One Broken Legacy

Chapter 7: Night-Time Trips

When Nick knocked on my door, he looked like an amateur researcher with a flashlight strapped to his pants, backpack with snacks, and thick hiking boots. I made him change into a pair of sneakers, ditch the pack, and lose the flashlight before explaining how to pop the screen on the window and climb down without making noise.

That was just the beginning of my grievances.

"Can you slow down?" Nick called behind me as he trampled a flower bed.

I let him catch up before pulling him down, out of view of the campus windows. "You need to be quiet. Walk on the tips of your feet and focus on the path in front of you."

"How are you walking so fast?"

"My home has a lot of acreages, and my cousins love to hunt." I spent enough of my childhood tramping after wolves in the woods.

I loved the rush of wandering around the wilderness, the fresh air, and the smell of mud. It wasn't glamorous by any means, but there was something refreshing about going back to nature, back to the raw parts of the world.

"You know, this is why people think you're a Coth," Nick grumbled as he followed me into the woods. "My God, can you see in the dark?"

I bristled. "If I'd known you would ask so many questions and risk getting us caught, I would have let you go by yourself." I spun on him, watching with relief as his mouth snapped shut.

Nick nodded as he followed me, his imaginary tail between his legs like a scolded puppy. I had been blunt, but I needed to focus on the mission and not getting caught. I couldn't find it in myself to talk, not when my heart was trying to beat out of my chest. If we were caught it would only spiral into a situation I wasn't sure I could control. Not on my own.

We splashed through a narrow tributary of the river, the mental path through the woods carved in my mind. Another few meters and we would meet a small ridge then follow that to the clearing where Anya would meet us.

He'd thank me when I managed to draw his wolf out and connected him to his legacy. I had faith that his father passed on the gift. And if not, he'd probably be allowed to meet his father's pack, even if he couldn't live with them or interact with their world.

The trees began thinking, turning from lush vegetation to a few, screwy trees fighting for space among the thick undergrowth. Anya had selected a perfect location. A steady rise to a clearing and a fair amount of moonlight to help the interaction. I did not doubt that once Nick focused, his innate instincts would surface.

"Why did you stop?" Nick appeared at my shoulder as I stood at the edge of the clearing. When he tried to pass me, I grabbed him.

"Do you hear that?" My fingers tightened on his arm, and I forced him to the ground, cupping my hand over his mouth as Anya crept into the clearing.

She wore a pair of jeans and a jacket, feet completely bare. She made eye contact with me before slinking back into the underbrush. A few minutes later, a black-haired wolf crept forward.

She sat in the middle of the clearing, eyes trained on the brush that hid us. With her teeth exposed, she released a low growl, but I had the feeling that was more for show than anything.

"We should go say hi," I said, bumping Nick's shoulder. "You go first. You wanted to meet a Coth."

"What?" Nick gaped as he looked between us. I could almost feel his heart rate hitch through his coat. "I can't just walk up to her...it...her."

"My God" I stood and Nick scrambled behind me.

"Hello, werewolf." I sounded like a children's cartoon character. "My name is Lexi Smith, and this is Nick Tristen. We won't tell anyone we saw you. Could we talk to you as a person?"