by Melissa Haag
“Of course. It’s about a thirty-minute wait,” the host said.
“That’s fine.” Jim gave his name.
“If you’d like to go to the bar area, I’ll call you when your table’s ready.”
Jim took my hand and led me toward the long, curved bar off to one side of the dining area. The Others outlined the chair he held out for me. Not that I needed them. Jim gently guided me into the seat then ordered us both a beer.
“I’m guessing you’ve never had one before,” he said.
“You’d be correct. I’ve had wine, but no beer.”
“Yeah, Michelle described Blake’s dinners to us after a while. Beer’s better.”
When the bartender returned with a chilled glass, I took it, ready for my first sip. The beer bubbled on my tongue slightly. A hint of bitterness hit me. I swallowed, and the bitterness faded followed by a smooth aftertaste.
“Not bad,” I said.
“Not bad? Beer is the nectar of life.”
“I thought water was the nectar of life.”
“Whoever told you that lied and wanted you to suffer a life of sobriety.”
I snorted a laugh.
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Says the person who’s never been tipsy. Drink up, buttercup.”
I arched a playful brow and drank deeply, draining half my glass.
“And what will you do when I’m drunk, and you have to take me back to the hotel? Michelle told me this is your favorite way to get into trouble.”
“Nah, it’s my favorite way to show girls there’s more to life than what they thought.”
He leaned toward me. I held my glass and kept my focus forward.
“You’re already flushing from what you’ve drunk,” he said softly, near my ear. “A pretty pink that draws my eyes to your lips and makes me wonder what it would feel like to kiss you. What you’d taste like. You say I’m not supposed to think like this, but I can’t seem to think about anything else.”
I turned my head and found his face inches from mine.
“You promised,” I whispered.
“I did.”
He leaned back with a sigh and rubbed his chest.
“Are you hurting?”
“Yes. But not the way you mean.”
I blushed further and took another big drink from my glass, trying to ignore him and the insistent fluttering in my stomach. Several deep breaths calmed everything. Just in time, too, because we heard Jim’s name called from the side of the room. He helped me from my chair and held my hand, leading me while I carried my glass.
“Your server will be right with you,” the man said after he’d seated us at our table.
Not a moment later, another shape approached.
“Can I interest you in a new…”
I tilted my head and waited for more, unsure why he’d trailed off like that.
“Her pupils don’t work. She’s blind,” Jim said.
I blushed, understanding, and ducked my head in embarrassment.
“But she can hear just fine,” I whispered, annoyed with myself. How could I have forgotten? Because being with Jim, I felt normal. Whole.
“I’m sorry. It wasn’t your eyes, ma’am,” the man said. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone as pretty as you.”
I grinned but didn’t lift my eyes.
“Just tell us the specials,” Jim said impatiently, making me smile even wider.
The man rattled off several things then gave me a few recommendations from the menu. After we ordered and he went away, I focused on Jim.
“Are you frowning?” I asked.
“Maybe.”
“Pouting?”
“Yep.”
I laughed, feeling such pure happiness, I couldn’t contain it.
A sudden stab of rage right between my eyes made me wince and my stomach sink to my toes with dread. I stilled and turned my head, trying to sense Blake. He wasn’t as far away anymore.
I swore and reached for my phone, but Jim covered my hand.
“Leave it. Whatever you’re feeling from him can wait. This is supposed to be a fun afternoon just for you.”
The phone chirped. I frowned, confused.
“That can’t be Blake. He wouldn’t text. He knows I wouldn’t be able to read it.”
Eighteen
JIM…
I reached for the phone, wondering who would message Gabby's phone when everyone in the group knew Olivia was using it.
The text was from an unknown contact. I opened it, and my gut clenched at the three images she’d received.
One of Olivia and me at the bakery. One of us outside the store where we’d purchased her dress and swim suit. And one of us sitting at this table, taken from just outside the window. I stared out at the people moving along the sidewalk.
Sam, are there any Urbat near us?
None. Gabby’s been keeping an eye on you.
The phone chirped with a new message.
I’m coming for what’s mine. Blake.
I swore under my breath.
Blake sent three pictures of me with Olivia, I sent Sam. His men have to be near us.
“What is it, Jim? What’s wrong?” Olivia asked.
There aren’t any near you. Gabby checked, Sam sent back.
That didn’t make any sense. We hadn’t been at our table long. There still should have been an Urbat nearby.
“How close is Blake?” I asked Olivia.
She turned toward the east as if looking for him.
“Closer than he was, but still hours if not a day away.”
“He sent three pictures of us, and a message. He said he’s coming for what’s his.”
All trace of color left her face.
“No. No,” she whispered slowly. “It’s too soon.” She gripped the table, her panic rising as she turned her head to look around.
“Gabby said there aren’t any Urbat near us.”
She turned and pinned me with her dark gaze.
“They are all around us. Warn the rest.”
Olivia thinks they’re all around us, I sent Sam.
The message had barely formed when Olivia’s head whipped to the side, and her eyes widened slightly. I followed her gaze to see a man shove his way through the restaurant’s door. He reached across his body for something hidden under his shirt. The shape of the object was unmistakable.
