The morning brought heartache for the group. We all witnessed Michelle hold back tears as she pasted on a bright smile and said goodbye to her brothers.
I glanced at Nana and wondered if she’d reached my mother. She met my gaze briefly, but her expression gave nothing away other than how she felt about the current situation.
Liam gave Emmitt a hug and asked him to watch over Michelle. Everyone heard his loud whisper. “I think she’s sad we want to play with Paul and Henry.”
Emmitt smiled and hugged the boy until he protested. Then, Emmitt promised to take care of Michelle, always.
“You too, you know,” Luke murmured close to my ear.
Puzzled, I turned to him. His eyes looked slightly green in the morning light. He wrapped his hands around my arms and pulled me close.
“I promise to take care of you, always,” he whispered just before his lips brushed against mine.
“Always is a long time for a girl who keeps coming back,” I said, leaning into him.
“Forever isn’t long enough,” he said, enfolding me in a warm embrace and taking the kiss to the next level.
Nana cleared her throat. “All right you two. We need to travel today.”
Luke pulled back with a sassy grin and clasped my hand. I needed the support after that kiss. My head spun, and my heart stuttered.
****
We arrived at the last hotel I hoped we’d need to stay at. Well, in our search for Peace anyway. There was still a lot of traveling and waiting to do when—if—we exposed werewolves. The Elders still hadn’t given us their official decision.
“It seems like she’s staying in one spot now,” Gabby commented sitting on the edge of the bed in Nana’s room.
“I think it would be best if just a few of us go,” I said. “Gabby, since you can locate her, an Elder, and myself.”
Nana looked worried about that but didn’t need to comment. Gabby did for her.
“We’ll need more than that. There are more Urbat here than there should be,” Gabby said.
I wrinkled my nose. It was a big city. We didn’t have much of a choice. We needed to be here. I understood the need to protect ourselves but didn’t like how it would look to Peace. Having a large group of strangers come up to you and try to convince you to leave with them… I didn’t see that going over well with her.
“What do you suggest?”
“Six of us. Grey, Carlos, Clay, you and Luke, and me. It’ll give us better protection and still leave enough protection here for the rest,” Gabby said.
I knew she was right. “Okay.”
“Sam’s out driving to see what kind of place she’s stopped at. When he gets back we can go.” She stood and walked to Clay who waited by the door. “If it’s somewhere nicer, Nana promised we can raid her suitcase.”
“Absolutely,” Nana agreed, hanging some of her things. Most of her wardrobe was a little more mature than I’d ever worn, but she always looked nice.
I looked down at my worn jeans and stained t-shirt. Ugh. Clothes kept you from being naked and cold; I hadn’t thought about them any further than that. How had I not noticed? I looked at Luke.
“How can you—”
“What you wear doesn’t matter. You are beautiful,” he said, leaning in to place a tender kiss on my forehead. “Your clothes just help hide it from all the other guys out there.”
Smiling, I shook my head at him. Possessive creatures.
****
Four hours later, Gabby and I sat in the car with a very mulish Luke, and stoic Clay. To me Clay didn’t act much different, but Gabby kept glancing at him and telling him to calm down. When she’d found out Peace was at a club, she’d insisted that we change since we needed to look like we fit in.
Nana agreed and took us both on an impromptu shopping trip that had me twitching. I didn’t mind shopping. In fact, I used to love to go clothes shopping. Before the dreams. Before Urbat started hunting us. Before I had a mission to bring us all together. Now, however, the time we spent shopping and being in the open troubled me. When we walked out of the store, I sighed in relief. We had made it through without incident. And I had new clean clothes.
Initially, Nana and Gabby had gravitated toward cute little party dresses that were sure to make a man’s eyes melt and his tongue swell, but I’d flat out refused. If we were caught between an Urbat and Peace, I wanted to be able to run. Who ran in heels and a skirt? The movie extras that always died first! I did not want to be an extra. Neither woman could argue with my logic.
In our bags of purchased items, we both had stylish new jeans—mine hugged my thin frame in a sexy way rather than a sickly way—and very gossamer tops to go over low cut camis. Gabby went with pink over a red top, and I went with blue over a green top. My eyes stood out even more with the color combination. I even purchased makeup, surprising both Nana and Gabby that I knew how to use it. To me it was just a depressing reminder that I used to have a frivolous life. Now I had a life worth living.
Luke shifted uncomfortably beside me. He wore his own jeans and a shirt he’d borrowed from Sam. I couldn’t believe how trendy Sam dressed.
When I’d stepped out of the bathroom dressed for our encounter with Peace, Luke hadn’t said a word. He moved toward me, then did a slow walk around me. He’d whispered words to melt my heart.
“I can’t believe you’re mine.”
However, he ruined it by telling me to go back and change. I squeezed his hand and gave him a quick smile. He frowned at me, his eyes dropped to my top.
“Ready?” I asked the group. Carlos and Grey were up front waiting for Gabby and me to give the word.
“She’s still in there,” Gabby confirmed.
