With Mable on the way to pick them up, the skies opened. Standing outside under the entryway, Toby was sullen because he couldn’t stay. “But Momma, I want to go to school.”
Trina’s heart broke into tiny pieces at hearing him beg. “I know, baby, I’m sorry.” She stroked his hair and stared out through the sheets of rain, glad to see the car pulling up to the curb. With a lump in her throat, she bundled him into the back seat, then climbed into the front with a frustrated sigh and stared at the dashboard.
“I take it things didn’t go well?”
Shaking her head, she looked out the window and watched the large drops bouncing off the pavement before the car pulled away from the curb. When Mable patted her shoulder Trina looked over at her, her lips sagging at the corners. “He’s so disappointed.”
“Things will work out, Hun, they always do.”
The next morning over breakfast Mable sat down in the chair next to Toby, ruffling his blonde hair that had turned almost white from playing out in the sun so much. “I talked with Cass and she gave me some information for a home school program that will work for you.” Glancing over at Trina she continued, “She understands your dilemma.”
Trina frowned and wondered just how much Mable knew. She had talked to a dozen other people at the school and hadn’t scented wolf. She had avoided the packs that wandered through the diner and motel on occasion. Now that she thought of it, Mable tended to help with the rooms they occupied, without her ever mentioning anything. She turned her head, cocking it slightly, looking at Mable curiously. “What is it you really know?”
The old woman gave her a wink. The last breakfast patron had walked out earlier but Mable glanced around anyway. Making sure there was no one listening, she leaned over the table towards Trina, her voice was barely above a whisper. “You wouldn’t believe what the world is full of. Werewolves are not the only things running around in these here woods.”
Her eyes wide, Trina sank back in the chair and stared, dumbfounded.
“Your secret is safe with me, Hun. Now go start up the old machine over there and do whatever it is you do to make it work.” Leaning back, Mable reached into her pocket, pulling out a slip of paper, she handed it to her.
Trina looked at the note then glanced back up at Mable. Jumping up from the table, she gave Mable a quick hug, ran over to the computer and turned it on. Soon she was searching the Internet for the websites Cass had suggested. She chose one of the programs to homeschool Toby and was excited to be able to help her son learn.
Over the next couple of weeks, when not working at the motel, Trina spent every waking moment teaching Toby. Working on a math assignment, she and Toby sat in the laundry room in between her cleaning rooms.
The motel had been extremely busy as of late, people were coming and going at all hours of the day and night. Folding the last of the laundry, she put it away on shelves. Then she loaded up her cart with the next day supplies.
Toby sat on the floor playing with his stones and doing his lesson.
Seeing he was engrossed in the math problem, Trina slipped out the door and headed to the diner where Mable was working. It was a short day of work. The rooms had all been cleaned, the ones she had access to anyway. Turning in her check out sheet, she headed back towards the laundry room.
Trina’s sensitive nose caught the scent of another werewolf. She rushed out of the diner and spotted him walking back towards the rear of the motel. He stood a good head taller than most men in the area. He was slender, but the way he moved told her he could be deadly to her and Toby. Downwind from him, he would not get her scent. Her thoughts raced to Toby and wondered if the man had scented him. Sitting on the floor of the laundry room, he was an easy target. Heart pounding in her throat, her mother’s instinct to protect her young kicked in.
Trina started to rush forward but remembered Toby could not shift yet, so he didn’t give off the scent that would attract the older male to his location. But she did. If she was not careful, the werewolf would turn and see her. Stepping quickly into one of the rooms, Trina peeked through the window and waited for the werewolf to pass by the laundry room. Once he was safely past, she sniffed the air for any sign of another pack member. Not smelling one, she hurried to the laundry room.
Inside, she stopped dead in her tracks and stared at a tall, dark headed woman talking to her son. Her wolf slammed against her insides wanting out. She had to get this woman away from her baby. Rushing to his side, she pushed Toby behind her to protect him and nearly snarled, “What are you doing?”
The woman stood with her hands fisted at her side, glaring at her. She looked like she barely held herself under control. Her teeth were clenched, her voice demanding. “Your son has a stone that belongs to me and I want it back.”
Frowning, Trina had no clue why this crazy woman was even there. “What are you talking about?” With an exasperated sigh, she glanced at Toby. “A stone?”
“Yes, he took a stone from my room.” Her hand gestured adamantly towards her son.
Shaking her head, Trina rolled her eyes slightly. Turning around, but keeping a wary eye on the woman, she leaned towards Toby. Not wanting to scare him she kept her voice gentle, “Honey, do you have the woman’s rock?” She didn’t like how the woman kept her fist clenched by her side and wondered why she was having such a reaction over a stupid rock.
Toby stared at her, a tight expression on his face, shaking his head no.
At hearing his response, the woman sucked in a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
Trina heard the woman’s response and quickly turned around, pulling Toby behind her again. Her eyes cautiously watched the woman who looked ready to attack at any moment. She had never been in a fight before, but she was sure the woman couldn’t hit any harder than Dean. Trina knew she could take a punch. She wasn’t sure she’d win, but she would damn sure give it her best to protect her son.