Rage clawed at me, and I stood as he began to pull the gun free.
“Die werewolf!” he screamed.
I launched myself over the table, wrapping my arms around Olivia as the idiot fired. The momentum of my collision tipped her back into her chair. Her gasp of pain enraged me further. As did the bite of the bullet into my calf, where my chest had been a moment before.
Twisting mid-air, I tried to position us so I took the brunt of the impact. With a light kiss on her forehead, I left Olivia on the floor and sped toward the gunman before he could fire another shot. The man never saw me coming. Closing one hand around his throat, I ripped the gun from his hand with the other then tossed him into the nearest wall before he could hurt anyone else. He sailed through the air, his scream echoing throughout the bar.
Without slowing, I turned and rushed for Olivia, not forgetting that she’d said they were all around us. She lay where I left her, her eyes open and watching for me. I scooped her into my arms and didn’t slow on my way through the window.
Curled protectively around Olivia, I blocked the shower of glass that fell around us. My feet hit the ground, and I used every ounce of speed to clear the city block within seconds. Any humans who saw us would wonder if they’d imagined our blur.
“Tell the others,” Olivia said against my chest. “Blake’s using his humans.”
I growled at our blindness.
Sam, we were just attacked in the restaurant. Tell Gabby it's not the Urbat; it's the humans. Blake’s using them.
Are you all right? he sent back.
Yes. We're moving to the car now.
<
br /> We reached Winifred’s vehicle a moment later, and I carefully set Olivia in her seat.
She was shaking and pale. I desperately wanted to stop and make sure she was okay, but there wasn’t time. Sirens already wailed in the not too far off distance. I closed her door and sprinted around the hood.
As soon as I slipped behind the wheel, I started the engine and took off. Traffic honked behind me, but I didn't slow down. Humans. Blake was using humans. They were everywhere. Crossing sidewalks. Driving cars. There was no easy way to tell whose side they were on. No way to know if they had a connection to Blake.
My claws scratched the steering wheel as I took the first turn.
“Find out from Michelle where we need to go,” Olivia said, her voice strained. She gripped her seat with white knuckles.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“He said he’s coming for what’s his, right? I’m not the only one of us he thinks belongs to him. If he's attacking here, he's attacking at the hotel, too. We can't go back.”
I thought of Michelle and reached out to Sam once more.
Is everything quiet there? Olivia thinks Blake will try for the rest of the girls.
I took a sharp corner, and the tires protested.
Everything's quiet here, but I've warned the others. We're packing up.
“Slow down. Don't call attention to us,” Olivia cautioned.
I slowed and took the next turn onto a road that would lead us in the general direction of the hotel.
Ask Michelle where we need to go, I sent Winifred. Olivia wants to know.
She didn’t answer, but that didn’t worry me. It took Michelle and Gabby time to decide the next safe stop. If they were in a hurry to leave, it would take a few minutes.
I hadn't made it more than two blocks when Sam’s words touched my mind.
Don't come back to the hotel.
Why, what’s happening? I sent back.
When I didn't immediately receive an answer, I started to worry.
“I think you’re right. I think Blake’s men are already at the hotel,” I said to Olivia.
GABBY…
Henry laughed and threw another piece of popcorn into his mouth. Beside me, Clay sighed heavily. I kept my eyes on the TV, grateful for our chaperons.
Sam jerked forward, sitting up from his position on the bed.
“Gabby, check Jim and Olivia.”
I kept my sonar open all the time so I easily answered.
“They’re fine. No Urbat nearby. They’re waiting in the distance, just like before.”
Sam didn’t relax, though. While he silently communicated with someone, most likely Jim, I studied the Urbat. The clustered groups hadn’t moved much. The groups spread around Salt Lake in a half circle to the north. Nothing too close. Heavier groups waited far to the south near the Mexican border, which made sense. They didn’t want us to escape that way. We didn’t want to run, though. We wanted to make the Judgement and end the war that Blake had declared on the werewolves.
While the group to the south didn’t really matter to us. The others did. The larger groups that had lingered far to the east had moved. As I watched, they covered hundreds of miles. How was that possible? I’d never seen any Urbat move that fast before. I opened my mouth to say something when Sam swore.
“Jim and Olivia were just attacked,” Sam said. “It’s the humans. Blake’s using them.”
“Are Jim and Olivia okay?” Henry asked.
“They’re okay. Pack,” he said. “We need to leave as soon as Jim’s back.”
Henry got off his bed and started putting things away, not that we had much out. Clay rolled to his side and eased off the bed. I changed my focus and tried to make sense of the human sparks. There were so many.
I barely paid Clay and Henry any attention as I slowly walked toward my bag. My mind wasn’t on packing but on the human sparks. They moved along the roads, walked short distances before turning around, or stayed in place, all seemingly going about their daily business. However, I frowned as I noticed a different, consistent advancement amidst the otherwise chaotic movement.
