chapter 29

Tali's POV

He glances over at me, and I can see it’s on the tip of his tongue to send me back, only I widen my eyes and try to look pitiful. “Please, Luka? Five minutes to see a cabin and I promise I’ll go back to the house.”

He wavers.

“And I’ll go right up to bed. Promise.” I cross a finger over my heart for added benefit. “Pinkie swear.”

His lips curve in a reluctant grin. “What are you, five?”

I punch his arm. Not hard, but still send him bumping into a tree. “Shut up.”

“Do that again, and I’ll toss you over my shoulder and carry you back,” he says, rubbing at his arm as if it hurt.

Since he’s saying it with a grin on his face, I know he isn’t being serious. “You won’t because you’re not a neanderthal like Dayne,” I say, straight-faced.

Luka splutters with laughter. “You better not let him hear you calling him that.”

He casts a glance over his shoulder and an expression of horror crosses his face. And for a second I nearly believe that Dayne is behind us.

“Don’t be silly. Anyway, who’s cabin is this?” I ask as we emerge through the forest and into a small clearing where a small, one-story log cabin stands.

It’s very fairytale-esque and I can’t help being a little jealous of how cute it is.

“Savannah’s.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

Even though I feel him glancing over at me, I don’t turn to meet his gaze since my attempt at playing it cool has completely failed.

Given Savannah’s scent permeates the area, I should know without asking that the cabin belongs to her.

And if my nose wasn’t working, the fact my wolf is snarling her displeasure would confirm who the cabin belonged to.

“I’m grabbing some things for her,” Luka says when I offer nothing else.

Then I remember the strange wolf she supposedly saw at her cabin, and I pause. Surely what I saw in the forest couldn’t have been the same wolf? Could it?

No. Just a coincidence. Or a normal wolf.

It was probably just one of the pack returning from the run. Maybe one of them got separated or something.

“Yeah, things like what?” I ask as I follow Luka inside the unlocked cabin.

I couldn’t care less, but I can’t just jump right into Dayne and Savannah’s history first. I have to ease into it.

“Clothes, books, that kind of thing.”

Yes, it’s extremely judgemental of me that the first thought that pops into my head is that she reads? A model?

I try to shake off my bitchiness where she’s concerned, but it’s hard. Especially with my wolf loudly snarling in my head giving me a headache.

While I’m wrestling my wolf back into her cage, I wander away from Luka and take a few minutes to explore Savannah’s open-plan cabin.

It’s not as feminine as I was expecting. I was thinking she’d have filled her home with clothes, jewelry, and shoes. Lots and lots of shoes.

But it’s simple, rustic, and cozy.

“Why does she live in a cabin in the woods?” I make my way over to the couch and pick up a framed photograph of the pack.

Dayne is smiling as he stands with an arm thrown around her shoulder and she’s grinning up at him.

I grind my teeth and gently return the framed picture to the table.

At Luka’s pause, I glance over and find him grabbing a random selection of books, which he then tosses in the bag.

“Luka?” I ask, in case he didn’t hear me.

“She prefers the cabin to the main house,” he says.

Which means she must have lived in the main house at one point, I gather.

“But why? Did something happen?” I meander over to Savannah’s bed, trying to pick up Dayne’s scent.

“You should ask ” Luka stops so suddenly that I turn. “Ask her?”

He shakes his head. “Probably don’t ask Savannah. Or Dayne.

Definitely don’t ask him.”

It’s such a strange thing for him to say that I tilt my head as I examine him.

So the reason for her to be living in the cabin has something to do with Dayne.

“Did they have a bad breakup or something?”

Luka’s usually warm eyes dim, and sadness settles there. “No. No, nothing like that.”

“So they never dated then?”

It’s Luka’s turn to study me curiously. “What makes you think they had?”

I take a moment to think about what he’s asking me. I think about the clothes in Dayne’s room that smell of her, and how close she and Dayne seem.

Then there’s that picture of them grinning at each other. Looking for all the world like they’re a couple.

How could I not think something was going on between them? Yet Luka is looking at me like I’m crazy for even thinking about it.

“Well, because ” Luka’s phone rings and he gives me an apologetic smile before reaching for it.

I try to hide my snarl of frustration.

Before Luka has a chance of even opening his mouth, the cold fury I hear on the other line obliterates any chance of me finding out anything about Savannah.

“Is she with you?” It’s Dayne and he is pissed.

More than pissed. And that’s putting it mildly. A killing rage would be how I’d describe his voice.

“Yes, we’ll ” Luka shoves more books in the bag without looking.

“If she’s not back here in the next five minutes, she doesn’t want to know what I’ll do to her.”

Luka’s eyes land on me, and I catch pity stirring in the half a second I’m looking at him. And then I’m moving.

If I sprint, I might just make it back to the house in five minutes. Barely. I don’t wait for Luka. I shove open the door to the cabin and take off.

By some strange miracle, although I’m a sweaty, flustered mess by the time I get to the house, I make it before Dayne can come and get me.

He’s leaning against the side of the house, still with his phone pressed against his ear.

But he’s not looking at me. His wolf is in his eyes, and he’s staring at something behind me.

As I rush up the porch stairs, I peek behind me and find Luka was in close pursuit, still with his phone against his ear.

Without saying a word or acknowledging me, Dayne straightens from the side of the wall and wrenches the door open.

Since it’s clear what he wants, I walk inside and head upstairs to shower and get ready for bed.