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provide for you?” Hale interjected.
    For some reason, the question made Taylor blush. Quietly, she said, “You don’t have to provide anything for me.”
    Hale gave her an impatient look. “Why can’t you just answer simple questions?”
    “Fine,” she said, sighing. “I like fruits and vegetables.”
    Hale nodded, seeming to consider her response. “Okay,” he said. “You can go now.”
    She glanced back down at the bowl of venison. There was still a lot of uncooked meat left.
    “You’re not still hungry?”
    Hale’s eyes danced with amusement. One corner of his mouth twitched as he speared a piece of meat.
    “I’m starving. Now go.”

CHAPTER FIVE
     
    Taylor set the crate down as Lark situated the torch in its holder. The firelight illuminated the garden area, revealing a miserable patch of land. The ground was overrun with weeds and at least half of the stones that sectioned it off were missing. Perhaps earlier that afternoon she had been much more optimistic, because from where she was standing, the garden looked like a lost cause.
    “Are you sure about this?” Lark asked, coming to stand beside her. Taylor almost told her she wasn’t, but then Lark added, “We’ll probably be leaving soon anyway. It may be a waste of time.”
    Taylor frowned. “No, we’re gonna do this and we’re not leaving.”
    Lark turned to face her. Her eyes were wide and hopeful. “We’re not?”
    “No,” Taylor said, shaking her head. “When Alder and I were on the top of Mount Ezra, we stopped and looked down at Halcyon Mountain and the valley. There was this pride in his eyes and I knew that this place was important to him.”
    It was the best way she knew how to describe it. What she’d seen in his eyes was something she’d wanted her entire life, security and a sense of belonging. The valley, the mountain, this place was Alder’s home and he wasn’t going to leave it because of her.
    To Taylor’s surprise, Lark sprang on her, pulling her into a fierce hug. Not sure what to make of it, she awkwardly hugged Lark back, gently patting her between her shoulder blades before carefully detaching from the shifter.
    “I was so worried,” Lark said, her eyes brimming with tears. “The valley has always been my home. I like exploring and finding new things, but I don’t ever want to leave.”
    Taylor smoothed Lark’s hair out, the same way Alder usually did for her. “You could have stayed here.”
    “With Hale in charge? My life would be miserable,” she lamented. “Plus, Beka would never leave, which means Glenn wouldn’t come either.”
    Taylor realized just how much this must have been eating at Lark. “I promise, I’ll do everything I can to convince Alder to stay here.”
    She mulled over their situation some more as they went to the river to collect stones. She kept expecting her circumstances to seem a little less surreal as time went on, but no such luck. She had killed a man, gone on the run, fallen for a werewolf, and was living in the wilderness. Eventually, hopefully, it would start to seem real.
    They carried back at least a dozen medium-sized river stones. Taylor was happy to sit by the time they got back to the cabin. Her ankle was throbbing with pain as they set the stones in place and she made a mental vow to keep off her feet tomorrow. The problem was, without TV, games, or books, staying put was insanely boring.
    By the time the sun began to rise, they’d only succeeded in digging up about half of the garden. The handle had broken off the rusty spade Taylor had been using. After a couple hours of stabbing the ground with the metal piece, she joined Lark in using her hands to dig up the weeds. A few inches beneath the surface of the ground was a rich layer of loamy soil that would be perfect for growing crops, provided the seeds were still any good.
    Throughout the night, she a nd Lark made idle conversation, which mostly consisted of Lark recounting things she’d done with Glenn while