by Emma Wolfe
Once I was in the woods with Rose walking beside me, my ability to keep my distance was going to be tested.
I wasn’t sure how strong I actually was. My resolve was already faltering, and she was far away.
9
Rose
The roar from the bleachers felt deafening as the Smoky Hills Wolves scored the final touchdown of the night. We won, twenty-two to seven.
I wasn’t normally a sports person, but the energy in the stadium was contagious. I found myself cheering at the top of my lungs as I waved my pompoms in the air.
The team rushed to tackle one another. Some pounded helmets while others shoved shoulders.
Three of the players rushed over to the water cooler and lifted it, dousing Coach Pennington in cold water.
The smile on my face was huge as I reached over and hugged Cora. She was laughing as she hugged me back.
“This was so fun,” I yelled over the crowd.
Her smile was soft. “It really was. I never knew football could be so exciting.”
“Yeah, me neither.”
The cheering and celebrating soon died down as everyone made their way off the bleachers and out to the parking lot. Coach Betty had us clean up the pompoms and water bottles and then head back to the school.
There was talk of an after-party with the players, but I really wasn’t listening. I was focused on one thing—changing and heading out to meet Grayson. We’d decided to go out after the game, and I was going to hold him to it.
After slipping into my regular clothes, I shoved my cheer uniform into my backpack. It definitely needed a wash from tonight’s game.
Cora was sitting on the bench, her gaze focused on her hands. My heart squeezed for her. She was still hurting, and I hated it.
“You going to be okay?” I asked as I slipped onto the bench opposite her so I could meet her gaze.
Cora looked up at me. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Mom’s got a whole night of chick flicks and popcorn planned.” She gave me a small smile. “It’s good I’m not going with you guys.” She blew out her breath. “I need to separate myself from all things Liam, and that includes Grayson.”
I shot her a sympathetic look. “Liam’s an idiot,” I repeated for about the fifty millionth time that day.
She smiled and nodded. “Thanks.”
I patted her hand and then stood, adjusting my backpack so it sat better on my shoulders. I was going to drop it off at my car before meeting up with Grayson.
After saying goodbye, I slipped out of the locker room. There were a few stragglers leaning against the wall, but for the most part, the school was empty.
I ducked my head and made my way out to the parking lot. After unlocking my car, I slipped my backpack into the back seat. My gaze drifted to my parents’ journal, which I had tucked in the back pocket of the driver’s seat. I took in a deep breath.
I was doing this for them. Picking up where they left off. I gave the notebook a resolute nod and slammed the car door, turning to head across the lot.
I screamed.
Grayson was standing right behind me. His eyebrows rose as I pinched my lips shut, embarrassed that I’d reacted that way.
He leaned in, and the smell of his cologne or shampoo surrounded me. It had an earthy, masculine smell. His hair was still damp, and he was wearing a T-shirt and jeans.
Trying to regain some control, I cleared my throat. “Sorry. You startled me.” I peered behind him. “How long have you been standing there? I didn’t even hear you.”
Grayson shrugged. “I just got here.”
“Oh.”
He studied me. “Are you okay.”
“Yep,” I said. After taking in a breath, I asked, “Ready?”
He nodded. “Sure.”
I started walking across the parking lot and over to the practice field. The woods loomed in the distance, the trees reaching up toward the darkened night sky.
“Are you sure you still want to do this?” Grayson asked, catching up with me.
I glanced over at him. “Of course, I do.” I scoffed. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“There’s probably nothing there,” he said as he walked beside me.
I peeked over at him. His hands were shoved into the front pockets of his jeans, and his head was down as if he were studying the ground. He looked uncomfortable.
“Do you not want to help me?” I asked.
He flicked his gaze up to mine. His lips were pulled into a straight line as he studied me. “No. I want to. I’m just trying to figure out what your plan is.”
I reached behind my head and started to pull my hair up into a ponytail. Grayson was watching me, and as I flicked my hair, a pained expression flashed across his face.
“Sorry, did I get you?” I asked. I hadn’t thought he was that close.
Grayson shook his head. “No.”
I furrowed my brow as I finished securing my hair. “Oh. You just looked like you’d either been whipped by my hair or eaten a lemon.”
Grayson softened his expression as he shrugged. “Sorry. I was just…thinking about some homework I forgot to finish.” Then he winced as if that hadn’t been what he meant to say.
I looked at him. He was acting really strange. But I just shrugged and said, “Well, it’s a good thing you have the weekend to work on it, huh?”
He nodded.
We walked in silence until we got to the edge of the woods. My heartbeat quickened as I stared into the darkness. The trees loomed overhead, shielding the ground from the moon that shone above us.
“It’s okay. I’m not going to anywhere,” Grayson said. His voice was low and sounded from right next to my ear.
I snapped back and turned to look at Grayson. He was inches from me.
His gaze was kind as he looked at me, and I swallowed as warmth spread through my body. Even though he’d startled me, I appreciated that he was here. We weren’t really friends anymore, but he’d still decided to help me.
“Thanks,” I said as I turned and stepped into the woods, trying to calm myself down.
