For the next twenty minutes, I gently blocked her moves so the healing skin on her knuckles didn’t split again. By the time she finally stepped back, she seemed calmer. The sorrow was still there, but some of the tightness in her shoulders was gone.
I followed her back to the room and waited as she closed herself in the bathroom. She cried quietly while the shower ran. I hated the sound of her tears and sat at the end of the bed.
When she came out, she hesitated at the sight of me.
“Sorry. Was I hogging the bathroom?” she asked as she pulled the towel from her hair.
“No.”
The hot water had brought some color back to her skin and seemed to erase some of the damage. Especially on her shins, from what I could see. She looked less bruised.
“Get a good look?” she asked.
“For now.”
Something in her gaze changed. I stood and moved close so I could inhale her scent. Interest and panic. The interest gave me hope that we’d be okay, eventually. The panic told me she needed some space again.
“Two thirty-seven. Don’t be late,” I said, then turned and walked out the door.
The Elders where in the room already talking to Bethi. Luke leaned against a wall, listening.
“What more do you need?” Bethi asked, clearly upset. “You’ve seen how we work together. We’re set up to die. Only it won’t be us. It will be all of you trying to defend us. Luke says you’re here to protect your race; and I’m telling you if we don’t make this Judgement, the world will burn. The dreams are starting to repeat. The message isn’t changing. The Urbat can’t be allowed to win this one. We need to do anything and everything we can to stop it.”
“We understand what you’re saying,” Winifred started.
“Obviously not or you wouldn’t still be hesitating. He died, Winifred, because you didn’t call for help. We will all die if you don’t start listening.”
Regret pulled Winifred’s features, and Sam frowned at Bethi. She was right, though. Ethan died because we’d been outnumbered. However, had we called for help, it likely would have been one or more of our own kind dead.
Charlene and Thomas walked into the room with Michelle, Emmitt, and Jim.
“Change doesn’t come easy,” Charlene said, apparently having heard Bethi’s last comment. She and Michelle sat on one of the beds.
“Yeah? Well, death does. It comes easy for all of us. Have I been wrong yet? Everything I’ve told you has been right. I knew more than any of you. I’m right about this. The werewolves need to come forward. Your race needs the world on your side. The time for living in the shadows is done.”
The room broke into several separate conversations at once. Fear prevented everyone from agreeing. What Bethi was asking was beyond life changing. It would change the future of the world. It wasn’t just what would happen to us or the Urbat, but what would happen to the humans when they realized they weren’t the top of the food chain. I could see in Charlene’s eyes; she understood.
Isabelle walked into the room a while later, and I turned and studied her. Her cheeks were still flushed and her lips rosy. Need gathered in my gut. Before I could decide what to do about it, Bethi stood and pulled Isabelle into the hall. The door stayed open, and the conversation in the room quieted.
“How are you doing?” Bethi asked.
“Fine.”
Bethi made a sound of disbelief.
“You’re still bouncing between numb and angry. Numb might seem like it’s better, but it’s not. Not for you. You need to be angry, Isabelle. Very angry.”
Luke glanced at me. No male wanted their Mate very angry.
“Why?” Isabelle asked.
“Because they aren’t done yet.”
Those ominous words killed the rest of the conversation in the room.
“You can sleep by me tonight if you want,” Isabelle said. That worried me more than Bethi telling her to be angry. Emotions poured from Bethi after her dreams. Being that close to her would hurt Isabelle.
“Not sure how Luke would feel about room sharing. Can you picture Luke spooning with Carlos?”
“Bethi!” Luke said, turning red. The comment didn’t bother me. I was used to such silliness from Grey.
“Luke’s smaller than Carlos. He knows he’d be the spooned, not the spooner,” Isabelle said. I almost smiled at that. It was good to hear humor in her tone.
“If you don’t go out there, I will,” Luke said, looking at me.
I took pity on him and walked out into the hall.
“Hey, Carlos,” Bethi said with good cheer.
“Hello, Bethi. I think Luke would like you to join us again.”
“I’m sure he would. So, can we share a room tonight?”
“Yes.”
Anything to keep the smile that currently curved Isabelle’s lips. It was short lived, though.
