Chapter 6

The overcast sky had her eyes looking very blue instead of violet. As I watched, her pupils dilated, her pulse spiked, and the scent of her fear and anger engulfed us.

Not sure what to do to avoid screaming or hysterics, I eased the covering over her shoulders. It didn’t seem to be the right move. She scrambled to her feet before the material had a chance to settle. She stood, trembling just a few feet away. With the garment still in hand, I slowly stood, not wanting to frighten her further.

In silence, she studied me. She swayed on her feet, and I regretted that covering her had woken her. She desperately needed sleep. She shivered, reminding me she needed the hoodie as well. Taking her silence as a promising sign, I held out the hoodie and tried to introduce myself.

“My name is—”

She kicked out with scary accuracy. Had my reflexes been slower, she would have unmanned me. As it was, she took advantage of the close-call sickness that had settled into my gut and tried to scramble up the bank.

Her running and fear needed to stop. It was robbing her of sleep and making her worse. Chasing after her, I caught her from behind, pinning her arms.

“Easy, luv. Unlike you, I mean no harm,” I said. Holding her firmly to avoid injury, I carried her back down to the creek bed.

The rapid thump of her heart reminded me of a startled rabbit just before it faints. I quickly let her go and took a step back. Having learned my lesson, I stood at an angle to her to present less of a target.

She quickly spun to face me, taking up a fighter’s stance, knees bent and weight on the balls of her feet. What had happened to my poor girl? I knew better than to ask.

“As I was saying, my name is Luke Taylor. And you are?”

“Not yours. Touch me again and I’ll sac tap you so hard you’ll be coughing semen for a week. And this time I won’t miss.”

A preemptive ache started in my groin at her descriptive words. Yet, I couldn’t help but grin at her courage. Her fear hadn’t dissipated. She just wasn’t letting it control her.

Her gaze, which had been focused on me since she woke, drifted to the tree line behind me. She scanned the banks closely. I tilted my head, puzzled.

“What are you looking for?”

Her blue gaze settled on me once more.

“Your pack of murdering dogs.”

The phrasing surprised me. While I didn’t consider myself at all similar to a simple minded dog, the canine comparison still hit uncomfortably close to home.

“I’m alone.”

She snorted and eyed me. After a few minutes, I realized she was waiting to see what I would do. I sighed and sat down on the patch of rocks where we’d started.

She glanced at the trees again then glared at me.

“What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you to decide your next move. Keeping up with you is exhausting. I thought giving you money would keep you in one place long enough that you could get the sleep you obviously need.” I rested my forearm on my knees, relaxing. “So what are your nightmares about?”

She narrowed her eyes. “All of the ways I’d rather die than bite the neck of a disgusting werewolf who’d be willing to rape a fourteen-year-old girl just to have control over her when Judgement comes.”

Rage consumed me, and I quickly looked down to focus on pulling back the shift that had changed my vision. Her words ate at my mind. I hadn’t found her soon enough. One of my kind had already found her and—I swallowed hard, hoping she didn’t mean what she’d said. That I’d somehow misunderstood.

“Has someone hurt you?” I asked, struggling to keep in control. “Tell me who.”

Her continued silence tore at me. Sick with self-blame, I looked up. She still stood where she’d been, ready to defend or run depending on the situation. Her stance…the dreams…I burned for revenge against whoever had hurt her.

“In this life?” she said, angrily. “No one, yet. But it looks like you’re about to fix that. In other lives, they’ve already died.”

Clouded with anger, it took a moment for her words to sink in.

“This life?” That made no sense. And why did she think I was going to hurt her? I’d been polite and even left her money. Granted, I had snuck into her room, but only with the most honorable intentions. Sleep deprivation did odd things to humans. Perhaps further conversation should wait until after she’d rested.

She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you toying with me? We both know what you want.”

I disagreed. I wanted her to sleep. I had no idea what she wanted and guessed asking wouldn’t provide me with any straight answers. Staring at her, I quietly removed the phone from my pocket. In less than a second, I had Gabby’s number ready.