I couldn’t allow my feelings for Grayson to grow. He was just here as my guide—to make sure I didn’t get lost. I needed to remember that. Nothing could happen between us. I’d already broken his heart once, and I couldn’t lead him on. He was too sweet. Too nice. I didn’t deserve him.
We’d tried to make a relationship work, but we wanted different things. He wanted something more, something serious, and I didn’t. It was way too late to change my mind about that now.
Shaking my head slightly, I forced those thoughts from my mind as we walked deeper into the forest. I could hear Grayson walking behind me, and every so often, he would reach forward to push a low hanging branch out of my way.
“Do you know where you are going?” he asked. His voice was soft and inviting and sent shivers down my spine.
I glanced over my shoulder at him and shrugged. “North,” I said, nodding in the direction we were walking.
Grayson chuckled. “Well, if going north was what you wanted to do, may I suggest that we go in that direction?” He pointed to the left.
Heat rushed to my cheeks as I pinched my lips together and nodded. I turned left and started through the trees.
Great. Nothing like going in the wrong direction to boost one’s confidence.
After a few minutes of silence, I felt Grayson’s gaze on me once more.
“What?” I asked, not turning to face him. It was taking all my concentration to avoid tripping on the exposed tree roots or fallen branches.
When he didn’t answer, I glanced over at him. His jaw muscles were clenched, and I could tell he was wrestling with himself about something.
“It’s better to just ask,” I said, repeating Grandma Jordan’s words. She always hated it when I followed her around not asking the question I so obviously wanted to ask.
Grayson cleared his throat and nodded. “What are you going to do?”
Confused, I peeked over at him again. �
�About what?”
He pushed his hand through his hair and peered down at me. “If what you’re trying to find doesn’t, in fact, live in these woods.” His voice trailed off, and I could feel his hesitation.
I blinked a few times as his words rolled around in my mind. I didn’t know what I would do if this was all just a dead end. If my grandma was right, and the journal was just some story my parents had made up.
Finding out what happened to my parents—or at least getting answers to their questions—had occupied my thoughts for as long as I could remember.
I didn’t know who I was without that. And honestly, it scared me.
I glanced over at him and gave him the bravest smile I could. “Then I’ll move on,” I said.
Grayson moved closer. I could feel his eyes on me as he studied my face. “Really? You’d just move on?”
I pinched my lips together. It felt like I was betraying my parents. They deserved for their story to be told. Flying off the side of a mountain, just because, didn’t feel like their kind of story.
But maybe it was.
My heart squeezed at the thought, and I fisted my hands, digging my nails into my palms. The ache of growing up without my parents tugged on my emotions.
“I’m sorry,” Grayson said as he tipped his face toward the ground. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
I glanced over at him. His eyebrows were furrowed, and he looked physically in pain. I shrugged, not wanting him to see that he was right. I was hurting.
Hanging on to the idea that someone out there held answers had helped me hold that pain at bay. When someone told me I was on a wild goose chase, that dam broke a little, letting the hurt and feelings of abandonment crash through me.
“I’m not upset. I’m just not ready to throw in the towel.” I reached out and grabbed a dead branch from above my head. It snapped off easily, and I gripped it in my hand as we continued through the woods. Every so often, I cracked it against a nearby tree. Eventually, Grayson grabbed my arm, stilling it.
“Stop that,” he growled as he pressed his hand to my waist and pulled me back against his chest.
Being this close to him paralyzed me. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. My back felt like it was on fire as his heat stoked mine.
“Grayson.”
He wrapped his other arm around my waist and lifted me off the ground. His lips pressed close to my ears. “You need to stay quiet,” he said as he carried me behind a nearby tree. He turned me to face him as he pressed my back into the trunk. His body cocooned mine protectively.
Still too stunned to speak, I just stared up at him with wide eyes. What was he doing?
“Gr—”
His finger found my lips, and he pressed it against them. He held my gaze with such intensity that all I could do was nod.
He turned his head to the left and then to the right as if he were listening for something. I strained my ears, but I couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary.
I glanced back up at Grayson and couldn’t help but study his jaw, his profile. I hadn’t realized it until now, but Grayson was incredibly strong. I felt completely safe in his arms.
Maybe I should have been worried that this guy who could probably kill me with one hand had me pinned between his chest and a tree—but I wasn’t. My heart was calm. I wasn’t scared.
As if he sensed me thinking about him, he dropped his gaze back to mine and held it as he tipped his head to one side. His lips were inches from mine. His smell. His body. Every part of him was intoxicating.
I wanted to lean in. I wanted to press my hands to his chest to see if he felt the same as me. The warmth he emanated could keep me warm on the coldest winter nights.
His gaze held mine. There was this depth to it. A longing I’d never seen before. No guy had ever looked at me like that.
It was a look of want. Of desire and care. My breath hitched in my throat as my gaze drifted down to his lips.
I wondered what they would feel like on mine. Even though Grayson had a rough exterior, I doubted that his kisses matched.
I felt him lean in as if he were asking for permission. Even though the fear of regret tugged at the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but tip my lips closer to his.
