Demi looked at the photo. She did recognize her mother, sitting up in bed with a baby in her arms. On one side of the bed was a tall man with a square jaw and curly brown hair, and on the other was the stranger in the car with her now.
But something wasn’t right.
“No, this has to be fake,” Demi said. “That is my mom, but she died thirteen years ago, and you look exactly the same in this picture as you do now.”
“That’s right,” he said as if that answered all her questions. “The other man in the photo is your father, and as I’m sure you’ve already guessed, the baby is you.”
Demi just shook her head and handed the photo back to him. “Nice try, but I’m not buying it. There’s no way that picture can be real. You don’t look a day over twenty now. You would be, like, three when I was baby.”
“If I were human.”
Her heart skipped a beat. “Let me guess, you’re a werewolf too.”
“Yes. I am.”
Great . . . he’s crazy too. Demi sighed. “Come on, there’s no such thing as werewolves.”
“Then how do you explain the wolf you saw back at the house?”
“That . . . that was just a wolf or a big dog or something. I don’t know.”
“That was Hugo.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Is it? Something about the tone of your voice tells me that you’re not as sure as you’d like me to believe.”
Demi chewed her lip and looked out her window at the Seattle skyline, not wanting to admit that she was wrestling with what she believed at the moment.
“So you’re saying what Korver told me back at the house . . . about my father being a werewolf. That’s also true?”
“Yes, it’s true.”
“So that makes me a half-werewolf or whatever you call it. Is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s right.”
Demi shook her head again and sighed as she brushed a few stray strands of her hair out of her face. “I don’t believe you. I can’t.”
“It doesn’t matter whether you believe me now or not. You will soon enough.”
“I don’t want to. I want to go home.”
“You don’t have a home here anymore, Demi, and Korver will never stop searching for you. He’s been waiting a long time for this day.”
“What do you mean? Why today?”
“You’re seventeen now—the youngest a werewolf is permitted to take a mate. Only your father can protect you from Korver and others like him. That’s why I’m taking you to him.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He asked me to bring you to him.”
“Where is he?”
“He’s in hiding. Deep in the wilderness and over the border.”
Demi raised an eyebrow. “He’s in Canada?”
Tobias nodded.
“Is he hiding from the law or something?”
“No, it’s not like that. He’s in the Cascade Mountains. He has . . .” Tobias trailed off.
“What? He has what?”
“He has his reasons, and it’s not my place to say anything. I’m sure he’ll explain everything to you when we get there.”
“So you want me to go with you way out to the middle of nowhere to find my dad who’s in hiding? That sounds pretty sketchy to me. If he wanted to see me so bad, why didn’t he just come see me?”
“It’s not that simple, Demi.”
“Then explain it to me. I’d love to understand.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t know.”
That was unexpected.
“Your father vanished five years ago. He only just recently contacted me a few months ago. He told me where he was and that he needed me to bring you to him before Korver could get to you.”
Tobias looked over at her again. “He’s trying to protect you. And he’s always been there for me in the past, so I knew I had to do this for him in return.”
Demi nodded and then again looked out her window, chewing her lip while mulling over everything he told her.
Of course she was curious to learn who her father was and why he abandoned her, and she now had that chance. But could she really trust Tobias?
She might not have a choice. Even if she refused to go with Tobias, Korver and Hugo were still looking for her. And she had nowhere to go.
They would find her eventually.
The only way she was ever going to get any answers to the many questions swirling around inside her head was by meeting her father for the first time and asking him.
There was no other way.
Whether she liked it or not, the path ahead of her had already been laid out. Her future might be uncertain, but at least she had an objective.
“Alright,” she said. “I’ll go with you. But I need to ask one more question first.”
“What’s that?”
“My father. Did he ever tell you why he left me and my mom?”
“All he ever told me was that it was to keep you both safe, Tobias said. “If you want to know more, you’ll have to ask him.”
Demi had a feeling he might say that. She didn’t press him further because she didn’t think she would get anything more out of him. She would just have to do as he said and wait until she met her father to ask him.
Although she had serious concerns about how that meeting would go.
What was she supposed to say to the father who abandoned her as a baby? That was something that Demi would have to find out for herself when the time came.
She glanced over at Tobias again. I just hope I’m making the right decision.
Chapter Five
DEMI WASN’T SURE AT WHAT point during the all-night drive she had fallen asleep, but when she woke up, she found that the corvette was parked at a remote gas station—nothing around but trees and rolling hills as far as the eye could see. Tobias was just getting out to fill the tank.
Sitting up, Demi checked her phone. It was barely seven in the morning.
She also found a few unread texts, including one from Mike. He wanted her to call him, and she thought about it. But what was she supposed to tell him? She could tell the truth, but he would never believe her. She probably wouldn’t believe him either if their places were swapped.
