by Moira Byrne
"I wasn't going to let you drive when you couldn't even lock your front door."
I could feel her bristle beside me. "You think I'm weak? Haven't I told you before that I don't need a babysitter?"
Her words made my normally dormant temper flare, but I coaxed it back down to a simmer.
"Is that what you think of me? That I'm helping you because I think you're weak? C'mon, you can't believe that's true."
She was quiet for a moment, then I saw her nod out of the corner of my eye.
"You're right. I'm just so . . ." she trailed off, then slumped against the passenger door. "I don't know."
I gripped the steering wheel tighter when I heard the weariness in her voice. She sounded so tired. Either Granny's salve was kicking in or she was just that exhausted.
"On edge, maybe?" I asked.
I looked away from the road long enough to give her a small smile, but her eyes were closed and she looked as if a smile would be the emotional equivalent to lifting a thousand pounds with one arm.
"That's not even the half of it." Her voice was so soft that I had to strain my ears to hear her past the sounds of the highway rushing by.
"Can you tell me what's going on with your sister? Is it the cougar you fought earlier?" I asked.
She moved around in her seat and sighed. "I don't even know where to begin. You're going to think the worst of me."
I doubted it. I hadn't even been truly angry at her for missing our date at the Moon Festival. I'd been more hurt and worried than anything.
I frowned at the road ahead. I didn't know that I could ever think poorly of Sophie. She wasn't that type of person.
She truly cared about people and expected so much of herself. Even when she had rebuffed all my flirting when we first met, I couldn't get her out of my system.
"You can tell me," I coaxed gently.
I glanced over at her again and saw her stare down at her lap intently.
"My old pack was good to begin with, but then our Alpha retired. The new Alpha brought in all his cronies and things slowly started to take a turn in the wrong direction."
"What do you mean by 'wrong direction?'" I asked with a sinking feeling in my stomach.
I spared another glance at her when she didn't immediately reply, and the sight nearly knocked the wind out of me. I could see the faint shimmer of tears.
"They expected everyone to bow down before them. They didn't need a reason why, they just thought they deserved it. The worst was Edward." She shivered as she said the man's name.
"Edward?"
She let out a trembling breath and fell quiet for a contemplative moment.
"Yeah, Edward," she finally said in a flat, emotionless tone. "He's the guy I fought earlier."
Anger shot through me. I had no idea what Edward had done—or tried to do—to Sophie, but the way she spoke of him told me he had done something. If I had known before that he made her feel this way, I'm not sure I would have been able to let him limp away.
"What did he do, Sophie?"
"He didn't," she rushed to answer. "But he wanted to. I should have let you kill him earlier. My act of mercy put Aly in danger."
"How so?"
"Edward wants me. He wants to own me. It's all part of how the pack changed. In the beginning, it was fine. But then they started making these changes. Slowly, at first, but they're horrible now. The women aren't being treated right.
"And my sister's friend was just . . ." She took a deep breath. "She was taken to the leaders. When she came back, my sister said she was shell-shocked. Her friend was covered in bruises and . . ." She bit her lip and looked to the side. "There was a group of them. They did things. Terrible things."
"You don't have to say anything more," I rushed to say. "I understand."
She nodded, then took a deep breath before she continued, "My sister left me a message earlier. She told me she was scared she might be next. I think Edward may have contacted the old pack and told them to hurt her. Before our fight, he threatened me. Said he'd hurt her if I didn't cooperate. Why did I tell you to let him go?"
Anger coursed through me. "She can't just leave?"
"No. Apparently they've got the whole place locked down." Sophie growled. "It wasn't that bad when I left, but I had been afraid it was coming. Now, my sister's been living like some sort of prisoner, only going between the compound and school. I knew things were grim, but she wouldn't talk about it. She'd call me, but when I thought I'd get her to spill, she'd clam up."
