Chapter 18. Colors at the Gate

Wade POV

I smelled him before I saw his face.

Sagebrush. Wet fur. And under it that sharp chemical sting, like a cattle dip.

The man from her bedroom. The man in the hat, smiling into Gus's camera.

He'd walked into my house.

The growl came up out of me before I could stop it. Every wolf in the room heard it. A couple of the younger ones flinched. Across the bar, I saw Rae turn toward the sound, her eyes going wide.

That was what stopped me. Her face. The memory of her voice on the back step: You don't walk out. You stay, and you tell me.

I closed my hands. Five breaths. I didn't close my mouth, but I stopped the sound.

Then I walked across the room, slowly, and stood in front of t