Chapter 35

Lila’s POV

The moment I buckled in next to Riley, Rowan—the massive gray wolf riding shotgun in my head—decided I needed a soundtrack of growls and teeth-snapping. Charming. Apparently, he’d never heard of seatbelts. But somehow, despite the wolf’s one-man metal-on-metal percussion display, we rolled into a town that wasn’t on any of my maps—or my radar. Alive, by some miracle. My inner voice cheered as I clutched the door handle like it was the last life raft on Earth.

Riley pulled into a one-car garage attached to a darling little townhouse—yes, I was supposed to admit it was adorable, but after forty-six barks and twenty snaps, I was too frazzled for “cute.” She flashed me a forced smile—like toothpaste commercials—and cut the engine.

“He can’t hurt you,” she chirped. Tenth time, easy. I wanted to remind her I still had teeth marks somewhere between my shoulder blades.

I ground out, “Yet he’s still snapping at me,” my voice so frosty I practically s