Instead of attacking though, the woman stayed where she was and sounded calm. Her actions nowhere near matched her outward appearance. “It is not a rock. It’s a special stone that my grandfather gave me; the one and only time I ever got to meet him. I would like to have it back.” Her voice added huskily, “Now, please.”
Trina gasped when she saw her eyes swirl with color. “You’re a wolf!” This didn’t make sense. The full moon wasn’t until the next night. There should be no way this was happening. Yet, this woman showed clear signs she was getting close to shifting. Trina quickly sniffed the air in confusion and demanded to know. “Why can’t I smell you?”
The woman continued to fight for control she obviously didn’t feel. “Doesn’t matter, I just want my stone and I’ll leave you alone.”
Trina was on edge and her wolf continued to pound at her insides. There was no way this woman was a werewolf. If she wasn’t, then what Mable had said was true, she had to be something else. Dean had told her everything had a scent, no matter what.
Shaking her head, Trina sniffed the air again, but there was absolutely no scent at all. The woman just didn’t have one and she frowned trying to figure it out. Out of the corner of her eyes, Trina saw movement and glanced down.
The skin on the woman’s arms had begun to crawl and her eyes flashed yellow while she glared.
Trina gasped slightly and couldn’t help but think there was no way that just happened, though it did confirm her suspicions. Less than three feet away from her was a wolf who was about to change out of phase. Trina’s mind raced to the most logical reason for her being there. She had to be a council member. They had other abilities, but she’d never heard of them being able to shift out of phase. Being from the council meant the woman was there to take her back to the pack.
If they forced her to go back, Dean would kill her for running off and taking Toby, and especially for getting him in trouble with the police. Her heart pounding, heat flooded her face, and her body started trembling. During her escape from Dean she had been afraid. Now she was terrified. Her voice shook with f
ear when she whispered hoarsely, “I don’t want to go back to the pack.”
“What are you talking about? I just want my stone.”
“I saw him outside. You are here to help them take me and my son back!”
It was the woman’s turn to look confused. She frowned and shook her head. “I’m not here to help anyone take you back anywhere. What’s your name?”
Trina frowned. Why would she ask for her name? If she was part of the council she already knew it. “Why does that matter?”
“It doesn’t really. I’m Amber. I don’t care where you’re from or why you are running. All I want is my stone and I’ll be outta here.”
If Amber was there to take her back, she would have already connected with the pack member outside. Her tension eased slightly when she thought about it. If Amber had sounded the alarm, the guy would have already been crashing through the door. Lifting her chin a notch, she looked into the dark brown eyes that watched her cautiously. “Trina Rivers, this is my son Toby. We are from Pack Whitman, Oregon.”
Amber nodded. “Trina, it appears that we’re both trying to avoid people we don’t want to run into. The man outside is from my mother’s pack down south. He’s not here for you and Toby, so you should be safe. Just stay out of his way. Now, I really do need that stone, so I can be on my way. This is partially my fault, I left my door unlocked.”
Trina nodded her understanding. Turning to Toby, he had remained quiet through the entire ordeal and backed away from her slightly. It was then that she realized he had lied to her and that frustrated her. Grabbing his arm, she pulled it from behind his back, forcing him to open his hand and show what he kept hidden there. To her dismay, her eyes landed on a beautiful black stone with blue and white veins running through it. She groaned out loud, bending down to stare him in the face with a stern look on hers. “How did you get this?”
“I found it beside the bed,” he mumbled defiantly, refusing to meet her eyes.
She was flabbergasted at her son’s actions. “You went into her room and took this?” Embarrassment flooded her features. Snatching the stone from him she turned back to Amber with her hand outstretched. “I am so sorry!” An apologetic half smile on her face, she hoped Amber would understand he was just being a kid and not make a big deal out of it or go to Mable. It could cause her to lose her job.
Amber quickly grabbed the stone from her and tucked it into her pocket. Without looking at them again, she mumbled before turning away. “Good luck to you and your son. Please stay safe.” Then she disappeared out the door.
Surprised at her sudden departure, Trina turned her attention to her son. Upset he would do such a thing, she grabbed him by the chin sternly, making him look at her. “Why in the world would you go into her room and steal from her? Don’t I give you everything you need? Everything you want?”
He nodded. “I’m sorry, Mommy.” A big crocodile tear slid down his cheek.
Trina’s heart melted. He really was a good kid. It didn’t make sense why he had taken it. His big blue eyes stared up at her, using the pad of her thumb she swiped away the tear. She went down on her knees and pulled him to her, fighting a lump in her throat as she nodded her head. “It’s okay baby. You can’t take other peoples stuff just because you want it.” She leaned back, her hands on his shoulders. “I can lose my job if you steal something, then we won’t have a place to stay. Do you understand?”
He nodded. “I don’t know why I took it, I just did.” His little eyebrows drew together in a frown.
Trina kissed him on the cheek. “Baby, you can’t do that again. If you see something and it’s not yours, you ask before you touch. You don’t take it.”
“Ok, Mommy.” He gave her a big smile. With her kiss on the cheek, everything was okay as far as he was concerned.