Just one kiss. What could that hurt?
Desire clouded my rational mind, and I threw off all my inhibitions. All that existed right now was me and Grayson.
“Rose,” he whispered. He moved closer, and I could feel the warmth of his lips as they hovered just above mine.
Just as I allowed my eyelids to fall, a growl sounded, and the pressure of Grayson’s body against my own was gone.
Confused, I opened my eyes to find myself alone.
I peered through the shadows of the trees, wondering where Grayson had gone. But I couldn’t see him anywhere. Scared, I wrapped my arms around my chest and pushed off the tree.
The cool night air surrounded me as I shivered. “Grayson?” I called out into the silence.
“Grayson?” I called again, my voice wavering with uncertainty.
Where did he go? Why did he suddenly leave?
I took off back the way we came, worried that, somehow, almost kissing me had been the reason he’d disappeared.
Had I misinterpreted everything?
Here I was, opening up to someone just to have them do exactly what I’d feared. Leave.
10
Grayson
I growled, low and deep. The sound rattled around in my chest as my paws pounded the earth beneath them. Rose’s voice cut through the silence. She was calling for me, no doubt wondering where I’d gone,
My heart pounded as the worry in her voice pulled on my emotions. It was taking all my strength not to head right back to her. To wrap her up in my arms and kiss her like I’d wanted to for so long.
Like I’d been telling myself I couldn’t do for months.
I shook my head as I focused my attention on the task ahead of me. Nothing else mattered when it came to Rose’s safety. Especially when a wolf I didn’t recognize had come so close I could smell him.
Adrenaline pulsed through my muscles as I raced through the woods. The other wolf must have sensed my approach and took off. But I wasn’t going to rest until I knew he’d been chased off our land.
I growled, lifting my nose into the air and inhaling. There was this drive. A pure rage that I’d never felt before, and it was fueled by the desire to protect Rose at all costs.
It only took a moment for me to pick up the wolf’s scent. He had changed directions. Then the full body weight of a wolf slammed into me.
I yelped as I was flung to the side and into a nearby tree. Pain ricocheted through my body as I fell to the ground. My mind spun and my body went limp.
Dirty human-lover. The wolf’s words entered my mind.
I closed my eyes as I tried to steady my mind and my body. I needed a moment to catch my breath, then I would attack.
Get up, you disgrace, the wolf spat.
I growled and leapt to my feet, sinking my teeth into the wolf’s neck. He yelped and stumbled back. He shook his head, trying to break my contact. I held on tighter.
He took off running and ran me straight into the trunk of a tree. Out of instinct, I loosened my jaws, and he sprang loose.
Frustrated, I forced my feet underneath my body and charged after him. But he saw me coming and sprinted to the left, narrowly dodging my attack.
Not wanting to miss my opening, I sprang on top of him as he moved past me. My teeth penetrated the loose skin at the base of his neck. He howled and shook. Then he wrenched his head back and snapped at my face.
I didn’t let it deter me. I held tight as I tried to plot my next move.
Before I could come up with a plan, he rammed me into a tree again and then dragged me against it. A branch was protruding from the base and dug a cut across my shoulder.
I held on, even though the pain was starting to overpower me. He rammed me into another tree. And then anoth
er.
My will to hold on wavered with each blow. Just as I felt I had no more strength left, a deep growl made us both look over toward the trees just beyond us.
I didn’t have to see to know who was approaching. Mr. Bronson and Coach Pennington emerged from the shadows in wolf form. Their lips were curled up, exposing their teeth.
Not wanting to get caught in the fight, I loosed my bite and slowly slipped into the shadows.
As I stood there, my entire body aching, Mr. Bronson’s voice entered my thoughts.
Go home, Grayson. We’ll take care of this.
I let out a growl as I backed away, letting him know I understood. I charged into the woods, back to where I’d left Rose.
Thankfully, she hadn’t gone too far. I could smell her and hear her soft voice as she cursed my name.
I couldn’t help but smile at the fact that I’d bothered her so much. And that, when she wasn’t calling me names, she was recounting our almost-kiss to figure out what she’d done wrong.
I allowed the hope that maybe she felt something more for me than she said she had so many months ago. Then I pushed that thought from my mind. There was no way Rose and I could ever be together. My fight with that wolf just further proved it.
If I wanted her to be safe, I needed to keep my distance romantically. Any kind of relationship between us could only end in disaster.
I shifted into human form when I was just a few yards away from her. My whole body ached as I approached, but I ignored the pain. I needed to get Rose out of these woods as fast as I could.
She must have not heard me approach. As I reached out and grabbed her elbow, she whipped around to face me and screamed.
I raised my hand and tried to calm her down. “Rose, it’s me,” I said, wincing as pain shot through my shoulder from where I’d been dragged against the tree.
Her eyes were wide, but she snapped her lips shut and ran her gaze over my body. Her surprised expression turned to one of anger as she reached out and whacked my arm.
Normally, it wouldn’t bother me much, but her shot landed squarely on the cut across my shoulder, and I yelped with pain