Page 51 of A Wolfe in the Woods

I’d thought I just wanted to be left alone. Something I’d never really had—not in my youth, not in the city. I’d come here both to lose myself…and to find myself again. To shed the old fur, grow the new.

That took time. I’d made a plan. A good one. Organized. Methodical. Efficient. Clear. Just like how I’d always handled every case that had crossed my desk, never overlooking a single detail. I’d always planned for contingencies and executed my plans cleanly.

The plan didn’t include anything beyond me.

And it had been working so far. There was a lot to do, a lot to learn, but I was moving forward, wasn’t I? I didn’t need the interruption or the deviation.Shehad never been part of the plan.

And I resented her for it.

Blanchette Redfield.

How could someone be so predictable in who she was…and yet so unpredictable in what she was doing to me?

May set the mug back down in front of me, her full concoction realized. Steam curled upward, chocolatey and minty, with just a hint of sweetness.

I wrapped my hands around it, grounding myself in the warmth.

“It workin’ its magic yet?” May asked softly.

I didn’t reply.

“Ya know ya could use a good woman in your life,” she added, casual as anything.

I let out a quiet breath through my nose. “Well, that’s what I’ve got you for.”

May gave a short, dry huff. “I said agoodwoman. Not an old one…besides, I ain’t never been good. A good woman will help keep your beast at bay.”

We sat there a long time. Me nursing something I couldn’t name, her watching like she already knew what was coming next.

Eventually, she said, “Some truths can’t be buried, Jon.”

I stayed a moment longer. Long enough to watch the dusk fully fall, to hear the wind curl through the branches like a breath. Then I stood, thanking her quietly for the drink.

When I stepped outside, the night met me with open arms. And I knew what I had to do.

I was going to Graymore.

CHAPTER 14

BLANCHETTE

Later that night, when I stepped into my apartment, I didn’t even feel relief. I only felt exhaustion as it pressed down onto my shoulders and the twinge in my back from being slumped in traffic for the last few hours as I’d crawled back to Graymore.

My head pounded as a siren wailed past outside, illuminating the walls blue and red. The light flickered across the smart-glass windows, briefly activating the embedded display before dimming again.

My phone chimed. Leaning my hip on my kitchen counter, I checked it, hating that I hoped itmightbe from Jonathan, who didn’t even have my number.

But it was from Meg, making sure I’d made it back home. I hadn’t told her about what had transpired between me and Jonathan in Juniper Woods. I didn’t want to give that conversation a voice or weight. I’d rejected her calls on my way home, spending the day in a quiet haze as prickling words had floated through my mind on repeat.

In the end, I knew June better than you.

I squeezed my eyes shut, my heart clenching tight. I breathed, slowly. In and out. In and out.

And then I sent off a quick text to Meg, hoping the emojis I sent would mask the lingering sadness and ache.

I didn’t bother to turn on the lights. I made my way over to the couch and collapsed down into it. Worn and as tired as I was, it enveloped me, the cushions sagging.

After a quick internal debate, and because maybe I needed the punishment, I navigated to my saved voicemails. I scrolled down until I found the one I was looking for in particular, dated almost a year ago.