“Let’s go,” I said with a deep breath. I struggled to contain my excitement. Five of us together again. My last memory of that was tainted with blood and battle. I hoped for more from this life.
Luke opened the door and extended a hand to help me out. Though I’d won the argument about the dresses, Gabby and I still wore trendy shoes instead of the sneakers I would have preferred. It gave me a few extra inches, which I liked when standing face to face with Luke. I gave him a quick kiss and moved out of the way so he could shut the door.
The neighborhood wasn’t the best. A few blocks back we’d passed a burned-out car on the side of the road. There was no parking other than street parking. Bottles littered the sidewalk. Gabby gave me a worried glance. I didn’t like it either but stepped forward anyway. I wouldn’t leave until we at least met Peace.
Our low heels clicked in unison as we marched toward the club. The red door set in the brick wall of the building marked the entrance. There were no windows on the first level that I could see. I had my fake ID all ready to get in, but the door was unmanned. I began to wonder if the place was even licensed.
Luke made a small sound of disgust as he opened the door. The reek of stale booze and smoke rolled out toward us. Grey, the first one in the group, stepped in with a resigned look. I appreciated that I did not have their heightened senses as I followed. Luke held the door open for a moment longer than necessary trying to let in some fresh air, then followed the rest of us in.
A band played at one end, a mix of emo and rock. A small crowd stood in front of them dancing. The crowded bar stood opposite. The man there kept asking who was next.
Directly across from the entrance a stage sat behind a floor-to-ceiling wall of chain-link fence. Instead of band equipment, which would make sense, there were various fitness bags anchored to the ceiling off to the sides. In the center of the stage, on a huge mat that spread across the floor, a tall redhead faced off with a mountain of a man. The rest of the crowded room focused on the pair. The man’s bald head glistened with sweat as they danced around each other. Both wore boxing gloves. It looked as if the fight had been going on for a while.
“That’s her,” Gabby said unnecessarily.
I knew her at first sight. Her rage boiled in her eyes. I was about to agree and suggest we wait at the bar, but Carlos was already pushing his way toward the fence, his skin rippling dangerously. I didn’t care how drunk or high these people were, they were bound to notice.
I heard Grey swear and try to pull Carlos back. Carlos shook him off like it was nothing. That wasn’t supposed to happen with an Elder.
On the stage, Peace ducked under a punch and came back with an uppercut to the man’s jaw. The crowd groaned, but it was a good-natured groan. The man staggered back and shook his head. Carlos had reached the cage by then and paced back and forth in front of it, barely containing the beast.
Peace caught the movement and glanced at Carlos. Her opponent took that opportunity to swing. It connected hard, snapping her head back with the blow. This time the crowd booed, but I could barely hear it over Carlos’ rage filled howl. He burst into his fur—in front of everyone—and crashed against the metal.
The wires bent inward, molding to the shape of his head and shoulder. A few of the brackets mounting the fence to the floor gave way. The fight on the stage stopped as the two stared at the huge beast attacking the fence. Peace looked stunned, but her opponent just stood there placidly.
“Clay, Luke,” I gasped. “What do we do?” We needed to stop him. He was going to wreck everything. We needed Peace to accept us. We needed our first exposure to her and the world to be nice. “Watch for people taking video or pictures,” I shouted.
Clay reached out an arm without moving, or taking his eyes off Carlos, and crushed a phone in someone’s hand. Luke did the same but started working his way through the crowd, pulling me with him. People barely noticed us weaving our way through them. They were completely focused on the stage. So was I.
With a roar, Carlos charged again. Brackets popped free from the ceiling with a ping. The fence barely held on.
Peace’s eyes rounded, and she took off through a side door behind the fence. Carlos’ massive head swung in that direction. He paused for a moment, listened, then he took off with so much force, his claws left trenches in the wood floor.
As if that were the signal, the crowd came alive with panic and fear. Everyone flooded toward the exit. Luke wrapped his arms around me to protect me from being trampled. Clay had Gabby pinned to the wall by the door.
When the bar emptied, and the four of us stood alone with the buzz of an overturned speaker to keep us company, I met Gabby’s eyes.
“What the hell was that?” I said in shock.
*****
From the Author
Thank you for reading (Un)wise , the first book in the Judgement of the Six series! Clay and Gabby are the first of six couples in this interconnecting series. That means, even though you’re going to meet some new people in the next book, we aren’t done with Clay and Gabby yet!
The series continues with. Brace yourself!
230. Unbidden (Judgement, Book 4)
Charlene has more power than she knows and all the strength that the werewolves need. But first, she needs to claim one of the werewolves as her own.(Judgement of the Six, Book 4)
360. Dis)content (Judgement, Book 5)
An emotional syphon, Isabelle deals the best way she can — with her fists. When a werewolf comes crashing through friend’s bar, Isabelle is forced into a game she doesn’t want to play with new friends she doesn’t really like. (Judgement of the Six, Book 5)
Of course, I’ll continue to write more great novels myself, and if you enjoyed this one, I really hope you’ll follow this fiction platform for more great books!