A swarm of yellow with green converged on our location from every direction. There had to be hundreds of humans closing in around us.
“Tell Jim not to come back here,” I said quickly. “Humans are on their way here, too.”
I turned to look at Clay. He had an arm over his middle again, probably hurting it just getting out of bed.
“No shifting,” I warned him. “Remember you’re staying unMated until you’re healed, so no setbacks.”
Henry snorted a laugh. I ignored it and focused on Henry.
“There are hundreds, Henry.” Something about my expression sobered him. “They’re not going to show up with empty hands. You know what humans with guns can do.”
The sparks surrounded the hotel.
“I can’t see a way out,” I whispered, the crushing weight of panic tightening in my chest.
A wave of love caressed my mind, and Clay’s hand brushed against mine.
“Henry, Gabby, you two carry the bags. Clay, listen to Gabby. No shifting unless it’s life or death,” Sam said.
He put his hand on the door as the first human entered the building.
MICHELLE…
I turned off the shower, wiped the water from my face, and put a hand over my churning stomach. Something on my plate at breakfast hadn’t agreed with me. I considered asking Jim if he felt okay, but he could eat anything and feel fine.
“You were too fast,” Emmitt said from just outside the curtain.
I pulled the material aside and found him standing there naked. My stomach heaved, and I barely made it to the toilet without slipping and falling.
Emmitt wrapped an arm around my waist to steady me, but that just made the nausea worse.
“Stop. Please.”
The arm disappeared, and I clung to the toilet as I continued to empty my stomach.
“Honey, what’s wrong?” His hand very briefly touched my forehead.
I stood weakly and went to the sink to rinse my mouth out. He watched me the entire time, worry and love touching my mind.
“Breakfast, I think,” I said after spitting out my mouthful of water.
“I’ll have Mom check with the other girls,” he said, wrapping me in a towel. “Let’s dry you off before you get cold.”
The gentle swipe of the towel against my back soothed me. I leaned against his chest and let him do the work.
“Winifred is sending Mom in to take a look at you,” he said after a moment.
I smiled slightly, knowing Charlene probably just wanted to mother me a bit. By Mating Emmitt, I’d gained a full family. A Mom, Dad, and even Grandma. I loved all of them and didn’t mind moments like this when they wanted to take care of me.
A knock sounded at the door. Emmitt grabbed a towel to wrap around his own waist and called out “just a minute” as he helped me from the bathroom to our bed. With a towel securely around my torso and my stomach still trying to talk me back into the bathroom, I willingly laid back.
He strode across the room and pulled open the door. A man stepped forward and hit Emmitt in the face with the butt of his rifle, driving him back a step. I screamed. More men pushed into the room.
Emmitt burst into his fur, snarling and growling. He went after the first man while the second leveled his gun at Emmitt.
“No!” I wailed.
“Stop!”
The shout echoed into the room from the hallway. The men froze, only their panicked eyes moving.
Emmitt snarled and stalked closer. I shook, too afraid to leave my place on the bed.
CHARLENE…
Thomas kept a hand on my shoulder, but I barely felt it as the attackers’ wills became my own. I could feel Blake’s influence. No one here had been coerced or threatened. These were Blake’s men, bought and paid for. They understood what they were doing. They liked it. I read their intentions through their wills. They meant
to kill them all. My family. But they would spare the women and take them safely to Blake at the airport.
I boiled with rage. It would be so easy to end them. Such a move would save us from worrying they would ever come back. But I couldn’t. Something bad would happen if I started making those kinds of choices. I knew that in my bones.
Sam called out from down the hall.
“We’re pinned in but okay.”
“Is anyone hurt?” Winifred asked.
“No.” The word came from Sam and was echoed by Michelle inside the room.
Taking a deep breath, I focused my will on the humans in the hall.
“Step aside to let them through,” I said.
The humans shuffled their positions just enough so I could see Sam, Gabby, Henry, and Clay.
Sam nodded at me. “We’ll get the cars ready.”
“It looks clear outside the hotel,” Gabby added.
“We’ll be right behind you,” Winifred said. “Charlene, should I get our things?”
“Yes. I have control of them all.”
I focused on the men crowding the doorway of Emmitt’s room.
“Step aside to let us through.”
My son stood in his fur between Michelle and the attackers. When he saw me, he shifted back to his skin. I stayed in the hall, feeling every connection.
“You don’t belong here,” I said. “You don’t hate werewolves. You understand they are being hunted. You want to leave.”
“Not good enough, Mom. After they leave, they call Blake and tell him to go fuck himself. Have each one take a turn so Blake’s getting calls for the next hour.”
I pushed that into their wills as well.
“Done.” The men set their guns in the hall and walked away slowly.
Hurrying into the room, I looked at Emmitt and then Michelle.
“Are you two sure you’re okay?”
Michelle nodded shakily and moved toward Emmitt.
“I might throw up again,” she said.
I reached for her will, not to control, but to touch it to gain a better understanding of how she felt. My reach brushed her will and another. Stunned, I stared at her for a moment.
What is it, Thomas sent me. Your emotions are all over the place.