“I know,” I say as the rain punctuates our words.
“I always thought it would be so hard. And it was, for maybe a minute or whatever. But then it was...I don’t have to be scared anymore, do I? Of Master…ofPeteor his teachings.”
“No,” I growl. “You don’t have to be scared of anything. I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
“I feel so free,” she says.
“Youarefree,” I tell her. “Especially now I know I don’t have to be afraid of the change. I can control my abilities, mask my scent again.”
“I really made you crazy, huh?”
I open my eyes to find her grinning at me, a teasing note in her eyes. But I nod seriously.
“Youdidmake me crazy,” I tell her. “Your scent would follow me wherever I went. I kept telling myself I’d stop, but I couldn’t. It was you, Ruby, and thinking of our future, the life we were – weare –going to share. I couldn’t stop. I can’t stop. I don’twantto stop.”
She squeezes closer to me.
“I’m so happy you didn’t,” she says.
“Even if I put you in danger?”
“Yes,” she says firmly. “It led us to each other. And anyway, we’ve been running from the cult. How different can hunters be?”
“They’re much more dangerous,” I tell her. “They’re well-armed. They look for our scents. Sometimes, they even have wolves working with them.”
She tenses up next to me. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Leaning down, I kiss the top of her head. “But don’t worry about that. Don’t worry about any of this. I’m going to keep us safe, I promise.”
Closing my eyes, I return to that feeling, the same warm pleasure of the wolf.
“It’s okay,” Ruby says, kissing me softly on the chest. “You sleep.”
“What if I change?” I whisper.
“Then you’ll change. And maybe we’ll go running again.”
I smile, hugging her closer as I sink into oblivion.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Ruby
“I’m sorry,” Mom says.
Mom?
I open my eyes, sunlight shining through the slats in the barn.
Shuffling against Ramsey, I realize he’s changing again. He’s maybe half-changed, that serene look on his face, his body slowly shifting.
“Ramsey? Ruby?”
“In here,” I call. “But, um, wait a sec...”
“All right. Hurry. Please.”
I rush around the small closed-off area, grabbing my clothes, and pulling them on quickly. Then I rush over to Ramsey, laying blankets over him, having to use several because his body is almost twice as big.