Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles Book 3) (13 page)

“
W
hat
?” I asked a little too loudly as I noticed Michelle mouthing something to me through the glass outside my room.

“Shh, keep it down,” she hissed. “Do you want to get us both in trouble?”

“No.” I’d noticed her whisper something to Joseph about ten minutes before, and I hadn’t seen him since. I hadn’t thought too much about it at the time.

She opened the glass and stepped through.

“What’s going on?”

“The girl you care about, is her name Mary Anne?” She closed the glass and looked back out into the empty hallway.

“Yes.” My heart skipped a beat. “Why?” I’d been careful not to mention her name at all. If Michelle was asking about her, it couldn’t be good.

She walked further into the room. “Because I heard she and some of your guys were sent to bring in your brother.”

“What?” Panic flooded my system. Fielding would destroy her if only to hurt me.

“It was some sort of deal with Levi. I’m not even supposed to know about it, but I have connections.” She stepped away from me. I’m sure I didn’t look too friendly.

“A deal? Does he realize how much danger she’s going to be in?”

“My guess is he does, but what the hell do I know?” She shrugged. “I thought you’d want to know.”

“Why?” There had to be something motivating her willingness to share the information. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Because I know you care about the girl.”

“And that matters to you because?” I pressed.

“Because I’m not a heartless bitch.”

“But what good does this information do for me? I’m stuck here.” But not for long. If Mary Anne was at imminent risk, that changed everything. I couldn’t wait any longer.

“Levi was supposed to talk to you first. He didn’t, which means he’s been playing you. I’m not surprised. He’s the king and can do whatever he wants, but this wasn’t because he wanted to play a game. There’s more to it.”

“I’m listening.”

“He’s worried. He’s desperate and for some reason he thought sending them out to get Fielding was the best plan.”

“It’s a crazy plan.” I wouldn’t wish a confrontation with Fielding on my worst enemy. There was no way they could be successful.

“It is, and I have an even crazier one to fix it, but it’s only going to work if you cooperate with me.”

“What does cooperating involve?” I was skeptical of that word. Cooperating hadn’t done me any favors yet.

“Telling me everything else there is to know about Fielding. I need to know everything. What does Levi know that I don’t?”

“There isn’t much to tell.” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I have to get out of here. He’s going to kill her, and he’s going to cause more trouble than Levi can imagine.”

“You said you guys aren’t as bad as we think, but why is Levi going to these lengths to get Fielding, and why in this way? None of it makes sense.” She wore a puzzled expression.

“I said that
we
weren’t that bad. I never defended my brother. Fielding is power hungry and willing to use violence to get what he wants. He’ll destroy The Society if he gets the chance, even if he destroys himself in the process.” Dying as a martyr would be his ideal death. “And as for why Levi is doing this, how would I know? He’s your king.”

“So? I’ve never seen him do something this illogical. He’s putting innocents in danger. That’s not like him.”

“Innocents? As in plural?”

“There’s another human I think.”

“Who?” Mary Anne couldn’t have run back to her family. She wouldn’t have wanted to bring trouble to them.

“I don’t know. Like I said, I heard this second hand. I wasn’t part of the conversation.”

“I’m getting out, and it’s best you get out of here before I do.” I didn’t need to warn her, but she’d come clean to me. I owed her the chance to get lost before I brought things down.

“I’ll help you get Mary Anne, but you’re not getting out.”

“You can’t save her. Fielding would destroy you, if you could even track him down.” I needed to do this on my own. I needed to get to Fielding, and I couldn’t have anyone slowing me down.

“Seriously?” She put a hand on her hip. “Are you even going to go there?”

“I’m not saying your weak, but he’s that strong.”

“If you want help, it’s going to come through me. Did you notice I already got rid of Joseph?”

“That is convenient, but why? What’s in it for you?” There had to be something.

“I don’t like how Levi is running this. My gut was right. He’s underestimating Fielding. Innocents may get hurt, and you told me he might take us down in the process.”

“Yes.”

