Witch Wolf (Camren) Book 1

Chapter 17

  Heartland Park is a swell of hills nestled just below the heart of the city. The buildings and skyscrapers towered above us like metal giants. Legally, the park would be closed to visitors at eleven in the evening. It was about twenty minutes until nine, so we had plenty of time.

 Lauren was silent as we walked down the three flights of stairs that led to the pond. The path wove intricately around the large body of water. Old-fashioned lamp posts arched above the winding path, and what the lamps didn't illuminate, the lights of the city brought into view. 

I walked across the wooden bridge and stopped for a moment to enjoy the view. The lights and foliage reflected off the water like a surrealist's painting, bent and distorted, but no less beautiful for it. The path led us on an incline up the side of the hill and around the pond. The smell of juniper was strong on the breeze. I ducked away from a spider's web as we walked under an old wooden archway. Lights that were set into small stone pillars replaced the lamp lights.

 Lauren stopped and turned to look at me. I almost bumped into her. She'd taken her gloves off and left them in the car. Her fingers brushed my neck as she tenderly guided the tresses of hair behind my shoulder. I could feel the effects of the wine flooding warmth throughout my body, calming my mind like a comfortable blanket.

 Her eyes were dark as she looked at me. She reached up, hesitantly at first, and when I didn't step back, she touched my face. I had a moment to wonder if she was going to kiss me before her eyes cast downward. It didn't take a genius to figure it out. 

She stared at the pulse in my throat like it was something she wanted to unwrap. I stepped back then. "Oh no," I said, "just because you bought dinner does not mean I have to open a vein and provide you with yours." Before she could open her mouth to speak, a scream ripped through the night air like the wild and terrible cry of a banshee. 

Lauren snapped out of her trance as she turned and looked into the night. I watched as her nostrils flared slightly. I felt the hair at the back of my neck rise. Goose bumps marched down the length of my arms. Another cry pierced the silence, and the fear in that one cry rode so thickly in the air that I thought I was going to choke on it. I felt my senses sharpen. The wolf stirred in her den, peeking out into the world with eyes that were my own.

 I couldn't think as a sense of helplessness and fear slammed into me. I couldn't shield against it. I flung off my heels and I began running toward the garden, leaping over a flight of steps and landing on my feet. I didn't stop running. The trees stretched toward the sky. I slipped silently between their trunks.

 I could hear small helpless sounds from within the dense gardens, but those weren't the only sounds I heard. A low guttural growl vibrated through the night. Hands caught me and shoved me against one of the trees. Lauren was suddenly there, pinning my shoulders. I whispered, "What are you doing?"

 "You are not the only wolf in this park," she said. I placed my heel against the trunk and pushed off. "I know." She saw the movement and moved away so quickly that I stumbled. I looked between the trees. The light in the area beyond was scarcer, but by the light of the crescent moon and the wolf's keen night vision, I could make out two shapes.

 Lauren kept her voice at a whisper. "What are you going to do?" she asked. "Swoop in and save her? Risk exposing yourself?"

 "No," I said as I began taking off my coat. "I'm not going to expose myself." I started unlacing the bodice of my corset. "But I am going to save her." Evan? I wondered. Could it be? I shrugged out of the dress. It fell in a heap of cloth at my feet. If it was, I would find him. I would stop him. I knelt on the ground wearing only my undergarments.