I watched a drop of his blood fall to the asphalt.
“Tell Blake I’m coming for him,” Isabelle said angrily.
“He’s counting on it.” The man spat red.
“I doubt he’s counting on what I’m going to do to him.”
The mutt grinned.
“Blake’s got far worse planned for you,” his gaze flicked to me, “and a few others in your group.”
He was baiting her. When she tried to step forward, I put a restraining hand on her shoulder.
“You know what you need?” she said. “Obedience training. When I’m finished with you, you’ll be fetching my paper.”
She pulled hard again. This time, with my hand on her, I felt my wall start to crack. The pup grunted and wavered.
“Do you like how that feels? Mmm, your fear is delicious. I like the taste of coward.”
His anger spiked, and she pulled again. A surge of old resentment slipped from behind the wall as the man slumped to the ground. I released Isabelle and struggled to pull my emotion back in time. Too late, I felt it touch the other link in my mind. A trace of sorrow drifted back to me. It felt weak and weary. And it worried me. We needed to get to New York and end the Urbat attack on us.
Isabelle, free of my hold, stalked toward the male. Though his face rested against the asphalt, his eyes tracked her progress. She squatted beside him and poked his forehead.
“Don’t threaten what’s mine.”
“When we’re done with you,” he slurred, “you’ll have nothing.” He laughed.
“Night,” Isabelle said before standing and kicking him in the face. His eyes rolled back and closed.
She still held what she’d pulled.
“Isabelle?”
With a frown, she turned to me.
“Get rid of it,” I said.
She ignored me and started walking. I was about to stop her when she waved for Grey to move further away.
They’re moving our way again. We need to hurry.
She needs to release what she gained. I think she doesn’t want to kill him.
Once she was an equal distance between the fallen man and Grey, she glanced at me.
“Do it,” I said.
She held my gaze and pushed. I hadn’t had time to rebuild the wall and felt it weaken further.
“Did you feel that?”
“No,” I lied. “There are others coming this way. We need to run.”
She ran toward the vehicles, and I kept pace. All the engines were running, and Winifred was behind the wheel of our vehicle.
“Kicked the hornet’s nest, did I?” Isabelle said as she got into the backseat. I joined her.
“Not too badly,” Winifred said as I closed the door. “There are only a few headed this way.” She turned the car around, and we followed the other cars back the way we’d come.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“Fine. Let Bethi know it worked.”
Winifred nodded.
Isabelle’s satisfaction faded the longer we drove. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably and made a face when Thomas’s car signaled for a fast food restaurant for dinner. Winifred caught it, too.
“We need to stay ahead of them or we would stop for something better,” she said.
Isabelle didn’t seem to hear in her rush for the bathroom.
Back on the road, she ate her burger without complaint and shared some fries with me. Sitting in the back seat with her was pleasant. For me. She was restless and moved around a lot. I wasn’t entirely sure she was aware of how often she leaned against me.
Several times she asked how much longer until we arrived at a hotel. Winifred’s answers didn’t please her.
After our run-in with the Urbat, their numbers remained a beehive of activity with many leaving their posts to follow us north. Though Bethi felt more assured by the response to our test, no one else did.
“Seriously, are we there yet?” Isabelle asked. It was close to two in the morning. Her head fell back against the seat in a defeated slump.
“Almost,” Winifred said.
We pulled into a motel parking lot a few minutes later. The place looked run down with a flickering neon light and weathered exterior room doors that needed a coat of paint.
“I changed my mind,” Isabelle said, looking out the window. “Let’s drive all night.”
“Gabby needs a break. She said this area’s been clear for a while.”
“Gee, I wonder why,” Isabelle mumbled as she opened her door.
She stayed close as I took our bags from the trunk before moving to join the others.
“Not that I expect five star hotels or anything, but a single star would be better than this.”
“We’ll be safe,” I said.
She looked up at me. “From the Urbat, yes. But I bet there’s a lot nastier stuff crawling around in those rooms.
“Come on.” I led her toward the decrepit office where the rest were just coming out with keys.
“The rooms only have one bed each,” Emmitt said as he held up a fistful of old-fashioned keys.
