I pushed the thought aside and continued on my quest to find Alec’s cabin. Tyler definitely would have known about that toxin and he never did anything to try to leave Wolf Creek or stand up to his dad. He likely enjoyed using it against others. Nobody with the sadistic streak like Tyler’s should have access to a weapon of that kind.
After a while, I realized I’d likely gone the wrong way. I should have found the cabin by now. Or at least the lake.Shit. I abandoned a perfectly good cup of coffee for nothing.
Carefully, I turned around and tried to follow my tracks back to camp. After what was probably thirty minutes of walking, I realized I was totally lost.
Now what? I had no landmarks to go by and there was no path out here. Knowing my luck, I’d probably wandered on to the High Key Pack’s land. I wasn’t sure if shouting for help would benefit me or get me killed.
This was totally on brand for me. Why couldn’t I be good at something I could actually apply to real life experiences? Calculus wasn’t going to help me out here.
I had to be the worst wolf shifter in the history of the world. Sure, I couldn’t reach my wolf, but you’d think I’d have some sense of direction or at least self-preservation.
Discouraged, I sat down on a fallen log to collect myself. “Well, Lola, you really did it this time. Great work.”
“You know, they say you’re only crazy when you talk to yourself, if someone answers back,” Alec said as he emerged through the trees.
I jumped from my seat. “Where did you come from?”
“My house.” He pointed behind him.
I groaned and slapped myself in the forehead. I could just make out the outline of his home through the trees. I was right there, circling his fucking house and missing it.
“We can not leave you alone, can we?” he asked.
“I would have found it eventually,” I said.
“What is this now, three times I’ve saved your ass?” He tapped thoughtfully on his chin.
I rolled my eyes. “You didn’t save me. I was fine.”
“I’ve heard that from you before,” he said.
“Look, I came to find you because I heard about Justin and the toxin,” I said. “Is that what you were going to tell me about yesterday?”
“Yes, but I wasn’t certain it was related to you. I’m still not sure if it was bad luck, or if they know you’re here,” he said.
“If I stay here, I’m putting your whole pack at risk,” I said.
“Community, but yes,” he said.
“You’re a pack and you know it,” I said.
He shrugged. “I’m not an alpha.”
“Whatever. None of that matters. What does matter is that I don’t want anything bad to happen to the people here. None of them deserve that.”
“I agree,” he said.
“I have to leave,” I said, the realization falling on me like a ton of bricks. It had been one wonderful day of pretending I might have found a place I belonged. But that was all it was, pretend.
“You need to learn how to shift or you don’t stand a chance,” he said.
“I can’t put these people in danger.” I’d only been here a short time, but even I could tell the shifters who lived here didn’t deserve to be attacked by my old pack.
“Leave that to me,” he said. “You find Greta. Figure your shit out.”
“You have a good thing going on here,” I said. “I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”
“You like it here, don’t you?”