Just then, Demi’s stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since yesterday at lunch. And she hardly ate anything then because the cafeteria food at school was barely edible. It was better to go home hungry than to go home with a stomachache.
The thought of food had only just entered her mind when she noticed that the gas station had a minimart. Her stomach rumbled again. She was tempted to get something to eat, but she left her purse back at the house, so she didn’t have her credit cards with her.
Glancing over at Tobias, she wondered if he would give her some cash. Asking people for money was a foreign concept to her. She never even had to ask her aunt and uncle. They just consistently put money in her account each month so that she never ran out.
That didn’t do her any good now. It was so strange to basically be broke for the first time in her life.
Getting out of the car, she walked around to the other side where Tobias was refueling the corvette. He hardly paid her any attention when she approached.
“Hey,” she said.
“Hello.” He didn’t even look up at her.
“Um, do you have any money I can have?” Demi asked, the words feeling awkward leaving her lips. “I’m starving.”
Tobias finally looked at her. And he stared for what felt like a really long time. And just as Demi was about to backtrack and tell him to forget about it, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wad of cash. He counted out three bills and then handed them over to Demi.
It was fifteen dollars.
She imagined that was probably more than enough, but she was so used to having as much money as she could ever need that price was something that rarely even cross
ed her mind.
“Thanks,” Demi said before turning around and starting towards the minimart. After about three steps, it occurred to her that there was something she should probably ask.
She turned around. “Um, do you want anything?”
Tobias shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? I mean, I know you think you’re a werewolf or whatever, but I’m pretty sure you still have to eat.”
“Later. Just get yourself something and don’t worry about me.”
Demi shrugged. “Okay. Whatever you say.” Then she turned around once again and walked towards the minimart, hands in her blazer pockets—and cash as well.
Entering the mart, Demi was greeted by a bald-headed cashier behind the counter.
“Morning,” the man said, barely looking up from the Sports Illustrated magazine he was thumbing through. He looked bored out of his mind.
Demi just nodded before beginning to peruse the shelves in search of something to satisfy her hunger. Cookies, chips, candy, and more, Demi gathered up whatever caught her eye. Then made her way to the coffee machine.
She had already made up her mind that the coffee here was going to be terrible, but she was in desperate need of the caffeine.
With her coffee in one hand and her snacks in the other, Demi was about to head up to the counter when she decided that she should at least get a water for Tobias. He didn’t ask for one, but he couldn’t go without water. Unless maybe he actually was a werewolf like he claimed to be.
No, that’s ridiculous, she reminded herself. There’s no such thing as werewolves. There never has been, and there never will be.
Demi grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerated section. As she shut the refrigerator door and turned around, she nearly collided with someone else in the aisle—an overweight trucker with greasy hair and a scruffy beard.
“Sorry,” Demi uttered and slipped past him.
She spared a glance over her shoulder as she walked away to find him staring at her with a look that made her skin crawl. The look encouraged her to pick up her pace as she hurried to the other end of the aisle.
Only to find her path cut off by another trucker, this one not as fat, but no less creepy. He just stood there, staring down at her with a twisted smile on his dry and cracked lips.
“Excuse me,” Demi said. Her heart rate sped up in a hurry, but she tried not to let her fear show.
But the trucker didn’t move.
So Demi turned on her heel and started to go back the way she came, but the fat trucker was blocking the other end of the aisle, pretending to look at a rack of beef jerky while sneaking a peek at her out of the corner of his eye.
What the hell . . .
Demi felt like an antelope in one of those nature documentaries her uncle used to watch—cornered by two larger predators with nowhere to run.
She didn’t even want to think about what these two creeps had in mind. She just wanted to be anywhere but here right now.
She turned around again and pushed right past the skinnier of the two truckers, shoving him in the chest to get him out of her way. Then she scampered towards the exit.
“Hey,” a man’s voice called out to her. “You’re going to pay for those, right?”
She stopped in her tracks and turned to discover that the speaker was the bald clerk behind the counter.
“Oh . . . yeah.” It occurred to her that she still had all of the items she was going to buy in her hands. “Of course.”
She walked up to the counter and set everything down. The cashier proceeded to ring them up. As he did, Demi heard footsteps behind her. She took a quick peek.
Just as she feared, the two creepy truckers were right behind her in line. The fat one had a six-pack of beer tucked under one arm. They both smiled at her in what could easily be mistaken as friendly, but Demi knew that being friendly was not what they had in mind.
“Anything else?” the bald clerk asked as he placed her items in a plastic bag.
Demi shook her head.
“Nine dollars and seventy-seven cents.”
She handed over two of the three fives that Tobias gave her. “Keep the change.”
She took the bag off the counter and then hurried out of the minimart. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
As she made her way back to her corvette—at a very brisk pace—she got a horrible feeling that she was being followed. She took a quick look over her shoulder. Fortunately, there was no sign of those two creeps.
