you run for me?” His words were filled with warning and promise.
Keeping my gaze locked on his face, I thought of the instances where I’d felt like I was being watched over the past week, and the clues I’d been missing clicked into place. All the time we’d been spending together. His constant presence and need to comfort me. The way he’d kept trying to get me to agree to feed on him. I’d attributed everything to the pressure his father had been putting on him to find a mate and Fenris’s desperation to escape that pressure.
How could I have been so blind?
Fenris’s reassurances that he was immune to my pull had been nothing more than artful lies. While he might have had more resistance than Eugene, he was now just as much under my thrall, thanks to Adira’s meddling.
“Unconditional honesty, Eliana,” Fenris said, sounding nothing like himself.
“No. I’m not going to run for you, Fenris. This isn’t you.”
He growled his frustration and heaved a deep breath before stalking a step toward me.
I retreated the same distance.
“Fenris, if you ever want me to talk to you again, I need you to go back to the cabin for my jacket and shoes. Please. I’m cold. You don’t want me to be cold, do you?”
He stopped moving, and his need-filled gaze flicked to my feet. Another growl escaped him, and he ran his hand through his hair.
“No. I don’t.” He glanced over his shoulder. Behind him, there was nothing but darkness and trees.
I’d made it a fair distance from the cabin. That meant my car was close. Hopefully.
Fenris’s gaze pinned me.
“Are you going to run away, Eliana?”
“How can I when my toes are two seconds from freezing off?”
“Let me carry you.”
“I can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m using today’s ‘Fenris, stop pushing me’ card. I think I’ve been pushed enough for one day, don’t you?”
His scrutiny was no less piercing than the cold.
“Do you think one of my kind can get frostbite?” I asked.
“We’re not done, Eliana. Leaving when I turn my back won’t change that.”
His form shimmered. In his fur, he gave me one last look then trotted back the way he’d come.
With a shaky exhale, I hurried in the direction of my car. It was only once I saw it ahead that I realized I had no keys or phone.
“Crap on a cracker, why can’t anything go right for me?”
It didn’t matter that I wouldn’t be able to start the car. I needed to get out of the snow so I could warm my feet and so I could think of a way to get out of there.
A backup plan wasn’t necessary, though. All my things were already in the passenger seat with my car keys waiting on top of the pile.
As I started the car, I lifted my gaze and searched the illuminated trees for Fenris. Nothing moved, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t there. Nervous that he would interpret my hesitation as an invitation, I left.
The air flowing from the vents gradually warmed as did my hands and feet. However, my phone didn’t vibrate with any incoming messages on the drive to the Quills’. I should have been relieved, but after Fenris’s display in the woods, his silence concerned me. Fenris wasn’t the silent type.
After parking in the Quills’ garage, I grabbed my things and quietly let myself into the kitchen. A murmur of raised voices was coming from the second floor. I glanced at the grandfather clock in the dining room in confusion. It was almost eleven. Why would—
Like a switch flicked on in my head, I remembered everything that had happened just before I’d almost fed from Fenris. There’d been an earthquake.
I fumbled for my phone and found several messages that must have come after I left the cabin.
Mom: Please let me know you’re okay as soon as you wake up and see this.
Megan: Council called Oanen in a panic because Adira heard that I’m coming home soon and Uttira just had an earthquake. We’re in NY as planned. Chasing leads isn’t going as planned. Call me tomorrow.
Eugene: The girls and I are in the closet. Just in case you need to search for after-quake bodies.
Although I felt pity for them and wished I could send Eugene a reply that would make them feel safe, I wasn’t sure any of us were. At least they were together. Fears were easier to face with help.
I briefly thought of Fenris alone in the woods and felt pangs of guilt and regret. Staring