“But if I brought him in before that happened.” She got a gleam in her eye. “I’d prove myself once and for all.”

“I see. Looking for a promotion.” I could trust her more now that I knew her motivation. She had something personal to gain, but our current interests aligned.

“Is that a bad thing?”

“And what do you suggest we do?” I glanced into the hallway. “How much time do we have? Where’s Joseph?”

“I sent him on an errand, and Logan is on a break for the next hour, and I already told you.
We
aren’t doing anything.
I
am.”

I ignored her insistence for a moment to get to the bottom of my other question. “Why would Joseph listen to you?”

She gave me a sly smile. “He didn’t want me giving an important message to Levi.”

“My guess is there is no message?”

“Oh there was a message, but it wasn’t particularly urgent.”

“We have to get Chet and Marni out. They can help.” I couldn’t leave them behind.

“No way.” She shook her head. “I can’t break any of you out.”

“Then what do you expect me to do?”

“Sit tight after you tell me everything and anything I need to know about your brother.”

“It would be easier if I came.”

“But I’ll lose my job.”

“And you won’t lose your job for revealing Society secrets?” I appealed to her logical side. “Face it, you hate this job. You want another job. This isn’t a company, it’s The Society. You don’t have to follow the rules to get ahead. You have to prove yourself.”

“And your point is?”

“We take down my brother together, and we take the credit together. You get the promotion to the job you actually want, and I get the end of the hunt. We both win.” Apprehending Fielding might be the trick. We were all being punished for his actions. Otherwise we’d be able to come to an agreement.

“Unless you’re bullshitting me and you’re going to run off and screw me over.”

“And still spend my life looking over my shoulder?” I was tired of running. I wasn’t going back to that life.

“Or helping your brother.”

“Look at me.” I ordered. “Do you really think I’m going to help my maniacal brother?” I tried to look as innocent and harmless as possible.

Her eyes zeroed in on the scars across my face. “No.”

“Then get me out of here.” I could do it myself, but I preferred to keep her on my side. Besides, she could help me get Marni and Chet out much easier than I could on my own.

“I’m not getting the others.” She pursed her lips. “Dealing with one Dire is bad enough.”

“I’ll make it look like I escaped while he was out. You can make up some excuse about using the bathroom. Someone will believe it.”

“You will not be doing this by yourself.”

“Then we do it together.”

She seemed to debate with herself. “Do you know where to find him?”

“Not at all, but I know someone who might be able to help.” I had no desire to see the Sabers, but Denny had to be with Mary Anne and Gage. He’d be determined to get Marni out, and he would go to the Sabers first.

“We need to make this look like a prison break. That way if we are caught you can always claim you were chasing me down.”

“There’s no way you could escape from this prison alone. No one would buy it.”

“I could as a Dire.”

“Yeah, but you can’t transform.” She gestured to my arm. “The serum.”

“Don’t worry about that.”

“Uh, what are you telling me?” She wrinkled her brow. “You could have shifted this whole time?”

“That’s exactly what I’m telling you. Wait outside and close the glass.”

“It’s not going to work.” She sounded skeptical, yet appeared almost fearful. She was afraid of me at my full power. The fear was unfounded. I wasn’t going to hurt her.

“It will.”

She stepped outside and raised the glass.

I eagerly welcomed the shift. It had been far too long since I’d been my wolf self. My vision tunneled, and my body pulsed with the limitless power that came with my Dire side.

Michelle’s eyes widened as she watched my transformation. She slowly backed away from the glass.

I waited until she was out of the way before I launched myself at the glass. The firm impact cracked the glass, but not enough. I backed up and tried again. This time the glass shattered as I jumped through.

“You might need these.” Michelle swept up my clothes and ran down the hall. I followed, ignoring Marni and Chet’s yells. I had no time to stop. We had no clue when Logan and Joseph might get back. The time to face Fielding was finally here, and this time I wouldn’t be the one left with scars.

“
W
ow
. That was intense in there.” Genevieve glanced back at the closed door.

