Hart and Hunter

Chapter 31

Ch. 31: Julian

I stare into the darkness where Dane had vanished, warring emotions making my chest ache.

"What do we do now?" I ask, not trusting myself to make a rational decision.

At my side, Freya shrugs and sighs. "Not much we can do, other than go home, like he said."

"No way. I'm not leaving him out here alone," I say. "Wolf or not, I'm his mate. My place is with him."

Spurred into sudden, impulsive action by my own words, I start forward, intent on following Dane, but Freya catches up to me in a few strides and grabs my arm, forcing me to stop.

"Whoa! Hold up, Julie. Mate or not, it's not safe out here. You do not want to run across a newly made alpha, especially if the land-bond goes wrong."

"Dane would never hurt me."

I shake her off and keep walking, but she catches and stops me again.

"The brace on your wrist says otherwise. Listen—I get it," she says, softening her tone. "That's my big brother out there, and my little sister gone missing. But I know Dane, too, and when he's made up his mind on something, it's no good trying to stop him. I'm a woman of action, and being told to sit and wait don't sit well with me. But if he's determined to make a mistake, we gotta let him make it. Meanwhile, the best thing we can do is to leave him to it, and keep him from making any worse mistakes while he's at it."

I frown at her, but she shakes her head and takes my shoulders in a firm grasp, as if worried I'll bolt away into the dark if she lets go.

"Julian, you're his heart and soul," she says. "I know he'd never hurt you on purpose, but he knocked you over like a cardboard cutout just now. After he takes the alpha, he'll be more wolf than man, for a time. It's an accident waiting to happen. Trust me."

"What about the ritual? Doesn't he still need you as his witness?"

"Ritual's out the window, hon," she says softly. "Dane's gone solo."

I shake my head. "We can't just leave him out here. We're a half-hour outside of town. What if something happens to him?"

Freya sighs. "He's a big wolf, Juju. He can take care of himself; if he can't then he doesn't deserve the alpha. Besides, we're only about ten or twelve miles from your house, as the crow flies—or as the wolf runs. He'll be fine."

Scowling, I weigh the options in my mind, but at last I'm forced to admit that she's probably right. Dane is long gone by now, and I have little chance of finding him in the dark—not without Freya's help, anyway.

I hold still and listen, scanning the moonlit landscape with eyes adjusted to the dark well beyond human ability, but everything is silent and still. Wherever Dane went, he's long gone already.

Without me.

"Fine," I say, defeated at last. "Let's go home."

***

As I had suspected it would, sleep eludes me.

I pass the night pacing restlessly from room to room, while Freya reads on her phone or naps on the couch. Dawn finds me, red-eyed and dazed, staring out the window as color gradually returns to the world.

"Julian?"

I startle at Freya's touch, not having heard her approach.

"Sorry." She winces. "I thought you were asleep on your feet or something. I made some coffee."

She holds out a mug. I take it gratefully, though she hasn't added nearly enough cream for my taste.

"Thanks. How much longer do you think it will be?"