Selfishly, she’d hoped that they would have another day together before he rejoined his pack. There was still so much to sort out between them, and his pack was still a wild card in the whole equation. Her departure aside, she wasn’t sure how his pack would respond to her, and worse, she worried that Cain would treat her differently when they arrived.
Cain let out a powerful bark, the unexpected sound startling Sarah. She gripped his fur as the bark echoed into the woods. After a brief delay, he was answered by another bark, this one high-pitched. It was far-off, but at the sound, Cain picked up his pace, surging forward eagerly.
Through the rows of thin spruce trees, a dark smudge appeared, rocketing towards Cain. Sarah watched as it took shape into a wolf, smaller than Cain but still larger than any canine she’d ever seen. As it neared them, its shape began to change, and Sarah had to blink several times before she realized that it was shifting. With a fluidity that could only be the result of years of practice, the wolf transformed mid-stride, rearing up onto two legs to take the shape of a tall woman.
Cain stopped, and the woman ground to a halt just a few paces from him. Up close, Sarah could see that she wasn’t quite a woman. She was tall, but her limbs were thin and gangly. Messy brown hair fell over her shoulders, just barely obscuring her high breasts. Freckles were scattered over a face that was a little too angular to be called cute, but her bright eyes and cheeky grin made her endearing nonetheless.
Anticipating that he would want to shift, Sarah climbed off of the giant wolf, carefully stepping onto a small patch of earth that wasn’t covered in snow. As Cain began to shift, the girl pranced over to Sarah.
“Wow, look at you,” the girl said, her green eyes brimming with excitement. Despite her confusion, Sarah found herself smiling back.
“Hi,” she replied, holding out her hand.
The girl sidestepped Sarah’s hand and pulled her into a suffocating embrace, made all the more weird by the fact that she wasn’t wearing any clothes. Pulling back, she said, “I’m Clover. I’m sure my brother has told you all about me.”
Sarah blinked at her. It took her a few seconds to realize that the girl was referring to Cain. It was surprising that they were related, because aside from their russet hair color, they looked nothing alike.
“Um, a little,” Sarah said, not wanting to hurt her feelings.
Clover turned back to scowl at Cain, who was rubbing the reformed muscles around his shoulder blades. Sounding scandalized, she said, “You didn’t tell her about me?”
Cain gave her a dry look. “Hello to you too, Clover.”
Looking back to Sarah, she said, “I was going to be angry at him for being so late, but now that I see he’s brought a girl home—”
Cain placed a hand on Clover’s head, turning it to face him. “Where are your brothers?”
She pursed her lips, but answered obediently. “Hale disappeared a few days ago. I think he smelled a female or something. Alder went looking for him last night, but he hasn’t come back yet.”
Sarah could see a vein pulse in Cain’s neck as he processed this information. “And the others?”
“Mostly sleeping,” Clover replied. Her expression soured. “Except for Meadow—she’s pretending to be asleep so she doesn’t have to go chasing after Caim.”
His eyes narrowed. “Where is Caim?”
Clover shrugged. “He snuck off not long after Alder left. Don’t worry, Fern followed him.”
Cain ran a hand through his hair, not seeming the least bit reassured. Sarah stood on the outside looking in, wanting to ease his distress, but not knowing how. She didn’t know who any of these people were, or why their being gone bothered Cain so much. Unable to do anything else, she placed a hand on his back, drawing his attention.
She asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”
He nodded, and she thought he looked appreciative. To Clover, he said, “This is Sarah.” He bent down to pick up the duffle bag, handing it to his sister. “Take her to Snow. She’s a doctor.”
Sarah almost corrected him, but her ego was too inflated by the awestruck look on Clover’s face. In truth, there had been a time where Sarah had considered going to medical school, but becoming a doctor had seemed too fanciful for her tastes. Nursing school was the safe, practical choice.
Cain moved to pull away from her, but Sarah caught his arm. Their eyes met, only for her to realize that she had no idea why she’d stopped him.
“Um…” she said awkwardly, releasing his arm.
Cain reached out, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. “I’ll be back soon.”