Five Weeks (Seven Series #3)(87)

Her wolf staggered to her feet and paced forward with her head down. They’d bonded a long time ago, so he didn’t have second thoughts when he reached out and ran his fingers through her coat. He knew exactly where she liked to be scratched, and it was on the back of her neck.
“Yeah, that’s my girl.” He smiled as she sat down and shook her head.
A light knock sounded at the door.
“Open the door slowly,” Jericho said, keeping his eyes on Isabelle. “Don’t come in; just stand at the door.”
As the broken hinge creaked behind him, Jericho kept methodically stroking the sides of her face and rubbed her ears to keep her calm.
“Jesus. You’re crazy, anyone ever tell you that?” Austin said. “Lexi brought the crate. Hurry up; we need to get rid of the body and get this trailer off the premises.”
Austin slid the crate in and shut the door.
Jericho pulled the crate next to him and ignored her disobedient groans and growls. He opened the front and patted inside. “Come on, baby. Let’s go home.”
***
“Careful!” Jericho yelled, banging his fist against the back of the truck window.
Austin had hit a pothole in the private road that led up to their house—one Reno was supposed to fill in last week. Isabelle wasn’t doing well in the crate. He had tried to steady it with his own body, but the bumps in the road and sharp turns had her biting the wire door.
When the truck stopped, Jericho stood up and looked down at Austin. “Unlock the front door and I’ll get her inside.”#p#分页标题#e#
“You can’t bring her in the house. Lynn and Maizy are in there.”
“I’ll lock her up in my room.”
Austin slammed his door. “Absolutely not. My priority is to protect my pack. I’m sorry, brother, but Isabelle is not my pack. Lynn and Maizy are. She was getting on my good side, but this just took her down a few notches. This could do more than damage our reputation; it could break apart our pack.”
Jericho cursed and opened the bed of the truck. Isabelle’s wolf was barking out of control, and he needed to calm her down. That meant stabilizing her crate and taking her somewhere safe. Reno had stayed behind with the girls to take care of the trailer—he knew a few cleaners who worked independently and, for a hefty fee, wouldn’t report their findings to the Council.
Austin helped him with the crate and they set it down in the dirt. A few crickets were chirping in the darkness, and Jericho glanced at a silhouette standing in the window.
“So you want us to sit out here in the dark?”
Austin slammed the bed of the truck closed. “You got it. Don’t go anywhere near the house. I called Lynn earlier and told her to keep the doors locked up tight so Maizy doesn’t wander outside. She likes wolves but she’s too young to realize she can’t run up to a rogue. Find a soft patch of grass and camp out for the night.” Austin returned to the front of the truck. “I need to head back. After we clean up the mess your girlfriend caused, we’re going to stick around, have a few beers, and listen to some music. Then we’re coming back to deal with this. You’re lucky the music was loud enough to drown out the drama. Maybe the wind was in our favor. Who the hell knows.”
“Pass the word to my band that the show is off.” Jericho felt like crap about it, but what could he do?
“Doubt it,” Austin replied, getting back in the truck. He slammed the door and rested his forearm on the edge of the open window. “Have you heard Trevor sing? He went up there for kicks and played a blues number. Girls went crazy. As did a few men,” he said with a comical grin.
Jericho turned his back and lifted the heavy crate, causing every muscle he owned to flex and harden.
Austin’s truck kicked up dirt as he headed down the road and back to the festival. Just another night for the Weston pack. They didn’t bat an eyelash at this kind of drama, but the humans who lived in their house had a tougher time wrapping their heads around the perils of the Breed world.
He found a nice spot under a tree with a soft patch of grass. Jericho knelt down and opened the cage, speaking in a mellow voice. Isabelle’s wolf sprang out and then circled around, sniffing her surroundings and nervously eyeing him. The blood had dried on her white fur, more noticeable around her muzzle.
“It’s fine, baby. We’re home.” He fell on his back and stared up at the sky, kicking off his shoes. How could decades ago feel like yesterday and another lifetime all at once?
Isabelle nestled beside him, tucking her muzzle on his shoulder and licking his ear. They fell back into a familiar groove, and he hummed the song he’d sung to her earlier at the concert, hoping that would draw her out. Isabelle was in there somewhere, even though she wouldn’t remember this. But there was a way you could talk a person out of their animal and coax them to shift.