“Which way did she go?” he ground out. Seriously, he was about to punch Jordan. If it wouldn’t have slowed them down, he would have done it the first time he mentioned Vanessa as a potential mate.
Jordan inhaled and shook his head, looking around. “I keep thinking she’s trying to throw us because why would she run along the road if she didn’t want to get caught?”
His mouth went dry. “She wants to get caught—just not by us.”
“Ah hell, I forgot you’d said that,” Jordan said, swinging back into the Jeep. He pointed ahead. “That way.”
They’d gone another couple miles when Jordan clutched his head again and this time shifted entirely. He leaped from the Jeep and ran alongside. The road was rougher so the black wolf even pulled ahead when the road curved.
When the wolf stopped and stayed in place beside the Jeep, sniffing the air, Dane leaned forward in his seat anxiously. “Don’t tell me you’ve lost her trail. Good at tracking…my ass.”
Jordan turned and glared at him. Then he went back to sniffing around.
“What is it, Lassie, did Timmy fall down a well?” Dane muttered under his breath.
Jordan snarled.
“Well, find her trail or, so help me, I’ll shoot you…and we’ll finally settle that once and for all.”
The black wolf gestured with his snout up the road and then jumped in the back of the Jeep.
Dane drove on, eyeing the sides of the road as he did. They’d covered enough ground that they might have caught up with her. When they did, he was thinking of dragging her out of this town…this county…this state with him—let whoever was after her chase a real moving target. In the rearview mirror, he noticed the black wolf had his head out the side and was letting the wind blow against him.
“You better not be in here just to stick your head out the window with your tongue out,” he said, scanning the sides of the road. He had to find her. He had to.
A moment later, Jordan said, “You’re just jealous you can’t do it. Speaking of jealousy…I wouldn’t glance back here. I’m not going to bother putting on pants just in case I shift again without notice.”
Dane rubbed a hand down his face. This was turning out to be the longest and most aggravating road trip of his life. “I really hate you.”
“Did you know it’s tradition for the first male offspring of a couple to be named after the current Alpha?”
“And now I hate you more.”
“I think I know where she is headed.”
“I hate you slightly less.”
Jordan laughed. “There’s a hunting lodge we built up here. It was a freaking pain for permits and hauling stuff. I think that’s her goal.”
“This is nuts. She had to know I was going to chase her.”
“Did she?”
“Of course she did.” She had to. There was no way he’d have just let her do this. He was crazy about her. Even the thought of living without her made him sick. Sure, they argued, but they both liked to argue. Plus, they’d had that whole discussion about marriage. You wouldn’t even mention the word “marriage” with someone if it wasn’t serious.
“You told her, ‘I love you and I can’t live without you’? You said that?” Jordan enunciated every syllable while sitting forward and putting his head between the seats.
“No.” They’d known each other two weeks, and she kept saying they were meant to be together. He’d thought he would have time to figure out how he felt about her and how to tell her—not this crash test of emotional attachment which, of course, proved that he loved her and couldn’t live without her.
“Huh, yeah, no doubt about it…her behavior is just crazy.” Jordan sat back again.
“Oh, shut up, your girlfriend was a sociopath.”
“But I didn’t ask my worst enemy to help track her down the minute she left.”
“No, you just immediately started sniffing out a replacement.”
Jordan leaned forward again. “You do know that I could have killed her when she jumped between us that first day, don’t you? It would have been my right. She’s been proving she’s your mate from day one, and you’ve been acting like part of her life, part of her, isn’t worthy of you—that same part of her that felt like she should die for you.”
“First of all, I would have killed you if you’d breathed too hard on her—and long before you got to me. Second, what do you care?”