“It was necessary. We needed to find Fielding, and we had nowhere else to start.” That was something.

“Let’s hope Jocelyn isn’t sending us on a wild goose chase.” Gage stood right by my side.

“We have to take the chance.”

“We do.” Gage nodded. “Are you up for another long drive?”

“I’ll drive.” Denny walked over to the driver’s side.

“I’m not sure I want to experience anymore of your driving.” Memories of the tight turns and high speeds flooded my mind. “I’ll drive.”

“You hate driving.” Genevieve wrinkled her nose.

“I used to.” I took the keys from Gage’s hand. “But if I’m not afraid of murderous paranormal creatures, surely I should be able to get behind the wheel.” I unlocked the car.

Gage smiled. “I’m taking shot gun.”

“You go for it. The backseat is safer.” Genevieve got in behind me, and Denny went around to the other side.

I sat in the driver’s seat. “Ok, now where are the lights?”

Genevieve groaned. “Oh no.”

“I’ve never driven this car before. Cut me a break.”

“I’ll cut you a break if you get us there in one piece.”

“I was planning on it.”

“Ignore her,” Gage reassured me. “You’ve got this.”

After finding the lights, adjusting my seat and mirrors, and getting the car into reverse, we headed back toward the interstate. “Let the cross country adventures continue.”

“Hey, at least it’s been in the continental U.S. so far. Can you imagine dealing with passports right now?” Gage asked.

“No.” I shook my head. “I’m sure our names would flag the system.”

“We could get fake ones.” Denny’s voice was completely monotone. He was either tired or stressed. Or both.

“From the Sabers right? Isn’t that why we stopped there on the way to New Orleans?” I asked.

“There are other suppliers.” Denny replied with just as much enthusiasm in his voice. He was lost in thought. I was sure he was going through a lot too. He may have been a nomad, but he cared about his pack, and I knew he wasn’t going to relax until everyone was released. Especially Marni. It was easy to forget, but she was his sister. “Could you maybe drive a tiny bit faster?”

“This is killing you, isn’t it?” I didn’t change my speed.

“I wouldn’t use the word killing, but it’s taxing.”

“Taxing, eh?” I teased. “I suppose I could speed up a little.”

“You’re doing fine.” Gage squeezed my leg gently. It was usually my left leg that got the attention because I was in the passenger seat, and my right leg seemed even more sensitive to his touch.

“Don’t distract her, Gage.” Genevieve ordered. “I want to survive this.”

“My driving is not that bad!”

“The way you describe it is.”

“See, that’s the problem. You undersell yourself.” Gage pointed at me.

“Hey, how many times have you teased me about driving while on this trip?”

“Only a few.”

“More like twenty.” I changed lanes.

“Not twenty. Maybe ten.”

I laughed. “No more comments about my driving. I’m going to do a shift and then one of you ‘know it alls’ can take over.”

“Can I put on music or will it distract you?” Gage reached for the radio dial but didn’t touch it.

“You can put it on.”

“Great.” Gage flipped through the stations,

“Stop!” Genevieve yelled.

I slammed on the brakes. Luckily there was no one behind us.

“Not the car! I meant the music.”

“Be clearer next time.” I hit the gas and started to get back up to speed.

“Clear or not, you don’t hit the brakes like that when you’re going seventy miles per hour.”

“First I was going too slow, now it’s too fast.”

“Everyone, let’s be nice.” Gage stopped fooling with the radio. “Is this station okay?”

“It’s fine.” I wasn’t the biggest pop music fan, but the upbeat music would hopefully keep me awake.

I drove for another few hours, trying to get comfortable behind the unfamiliar wheel. My biggest problem with driving was I didn’t do it often. I was going to change that. Just like the gym. Just like living in the moment. My list of life changes was starting to get long. Hopefully I’d have a long life to do them.