“Let’s get inside and get this over with before my skin starts to crawl,” Isabelle said, brushing past us to return to the group. Bethi and I followed.
“All right. We all know what needs to happen. We need to outline a plan and execute it,” Bethi said, moving to sit beside Luke, who looked slightly annoyed.
“Hold up,” Isabelle said. “Can you recap for me?”
“Sure. We need to stop Blake from coming after us or, at least, make it really hard for him. When I started having the dreams of our past lives, I ran. I was terrified the Urbat would find me. They had destroyed me in so many ways in so many lives, I was sure there was nowhere safe from them.
“Then, I realized something. In this life, they couldn’t just come for me directly. They had to be careful. Why? Because humans outnumber them. For all the strength the Urbat and werewolves have, it is nothing compared to the collective strength of humanity. We need to use the Urbat’s fear of exposure to our advantage.
“By exposing the two races publicly, the Urbat won’t be able to move as freely,” Bethi summarized.
“Correct. They will be hunted,” Winifred said. “And so will we.”
Bethi turned to face Winifred. “What other option do we have?”
“I’m not refuting your plan, only stating the truth. Our lives will be in greater danger afterward.”
The room fell silent.
“You guys have remained hidden for how long? Why do you think public awareness will make it more difficult to hide?” Isabelle asked. “You look human. You blend.”
“The plan is that Winifred will be exposing herself on TV. Her face will be all over the place. So will anyone who goes with her,” Bethi said.
“No,” Charlene said. “We all go. I don’t want to split the group for this. I think that would be bad. I can make people forget the rest of our faces. Just not Winifred’s once it’s broadcast.”
“I’ll be fine,” Winifred said. “I’m more worried about the rest of our people.”
“They should be fine as long as they keep blending in,” Bethi said. “The point of this meeting is to decide which station and then how to get on the air because I doubt anyone will take us seriously if we just walk up and tell them the truth. Plus, we need to figure out our route. According to Gabby, the way north is perfectly clear.”
“They’ve pulled back but are still following us at a distance,” Gabby said. “Occasionally, one will get close, almost as if verifying our location, and then retreat. All netting movement has stopped. There’s a wall of Urbat to the west two states long. The same to the east. It’s as if we’re in an almost empty alley.”
“Almost?”
“There are still clusters of them. It took me a bit to figure it out, but I’m pretty sure they’re guarding the airports, train stations, and bus stations between here and New York.”
“We need to decide,” Bethi said again. “What station?”
Charlene picked up the remote. “We don’t watch TV often. I wouldn’t even be able to tell you what our local stations are back home.”
She started to surf through channels, pausing at anything that looked like a talk show or morning news.
“Any suggestions on how we can get someone to talk to us once we pick a station?” Bethi asked, looking around the room.
“When I called the local news station, they agreed to send out a reporter after I said I had money and wanted to donate it,” Michelle said.
“That could work,” Bethi said, looking excited.
“No,” Charlene said. “I’ve got something better.” She was staring at the newswoman speaking on TV. Penny Alton was reporting a short, feel good piece about a man who’d saved a kid from a train.
“We’re pushing someone in front of a train?” Isabelle asked.
“I vote Emmitt,” Jim said quickly.
“Cut it out,” Charlene said, giving Jim a censuring look. “I know her. Penny. She wasn’t Alton back then, though. But I recognize her. And I think, no matter what I have to say, she’ll talk to me.” Worry and fear clouded her expression, and Thomas wrapped his arm around Charlene’s shoulder.
“Why?” Isabelle asked.
“She knows what I can do. And she hates me for it,” Charlene said. The scent of her fear spread around the room.
“Is it smart to use her, then?” Winifred asked.
“Yes. Because she will do anything to try to expose me to as many people as she can.”
“Good,” Bethi said. “We have the where and the how. I don’t think we should call her, though, until we reach the city. No sense in giving anyone an advantage.”
“I agree,” Charlene said. She looked pale.
Winifred clapped her hands together.
“Let’s pack up and start moving, then. We have a long way to go. Michelle, perhaps your lawyer can help us find somewhere secure to stay while we’re in New York. Gabby, even though they seem to be hanging back, I want to steer clear of the Urbat.”
Gabby nodded.