My hands tightened on the steering wheel so hard that I briefly worried it might break. My jaw clenched in anger. It was such a foreign feeling to me. I rarely got so worked up, but the things she was saying—they were awful.
In that moment, I was positive I'd made the right choice to come with her. I couldn't stand the thought of her facing this alone. Despite my earlier performance, I wasn't exactly a combative person, but I knew I would do everything in my power to help get her sister back.
"We're going to save your sister," I said, my voice firm. "We'll get her out of there."
She yawned, and I knew my Granny's balm was starting to hit her.
"We need to be there by two, Alex, or we'll be out of time." Her words were slow and slightly slurred.
A chill ran through me. I glanced at the clock. At this rate, we'd make it long before two.
I wasn't sure time was our problem anyway. Our problem was that we had to save her sister and manage to do it without getting killed in the process. One half-fae and a wounded shifter against a cultish pack. The odds were stacked against us, to say the least.
9
Sophie
I opened my eyes and stared out the truck window. I felt oddly refreshed, like the world smelled after a hard rain storm. My head was a little fuzzy and I wondered if it was from the salve. I'd passed out and slept hard, but I felt lighter now.
The burden that had weighed so heavily on my shoulders didn't feel quite as bad. Maybe because for the first time in a long, long while—perhaps, ever—I had someone to share it with.
"Thank you," I said softly, although I kept my gaze on the scenery, or what there was of it. I had no idea where we were.
I must have fallen asleep shortly after we left Fayoak. Now everything looked the same. All I saw was uninhabited land. Hills rose and fell, and cows appeared off in the distance.
"What for? I didn't do anything." Alex's calm voice didn't have the teasing lilt I'd grown used to.
Concerned about his tone, I tore my eyes away from the rolling hills to look at him. I quickly determined that his profile was much more interesting than the bland landscape. My eyes traced the contours of his high cheekbones, then moved to the hard line of his jaw. A small smile appeared as he glanced over at me.
"I realize that I'm pretty amazing, but what're you thanking me for?" His brows rose. "Is it because I didn't make fun of your snoring? Don't thank me too soon. I was already thinking about it."
"I don't—" I paused and took a deep breath. "What I meant to say was that you were right. I was in no shape to go alone. So, thank you for talking some sense into me. Thank you for driving. And . . . thank you for being there for me."
His expression instantly sobered. "I'll always be there for you, Sophie. However. Wherever."
Those words felt as tender as a hug. A smile curved my mouth. I looked out the window once more. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see him squirm in his seat.
It occurred to me how often he hid behind his devil-may-care quips. But his comments revealed an unexpected depth to his personality. He always seemed so carefree that it was easy to miss this side of him.
"It feels surprisingly good to share all of this with you."
"Surprisingly? We both know I'm your favorite sounding board."
I flicked my eyes to the side to catch his grin and my own smile grew.
"True," I replied honestly.
"But seriously," he gave me a curious look, "I get the feeling you haven't t
old anyone else about this. Wouldn't the pack in Fayoak help?"
"Yeah. Probably. But I kept my distance when I first got to Fayoak. I wasn't sure if I could trust them." I looked out the window and swallowed deeply. "Once I realized I could, I didn't feel right asking them for help. I was too ashamed. It's not like I wanted to admit that I had abandoned my little sister."
"Hey, no," Alex's voice took on a sharp edge that surprised me, "you have nothing to be ashamed of. You had a psychopath gunning for you and your old pack was just as bad. The odds were against you, Sophie.
"And you didn't abandon your sister. She's an adult, right? She can make her own decisions. Now, when she really needs you, you're racing to her rescue. I'd say that's pretty damn far from abandoning her."
I blinked at him in surprise. It took me a moment to recover from the tirade. It was so unlike Alex that I barely knew how to react. As I digested what he said, I knew he wasn't wrong, but I still felt like I should have stayed and fought, and dragged Aly with me when I left. I bit back a snarl, furious at my past self.
"I can't help but feel like there was something else I could've done."
