Chapter 24: Trust No One

*Rowan*

I knew this was a fucking bad idea!

I see Hezzlie rushing through the woods. Dean is a few steps behind her, but through the mind-link he says he’s afraid to chase her because she’s veering dangerously close to a ravine so deep, if she falls, she’ll likely die.

Sure enough, she rushes through the trees, looking over her shoulder, and her feet slide out from under her.

I catch the back of her coat in my teeth, leaving her hanging there for a moment to emphasize how close to death she’s come before I spin around and fling her back into the trees.

She’s still screaming when I shift and walk over toward her, not caring that I’m completely naked.

“Hezzlie, shut the fuck up!” I order in my Alpha voice. “You’re fine!”

She wraps her arms around her knees and peers up at me through slitted eyes. “Rowan?”

“Yeah.” Part of me feels sorry for her. I’m sure she’s scared as hell. And the fact that my mate almost died has my wolf wanting to tear James and Dean limb from limb, but my cooler head is prevailing, for once, at the moment.

“Where the fuck did you come from?” she demands.

I shake my head. “You’re welcome, Princess.” I’m not sure why I call her that. Maybe because I’m pissed. It’s not wrong. It’s just… since she thought she was my sister a few days ago, apparently, I’m sure she’s even more confused now.

At the moment, the only thing she should be is grateful.

Dean shifts in the woods a few yards behind her and grabs some pants from the stash where we keep them. He slides a pair of joggers on and tosses me a pair. I step aside to put them on, leaving her in his care. I think I feel her eyes following my naked ass, but at the moment, I don’t care if she likes what she sees or not.

“Hezzlie, are you okay?” Dean asks, crouching down next to her. My wolf, still pissed at him, growls low in the back of my throat.

“No. I’m not okay. What the fuck?” I step back over to see she’s just as pale now as she was that first day when she arrived here, half-starved and fully confused.

“I didn’t think that was the best idea either, but the doc usually knows what he’s talking about.” Dean sits down next to her. “You’re okay.”

“Where-where is Jame?” She looks over her shoulder, but she can’t see him from here. He’s recovered from her assault and is making his way here in his human form.

Dean chuckles. “He’s still trying to find his balls.”

Hezzlie covers her mouth with one hand. “I didn’t know what else to do. First, I thought maybe you were going to… do something awful to me. And then, well, your wolf is huge. You’re… a wolf?”

Dean nods. “I am–sometimes.” He looks at me. “Rowan’s wolf is bigger.”

She is looking at me now, too, and I’m not sure what the expression in her eyes means, but I think she’s starting to put the pieces of the puzzle together. She doesn’t ask, though.

Hezzlie Stone is a complicated woman, one who continues to surprise me.

James steps out of the trees and shakes his head. “So… not the best idea I’ve ever had.”

“You think?” My wolf is growling again. “She almost died, James. If I hadn’t been out here, she would have. And you told me I shouldn’t come.”

“Thank the Goddess you never listen to anyone,” Dean throws in, and now I’m growling at her.

“Hezzlie, I think that’s enough immersion therapy for one day. I think it’s time you went back to your room.” Dr. Bolton offers her his hand.

She looks at it skeptically before grasping it. “I can’t figure out if I’m crazy or all of you are.”

“Everyone in this kingdom, more or less, is a wolf shifter,” I tell her. “You can ask Wilma about it if you trust her more. Or Natalie.”

“Who is Natalie?” she asks me. I just assumed they would’ve introduced her to the girl that’s just a bit older than her, but she doesn’t seem to know. I roll my eyes.

“She’s that girl with the brown hair that you met at your birthday party,” Dean explains. “She’s one of the maids. Nice gal.”

“Oh, okay.” She’s shaking a little as James leads her back the way she came, back toward the clearing, toward home.

I let them go, fully intending to shift again and finish my run as soon as she’s gone.

“Nice catch,” Dean says, offering me his hand. Reluctantly, I shake it. “I hope we never have to do this again, but if we do, we’ll know how not to do it.”

“We should’ve sent her to Darksky and let him figure it out,” I grumble.

“Are you kidding? You would’ve never have gone for that. Say what you want, you can’t stand when I touch your mate. How are you going to feel when it’s Darksky touching her?”

“I told you last night, you asshole, she’s not my mate!” I shove him, not hard enough to hurt him, but for emphasis.

He recovers easily enough, despite being barefoot in the forest–as am I. “Whatever, man. I’ve known you your whole life. You might be pissed off at the world, but we both know I'm your best friend. She is your mate. I can’t see you rejecting her.”

“I will absolutely reject her if she is my mate. But she’s not.” I follow him back to the clearing where he collects his shirt and shoes. I would invite him to go on the run with me, but I don’t want to be with anyone right now. I just want to be alone with my thoughts.

Before he can say anything else, I tear off through the trees, shifting, and shredding my pants.

I run for several minutes, but ultimately, I end up in the exact spot I should be avoiding–the place where I can see into Hezzlie’s room.

She’s there now, standing in front of the window, crying. And this time, even though it’s not nearly as much my fault as it was the night before, I feel it in my soul.

She lifts her head and meets my gaze. She doesn’t look frightened or curious as she has before when she’s seen my wolf. Instead, a knowing look settles over her, like she recognizes that it’s me.

I’m the person in this world she should be most afraid of. But when she settles her palm on the glass and leans forward, I feel like she’s beginning to trust me, like she thinks I might actually have saved her today because I care about her.

That will prove to be a huge mistake.