we weren’t going to find an immediate solution for Silas, and Henry couldn’t delay any longer. He offered, very reluctantly, that I could stay in the city while he went to Montana to sort things out, but it didn’t feel like a real option. I needed him around just as much as he needed me, and that safety, the security in that knowledge... I wasn’t ready to let that go. I couldn’t stand the thought of him being out of reach.
So we packed up a big-ass SUV with everything Nola and Fran brought—which wasn’t much, the few things I had from my car, and a couple bags of stuff for Henry. At least the man knew how to travel light. We left early in the morning, so there wouldn’t be a bunch of tears and sad goodbyes, though somehow the rest of the pack knew and were there anyway. Henry said his gruff farewells and muttered about being back in a few months, and Deirdre hugged me quickly.
She arched a dark eyebrow. “Keep practicing, even when you don’t feel like it. I have no doubt that Henry’s pack will test the limits of your concentration and patience, but make yourself uncomfortable. It’s the only way we grow, witch. I expect reports, too.”
I nodded, swallowing the knot in my throat. “Thank you for helping me. Well, thank you for figuring out what was wrong with me. I’m less grateful for some of the ways you decided to ‘help.’”
“You’re welcome,” she said, grinning. Deirdre patted my shoulder and shooed me toward the car. “And there was never anything wrong with you. Remember that.”
I half-turned. “You better call the moment you know how we can fix Silas. I’ll be back the next day.”
“It’s a really long drive to Montana,” Henry said under his breath. “It might be four or five days. I’m just saying.”
I frowned at him. “She knows what I...” But when I turned back, Deirdre had disappeared, the door to the house closing behind her.
“She’s not much for goodbyes,” Miles said. He shook my hand, then clapped me on the shoulder hard enough I almost fell over into Henry. “But we’ll take you up on that. If we figure out what’s wrong in the next three months, we’ll call. If not, we’ll see you back in the summer and expect all of your help figuring it out.”
“Of course.” I hesitated, feeling like there was something else to say, but the rest of the pack drifted back toward the house. There was no one else to say goodbye to, and there wasn’t any reason to draw things out. I took a deep breath and squeezed Henry’s hand. “Okay. Let’s get this show on the road.”
Nola and Fran were already in the back seat, Fran completely asleep and Nola frowning at her phone, so I hopped in the passenger side to help Henry navigate as he drove. I glanced back. The big house in the semi-respectable part of the city was the first place I’d really felt at home in a long, long time. Part of me hated to leave for even a few months, and the rest of me figured it might be a permanent move after all, if things were as dire as Mercy believed and Fran hinted. Henry insisted it was only three months, but there was no way to tell until we got there.
So we needed to get started.
Henry caught my hand in his after he climbed in the driver’s seat and started up the car, pulling away from the street without looking back. Only Cricket remained on the porch as Miles raised his hand in a negligent farewell, so I faced forward and checked the GPS for the fastest way out of the city.
“Okay, babe,” I said, taking a deep breath. “Let’s find our next adventure.”
“You got it,” he said, and lifted my hand so he could kiss the back of it. “To our next adventure.”
I smiled and leaned back, relaxing, and figured it would be the first of many.
I hope you enjoyed reading Hunting Grounds! Want to find out what happens next when human Persephone stumbles across the SilverLine pack and catches Dodge’s attention? Take a sneak peek at Head Hunter!
Dodge moved into the witch’s house shortly after the incident with the sorcerer and Henry’s mate ended with Silas getting stuck in a monstrous half-wolf, half-man form. He could have stayed in the packhouse downtown in the old factory, but he preferred to be close enough to