"Maybe, maybe not." He shrugged, easing back into his usual relaxed self. "You did what you thought was best. Now you're out and can get her to safety too. Stop trying to find ways to beat yourself up, okay? Look at the bright side."
For some reason, I felt better that he didn't immediately try to convince me there was nothing I could have done.
He made a lot of good points though. I mulled everything over for a moment. I knew Edward would have killed me if I had stayed. That had never been a question in my mind. I would never have submitted to him.
In some ways, I thought the only positive to me leaving was that I would at least be alive for my sister. I hadn't considered any other positives until now. I'd been so wracked with guilt over running that I never considered how leaving put me in a position to get my sister out when she was ready.
"You know, Alex," I said with a slow nod, "I think you have the right idea."
"Of course I do." He flashed me a cheeky grin. "How're you healing? All good?"
I stretched and only felt minor twinges. Except for my arm, which made sense. My wound had to have been pretty bad to need stitches.
"Much better than I'd expected. What's in your grandmother's ointment?"
He chuckled. "A little of this and a little of that."
"So you don't know."
"Nope," he cheerfully replied. "I've tried snooping for the recipe, too."
"I had no idea your family could utilize healing magic. I didn't think that really existed."
"We can't. Not really, at least."
"Then how?"
"It's in the plants, I know it. I haven't figured out how she does it yet, but I will."
The intensity in his eyes as they focused on the road ahead nearly made me laugh. It was cute to see such determination over something as simple as a salve. Although, admittedly, it was an impressive one.
I looked down at my bandaged arm and my smile faltered. I was suddenly reminded that Edward was out there. I hoped he had learned his lesson, but I knew it was foolish to think he would.
"Hey," Alex suddenly said, pulling me from my increasingly dark thoughts, "I don't know about you, but I'm starving and need to stretch my legs. I saw a sign a little while ago that said there's a place up ahead in a couple miles. How about it?"
I narrowed my eyes and studied him. Was he trying to distract me? He gave me an innocent smile when he glanced my way. I heaved a big sigh and looked ahead. Another sign was coming up. Good.
I could have pulled it up on my phone but the service was spotty. I took in the exit number. We were about an hour away from Exit 223. An hour away from my sister. I didn't want to stop now. I was too close.
"There's probably someplace we can swing through and get the food on the go."
"Okay," he said slowly. "Before you fell asleep, you said something about two."
"Right. She'll slip out at the shift change at two o'clock in the morning." I studied him suspiciously. "Why?"
"So, what do you plan to do from now until two? Sit in the car for seven hours?"
I chewed my lip as I thought about what he said. I hadn't thought about that. He was right, and now was a good time to grab a bite to eat. My stomach rumbled, expressing its full agreement with that plan.
"Yeah," I reluctantly admitted, "I guess I might be a little hungry, too."
Alex followed the signs and pulled into the parking lot of a generic-looking roadside diner with a few semi-trucks parked on the far side of the lot and a cluster of cars in front. He parked off to the side, away from the other vehicles.
We both got out at the same time. I took a deep breath, scenting the air as I stretched. Although it felt good to be outside, stretching my cramped limbs, I was still on edge. We were getting close to the compound, so there was no such thing as being too cautious.
Despite not smelling a threat, I scanned the lot just in case. Everything seemed fine so far. Alex hadn't noticed me pause, so I had to hurry to catch up to him. He reached the door first and held it open for me to enter.
As I stepped inside the gentle murmur of people talking washed over me, interspersed with the tinging of silverware hitting plates as they ate. The smell of fried food mixed with beef patties cooking in the back of the house made my stomach rumble. I was even hungrier than I thought.
There were several families seated at tables in the middle of the room. Booths lined the edges of the diner, and I figured the truckers were the ones sitting alone at the counter. There was a sign by the door that told us to seat ourselves, so we walked over to a nearby booth on a mostly-empty side of the diner.
