Chapter 73
Chapter 73
Tessa woke to the feel of a big, warm body looming over hers. Declan pressed his lips to her forehead and she wrapped her arms
around his neck, holding him tightly.
“Gracie,” he said warmly. “Don’t get me revved up. I have to head out and run tracks for a few hours. Jess picked up his scent last night p>
“Should I come p>
“No, I’m going to be in my wolf skin. You wouldn’t be able to keep
up p>
“You could use me as bait p>
Declan stiffened. “Not a chance in hell,” he growled. “There are too
many things that could go wrong p>
“So I’m just supposed to hide in this cabin by myself until he’s
caught p>
“Yes p>
Morning light seeped in around the curtains, giving her just enough
light to see the ferocity in Declan’s eyes.
“What if you never catch him?” she demanded. “What if he just gives
up and leaves p>
Declan snorted. “He won’t leave. They never do. They fixate–and he’s fixated on you. Until he gets you, he won’t go anywhere p>
“Oh.” Dread shivered down her spine.
Chapter 73
“He’s not going to get you, Tessa,” Declan told her, totally certain.
“We’ve got his scent and a slight trail. We might be able to find his
lair today and take care of him while he’s in his daysleep p>
“How do you… ‘take care‘ of him p>
Declan hesitated. “Are you sure you want to know p>
Tessa nodded.
injury
“They’re not alive, so it’s not enough to give them t
that would kill a human. Even severing the head it
body can eventually crawl over and hold it back on unit heals p>
-the
She felt her face twisting into a grimace, but she couldn’t help it.
“Should I stop?” Declan asked.
“No, tell me the rest.” She tried to school her face into something less
horrified.
“They have to be utterly destroyed–broken down so far that they
have no hope of reassembling. Theoretically, we could just tear
them apart with our teeth until the pieces are too small to move on
their own. But we’ve never trusted leaving anything intact. The
surest way is to burn them to ash. It’s not discreet, but it’s easy
enough to do out in the wilderness. I’ve heard of less remote packs
using acid to dissolve the bodies p>
Tessa shuddered again.
“Sorry,” Declan said softly, cupping her face and tracing her cheek
with his thumb.
“No, I wanted to know. I’m glad I know p>
“Are you going to be okay? I can text Margaret and tell her I can’t
track today p>
“I’m fine,” Tessa lied. “The sooner you get out there and find him, the sooner life can go back to normal p>
“I’ll be back well before sundown,” he promised. He pressed a long, hard kiss to her lips, and then he was out of bed, disappearing down the ladder.
Tessa had packed the beautiful blue yarn and all the knitting
supplies Declan had gotten for her, so she spent the
She’d also packed books, but reading was too sedat
rrent
state of mind. She needed something to do, something keep both
し
her hands and her mind busy. She started working on a men’s
sweater, estimating the measurements for Declan’s size. Gifting it to
him would be her final act in their yarn war.
It was mid–afternoon when she heard a scratch at the door and a
canine whine.
“Just a second!” she called. She quickly wrapped up her project and
hid it away in her bag.
When she opened the door, Declan was waiting in his wolf skin. He was so beautiful, she instinctively reached out to touch him. He leaned into her touch, groaning as she rubbed his ears. His massive tail swished contentedly. A second later, she felt his shape change. His fur receded and he grew broader, taller–taking her hand with him. When he stood before her in human form, her hand was still curled into his hair, and he was still leaning happily into her touch.
“Wow,” she said, breathless. She’d never actually seen him shift before. Or felt it. He’d always done it when she was looking away.
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