She slowed her pace and let out a breath she didn’t even realize she had been holding in. Demi was already in a stressful situation, she didn’t need something like this.
When she got back to the corvette, she found Tobias leaning against the front of the car with his arms crossed. He looked up at her as she approached. No smile. Not that she expected one. She hadn’t seen him smile once since she met him.
It was like he had zero personality.
Even so, she found herself feeling safer around him. It seemed stupid since she hardly knew him any better than the two creeps that freaked her out back in the mart.
“Get what you were looking for?” he asked.
“Yeah.”
“You alright?”
“I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You seem on edge.”
Dammit . . . I need to hide that better . . .
“Yeah. I’m sure.” She reached into the bag and took out the bottle of water she bought for him. “Here. I thought you might be thirsty.”
“I told you I didn’t want anything.” He took the bottle from her.
“Well I got you something anyway.” She sat down on the hood next to him. Took a sip of her coffee. It was just as bad as she thought it would be, but at least it was hot.
Coffee always made her think of her aunt, who—like a true Seattleite—had been practically addicted to the stuff. She could take a single sip and instantly know the brand. She also introduced Demi to coffee for the first time.
Suddenly finding tears in her eyes, Demi turned away from Tobias and wiped them away, hoping he didn’t notice.
“So . . . how long until we get to, um, wherever we’re going?” she asked.
“Hard to say.”
“How come?”
“Well for starters, we can’t drive the whole way.”
“We can’t?” Demi frowned. “Why not?”
“No roads. At a certain point, we’re going to be hiking through the mountains.”
“Seriously? Are you sure my dad can’t just meet us somewhere? Why do we have to go out to the boonies to find him?”
“Because that’s just what we have to do,” Tobias replied as if that actually answered her question.
Demi sighed and took another sip of coffee. She was not excited about hiking through mountains, nor was she excited about getting back inside the car for who knows how many more hours.
“Well, I’ll be inside,” Tobias said. “Get in whenever you’re ready to leave. But we shouldn’t waste time.”
Demi just nodded and watched Tobias walk around the front of the car and climb inside the driver’s seat.
Maybe I should ask him if I can drive, Demi contemplated for half a second. It’s my car after all.
But she didn’t have to think for long before deciding against it. It might be her car, but she didn’t know where they were going.
Besides, she really wasn’t in the mood to drive.
She wasn’t in the mood to do anything. She wished she could just wake up to find out this was all nothing but a bad dream.
But that’s not going to happen. This is real. This is happening.
Just yesterday, her biggest concern was maintaining her level of popularity and fending other girls off her boyfriend. Now she was being hunted by two lunatics who wanted her to believe they were werewolves.
That was a curveball Demi never could have anticipated.
No point putting it off I guess, she thought as she hea
ved a sigh. Time to hit the road again.
Taking a third sip of coffee, Demi got off the hood and started for the passenger side door. But stopped when she heard someone approaching.
She turned around and jumped at the sight of the two truckers from the minimart. Both wearing grins on their ugly, dimwitted faces.
Fear swelled in the pit of her stomach. She had hoped her first unpleasant encounter with the truckers would be her only one, but they were obviously intent on harassing her.
The fat one spoke up. “Whatcha doing out here all by yourself?”
“Yeah. Are you lost?” the skinnier trucker asked. “Want us to help you find your way?”
“I’m fine. Just leave me alone.”
“Come on. Let us help you.” He took a step closer. “We got maps in our truck, and we’re very good with directions.”
Demi said nothing. She took a step back. Then heard the driver’s side door open. Relief washed over her.
You idiots should have left me alone when I told you to.
“What’s going on here?” Tobias demanded as he came to stand beside Demi, his voice kept at an even level as always.
The truckers exchanged a look before the skinnier of the two turned to face Tobias, looking a little less confident than before. “Who are you?”
Tobias opened his mouth to reply, but Demi beat him to it.
“He’s my boyfriend.” She moved closer to him and took his hand to sell the lie.
“Boyfriend?” The fat man chuckled. “Is that right?”
“I think it’s time for the two of you to leave,” Tobias said in a commanding tone. Something about his piercing yellow eyes seemed to sap away the trucker’s will and leave him cowering.
The skinnier of the two looked ready to argue before his companion smacked him on the shoulder.
“Sure,” the fat trucker said. “We were just leaving anyway.”
Once the two creeps were out of earshot, Demi turned to Tobias. “Thanks for that.”
“You should have called for me right away.”
“Um, sorry?”
“Just remember that for the future.” He looked down at their interlocked hands. “And you can let go of my hand now.”
“Oh . . . right. Sure.” Demi let go, then she crossed her arms and looked away from him.
Half-Wolf (The Alpha's Daughter Book 1) Page 4