Royce followed Shade back into his cabin, muttering, “Damn stupid fucks. What did they expect going up against an Alpha?”
“If they ever come back I won’t be so lenient,” Shade growled. “I’m going to get cleaned up then we’ll get back to that business we were working on.”
“I’ll be here, waiting patiently for you to come to your senses so we can go find . . .”
“Not another word, Royce, not one more,” Shade snarled, disappearing quickly before he did something he’d regret, like punching his friend in the nose.
Marissa traipsed through the edge of the forest, keeping out of sight of the road. She’d been rushing through the area since leaving that idiot trucker the previous night. She was tired and hungry but knew she couldn’t stop.
She couldn’t risk it. Not when she realized he hadn’t gone nearly far enough. After only an hour of making her way the previous night she’d felt the tingle again in her mind, the next hour it grew stronger and stronger. Finally her father’s voice in her head chilling the blood in her veins. “I can feel you, daughter. I’m coming for you and you’ll pay for your desertion.”
Shit on a fucking brick. She was in deep trouble and needed to find another way out of the area, fast, or they’d find her and then her life would be over. Or worse, she’d be an ageing Alpha’s sex toy until she’d produced a child for him. If it was a girl, she doubted the child, or her, would live for more than a few minutes.
What was that saying about a rock and a hard place? Yeah, that’s where she was right now. Terror ran through her as she fought to put one foot in front of the other, not sure how long she’d been going, but it must be almost a day. The sun was already lowering and soon darkness would fall and she was still trying to thumb a damn lift. Not one of the cars had stopped when she’d heard them and rushed to stand, hand out, desperate for them to stop and offer her not just a lift but a lifeline. Her only deliverance from the nightmare she found herself in, and it was one of her own making.
Then again, the other option had been to stay and be handed over to the Alpha.
Her choice had been clear. She didn’t have a decision to make, not really, because she just could not let that mangy mutt put his hands on her, even if he was an Alpha. Her life hadn’t been great up until then, but at least her body in that respect, had been hers. No man had touched her, not just because she didn’t want any of the men in her Pack, but her father wouldn’t let anyone near her. He kept her pure so he could bargain her away to the Alpha for his own gain.
“I wonder if I’m the only twenty-three year old virgin left?” she muttered, a giggle escaping her. One that was devoid of humor, instead it sounded on the verge of madness to her ears. “Finally losing it, Marissa.”
Marissa heard another engine heading her way. Before rushing to the road, she sent out her enhanced senses but found no sign that the vehicles inhabitants were anything other than human, so she jogged up through the bushes and onto the verge. She plastered a smile on her face and held her hand out, thumb up and hoped this time they’d stop. A dark blue car came around the bend, old with scrapes on the bumper and stickers too many to count. They were so overlapped she couldn’t read any properly, even with her eyesight. They just looked like they’d been plastered on to cover damage, some did, some didn’t. Heck, she didn’t care, all she needed was a ride.
The car slowed and her heart soared. A young woman was driving, her face pinched, and her bottom lip was being fiercely nibbled between her teeth. Marissa saw the indecision in her eyes and when she saw the baby seat next to the driver, Marissa knew she wouldn’t stop. No mother would and she didn’t blame her. Marissa was on her own, in the middle of goodness knew where, dirty and bedraggled. She probably looked like an escapee from the nearest sanitarium.
Hell, yeah, drive on, Momma, don’t stop for the crazy lady in the middle of nowhere.
And that’s exactly what happened. The driver faltered for a moment before speeding up, one hand leaving the steering wheel to land on her baby’s sleeping head.
Marissa’s heart sank but she forced her feet to move. “One in front of the other, repeat. It’s not rocket science, girl, just do it.”
She retraced her steps down to the relative safety of the forest, where she felt more at home anyway, but she also was not freely visible either. On and on she walked, hoping that one of the dang cars would stop already. One measly ride, that’s all she needed right now.
Ash walked in as Shade joined Royce, newly showered and dressed, he felt surprisingly good. “So, did that idiot live? Or do I have to make a call to his Alpha to break the news?”
“He’s alive, but Lana says it’s still touch and go. She doesn’t want us moving him for several days.” Ash slumped onto the sofa, shaking his head. “Do you know what the stupid son-of-a-bitch did?”
Shade raised an eyebrow. “You mean apart from coming here and challenging me over something that didn’t actually happen?”
“Well, yeah, that too, but no.” Ash sat up, nodding to the Royce. “Better get a phone ‘cause that moron attempted to transform while Lana was working on him. So, he’s mainly human, mostly, but it’s the strangest damn thing I’ve ever seen. Anyway, Lana says he doesn’t have enough strength to do anything else right now, transform fully
