Our relaxing weekend came to an abrupt halt a few hours later. We were up at the crack of dawn, getting ready for the trip. The twins had planned ahead and already packed a suitcase for each of us.
Ethan had this uncanny ability to pop right out of bed and head for the shower, while Kieran trudged down to the kitchen behind me, drawn by the scent of caffeine. Two cups later, I no longer felt so cold and bleary. I left Kieran to finish his own coffee and joined Ethan in the shower.
“You nervous, doll?” Ethan asked, kneading shampoo into my scalp while I leaned helplessly against him.
“Mm, just a bit,” I replied, sighing as he stopped to let me rinse. My throat clenched momentarily, the words heavy. “I don’t want anyone dying for me.”
Ethan knew what I was talking about. They had also considered the worst possible outcomes and what they might mean for us. War was a very strong possibility.
“It’s more than just keeping you safe now. We could actually change things,” Ethan said softly, massaging conditioner into the ends of my hair. “White wolves have been hunted and possibly enslaved for hundreds of years. There’s never been a pack big enough to make a difference against the High Table. If war comes, the deaths won’t be on your shoulders.”
Ethan was right, but that didn’t change the loss-the lives that would be snuffed out. I had gone from worrying about my next meal to the threat of oncoming war.
“You’re right, things do need to change,” I nodded, thinking of the white wolves that were kept alive. I had more questions than answers, but knew that a life in slavery is not a life at all. No matter how they were treated, they deserved control over their lives. “We’ll do everything we can to avoid war, right?”
“Of course we will.” Ethan snorted, swatting my fingers away as I started scratching the healing mark on my neck. The two marks already had a thin film of skin on them, and a dark pattern beneath its surface. They were sensitive to the touch, mostly to the twins’ touches, and were horribly itchy.
Ethan held my fingers in his grip and shook his head, “Don’t scratch them, doll.”
An hour later, we were out the door, nestled in the sedan that had brought us to the cabin. I grumbled a bit over my plain breakfast-a few protein bars and an apple. Two days of the twins’ extravagant breakfasts had me hooked. They were spoiling me, and I didn’t care to stop it.
“What’s the plan again?” I asked for what was possibly the seventh time. I wanted to memorize every step, every detail from here to there. Maybe I wanted some semblance of control, especially now that my rights were quite literally in the process of being taken away.
“You’re worrying,” Ethan frowned, locking eyes with Kieran through the rearview mirror.
Before I had time to respond, Ethan was unhooking my seatbelt and pulling me into the back. I landed on his lap with a squeal and blushed as his member stirred beneath me.
Now that we were all marked, the twins could feel my emotions. The marks weren’t healed yet, but the connection seemed strong enough. The two of them had been incredibly attentive this morning, influenced by the pull of my emotions. If I were feeling frustrated or angry, one of the twins seemed to materialize beside me. That hadn’t changed in the few hours we’d been driving. It was nice, having someone feel my emotions for a change.
Ethan wrapped his arms around my torso and held me close while Kieran recounted the plan with seemingly limitless patience.
“We’re taking this car to the outskirts of Sebastian’s pack. Once we hit neutral territory, we’ll meet up with Kat and the security detail. Our parents, Williams, and Sebastian will be traveling with another security party an hour or two back,” Kieran explained, his eyes glued to the road. His next words were what I was really worried about. “It’s not ideal, but we’ll be staying at a hotel in neutral territory. After a few hours’ rest, we’ll be on the road again.”
Neutral territory was land that belonged to humans-or better, fighting grounds for werewolves’ wars. No Alpha wanted to damage their own land in the middle of war, so why not use unoccupied land? Unoccupied, as in there were no werewolves living there, only humans.
“Neutral territory can be incredibly dangerous. We have no choice but to rest there tonight. We’ll keep it short and safe. We’ve purchased an entire floor of the hotel, and there will be guards posted at every stairwell and elevator,” Ethan continued from what his brother had been saying. “There are rogues and the occasional bounty hunter that reside within neutral territory.”
“Why would werewolves need bounty hunters?” I asked Ethan, settling into the heat of his arms. Nothing could touch me when I was being held by one of my twins. The anxiety I had been feeling was washed away by all that was Ethan.