Jordan held up three fingers. “I’ll give you three reasons. First, I’m her Alpha, and I told her I’d kill you if I didn’t think you were worthy.” He put his pointer finger down. “Second, I’m in a Jeep having my Alpha parts rattled to sterility which I suspect I wouldn’t be if you’d been less of an ass.” He dropped his ring finger…leaving his middle finger up. “Finally, I’m trying to figure out how a scent-matched couple could handle a relationship this badly. I’m wondering if it’s because you’re human.” The moment was ruined by Jordan having another sudden freak-out where he shifted from wolf to human and to wolf again. Finally, he shifted back to human and shook it off like a dog shaking off water.
Dane decided to ignore it. “I thought we had time. How was I supposed to know she’d run off one day?”
“The fact that she’s done it time and time again?”
“I’m done talking.”
…
There was nothing worse than waiting for death alone…naked. She was tempted to wait in Lycan form so she wouldn’t be sitting in this rustic lodge at some stranger’s wooden table, with her bare butt catching Listeria or something from the chair. On the bright side, if she did catch something fatal, it wouldn’t have time to linger and eat away at her.
She only needed to be seen in human form for a second so that the poacher and the Lycan would realize the great hunt and slaughter was over…and then she’d switch to Lycan form and no amount of torture was going to give some rich oil tycoon her kidney. She could handle a fair amount of torture, and nothing they’d do could compare to what pollen did to her every day.
A huge sneeze shot through her. Man, this place was dusty. It would suck if the dust got to her first. Talk about a lame way to die. Here lies Vanessa—dust to dust—and that’s basically what killed her. That’s if they found her body. Maybe she wouldn’t even get a tombstone if they couldn’t find her body.
At least this way, Dane would be able to move on. He wouldn’t be scent-matched to someone he wasn’t sure he was committed to. The most he’d said about his feelings was when he’d yelled about them at Jordan last night. At Jordan. At the police. At the dozen other Lycans hanging out watching. It was slightly better than “thank you.”
A tear dripped down her cheek and fell off her nose onto the dusty table. She used the salty water to trace a heart. He’d told his parents about her—that was something. Maybe, with enough time, it would have worked. But it looked like, given enough time, he’d wind up dead too.
Another sneeze rocked her—almost toppling the chair. It was a shame there’d been no way to bring along her meds. She’d had a short window of opportunity to get out of there. She’d even heard Dane calling her name in the distance, before the pollen had started affecting her hearing.
This sneeze did knock her backward. She pushed away from the floor and stared at the small kitchen window. She’d be doing the owners a favor if she aired this place out. It’d be less of a favor if they killed her here and left her body to rot. Though even then, maybe having a window cracked open couldn’t hurt.
When she opened the window, the sound of an approaching vehicle made her breath catch in her throat. She’d thought she was ready. Instead she felt like a naked girl hanging out in a dusty cabin…wishing she’d stayed with her mate.
She should have signed the note “love, Vanessa.” But she’d been in panic mode once she’d realized she’d grabbed paper but no pencil. She’d hovered over signing the note with her eyeliner, wanting to write “love,” but it felt gutless to write something like that just before you went off to d
ie. It was easy to write something knowing you’d never have to admit it in front of them…and take a chance that they didn’t feel the same.
As she stood listening at the window, her eye caught on the knife block. Fourteen choices for self-defense. No one said she couldn’t go down stabbing and snarling. She’d planned on trying to rip out the throat of her attackers as a wolf, but her allergies might make it a short fight.
She pulled out each knife one by one. The steak knives would be as pathetic as her wheezing wolf attack. She scooted those to the side. There were three big knives that appealed to her. Picking up the long paring knife, she tested its edge—only to slice a wicked cut into her index finger when she sneezed at the wrong moment.
“Oh, hell no!” Really? Really? She was going to start off the fight with a self-inflicted knife wound? She was sucking on the tip of her finger when she thought she heard Dane’s voice—arguing. How much blood had she lost? She was already having weird fantasies? It was probably telling that she fantasized about Dane and arguing. Another tear streaked down her cheek. She was really going to miss arguing with him. How he’d throw out something ridiculous to see if she’d bite and then she would…which would turn him on…and then she’d really bite.