“Press call. I have a...friend, Gabby. She sent me to look for you. Thought you might be like her.”

Her breath caught, and her faced flushed the prettiest pink. I thought she was angry until she smiled slightly and looked up at the grey sky above.

Her sudden shift in mood threw me off.

“No, thanks,” she said finally. Then, she picked up her hoodie and bag and started up the slope. I followed her, wondering what she would do next. If not for her thundering heart, I would have tried offering her a ride on the bike. But, I didn’t think she was ready for that yet. She really needed to call Gabby. Gabby would vouch for me. Maybe. My first meeting with Gabby hadn’t gone so well either. Regardless, Gabby was my best bet at convincing Bethony to let me help her.

We reached the top, and she started walking the gravel shoulder back to town just as a car turned onto our road. Giving her some space, I trailed behind several yards. The light breeze kept me surrounded in her scent, until the car drove closer. Then, it was Bethony’s spiced beauty mixed with exhaust.

Distracted by inhaling her, I wasn’t ready when she bolted in front of the car, waving her hands in the air.

Instinct almost had me jumping after her. Instead, I held my ground and, with a racing heart, watched the car brake. Using my speed in front of humans, would compel me to contact an Elder and report the incident. Involving Elders would mean explanations about Bethony. Elders kept the well-being of our race as their first priority, and with so few females, they would be obligated to share the news that a new compatible human had been found. I didn’t want that. I wanted an Elder to meet her face to face first to see how fragile she was and start talking to her about what had happened to her. I wanted the Elders to understand she needed time. That I needed time. I hoped they would recognize the pull we shared and delay Introductions until she was more mature. And, I wanted her to get to know me before she met others. I held a slim hope that she’d like me enough to convince the Elders she wanted to wait for me.

The car came to a stop, and she quickly climbed into the backseat and slammed the door. The driver, a youth who barely looked old enough to sit behind the wheel, and his friend both glanced at Bethony then at me. By their expressions, they hadn’t expected someone to get into their car, and they were now trying to size up the situation.

Playing it cool, I slipped my hands into my pockets and moved to the back door. I studied Bethony instead of trying to get in. She’d made it clear she wanted to get away from me. Apparently human strangers were better than werewolf strangers.

Bethony kept her gaze averted for a few seconds before finally looking up at me. Her cheeks paled as our gazes met. I didn’t want her to fear me. I wanted her to love me. Was it so much to ask? A true Mate?

I glanced at the two males in the front seat. They were watching me. Both wore expressions of uncertainty. How could she possibly think they were a better option than me? I looked at her again and arched a brow.

“Is your friend getting in, too?” the driver asked, his voice carrying through the closed windows.

She held my gaze and shook her head. My fragile girl had guts. No doubt about it.

“A’right.”

As the kid put the car in drive and slowly pulled away, Bethony turned in her seat to watch me. Her brilliant, wary gaze never left mine. The scent of her fear lingered in the air. I couldn’t stop wondering what had happened to her and why she already knew of our existence when we technically didn’t know about hers. My kind was supposed to report to an Elder if we ever came across a potential Mate. Only the loop hole in my thinking—that Gabby, the unofficial adopted daughter of Sam, an Elder, already knew—enabled me to keep quiet.

Once the car drove from sight, I jogged back to the bike, determined to keep following my runaway.

Within fifteen minutes, I was torn between heart attack and murderous rage. I’d spotted tire tracks on the shoulder of the road and pulled over. Although the car was gone, Bethony’s scent lingered in the area, as did the sexually frustrated scents of two males. My mind turned dark as I thought of one reason they had pulled over.

“Not again. Not to her,” I said desperately as I got off the bike and walked the nearby area.

Their scents didn’t move away from the road, nor did they grow any stronger or musky. No sexual frustration was appeased here. I looked off down the road, a snarl pulling my lips. They had better keep their hands off her.

Quickly mounting the bike, I gunned the engine and left a path of rubber on the pavement.

I needed to find her.