He nodded. “They only pick specific women. Only women who have the main scent are allowed to be brought to the pack.”
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“The main scent? What is that?” Her eyes were wide as she waited for his answer.
“Potential mates have two scents. A main scent, which all lycans can smell, and the mated scent, which only the destined mate can smell.”
She was quiet for several minutes before she whispered. “Are you trying to tell me that I am a mate to one of those animals? You have got to be kidding me. No way will that ever happen.”
A little ache pinged through his chest at her comment. “We’re not all like them. There are many lycans, many packs, and not all of them are rogue.
Potential mates are supposed to be protected, taken care of. They are essential to our survival, and to the destined mate’s happiness. Don’t forget, I’m one of those animals too.”
“This is too much for me to contemplate at the moment. How long until we get to wherever it is we’re going?” She rubbed at her temple.
“About nine hours. We should be there by morning.”
“Wait. Are these friends of yours werewolves too?”
He gritted his teeth. “Yes.”
She stared at him. “You are taking me into another pack of those crazy ass things? No. Let me out. I’ll take my chances on my own.”
“They are nothing like the pack you’ve been exposed to. They will protect you.” He sighed in frustration. He didn’t blame her for being scared.
“Nothing like that except they turn into big, hairy wolves?” Her voice sounded high and panicked.
“Please, trust me. You’ve done so this far. Can’t you do it a while longer?” He couldn’t leave her on her own. Damon would find her in a matter of hours if he did so.
“I don’t want to go through that again. What if they take me and do the same thing to me there. I’m willing to bet the next one they give me to won’t be as chivalrous as you were.”
He braked hard, pulled to the gravelly shoulder and stopped. He slammed the car in park and turned to Janine. “I’m not going to let anyone hurt you. You have nowhere else to go. You said yourself that you didn’t want to lead them to your sister. What I didn’t tell you earlier is that, even 39
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though Damon has no idea who you are, he knows your scent, and he will find you. If you go home, he will follow you there. The only choice we have is to hide out, and wait for him to come for us on our terms so we can take him out.”
“But—”
“I’m not feeding you any more bull. We are in some major shit, and we need some back up. The only way I can protect you is with help. I’m absolutely positive Damon is back there right at this moment gathering the pack to come after us. The place I’m taking you is a sanctuary. I swear to you neither of us will be harmed there.” Her pale face and wide eyes made his gut clench. She was so afraid, yet she’d been so brave.
Tears swam in her eyes and he ached to hold her, but there was simply no time. He put the car in drive and pulled back onto the highway. Janine remained quiet.
“The couple who run the sanctuary, Brent and Rindy Falls, are good people. Rindy is Brent’s mate, and she had been chased her entire life by rogue lycans. Her family was even murdered by them when she was young.
Brent is an ancient, and from what I hear, the sanctuary boarders the land of another lycan couple, Anthony and Karen Wolfson. Anthony is also an ancient, which means not much can get through them.”
“Are Karen and Rindy human like me then?” she whispered.
“They were. Now they are lycans.”
“How did they become lycans?” Janine’s voice became a little high pitched again.
“Rindy was turned by Brent, with her permission. Karen, unfortunately, was bitten on purpose by a rogue, a rogue that Anthony killed. It is a great offense to turn another’s mate, and it causes great pain during the first change when someone is turned by anyone other than their mate.”
“Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God! Are you telling me there is some maniac out there I am supposed to be mated to that is going to try to turn me into a werewolf?” Janine visibly shivered.
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“Settle down Nothing will happen to you that you don’t agree to.” He wondered if he would ever be able to convince her that not all of his kind were bad.
“But you just said Karen was turned without her permission. What if I’m bitten?” She began hyperventilating.
“Janine.” When she didn’t look at him, he said her name louder.
“Janine!” Her head snapped around and her eyes rested on him. “Calm down. I will not let that happen to you. I swear. No one will do anything to you that you don’t agree to.”
After a few moments, she leaned back in the seat and closed her eyes. “I can’t take anymore. I need to rest.”
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Chapter Eight
As dawn broke, Raze pulled down the long, secluded drive of the sanctuary. Janine had slept the entire drive, and he was glad because she hadn’t had much sleep since Damon had kidnapped her. A man with dark hair stepped into the lane.
Raze stopped the car and killed the engine. He glanced over at Janine and was glad when she didn’t stir. He got out of the vehicle and approached the man. He hadn’t told Janine that he hadn’t actually met Brent, Rindy, Anthony or Karen, but knew of them by rumor.
“You Brent?” He asked the man.
“Who are you?”
“My name is Raze.
