"God I needed this." Lying back, eyes closed, I inhaled the lavender-scented air as the miracle worker behind me massaged the last of the tension from my shoulders.
Relaxation was a distant memory. Jess had decided that we now needed a day of shopping, and when she said a day she meant afullday. We'd been wandering around the mall for the last three hours and from the way Jess was talking there were at least another two nearby we had yet to visit. I wasn't generally a shopper, but Jess had been so excited I didn't have the heart to put a damper on her day.
The man beside me was too slow, he meandered through the airport as though he had all the time in the world. Maybe he did, butIdidn't. Landing back at the tiny Haven Falls airport all I wanted to do was find Max, but the nice wolf Jonathan sent back with me wouldn't be rushed and I was too polite to say anything.
The diner had always been like a second home to me. I'd worked there for years, both before and since I was bitten that night. It had provided a constant in my life when I'd needed it, it was my daily dose of normal. I valued working alongside people who simply knew me as Maggie, not as a werewolf, certainly not as a rare female wolf. At the diner I was just me, with no other identities attached.
"Not the most romantic date night." I took a sip of wine, watching Max over the rim of the glass.
Running was freedom. In my wolf form all the threats and worry faded away and animal instinct took over. It was bliss to feel the damp soil beneath my paws and to have the fresh wind ruffle my fur. This was simple and easy and didn't require complicated thoughts or feelings of guilt.
"I'm going, Max. It's important." I was well prepared for this argument; I'd known it was unavoidable.
What did one wear to a good friend's birthday party when also planning to keep an appointment with a murderous stalker? This was the question running through my head as I stood in front of my closet examining the contents. I'd managed to put on my underwear and that was as far as I'd managed to get. My usual solution of asking Nate was out as I knew he'd try and get me into a dress, and that wasn't going to happen tonight. I wanted to be covered up and comfortable, with the ability to make a run for it.
The silence in the car pressed down like a weight. I couldn’t decide if I wanted to make the effort to talk or not. It was a choice of uncomfortable silence or disturbing conversation.After we’d left the park it was a short walk to a nondescript, dark car. The perfect, forgettable, getaway vehicle. Zachary knew how to plan an effective kidnapping, but then he seemed like an organised guy. Organised and determined; a dangerous combination.