Moments after we sat down, the waitress made her way over to our table and smiled at us. She bent at the waist to give us our menus, and I watched in astonishment as she leaned over even more to give Alex a nice big look at her cleavage.
He took the menu from her hand and nodded at her in thanks, but didn't glance at her otherwise. I resisted the urge to smile when I saw the disappointed look on her face as she left.
We both took our time as we looked at the menu. I scanned the uninspired options: hamburgers, biscuits and gravy, chicken fried steak, all the usual fare. After we placed our orders, we kept the conversation light.
It felt so normal, as if we were a couple taking a road trip. A part of me wished it was real and that our only worry was what tourist trap we would sink our time into next.
The waitress placed my plate in front of me with a weak smile, then gave Alex a longer, cheerier look. My cat laughed when he didn't seem to notice. Even if he were to care about her interest, he was too busy staring at the culinary monstrosity in front of him. The waitress huffed and moved off to help other customers.
"Not The Peach, is it?" I asked with a grin.
He tore his eyes away from his mass of grease and gravy that called itself chicken fried steak and looked at my burger before meeting my eyes.
"No," he said, his eyes wide and voice horrified. "Definitely not. What is this?"
"Food," I said simply as I picked up my burger.
I took a large bite and Alex watched me, his mouth pulled down in revulsion. It was all I could do to stifle my laughter. What had he expected? This was a truck stop. Our entire meal, with tip, would cost less than twenty bucks.
I swallowed my bite and nodded at his plate. "It won't be any better cold."
He slowly lowered his eyes to his plate with a grimace. I took a deep breath, but it smelled fine. I set down my burger and grabbed my fork. I reached across the table, cut off a bite of his entree, then made sure to swirl it in some extra gravy.
His astonished gaze followed my movements as I forked the plundered food straight into my mouth. The flavors burst on my tongue and I blinked in surprise as I chewed. It was much better than expected. The meat was soft and not the least bit chewy.
"That bad?" he asked with a forlorn lo
ok at his plate.
I shook my head as I realized he'd misinterpreted my surprised expression. "No, I think it's all home-made. A little greasy, yes, but still good."
He cautiously picked up his fork and slowly moved it to his food, as if the chicken fried steak would leap off his plate and attack him if he moved too fast. He looked so worried I couldn't hold back my laughter.
Alex glared at me, but there was a slight curve to the corners of his lips. "You think this is hilarious, don't you?"
"Very much so. Now, eat your dinner, would you?"
He turned his attention back to his plate.
"Might get food poisoning," he muttered, and I laughed harder.
His surprised glance told me he hadn't meant for me to hear. I tapped my ear and raised my eyebrow as my eyes changed and my other self peeked out at him.
He pursed his lips and looked back at his plate, but I saw the amusement in his eyes. I picked up my burger and watched with great enjoyment as he took a bite of his dinner. His eyes lit up in surprise before he quickly took another bite.
We quickly finished our meals. I looked at my watch. It hadn't even taken us thirty minutes. We had hours to wait until we could storm the compound.
"I figure we're about an hour away from the exit," he said. "How much longer from there?"
"Once we take the exit, we'll be there in about ten minutes. At least, to the perimeter."
"Okay, so how's this going to work? We drive up and ring the bell?" He raised his eyebrows up and down comically.
I chuckled and shook my head. "No, although that could be fun. Probably would be pretty bloody."
Alex held up his hands, wiggling his fingers at me to show his lack of claws. "Not a good idea. I'm at a little bit of a disadvantage in that respect."
I raised my eyebrow at him. "Sure, Mr. All-Plants-Answer-To-Me."
He blushed and squirmed. "Ah, yeah. Well, I may have gotten a little bit carried away."
"Was that true? Can you really control all those plants?"
"No. I was bluffing. Now, Granny can control the entire orchard. She's been pouring her magic into it for years." His gaze shifted to the side. He looked thoughtful. "My magic has been getting stronger, so maybe someday."