Skye came out of the cafe with a swift pace looking left and right down the street. It was impossible not to notice the giant coffee stain on the front of her shirt and I chuckled at the grumpy scowl on her face.

“The hell happened to you?” I asked as she walked up to where I was waiting by the car, “Please tell me there were security cameras that caught you spilling coffee all over yourself.”

Skye rolled her eyes at me. “A wolf ran into me.”

I immediately straightened up. “A wolf?”

“Yeah, I didn’t recognize them.” Skye was still scanning the area, tilting her head up to catch a scent in the wind. “They were alone, but do you think a new pack is moving in the area?”

I started to look around too, concentrating on my sense of smell and shrugged. “They haven’t checked in with the Lodge if there is.”

“They looked pretty spooked when they saw me. Practically made a break for it.” Skye added.

My instincts sent off warning alarms. This wolf was alone as far as we knew. No pack. Bolting at the sight of other wolves. Probably turned since purebreds rarely acted that way which means their control was questionable. This loner could mean trouble and they were too close to the Lodge for my comfort. I need to find them. Keep an eye on them. Maybe even have a little chat.

“What did they look like?”

“Short bleached hair, tattoos, couple inches taller than me. Around our age, maybe.”

That was all I needed. “Okay, I want you to go back to the Lodge and tell them there’s a strange wolf in the area. I’ll try to track ‘em down and see what I see.”

Skye looked at me like I was an idiot, a look I was familiar with. “What? No, I’m going with you.”

“Skye, they’ve seen you and probably know your scent now.”

“Yeah, because being followed by someone with scars and resting bitch face totally isn’t conspicuous at all.” She argued sarcastically. “Plus, we don’t know if they’re dangerous. I gotta watch your back.”

I groaned. The longer we argued, the further the mystery wolf got away. “Fine, just follow my lead so we don’t fuck this up.”

Skye lit up. “When have I ever fucked up a good sneaking around?”