,” her grandfather said, his smile strained. “And be careful.”

“I will,” she promised.

She kept forgetting to breathe. It was only her second full moon, and the first one as a full-time pack member. Her skin was tingling; she felt different compared to the day of the previous full moon, as if she was even more hyper-aware of everything around her. The sun was too bright; the wind whooshed with the rush of heavy breakers. An owl seemed to shout into her ear.

When she reached the house, dread wrapped around her as she took in the sight of the vehicles parked in the driveway. Arial and Regan were there. As she got out of the car, the front door opened and Justin came down the steps, his expression somber.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, queasy and anxious.

“Nothing,” he muttered, offering her his cheek. She kissed it, and he returned the kiss on her cheek. She felt nothing, no desire, just the certainty that something else had happened. Something bad.

“Let’s go,” he said.

He headed for the trees and she had to pick up her pace to stay beside him. He dodged a branch; not as quick, she pushed it back with her hands, nearly catching her foot on a gnarled tree root.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To rendezvous with the rest of the pack. Everyone else is gone.” He gave her a look. “You were late.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

“Don’t be late again.”

“Okay.”

As he passed a pine tree, he broke a twig and pulled off the needles, then let the bare branch fall to the ground. “I guess you’ve probably noticed that we get on edge a smidge the closer it gets to the full moon,” he said.

She nodded, so uncomfortable around him that she took a couple of steps away, trying to make it appear as if she were avoiding a couple of large rocks in her path. His scent followed, and she stumbled. He reached out a hand, and steadied her.

Flashfire.

“Yeah,” she said, trying to mask her reaction. “Like hyperdrive.”

“That would be the wolf, clawing to come out.” He held her hand for an extra beat, and then he let her go.

“Wow, that sounds so awful.” Her voice broke on the last word, and she cleared her throat. “Awful,” she tried again.

“It’s not, Kat,” he said, exasperated. “I swear it.”

They were deep in the forest now, weaving between trees. He seemed to be following a path only he could see. She smelled the air but there was nothing she could pick up on that might be guiding him.

“Come on, Justin,” she said. “I know something’s wrong.”

“More evidence that the Gaudins have been paying us visits. Uncle Lee is convinced they’ve got a spy here.”

“In the pack?”

“No, but here, possibly in Wolf Springs.”

“How does he know?” she asked.

Justin shrugged. “I’m not sure. But I know we’ve got a spy or two on the other side ourselves.”

She felt her throat closing up as she wondered if any of those spies knew that Cordelia had been in contact with her.

“How much farther ’til we get there?” she asked. She wanted to know if they were going to the same clearing where Cordelia had taken her for her first change, but she remembered that the pack was supposed to hunt far from there. That was why they had both been so shocked when the others had appeared, just as Katelyn was shifting. Uncovering her terrible secret. Ruining Cordelia’s life.

“About two hours,” Justin replied.

“Two hours?” she asked, coming to a standstill.

He huffed. “Our pack hunts deep in the forest, Kat, far away from people. That’s what keeps everyone safe.”

She shuddered when he said our pack. She wanted to protest, to tell him that it wasn’t her pack at all. But off in the distance a wolf howled and the urge to howl back was nearly undeniable.

“They’re calling us,” he said. “Let’s go. We can run if you like.”

“No, I’m good with walking,” she said hastily. She still didn’t want to join up with the pack, no matter that she couldn’t stop herself from walking faster and listening intently for another howl.

They trudged together for a while in silence. The blue of the sky faded to gray, and Katelyn sensed a change deep within her. With every minute that ticked by, her senses sharpened. The last few autumn leaves were brighter, more vibrant,