I stayed down next to Elise and stared at the scorch mark. The seal inside my chest gave one hard pulse, like a fist slamming against a wall. Not the usual low, nagging pressure. Like whatever the black wolf had done out here had reached in and poked the thing that was supposed to stay quiet.
I kept my face blank. I was getting real fucking tired of keeping my face blank.
The mark looked fresh but felt old at the same time, the same heavy quality the whole parcel carried. And some stray wolf had walked onto it and left a burned circle like it owned the place.
I pushed to my feet. "I need you to stay off this property after dark."
"Because of the scorch mark."
"Because I don't know what the hell that is yet, and until I do—"
"You're not the boss of me, Rhys."
I huffed out a quiet breath. "No. I'm not, Ms. Winters." My gaze stayed on her a second longer than it should have. "Doesn't mean I won't tell you what to do anyway."
Her brows lifted slightly at that.
