I jumped quickly in the car and pulled out my blue tooth as I started the car. I sent a silent thank you to Delilah for insisting that I needed a blue tooth. I put it in my ear and quickly dialed Alex on my phone. I glanced in the review mirror while I listened to the ringing in my ear. The car still sat there. I pulled out of my parking spot, sliding a bit as I made my way to the road.
“Hey, doll,” Alex answered in my ear. I was checking the review mirror again as I pulled onto the street. The black car’s head lights had come on and it was rolling forward. Nothing to worry about, I told myself. “Zee!”
“Oh, yeah, hi,” I wondered how long Alex had been trying to get my attention. “I’m sorry there’s a strange car leaving the bar with me.” I looked in the rearview to see it following me at a relatively slow pace.
“Huh. Well it could just be a regular in a rental or something,” he reasoned, and I breathed a small sigh of relief. That made sense. “How was work?” he asked.
“That reminds me,” I was suddenly back to a bundle of nerves as I thought of the strange man at the bar. “A man came in the bar tonight. I’ve never seen him before, but he asked about wolf sightings.” I fought with both hands to keep control of my car on the slick roads. I seemed like the road crews hadn’t hit the street the bar was on yet. I just hoped the main streets were a little better.
“What did he look like?” Alex’s question was clipped, like he was angry.
“I don’t know, bald, older, salt and pepper goatee,” I tried to remember anything else as I listened to Alex swear and start yelling for Jarren. “What’s wrong Alex?”
“That’s the man who blew up my truck,” Alex gritted out. “Are you still being followed?” I knew I was, and sure enough when I looked in the mirror the black car was still trailing behind me.
“Yeah, but I can’t see the driver,” I tried to calm him down, “It could be anyone.”
“Come to my house,” he demanded. I would have normally bristled at a command like that but at that moment going to Alex seemed like a good idea. Except that the person following me would know where the pack was if I did.
“I can’t do that,” I replied with more calm than I felt. I turned onto the main road and I could have whooped when I felt my tires gain traction on the gritty sand. The crews had already been on this road. I sent up a silent prayer of thanks and put on some speed. The black car behind me followed suit but still maintained a two-car distance. “I won’t bring someone who wants to hurt you right to your doorstep, Alex.”
“Listen, Zee, we can take care of ourselves,” he sounded angry. “Head toward my house and if it makes you feel better, we can meet you away from the house. You have no way to defend yourself against him. He’s a Hunter. I know you don’t know what that means completely, but please believe he will stop at nothing to get to my pack. Hurting you, killing you, won’t bother him at all.”
His pleading finally won out over my need to protect him. I hated the thought of leading this man to someone I loved. I had barely a moment to be shocked at the realization that I did love Alex. I just hoped I would have the chance to tell him, and with that thought I flipped a rather reckless U-turn on the empty road. As I drove past the black car the driver hit the brakes. I tried to get a look in the window to see if it was the man from the bar, but they were all tinted black.
“I’m on my way,” I told Alex. The black car turned around and started speeding up to catch up with me. “The car is still following me. I can’t drive too fast, though. The main streets seem to be cleaned but I doubt the forest roads have been touched” I put on some speed while I had the chance, trying to watch for ice and keep an eye on the car behind me.
“Jarren go call in Ryker and Wyatt!” Alex was shouting orders on his end of the phone. I debated briefly between the possible ice-covered side street short cut and the main road. I chose to stick with the ice-free main road for as long as I could. “Zee, we’ll be meeting you as quickly as we can. We’ll be wolves, don’t be scared when you see us, okay?”
“Yeah, okay,” I felt like I might have a panic attack. My chest hurt and there were spots in my vision. I knew I had to calm down. I took a few deep breaths and tried to concentrate on my hands on the wheel and the road in front of me. I had to make it to Alex before I could break down.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Alex
Heat flooded my veins and I fought the urge to shift as I listened to Zee’s breathing quicken over the phone. I motioned for Tegan and turned on the speaker phone. Zee’s panting filled the room and I heard her curse quietly as she gasped for air.
“Zee, talk to Tegan for me, okay?” I waited for her soft reply before I passed the phone to Tegan. “Calm her down Tegan. If she passes out while she’s driving…” I trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence. I had
