As I rode with Grey in the SUV, he kept me apprised of the conversation in the other car.
She’s asking about werewolves and Urbat. What we are. What we can do. Things like that.
Good. She was finally paying attention to us and not just tagging along.
Now she wants to know if she’s supposed to be your Mate?
I glanced at Grey when he remained silent.
And? I sent.
Grey started laughing.
Isabelle is asking Winifred why you had her run? When did you manage that?
After she made you all high. She was too drunk to spar.
Right. And, it had nothing to do with a little bit of chase the tail.
I didn’t respond. It had everything to do with that, and I didn’t regret a thing.
Grey’s amusement slowly started to fade as we drove. A few minutes later, Thomas signaled and pulled to the shoulder. Winifred and Jim did the same.
“What’s going on?” I asked Grey.
He shook his head and opened the door. Isabelle was just opening her door as I got out. She looked a little pale again.
“I’m fine,” she said as I approached.
“Why did we stop?” I asked.
Winifred answered.
“Isabelle wants to find a lone Urbat. She needs to figure out how she released her emotions yesterday and can’t do it with us around.”
“Alone?” Sam said.
I studied Isabelle as she watched me for a reaction. I understood why this was important to her, but I wouldn’t let her face one of them alone.
“Isolated. Not alone,” Isabelle said.
“It’s not up for debate,” Bethi said. “If she doesn’t learn how to do this, the next time she overloads, she could kill herself.”
I fisted my hands at the memory of what had almost happened.
“How does the route look?” Sam asked Gabby.
“Clear. It’s been clear since we left. Although, one of the Urbat came near the hotel last night then left again. Since then, none of them have moved.”
“It’s bugging me that they’ve backed off like that,” Bethi said. “They don’t back off. They fight.”
“Maybe what Isabelle did scared them,” Winifred said.
Bethi seemed to consider it, then slowly shook her head.
“I think there’s something more to their actions.”
“We need to find out what,” Isabelle said, agreeing with her. “Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.”
“What do you mean?” Bethi asked, looking at Isabelle.
“They are obviously trying to steer us north, right? So, let’s go west and see what happens. As soon as we find an Urbat, we’ll stop, and I’ll say hi. Maybe the lucky guy will be able to shed some light on why they want us to go north. If not, I’ll still get my chance at figuring out my newest trick.”
“What exactly do you mean by isolated?” Grey asked.
“You just need to be far enough away that when I pull or push emotions, you won’t be in the blast zone,” Isabelle said.
Grey nodded and looked at Winifred and Sam.
“If the rest of you stay back by the vehicles, Carlos and I can walk Isabelle as close as possible. Then, she can go the rest of the way on her own. Gabby and Sam can keep Carlos and me informed of any movement. We’ll be close enough to protect her if need be, and the rest of you will be far enough away to stay safe.”
Once the plan was settled, we took some time to practice. Emmitt was getting better at trusting the circle to protect Michelle and his mom. The three in the middle were working together seamlessly to announce the fight. But it wouldn’t be enough. I glanced at Isabelle and knew she saw the same thing. We paired off for the last few minutes and sparred. However, we had to stop before the tension left her shoulders.
“No more riding with Bethi,” I said.
“Agreed.”
We returned to our prior driving arrangement, and Isabelle sighed as soon as she slid into her seat. I closed the door and got in behind the wheel. She didn’t make conversation, which I found a peaceful break from Grey’s usual talking. As if sensing I’d thought of him, he reached out to me.
Michelle’s been working with her lawyer since we agreed to head to New York. He thinks he found us a place to stay that will be more isolated for Isabelle.
Good. She’ll need it. Tell Michelle thank you.
I was back to silence. I didn’t mind. The quiet ride felt normal. Comfortable. Until Isabelle unbuckled and knelt on her seat.
“Isabelle, that’s not safe.”