She could hear him arguing about gun accuracy—of all things. It was a weird fantasy argument. She could also hear the vehicle pulling into the short driveway. She grabbed the knife she’d cut herself with in her left hand.
What kind of idiot injured her dominant hand right before going into a knife fight? Maybe if she had the element of surprise… That had certainly worked for Lucifer. There weren’t a lot of places she could leap out from in order to jump on a Lycan’s face. Besides, Lucifer’s primary weapon had been her histamine response.
Wow, she was still hearing Dane arguing…with Jordan. Well, that was definitely not the fantasy—that was the reality. That was the one thing that had made leaving easier. If she stayed, she’d spend the rest of her life tugged between the pack and Dane.
That would be a worse way to die than naked in a cabin—throwing yourself between two Alphas who really didn’t want you dead, but they couldn’t help hating each other and wanting dominance. At some point, Jordan would be forced to kill Dane if her presence kept pulling them into each other’s path. The kind of insubordination Dane was dishing out would turn on Jordan if he tolerated it.
At least her death would solve that—they’d never have to see each other if they didn’t want to.
And they’d never want to.
Problem solved.
The car stopped.
She took deep breaths.
“All I’m saying is that if I’d had a better scope the first time, you wouldn’t have even cleared the bushes,” Dane said.
She blinked. Wow, that really sounded like Dane. But there’d be no way he could find her. No way. He wouldn’t even have known about this place, let alone been able to follow her scent.
“Didn’t you have a night scope the second time and you missed every time?” Jordan asked.
Okay, Jordan could find her…but there was no way they’d be together, not by choice. If they’d been chained together, Jordan might have gnawed off his own leg; Dane would’ve ripped off his own arm to beat Jordan to death with it. She tried to look through the kitchen window, but it only showed the driveway.
“Didn’t you lose the trail that time I didn’t miss—that time when I actually drew blood and sent you after a Lycan—so hunting one of your own kind?”
“Yes, but I got us here.”
Both men were silent. Finally, Dane asked quietly, “You’re sure she’s in there?”
“Yes. Maybe I should go in and talk to her.”
“No! You may be her Alpha, but I’m her mate.”
It made her smile, and her chest filled with warmth.
Mine. Mate.
“Well, then, what are you waiting for? I’ll go watch the road for our guests.”
She had two seconds to process that before the door opened, and Dane stepped in. She hadn’t needed to turn on the lights, but Dane blinked and looked around the dim interior squinting before his gaze stopped on her, and he smiled. “Hey.” He held up her purse. “I brought your inhaler. Thought you might need it after your run.”
She bit her lip to avoid crying out. He looked so good standing in this dusty cabin…and he’d come for her. She dropped the knife and ran to him, diving into his arms. He wrapped his arms tight around her, lifting her off her feet in a hug.
“Don’t ever leave me again,” he said.
“I didn’t want anything to happen to you,” she said, smooshing her face in his neck. He smelled so good. So much better than this place. She sneezed against him.
He pulled back. “I think you’re a little underdressed.” He yanked off the outer flannel shirt he was wearing.
“It’s not the cold…it’s the dust,” she said, sniffing. She didn’t take the shirt he offered her. “I don’t want to get blood on it.”
“You’re bleeding? Already?” He squinted and tried to figure out where.
She snatched the shirt from his hands and held it in front of her before pulling it on. Sure, he’d seen her naked, but geez, was the “already” really necessary? No. No, it wasn’t.
“I cut my finger on the knife when I was trying to check how sharp it was.”
“Well, that’s your problem right there—you brought a knife to what will be a gunfight. Well, and I think your Alpha intends to gnaw on them or something.”
She sneezed again and wiped her nose on the sleeve. Gross, but less gross than snot dribbling down her face, and she was already bleeding all over the shirt. “What is Jordan doing here?”
