Page 21 of Midlife Animal Rescuer Wolf

A bit of blood stained the sash as she bandaged his foot, but otherwise it didn’t look so bad now. Good. She gently wrapped it with the sash, tightly enough that it wouldn’t slip off.

“What are you going to do once we make it out of here?” Bryon asked.

“Hmm?” She looked up to find him staring at her. Her heart skipped a few beats, and she tried to ignore the heat that immediately swept through her gut. She looked away, determined to focus on anything but his brown eyes. “Well...”

It had been a really tiring day between running from Jerry and trudging through the woods with this wolf shifter, but amidst all the madness, she’d definitely had time to reflect.

“I’m not entirely sure,” she said honestly. “But I do know that I’m not returning to Everland.”

Even the thought of going back home was enough to send shivers down her spine. She’d made the mistake of remaining in place after Jerry’s threats, and look where it had landed her. Miranda was determined not to make the same dumb mistake again. Sure, she’d report Jerry to the police or at least get a restraining order, but that wasn’t enough. Somehow, she suspected she’d wake up one morning with his hands at her throat.

Yeah, she had to move. Anywhere but Everland. It didn’t matter that most of her life was in that town. She might not have a life to enjoy if she remained there.

“Oh?” Bryon sat a little straighter.

She nodded. “I think I’ll have my things moved. Who knows? I just might move to Sylva. I heard it’s a nice town.”

“It is.” His voice was lower than before, his tone almost undecipherable. “It’s a really nice town. Peaceful, for the most part.”

“That’s good to know.” She finished wrapping his foot and patted it before rising. “We should get going. If I’m going to move, I’d like to make it out of here in one piece first.”

Chapter Eight

“You Seem Human”

Bryon had to admit; it was much easier to move around now that he’d had his foot cleaned and re-bandaged. His injury still stung, and walking barefoot didn’t help matters much, but it certainly wasn’t as bad as before. Still, a hospital visit was in order as soon as they made it out of Paradise Woods. Miranda’s offer to clean his injury had been a great idea, but all it had done was buy them some time.

And time still didn’t seem to be on their side.

“I can’t believe it’s already afternoon,” he muttered. “I figured I’d be back at the sanctuary within thirty minutes.”

As they trudged through the woods, he glanced up for a moment. The sun still shone brightly through the treetops, and their surroundings were warm and mostly quiet. Somewhere in the distance, he could hear a couple of animals wandering. Wolves? Probably deer.

He expelled a sigh. By now, Theon and the other animal rescuers must’ve gotten breakfast and returned to the sanctuary, which meant they must have noticed his absence. Were they wondering where he was? Would Theon send Cal or Henry into the woods to look for him?

Bryon almost scoffed. The odds that Theon would assume he was in danger or stuck in the woods were next to zero. He was a wolf shifter, and a competent one, at that. As far as Theon and the others at the sanctuary were concerned, he could handle himself just fine. His lips drew back into a smile. Boy, were they all in for a surprise.

He could almost see the looks on their faces as he showed up at Green Sanctuary, barely clothed and with an injured foot, a woman in pajamas on his arm. No doubt, Henry would have a good laugh about that. He’d always been one to find the humor in things.

“Look out!”

Bryon snapped out of his reverie just in time to see a jagged branch sticking up from the earth, a few centimeters from his raised foot. With a gasp, he jerked his foot out of the way, nearly completely losing his balance in the process. Miranda’s grip on his arm tightened, and she held on, trying to steady him.

“I’ve got you!” she said through gritted teeth.

He planted both feet on the ground, breathing hard. His injury stung from the sudden effort, but he paid it almost no notice. On the ground a few feet away remained the jagged branch, the mere sight of it sending a shiver down Bryon’s spine.

“Thanks,” he said, turning to face Miranda. “If you hadn’t warned me in time...”

“You’d have impaled your other foot, and I’d have had to drag you through the woods.” Her beautiful features scrunched up into a disapproving frown. “You’ve been doing an awful lot of thinking lately.”

He managed a slight grin. “Hard not to when there’s so much to think about.” Between his injury and the fact that they were likely still being hunted by this woman’s stalker, it wasn’t a short list at all.

“Got someone waiting for you back home?”

He lifted an eyebrow at her question. Bryon held her gaze, feeling his heartbeat accelerate a little. She was standing close enough that he could count her eyelashes, if he stared long enough. Her hand was still on his arm, her fingers digging slightly into his flesh. He felt a slight tug in his belly. If he just leaned a little closer...

Miranda must have felt it, too, because her grip on him tightened a little. Was it just him, or was her face inching closer? He swallowed, taking a step back, and cleared his throat.