Chapter Thirty-Five
SETH
I’m staring out the window, watching the turned leaves fall from their trees as we drive through Hearth.
I’ve got one foot on the dash of the truck and my girl tucked under my arm humming happily as she sips her gourmet coffee.
Whatever that is. Ever since the temperature dropped and the trees started losing their leaves, Aurelia has been going on and on about wanting something called pumpkin spice.
Today, Khalil finally lost it and snatched the keys to the truck before dragging us all from the cabin.
After stopping by the coffee shop to get her an extra-large pumpkin spice chai latte, we all piled back into the truck to head to the wolf conservation center.
Apparently, that wolf Aurelia is obsessed with was born and bred in captivity but somehow escaped and ended up lost in the wild for months. Like Sunshine. Aurelia then had this insane plan to save the she-wolf and her pups from the bad, bad wilds and almost got everyone killed in the process.
So that’s cool.
I’m not prepared for the keepers at the center to roll out the welcome wagon when we arrive.
They usher us in while talking a mile a minute about Meera and the pups’ progress.
I tune them all out as I follow along, making sure not to let my troubled thoughts show whenever Sunshine sends me curious glances over her shoulder.
She holds out her hand, and I take it, kissing the back of it before dropping my arm over her shoulder and letting her pull me along.
We’re pretty much given a backstage pass when one of the keepers leads us through a gate with a sign marked Danger Ahead. Authorized Personnel Only.
Hands in my hoodie, I enter last and look around. The first thing I notice is that there are wolves everywhere, and that there are no more fences between us and them, but they pay us no mind as we enter and stand around.
The keepers are still talking a mile a minute about the care that went into reintegrating Meera and her pups into the pack. It was a slow process, but the pack seems to have accepted them all with no issues.
After a few minutes of keeping a safe distance, a wolf with gray fur stands and walks closer.
“Uh, don’t be alarmed,” the keeper says, even though none of us are. We live in the wilds, for fuck’s sake. We can’t take a walk without running across a predator or two. This is nothing. “Sometimes they get a little curious with newcomers, but they won’t attack unless provoked.”
The gray wolf growls, and I surmise that it must be the alpha of the pack checking us out.
I can see the keepers eyeing each other as they wonder if they should cut our visit short.
A moment later, another wolf with tawny fur appears next to the alpha.
She brushes up against the incensed wolf, and the growls stop, replaced by a whine.
The wolves rub their heads together before the tawny wolf cautiously approaches.
She walks between Thorin and Khalil and I see her gaze on me, head tilting as if she can tell the difference between me and Zeke.
“Hey, it’s you,” I greet when Meera jots close enough to brush against my jeans. The keepers gasp when I reach out a hand and boldly scratch behind her ears. “What?” I ask when the keepers gape at me. “We’re old friends.”
Aurelia grins at me over her shoulder, and I wink. Meera does the same to Aurelia, nudging her thigh with her snout, and I lean over to whisper in her ear.
“I dare you.”
“Seth.”
“Double, triple, quadruple dare you.”
Thorin looks over his shoulder as if he can feel the mischief in the air and narrows his gaze. “Don’t you fucking dare.”
But Aurelia is already reaching a hand toward Meera, her fingers running through her rough coat a second before the alpha barks a call and Meera walks away. She returns to the wolf, and they walk to a spot under a tree.
“And I think you remember these two,” the keeper says as two smaller wolves wander over.
“Oh my God,” Aurelia gasps. “Is that Rom and Remy?”
“Yes, yes,” the keeper answers enthusiastically. “It’s them.”
“They’ve gotten so big!” she squeals.
Emboldened by their mother’s presence, the pups sniff at Khalil’s and Thorin’s shoes and legs and then Aurelia and me before losing interest and running back over to the rest of the pack to play.
We stay for a little while longer before we leave, and as we’re walking to the truck, something lands on Aurelia’s cheek and she swipes at it. Inspecting her wet fingers, she frowns. “Is it raining?”
“No,” I say as I stare at the white flakes falling down. “It’s snowing.”
“Already?”
Thorin snorts. “Prepare yourself for it to happen often. It shouldn’t stick for another month though.”
The four of us hop in the truck and we drive off, stopping in town for some food and supplies. We’re walking through the aisle of the grocery store picking up mostly junk food and liquor, to Khalil’s annoyance, when Aurelia stops by the stand of magazines.
I only glance her way before I search the store for any lingering gazes.
Keeping our heads on a swivel is what we do whenever we bring Aurelia into town, which we don’t do often for this very reason.
She—who is supposed to be dead—is still at risk of being recognized, so whenever we see someone looking too closely her way, one of us will kiss her senseless to block her from view.
It really sends them scattering when we take turns.
Scandalous, they whisper.
Aurelia was annoyed at being judged at first, but now she thinks it’s hilarious, and so do I. What can I say? She breathes, and my heart sings.
When I finish my scan and notice her still over by the magazines, staring at the front cover of one, I wander over and cage her in with my hand braced on the wall. “Anything interesting?”
She turns slowly, and the crestfallen look on her face immediately puts me on edge. She doesn’t say anything, but the hand holding the magazine trembles, so I take it from her and read the cover.
The Estate of Aurelia George sued—Lawsuit reaches $40 million
“It says my uncle is refusing to pay a penny to the families who lost a loved one in the crash because of the contract they signed when they were employed waiving indemnity. They lost their—” Her voice catches as tears build in her eyes before falling uncontrollably.
“Some of them were fathers, Seth. They had children, and my uncle doesn’t care. He still won’t pay.”
“Shit, Sunshine.” I pull her into me, and she sobs into my chest.
“He can’t get away with this.”
“He won’t.”
“I’m going to fucking kill him.”
“You will.” I promise. If she can get to him before I do.
“What’s up?” Khalil asks as he walks over. “What happened?”
“Later.”
Aurelia turns without a word and grabs every magazine from the stands before handing them to Thorin, who stares after her when she leaves the store. He walks over to the cashier to pay. Khalil and I follow her back to the truck, and then we drive back to the cabin in silence once Thorin catches up.
The moment we’re inside, Aurelia begins poring over every magazine looking for more information about the lawsuit.
As it turns out, not only is her uncle trying to get the courts to waive the seven-year-rule for the presumption of death, but he’s also ignoring the cries of the victims’ families while silently selling off her catalogs to the highest bidder.
When she’s done, Aurelia doesn’t say a word for the rest of the night, but I can see the silent fury sliding over her features as she plots her vengeance and more.
It’s a few more hours before she tucks it all away.
I’m sitting on the front porch staring at the moon—for some fucking reason—when the front door opens behind me.
I know it’s her by her soft footsteps. She lowers herself onto the step next to me, and we sit quietly for a few moments before she speaks.
“Are you ready?” she whispers.
I peer down at her with my brow raised. “Are you sure you’re up for it?”
“We made a promise.”
“That we did,” I agree even though I’m more than a little reluctant to keep it.
But if I don’t, why should Zeke? I stand and help Aurelia up, and then we walk away from the cabin and out of the clearing together.
We walk in silence until we reach a precipice not far away that has a clear view of the moon.
It’s so close that it feels as if I could reach out and touch it.
But I don’t, because I’m too busy drinking in the sight of Aurelia in the moonlight. She’s the real breathtaking image.
Aurelia steps closer to me and rests her soft fingers on my forehead just above my brows. It’s something we’ve been practicing and perfecting these last three months. Feeling her one last time helps to calm me. Helps me to say goodbye, to let go.
“I love you,” she whispers.
“I love you more, Sunshine.”
Softly, she trails her fingers down my face and whispers, “Chrysalis.”