I took a key and studied Isabelle. She had liked sleeping beside me last night even though she wouldn’t admit it. And she’d clarified her stance on being my Mate. She was afraid and wasn’t ready. Did that mean she would fight sharing a room?
“Well, come on, snuggle buddy,” she said, putting my mind at ease. “You can protect me from everything that skitters away when the lights go on.”
We walked to our room, and I unlocked the door. She peered in as I turned on the light. The inside was better. The room smelled fresh, was bright, and looked clean.
“Thank God!” She strode into the room and flopped onto the bed.
I set our bags on the table and unpacked our toiletries. She didn’t move the entire time, and I realized she’d fallen asleep. Easing off her shoes and socks, I made her more comfortable and tucked her under the covers.
Her peaceful expression tempted me to crawl in bed with her. Instead, I showered first. Dressed in only my gym shorts, I lay on top of the covers beside her and pulled her close. She settled in with a sigh.
I slept a few hours until she rolled away. Without her pressed against me, I felt restless. I reached out and tangled my fingers in her loose hair. It helped. Feeling connected again, I closed my eyes. We stayed like that until well after the sun rose.
Her breathing changed a moment before her pulse spiked, and she jumped slightly beside me.
I kept my eyes closed, hoping she’d come closer for comfort if she thought me asleep. She didn’t, though. She stayed so still that I rubbed her hair between my fingers to be sure she was still there.
As if that was a sign, she rolled toward me. She wore grief like a human perfume, covering her natural scent. Since Ethan’s death, those brief moments when I’d smelled something else from her had never lasted long. Her sadness ate at me. When would it end? When would she be allowed to find her own happiness? From what I knew of her, she’d never had any.
“I dreamt of Ethan last night,” she said softly.
I opened my eyes and met her gaze.
“I’m sorry he’s gone.”
“Why? You didn’t like him.”
“No, I didn’t. But you did. And I see how much it hurts you. I would do anything, even put up with another man in your life, to erase the pain I see.”
She frowned slightly, unwilling to accept my honesty.
“Maybe that’s why he came to you last night. Maybe he was telling you he’s okay,” I said.
“No.” She shook her head. “He was letting me know he’s still waiting for me. He’ll be there on the other side, ready to hold my hand.”
If he was, he was being unkind.
“I won’t leave you like he did,” I said.
She scowled at me and got out of bed.
“Given a choice,” she said, rifling through her bag, “Ethan would have stayed with me.”
I moved to stand behind her and set my hand on her shoulder.
“Let him go.”
“How?” She whirled on me, angry. But she didn’t attack. She studied me and slowly the heat in her eyes changed.
I stepped closer and held her upper arms. Her breath caught. Slowly, I drew her to me until she pressed against my skin. I shuddered at the contact. It was different when she was awake. Different when her scent lost some of its grief and showed her desire.
Her hands lifted between us and pressed against my chest. She looked up at me, her lips invitingly parted. I rubbed her arms as I imagined how she would taste.
Her pulse leapt again.
“Aren’t you supposed to say some stupidly sappy thing to win me over first?” Her breathless words spurred me to try.
“I could tell you I’d die for you,” I said. “But that would be cruel. I would never leave you alone like that. I’d rather die with you. So, even at the end, we’re still together. Do you understand? I don’t just want to be with you. I want to be with you forever.”
I lifted a hand to stroke her cheek.
“He may be waiting for you on the other side, but I’m here… right now… waiting for you.”
Giving her time, I slowly bent toward her. My own heart hammered in my chest at the sudden burst of desire in her scent.
She ducked down, hiding her lips from me.
“I know you’re waiting. And my answer hasn’t changed. I can’t.”
“I’ll still be here, waiting, when you can,” I said softly.
I pressed my lips to her forehead then left the room. Outside, I shook. Anger boiled behind the wall. Anger at Ethan. At fate for messing up what should have been amazing but was instead torture. At Isabelle.
It was that anger that had me turning around and going back into the room with determination. We needed to talk this through. However, the bathroom door was closed, and the shower was running.
Frustrated, I put on a shirt and my shoes then left again. I needed to take a run and calm down before we spoke, or I’d end up losing control again.
With a last look at our motel door, I ran toward the woods.