Chapter Two
Will shifted out of his lion form and stood naked in the woods. The wintry, early December air bit at his skin, but it was welcome after he’d run so hard.
The only problem with the cold was the way it made his left leg ache a touch more, but he was used to that.
Fat flakes of snow floated down, collecting on the nearby trees and the hood of his truck. A soft silence had overtaken the forest. As a mountain lion, he’d padded along silently, running when the urge struck, walking and stalking when he saw something interesting, like the wolf pack he’d shadowed for a few miles. There wasn’t a human soul anywhere nearby, which was just how he liked it.
He found his stack of folded clothes in the plastic bag at the base of a boulder. He tugged them out and pulled on his pants. His shirt came next.
He hiked back to his truck and drove to Squamish, British Columbia. The ethereal view of the evergreens collecting snow soothed him. That run had been exactly what he needed. No cell service, so Hayley couldn’t pester him about coming to Jackson’s wedding. No wifi, so his clients couldn’t pester him about when the next design would be in. Just Will in the quiet forest, and the hush of snowfall.
His breath steamed up the truck’s windows, so he nudged the defroster into its highest setting. The white noise from the fans only added to the calm. Serenity—it surrounded him in the white sky, the trees lining the highway, the image of Round Mountain in his rear view mirror. The peace and contentment he felt—he’d only felt it in two places in his experience. One was running in the woods as a lion. The other place had been in Ellie’s arms.
No. He had to shut down that thought, fast. He focused on the things surrounding him. The here and now. Trees. Road. Wipers moving snow from his windshield. The sound they made, that delicate whump, whump over the purr of his truck’s engine. The scent of coffee rising from his Thermos. Beneath that, the scents of Hayley and Jackson, getting fainter and fainter each day. Jackson’s scent was nearly gone—it had been two months since he’d last ridden in Will’s Raptor. Hayley’s scent was just a month old.
He missed them, plain and simple.
He made his way through Squamish and to the outskirts, where a tiny motel was situated. He’d sold the travel trailer after Hayley and Jackson returned to the Dark Pines territory. Will could either sleep in the cab of his Raptor, or, when he needed wifi or it got too cold, he could stay in motels.
Leaving the “do not disturb” sign hanging on his door, he went into his room and sat down in front of his laptop. While running, he’d had an idea for the design he was working on. The client, Bookspirations, had recently had some success with a graphic novel adaptation. Now they wanted a site redesign. He didn’t do the computer and tech work, but he knew how to make something beautiful. Unfortunately, Bookspirations hadn’t given him much direction. They’d essentially said, “Make it look pretty.”
But while he was running, Will had realized that although Bookspirations was a publisher and had dozens of books and series in their catalogue, they’d derived most of their success from a single series. He’d adapt the colors and even some of the covers’ fonts into his design. Even though the connection to the popular series wouldn’t be overt, the similarities might remind site visitors of the publisher’s success and foster a sense of confidence.
Time passed as he designed a new logo for the company. He tied in elements from their old logo so it wouldn’t be wholly unfamiliar to their audience. He made three slightly different versions and emailed them to his contact at Bookspirations, and then sat back to look at the site as a whole.
His phone buzzed, and he looked around. Where was it? The sound was coming from his coat, which he’d thrown on the bed. It buzzed again, and then a third time. He grinned and shook his head. It had to be Jackson, texting him. Jackson was the only person who sent multiple texts in a row, as if he’d have the conversation with or without Will’s input.
He picked up his phone and felt his eyebrows raise at the sight of all the notifications. He’d missed several messages from Hayley. Jackson texted yet again, so Will decided to read Jackson’s texts, first.
Jackson: Hayley said she couldn’t get in touch with you.
Jackson: She’s worried about you.
Jackson: Are you dead?
Jackson: If you’re dead, can I have your truck?
Will shook his head and wrote back, I was just on a run. Have some patience.
Jackson: Dammit. I mean, glad you’re alive.
Will: Funny. What’s going on?
Jackson: Just getting ready for the wedding. Finishing touches.
Will felt a pang in his chest. Guilt. He wrote back, I’m really happy for you.
Jackson: Thanks. Anyway, answer Hayley’s texts so she’ll leave me alone.
Will: Got it.
He switched over to the text window with Hayley. She’d left him three text messages, all asking him to talk. Sighing, he dialed her number. He knew exactly what she wanted to say.
“Oh good, so you’re alive, loin-lips.”
The insult lacked her usual fanfare. “I was just on a run,” Will said. “Barely gone for four hours.”
“Well, if I’d known that, maybe I wouldn’t have worried. Will, you know why I wanted to talk.”
“I can’t do it, Hayley.”
“Jackson is your brother, and he’s too proud to beg you to come to the wedding, but I’m not. I’m not too proud to beg, pester, threaten, cajole, or bribe. If I had something to blackmail you with, I’d be doing that, too. I’ll build you a house, Will. Anywhere you want. I’ll fill it with thousands of gallons of whiskey and priceless works of art.”
Will closed his eyes, his chest feeling tight. “I can’t do it. Please stop asking.”
The phone went silent. Hayley, without a response? Unlike her. He took the phone from his ear and looked at the screen.
Call ended. Hayley had hung up on him.
She’d never hung up without saying goodbye. Will set the phone down and kept his eyes closed. He deserved her scorn. Jackson’s anger. He hated hurting them, but what they couldn’t see was how much Huntwood hurt Will.
It wasn’t like he hadn’t tried. He had. Just a couple weeks ago, he’d been down there in the hopes of resolving an issue with the Spokane Pride. Just setting foot in the town had made his heart hurt so bad he’d thought it was bursting. And walking onto his family’s territory? At first, he’d been distracted by Hayley’s battle with Alec Lockman, but when that was over and it was just Will, Jackson, and Hayley standing in front of their crumbling childhood home, Will had been in so much pain that he couldn’t even think up a good excuse for leaving. He’d just left.
And because no one had ever known about his feelings for Ellie, no one would ever know why.