The wolf who had spoken to Julian did not head home immediately after leaving the supermarket.
He stayed in the city a while longer.
By the time he finally left the city, the roads were nearly empty. He drove north without music, one hand resting loosely on the steering wheel, his thoughts returning to the same short exchange in the parking lot.
Julian had not acted frightened and that was somehow wrong.
Most humans who found themselves tied to a vampire either looked terrified or looked too eager. Julian had looked like neither and that bothered him more than he liked.
The city lights faded behind him as the road narrowed. Buildings gave way to open stretches of dark land and then to forest. The turnoff to Black Hollow was easy to miss if you didn't already know where it was. He took it without slowing, tires crunching over gravel until the trees swallowed the last sign of the main road.