Trina smiled sadly. Ah, to be five again. She thought of how her mother had told her those exact same words when she had taken a necklace from her parent’s bedroom. She wasn’t stealing it, she just wanted to wear it. She really missed her parents. Being an only child like Toby, they had doted on her and she never wanted for anything. When they were ripped from her life and she had to go live with Paula and Sam, her world had turned upside down. Sniffling, she hugged Toby to her again. “I love you, baby. I always will.”
“I love you too, Mommy.”
His innocent soft voice soft made her want to cry, but she fought the tears as she gathered their things. “Let’s get your stuff to the room and go have lunch.”
With her heart in her throat, Trina realized it had been too close of a call. She knew there were other werewolves around, had seen them coming and going in the diner and the motel. She had panicked earlier, thinking that she recognized the guy as Clan Catan, automatically assuming he was there to take her and Toby back to Dean. Not paying attention to the different scents of the packs, which should have told her right away he wasn’t from her pack. She had simply become frantic and responded.
A big lesson she needed to learn, not to panic and be ready if she had to escape. The mental connection with her son had not formed so she couldn’t speak to his mind yet. It would be another year or so before that developed and this meant she had to figure a way to communicate with him, yet not freak him out if they had to make a run for it.
131
ESCAPING DOMINANCE
CHAPTER five
Toby kept her mind occupied through lunch. Once back in their room, Trina started thinking about her encounter with Amber; the woman was on the run and appeared to have been for a while. She wondered if she would talk to her, maybe she could give her some pointers. Having access to the list of patrons occupying the rooms, Trina quickly headed to the office to find out what room Amber stayed in.
All of the rooms were filled. She scanned the list, but didn’t see Amber’s name anywhere. Checking back through the past couple of days, it never showed up. Scowling, she stared down at the roster, running her fingers across the page. There were three rooms with single occupancies and two of those were women. Her brows wrinkled in thought. Thinking back to her cleaning schedule earlier in the day, she remembered that there was only one room she hadn’t cleaned. The ‘Do Not Disturb’ tag had been on the door. A smile grew across Trina’s face; she knew what room Amber was in.
Swinging by her own room, she checked on Toby.
He lay stretched out on the bed, his head on the pillow. His feet, crossed at the ankle, were swinging back and forth while watching his favorite cartoon. His nearly white hair was mussed from rolling around on the bed in whatever game he had been playing.
Trina couldn’t help but grin at her precious little boy. She sat down on the bed beside him, making sure to be on the side that didn’t block his view. “I need to go talk to Amber real quick. Will you be okay for a few minutes?”
Toby didn’t take his eyes off the television. “Sure, Mom.”
Trina snorted a silent laugh and stood. He was growing up fast and becoming independent. “Make sure you don’t leave the room and if someone knocks, you ignore it. Okay?”
He nodded. “I know, Mom.” His eyes were still glued on the cartoon.
She kept telling her self she was lucky to have such a good kid. The stone thing was the first time he had ever done anything to really upset her. She still couldn’t help but frown at the thought of him going into Amber’s room. She wondered what had gotten into him, but let it go. She had already gotten on to him about it and he understood he did wrong. She remembered making little mistakes here and there when she was younger and her aunt going on and on for days about the smallest things. Trina was determined not to make the same kind of mistakes with Toby.
Making sure the door closed soundly behind her, she headed around the backside of the building and saw the curtain move slightly in the window to Amber’s room. Somehow, she had sensed her coming.
Before her knuckles landed, Amber pulled the door open slightly, glancing around with a frown, motioning for her to hurry into the room. “Whe
re’s your son?”
“He’s in our room.”
Amber’s brows knitted but cleared when she shook her head and moved away from the door.
Trina watched her for a moment. Amber’s dark hair was beautiful, hanging in waves down her back. She was tall and lean, moving silently around the room while she gathered her green backpack and slipped it on. “Are you leaving?”
“Yes. With my pack chasing me, I don’t want them to find you here too.” Amber didn’t pause, but grabbed her black bag and started for the door.
Trina couldn’t let her leave, not yet anyway. “I know you said it’s not safe for us to be caught together, but I need some advice. Mable is great help, but she is not wolf and I can’t talk to her about, you know, us.”
Amber stood staring at her. “I don’t know how I can help you.” The scowl back on her face, she looked towards the door. “If that guy gets my scent, it will be trouble for you if you are here. I really need to go.”
“I can’t smell you. I just need to know how you do it so I can avoid them, too.” Trina ran her hands through her hair in nervousness. “From what you said earlier, I’m guessing you have been on the run most of your life?”
“Yes, but to me it’s just common sense. What you are doing is dangerous. Staying in one place like this will make it easier for them to find both of you, especially since you are not far from your packs land. If you stick around, it’ll only be a matter of time before they find you.” Amber turned towards the door, her back to Trina. “I don’t know why you can’t get my scent.”
“Can we go with you?” The question was out of her mouth before she even thought about what she was asking. She didn’t know what else to do. She had saved a little money, but couldn’t keep moving Toby from place to place. She needed a steady job to take care of him.
Escaping Dominance (Heart of a Wolf Series - Trina's Tale) Page 4