Rebel Wolf (Wilde Brothers Ranch #5) - Scarlett Grove Page 0,15

moment, she just ignored it.

She finished her coffee, took a shower, and got dressed. She poured another cup of coffee into her to-go cup and walked out into the hot summer day soon after. She headed toward her car, and her mom was on the porch.

“Where are you going, sweetheart?” her mom asked.

“I'm going to look for jobs in town,” Cassidy said.

It was a lie. She just wanted to get away from the ranch. She needed to think, and she knew that as long as she was at home, she would constantly have to make excuses. She couldn't just say she wanted to get the hell away from there, which was the truth. She had to fabricate something, or she would never hear the end of it.

She slipped behind the wheel of her car, turned the engine, and pulled out of the driveway. She watched her mom in the rearview mirror as she drove away. She didn't want to hurt her mom, and she didn't want to leave her. She knew how much her mom wanted grandchildren, knew how much she wanted Cassidy to stay close, but Cassidy wasn't going to sacrifice her own happiness for her mom's. She had to make a choice. She was saving herself and everyone else from the inevitable outcome fate had seen fit to give her in a mate.

She growled as her inner lioness roared. She slammed her fist into the steering wheel, angry as hell that this was happening to her. If she had just gotten the internship in New York, she would have been able to hang on a few months longer, but she hadn't.

She couldn't make it work. She couldn't pay her bills, and she would've had to start taking out loans or borrowing money from friends. Cassidy just couldn't live like that. The only way to maintain her integrity had been to come home.

She'd barely been able to pay her last month's rent and get a plane ride home after selling all of her furniture and belongings in New York. But she would do what she had to do to get away from Fate Rock now. If she had to put a first month's rent on her credit card, she would. As soon as she found a job, she was gone.

She rolled up the road and turned onto a service road up into the mountain. Her Honda couldn't go too far. As the gravel turned to dirt, she pulled off the road onto a look out over the valley.

She cut the engine and stepped out of the car, looking out at the view. It was so beautiful and vast that her inner lion yearned to run through the forest. No one was anywhere near. She took a deep breath and stripped out of her clothes. As soon as she had thrown her panties into the driver's seat, she shifted into her lion form. She let out a yelp as her body contorted and changed. It had been so long since she'd shifted.

Her inner beast became her outer beast, and her human mind took a back seat. Her senses filled with the scent and the sound, the vibration and the energy of the forest. She roared and trotted into the woods. Slipping between the trees, she galloped, jumping over downed trees, ducking between branches.

Her heart leapt as her legs pushed her through the air. This was her true strength. She was a lioness, a majestic beast at one with nature. She was strong and brave and true, and nothing could take that away from her. After she had exhausted her strength. She climbed a tree and took a nap.

An hour later, she climbed back down and found her way back to the car. Sitting in the front seat of her Honda with the sun tipping toward the horizon, she picked up her phone and read Gunner's text for the fifteenth time. She hit Reply.

The interview went well. I hope I get the job, but I'd love to see you again.

She took a deep breath and bumped her head against the seat, looking up at the ceiling. She couldn't believe what she was doing. The sound of the new text came a moment later. She looked down and bit her lip.

Can I take you to the Lodge tomorrow night? My treat.

She bit her lip so hard she could taste blood. She drew her eyebrows together until her temples hurt. Then she gritted her teeth and growled.

I'd love to, she said.

I'll meet you