It was a good thing she’d wiped her nose, because Dane grabbed her shirt at the collar and tugged her forward to kiss him. It wasn’t one of their best kisses from an objective perspective. She couldn’t breathe through her nose, and he couldn’t see so well so he kissed her chin first. Subjectively, it was the best kiss in the world because she’d never thought she’d get the chance to kiss him again.
Mmm. Normally, they tried to devour each other. This time, it was all soft and squishy like their lips were hugging, until his teeth tugged on her lower lip. Normally, hugging didn’t involve teeth. Well, sure, between them, but not between normal people.
When she pulled back, Vanessa said, “I think I need my allergy meds. I’m starting to get all woozy-headed from not being able to breathe.”
“Did you really not know I would come for you?”
She stared at him.
He shook his head. “Jordan is here because I went to a big Lycan meeting and begged him to help me find you.”
“I knew you begged!” Jordan yelled from outside the cabin.
“Shut up!” they both said at once.
“You did?” she whispered. No way. He’d…? No. And he was still alive so he didn’t just snarl and challenge Jordan in front of the group. Just…no way.
“Of course I did. Are you insane?”
“Not really the most romantic way of putting it,” Jordan yelled again.
She thought of telling Jordan to shut up, but he wasn’t wrong. Dane must have realized because he scowled in Jordan’s direction before saying to her, “I love you. I can’t live without you.”
“You do?” It came out sounding all nasally and wet because she’d started to cry, and the dust had totally plugged her sinuses.
“Yes, and I’m guessing you feel the same because you’re doing something absolutely ludicrous to protect me.”
She nodded as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I do. I really, really do. I was going to put it on the note, but it seemed like something you should say in person and keeping you alive was the only thing I could think of. Also, I was writing really fast because I was worried it would take a while to squeeze through that window.”
He cradled her face in his hands and kissed her wet cheeks. “You are insane. I can’t believe you ran off. Again.”<
br />
She sniffed and came to her senses. “No!” She shoved on Dane. “You can’t be here. I can’t lose you. They can’t kill you. You need to leave.”
He grabbed her in a tight hug like he had at his house after the fire. “Shh…shh…shh…no one is planning on dying. Calm down.”
She settled against his chest, listening to his heart beat.
“I brought my gun, Jordan brought a gun, and apparently you’ve got a sharp knife back there—or you’re really clumsy.” His hand tunneled through her hair, massaging her head. “Plus, I’ve got two rabid crazy wolves protecting me.”
“I’m still not a sure thing when it comes to that,” Jordan shouted.
“He’s such an ass, but he did find you…” Then he shouted. “I’m still not naming a kid after you.”
She jumped.
“Oh, sorry, forgot I didn’t have to yell back.” He kissed the top of her head.
“I’m not leaving here. I want it over, Dane. I can’t live worrying who they’ll kill next to get to me. I’m not leaving here.”
He snorted. “So we’re going with Jordan’s plan of using you as bait?”
“Actually, that really was just something I made up. She wasn’t sleeping, and I really liked that blender.” Jordan hadn’t bothered going too far away; there was no point—he’d be able to hear them. But it was weird to have a special conversation among you, your mate, and your Alpha.
It was somewhat amazing that it wasn’t making Dane livid—that must have been an interesting trip here.
“It’s not a bad idea,” she said. It was sort of what she’d intended when she came here, but it was more likely called suicidal or sacrificial when you didn’t intend to survive.
“Of course it’s not a bad idea.” Jordan really could be an ass.
Dane propped his chin on the top of her head as he hugged her. A moment later, he sighed. “Okay, let’s get you some first aid and your allergy meds, and we’ll figure out where we go from there.”
Chapter Eighteen
He had her on his lap as they sat around the dusty table in the cabin, and he wasn’t about to let her go while they discussed plans. His relief after that adrenaline rush was making it difficult to plan an attack.
Past My Defenses (Taming the Pack series) (Entangled Ignite) Page 24