Page 9 of A Wolfe in the Woods

Holding my breath, I hoped that bar held as I texted Megan:You’re in big trouble when I get back to the city.

A moment after the text finally sent, in reply I only received:

Maddening elf,I thought, gritting my teeth at the spike of irritation I felt the longer I stared at the emojis.

This isn’t what I agreed to,I typed out, beyond annoyed with my meddling friend.

Meg:Actually, it is. You swore on cupcakes and sisterhood. Don’t even think about a jailbreak. I’ll unleash my enchanted glitter bombs which you’ll never get out of your hair.

Then she texted:Are you there yet or are you still driving?

I’m pulled over. I’m going to turn around,I sent back.

Don’t you dare!!!

Meg’s quick follow-up text wasIf you do, I’ll never forgive you. I mean it, Bee. I’ll be mad forever.

My palms were beginning to sweat. I hadn’t been back to Everwick-by-the-Sea since my grandma had passed away last year. It was too soon. I wasn’t ready. I wasn’t ready to come home. I wasn’t ready to face every ugly emotion I’d been shoving down so deeply, fearing the day they would resurface like a pus-filled infected wound.

This was payback for canceling that therapy appointment she’d set up for me, I realized.

Silently debating my options, I looked out my windshield at the empty, winding road, my headlights spearing through the darkness. There were no cars coming or going at this hour. In my rearview mirror, all I saw were the towering, shadowed trees of what Iknewwas Juniper Woods.

I knew this highway like I knew the smells of my grandmother’s cottage when she’d been alive—like lavender-scented candles, moonshade-berry cakes baking in the oven, and old parchment from her books. I knew this highway like I knew the briny crispness of the air here or the ever-steady glow of the lighthouse perched on Moonbeam Point or the winding cobbled streets of the town square that branched off into little courtyards and hidden alcoves. Like veins in a body, they made Everwick pulse with life.

While I’d never stepped foot inside Juniper Woods—very few ever dared—I’d driven this highway more times than I could count. I’d had a nagging suspicion where Meg had sent me ever since I turned on the highway heading north, shortly after I escaped the bumper-to-bumper traffic around Graymore.

She was rapid-firing texts now.

Booked you into the cutest little B&B. TOTALLY your vibe.

In the woods! NOT in Everwick. You don’t even have to go into town. Plus, someone in the reviews said the owner is hot so…you’re welcome, you ungrateful human!

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head.Your commitment to my sex life is truly inspiring,I typed, hoping the sarcasm landed.

Someone has to. Otherwise, you’ll end up crocheting matching sweaters for you and your twenty-seven cats while insisting you’re just “focusing on yourself.” Not that there’s anything wrong with cats. I’m just trying to save you from that fate, Bee.

Torn between a laugh and mortification, I simply sent back:

Don’t even think about it. I’m serious. Because if you do, I’ll drive out there, enchant your tires with a binding charm, and toss your car keys in the lake. And you know I would. One way or another, you’re staying at that B&B tonight.

I wouldn’t put it past her. Meg always got her way, and she was determined enough to get me out of Graymore this week. She’d latched onto the idea of me using my time off to “find myself” again. Which, to her, meant quitting my job. She’d settle for nothing less.

Another text chimed.

Hole up in the woods. Breathe. Let yourself just exist for a while, Bee. You don't owe anyone anything right now. Not Skoll. Not the city. Just you. Stay until you remember what that feels like again.

A few seconds passed.

…And if the hot lumberjack B&B owner ends up making you forget your own name for a few hours, well, that’s just a bonus.

I groaned. Throughout the morning and into the afternoon, I’d put off packing, tempted to just permanently camp on my couch for a week at the risk of Meg’s scorn. In the end, I’ddecided to go, but I’d gotten a late start. I’d driven nearly three hours to get here and it was pitch black already.

Now that I had a bar on my phone, I checked the map again. I was only a couple miles from the turnoff, the coordinates of which Meg had texted to me this morning.

What I really wanted was a hot bath and a bed, both of which I’d find just a couple miles down the road. In the morning, I decided, I’d reevaluate.

To Meg, I typed out,You’re annoying.