I meant riding without a seatbelt, but when I glanced at her backside, my reasons changed. The generous curve of her hips and the stretch of her black exercise pants made my mouth water and my canines lengthen.
“Not feeding me isn’t safe,” she said. “I’d hate for you to lose an arm because I’m hungry.”
I’d lose an arm if I reached out like I really wanted to.
She turned, settled back into her seat, and set the to-go box on her lap before buckling again.
“See, nothing to it.”
I couldn’t speak yet.
With a grin, she opened the box. She paused when she saw the simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“You’re welcome, Isabelle.”
Was she starting to see? I would do anything for her. Anything but leave her alone.
“This pull won’t go away, will it?” she asked, giving me hope.
“No.”
She nodded slowly.
“I don’t do relationships. It’s not just to protect the guy, you know. It’s to protect me, too. I don’t want to spend my life hitting the people who mean something to me.”
“Maybe you’ll feel differently when you learn how to release what you pull in.”
She ate the sandwich in silence then turned to look at me.
“And maybe I’ll be so overcome by my awesome new skill that I’ll bite you.”
I gripped the steering wheel until it crackled. The scent of her amusement floated around me, and from the corner of my eye, I saw her sexy grin. She was teasing me. As a Mate.
I needed a distraction.
Tell me about the place we’ll be staying, I sent Grey.
Then, I cleared my throat and repeated his brief description.
“Michelle found a place in New York already,” I said. “Three apartments in a secured building. Bethi is arguing that you need better isolation.”
“It’s New York. How isolated does she think she can get me? Tell her to stop worrying.”
“Will it be too much?” I glanced at her.
“It will be what it will be. We need to expose the Urbat, and everyone agreed New York is the place to do it. So, we have to go there. But, this side trip will be helpful. If I can master pushing out the emotions, pulling won’t be an issue anymore.”
We drove west for almost an hour before Grey told me Gabby had found what we needed. We pulled over, and everyone got out to stretch.
“He’s about a mile up the road,” Gabby said as she walked toward Isabelle.
“He?” Isabelle said.
“Just a guess,” Gabby said. “They’ve all been men so far. I figured the Urbat are just as hard up for females as these guys are.”
Gabby’s observation hit me hard. Was that why they’d taken my sister?
“I’ll keep an eye on things from here,” she continued, “and report any movement to Sam. Sam will keep Grey and Carlos informed.”
“Ready for a country stroll?” Isabelle asked, looking at me and Grey, who’d joined us.
“Lead the way,” Grey said.
We started walking down the road, away from the group.
“I want you to stay as far back as possible, Grey.”
“You have my word,” he said.
She didn’t try to tell me to stay behind. Ahead, I spotted someone jogging in the center of the road.
“Gabby says there’s movement north and south. Reinforcements,” Grey said. “We’ll only have a few minutes.”
We picked up our pace, running. The mutt coming toward us seemed to do the same. When he stopped advancing, so did Grey. Isabelle and I kept going. Less than thirty yards away, he crossed his arms.
“I won’t let you pass,” he called.
“I’m not here to try to get past you,” Isabelle said, slowing to a walk. I felt the moment she started to pull. It was a slight nudge against my wall.
“Here for some more fun, human-lover?” the mutt said.
“No. I’m here to see how many more of you I can kill before I die.”
The mongrel’s humor faded.
The others are turning back, Grey sent me.
“The others are turning back,” I repeated for Isabelle’s benefit.
“Your friends don’t want to come and play?” she said with mocking disbelief. “Why not? What are you and your kind afraid of?”
I could smell his anger from here. When Isabelle inhaled deeply, I didn’t need the nudge to know what she was doing. He didn’t seem to notice, though.
“Nothing. Certainly not a little bitch like you.”
Isabelle laughed a moment before my emotions crashed against the wall. It wasn’t his words that caused the collision, but her ability. She was pulling hard. And in the next instant, she pushed just as hard. Without the wall, I would have fallen on my knees to hold my head just like the male before us.