“Not all werewolves like following the High Table. Sometimes important werewolves escape by moving into neutral territory. They can live undetected as a rogue,” Ethan murmured, becoming distracted as he traced the edges of my lips with his thumb.
What I was going to say next fizzled in my mind when Ethan brought his lips down on my own. The rough pads of his fingers pressed into my face as he held my jaw, leaving me defenseless as he grasped my lower lip in between his teeth.
“It’s so easy to work you up, doll,” Ethan mumbled against my lips, pulling away from me with a laugh.
The scent of my arousal had filled the sedan, light like dew-soaked petals. I swallowed thickly and pulled myself together. Locking eyes with Kieran through the rearview mirror, I grinned sheepishly.
“Sorry, Kieran.”
Kieran looked back at Ethan and nodded, “You have three hours, then you’re driving.”
“Deal.” Ethan grinned, making me roll my eyes.
“Not happening, not for either of you,” I snorted, sliding off Ethan’s lap and into the seat beside him. Ten minutes into my self-imposed bet, my willpower snapped and crumbled. I would’ve thought having sex in a car would be awkward, more clumsy than normal. There was something arousing about teasing Kieran, watching his knuckles turn white on the steering wheel and the material of his pants strain.
Three hours later, we stopped at a gas station so the twins could switch places. Kieran practically tackled me, laying me back on the seats of the sedan. The heavily tinted windows provided all the privacy we needed, though Ethan had a front-row seat to the show.
“Well-that’s one way to take my mind off things,” I commented with a huff. Morning quickly turned into afternoon. The soreness in my legs and backside was a testament to how long we had been driving. The twins seemed to have an endless bladder and groaned when I needed to pee after an hour and a half.
“Not all of us can just pull it out of our pants,” I snapped half-heartedly at the two of them.
I knew the moment we entered neutral territory because the twins had grown utterly silent. It was almost dark now, and each shadow on the shoulder of the road spooked me. I saw assassins in the dark, peons of the High Table sent to rob me of my life. Ethan called the head of our security team and remained on the phone with him until we arrived at the meet-up point.
We all met in the parking lot of a closed-down truck stop. Across the street was the new and improved version. Cars filled the regular lots, and semi-trucks filled the remaining spaces. In the abandoned truck stop where we parked, there was no one in sight. Within an hour, five other blacked-out sedans arrived in the parking lot. We all sat near one another, and I nearly jumped from the vehicle when I saw a flash of red curls.
Kat was getting out of one of the sedans, a security guard holding the door as she emerged.
“She’s riding with us,” Ethan smiled through the rearview. “Figured you could use the extra support.”
“I appreciate that,” I said sincerely, thankful for Kat’s fearless presence.
“Can you believe how creepy this place is?” Kat scoffed, climbing into the back seat of the sedan.
Kieran took a seat in the passenger while Ethan pulled out of the unused parking lot. We sandwiched ourselves between two other sedans. I couldn’t help but feel like the president or some kind of royalty. We had our own protection detail tailing us on the road, standing at the doors to our bedrooms, and watching out for threats.
It was one in the morning now, and we had been traveling with the security team around us for two hours. My eyelids felt as though they were attached to weights. I couldn’t understand why I was so tired when I had spent the day sitting down. Sitting in a car all day really drained your energy.
Ethan woke me from my nap as we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel. It was much more extravagant than what I was used to. I had stayed in motels with Lauren a few times and didn’t particularly care to drum up the memories. This hotel had a restaurant and a club inside, both on the bottom level. Valet drivers crowded the street outside. The soulful singing of a performer sounded from the busy club. Kieran booked the entire top floor for us and our security team. The team would take turns standing at the entrances and exits. I couldn’t help but wonder if I actually needed this kind of protection-I certainly hoped I wasn’t in any imminent danger.
I fell face-first into one of the plushest beds ever made and was nearly asleep right then and there. Ethan had to lift me from the bed to get me to move, and I might’ve fought him on that for a few seconds.
Kat was staying in the room directly across from us. She was the only one who had an entire room to herself. Even Williams and Sebastian had to share, a feat I still think is impossible for the two of them.
I curled up between Ethan and Kieran, falling asleep as Kieran’s fingers traced patterns up my spine and Ethan’s cheek fell against my head. I, along with the twins, snapped out of sleep when a rapid knock sounded on the door, followed by Kat’s frightened voice.