My Wolf’s Bane(38)

“Hmm. What did you find out about the wolves?” he asked, angling toward me and narrowing his eyes.

A tingle crept up my spine. “Most wolves are usually under a hundred pounds, give or take, but they’ve been known to get twice that size.”

He nodded. “You shouldn’t be out in the woods alone.”

My fingers stilled. How did he know I’d been alone?





CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“I never said I was alone…” My voice trailed off as alarms pealed in my head. “And what makes you think I went into the woods?”

Zack sighed as if I were trying his patience. “You said you went for a walk and the forest is practically in your back yard. Where else would you see a wolf?”

I glared at him. “Can’t you be nice for one evening?”

He took a bite of the bread, then returned it to the small plate. Inhaling slowly, he lifted his chin and sniffed the air. He repeated the act two more times.

I struggled to keep my voice level. “You’re smelling me again, Zack.”

“Yeah.” He must have been totally oblivious to how much he was pissing me off, because he sniffed me again. “You smell unusual.”

“Gee, thanks.” The disgust had to have been evident in my tone. Just when we were getting along. Sort of. “Thanks for letting me know,” I said with a sarcastic edge.

“No, not in a bad way. You’re a mixture of…” He inhaled again, long and deeply. “Lavender and vanilla and a little bit earthy.”

“Earthy?” I’d been called many things, but never that. “Whatever. Just stop sniffing me, okay? It’s weird.”

“Autumn,” Maya interrupted. I’d forgotten she was next to me. “There’s a carnival next weekend. We should go.”

That would be a nice break from all the drama in my life. And refreshing not to have Zack there. “I’d love to.”

“You’re coming too, right Zack?” Maya asked.

My mouth dropped open.

“Uh…” He stared at me with wide eyes, but I couldn’t think of any way to rescue myself, much less come up with an excuse for him. He turned to Maya again. “Sure, if I’m not working that day.”

Trevor shook his head. “You don’t work on Sundays.”

“I might be car shopping,” Zack explained, his eyes darting to me.

Trevor waved him off. “Not at night.”

I tuned them out. It was bad enough we spent our afternoons together without donating my play time to him.

“Maya told me about your mom,” I said once Maya and Trevor were absorbed in each other again. “How’s she doing?”

“Hanging in there.” He stared into the plate in front of him. “I’m not seeing much of her these days.”

And I was sucking up his extra time by car hunting. “We don’t have to shop over the weekend if you don’t want to.”

“No, it’s fine. If I stay home too much and hover over her, she doesn’t like it. She wants me out living life, meeting girls.” He shook his head. “But if we could meet at Trevor’s place tomorrow, that’d help.”

“I’m so sorry about what you guys are going through,” I whispered. “What rotten luck.”

“She’s had great luck, actually. She wasn’t supposed to live past eighteen.” He toyed with the little bread plate. “But she went into remission and had me, kept me safe after my dad died and made it to my eighteenth birthday. I’m lucky to have had so much extra time with her.”

I dropped my gaze as my eyes misted. I cleared my throat, willing myself not to get choked up. “So I’ll meet you at Trevor’s. What time is good for you?”

“About one o’clock?”

“I’ll be there.” The food arrived and I attacked it, shoveling it in while still maintaining a ladylike veneer.

Lord, Zack’s dinner smelled unbelievable. I tried to ignore the smell, but that only made it harder to enjoy my own food. Half way through my pasta, I set my fork down and watched him with his big, juicy burger. Sauce dripped out and onto his plate as he bit into it. The delicious aroma made me crave his food instead of my own.

My mom had lectured me for years on the food industry — how animals were treated and the hormones they were given. And it had worked. Until now. What was up with this sudden need for meat?

“What?” Zack finished chewing and swallowed. “Is it bothering you to see me eat an animal?”

“Not at all.” I stared at the burger, saliva pooling in my mouth.

“Do you want a bite?” he asked.

I froze, my eyes wide. What would my parents say if I turned carnivore? “I’ve never eaten meat before.”