I looked out the dirty windshield. Everyone stayed quiet after my hitting the breaks incident, so I was left to my thoughts. I wasn’t sure if that was such a good thing. The Sabers made Fielding sound terrifying. What if he was as bad as they said? But would that be worse than not finding him at all? No. We had to find him. Levi didn’t give us a second option. We were lucky he gave us one. Gage and I were also lucky we weren’t alone. As much as I enjoyed having his company to myself, there was a security in numbers. Both Genevieve and Denny could be helpful in their own ways. Ideally we’d have had Semi to help as well, but I understood why Denny asked him to stay closer to Marni.

“Why do you go to college in Boston if you’re from Florida?” Denny broke the silence to ask Genevieve a question.

She didn’t reply at first, and I wondered if she was sleeping until she answered. “I wanted to get away. Try something new.”

“And was it worth it?” Denny sounded interested in her answer.

“It was cold. Really cold and lonely. I don’t have a lot of friends at school, but then again I didn’t have a lot of friends at home. I’m too different for that.”

“Trust me, I know the feeling, and keeping to yourself isn’t a bad thing.” Denny rolled down his window. I didn’t complain about the noise, and the rush of cool air felt good.

“I don’t keep to myself. I just have a small circle of friends.” Genevieve was more social than I was, although that didn’t say much.

“Same idea.”

“But overall I’m glad I tried it. I met Mary Anne.”

“And you see how great that turned out to be.” I chanced a tiny glance in the rearview mirror.

She smiled. “It is. This isn’t your fault, well aside from you ignoring my advice and getting yourself stuck in the storm to begin with.”

“The storm wasn’t supposed to be that bad.” Gage turned to look at her. “Had I known, we never would have gone.”

“No, it did come fast that night.” Genevieve leaned forward toward the front. “Just as I warned you.”

“That whole night is a blur and feels like a lifetime ago even though I relive it over and over.”

“Me too.” Gage rested his hand back on my leg.

“Anyone want something to drink?” Denny sounded like himself again.

“Uh, I’m driving and someone is going to take over for me soon.”

“You drink a lot.” Genevieve wasn’t much of a drinker, and I wasn’t sure if there was a story behind it.

“It goes with the whole isolationist tendencies.”

“No.” Genevieve shook her head. “It doesn’t have to. Do you see me drinking all the time?”

“It goes, that doesn’t mean it’s required.”

I turned up the music and drowned out their argument in the back.

Gage laughed. “Getting distracted?”

“No, but my blood pressure is rising. I want to stay stress free.”

“Stress free?” He moved his hand to the back of my seat. “Is that possible in our current situation?”

“Probably not, but that doesn’t mean I can’t try.”

“What’s your favorite flower?”

“Is this kind of like the favorite ice cream question?”

“Yes.”

“Lilacs.” I loved them. I’d planted tons of them in my backyard back home.

“Which are those?”

“You haven’t seen them?”

“I may have, but I don’t remember.”

“They’re purple. They come in different shades.”

“Is purple your favorite color?” He watched me as though my answer held some great meaning.

“Purple and yellow.”

“Good choices.”

“Glad they pass your muster. What would have happened if I’d said neon pink?”

He laughed. “Nothing. There is nothing wrong with neon anything.”

“What’s your favorite?”

“Color or flower? Both?”

“Either.” I wanted to know both.

“Blue and I don’t have one.”

“No favorite flower?”

“I’m not really a flower person. I like weeping willow trees though.” He moved his hand and started to run it down my arm.

“Those are very pretty.”

“I always said I’d have one in my yard if I ever got a house.”

“Don’t talk in the past tense.”

“Even if we survive this, you really think I’m getting a house?”

“Of course. You can even have the white picket fence if you want.”

He laughed again. I loved hearing his deep natural laugh. “What about the beautiful wife and two children?”

“Isn’t the average 2.5?”

“But 2.5 is impossible. I don’t want half a baby.”

“Maybe a dog is the .5?”

“You think a dog is worth half a baby?”

“They’re half the work.”

“Have you ever had a puppy?”

“Have you ever had a baby?” I’d done enough babysitting to know they were harder than pets.

“No, but neither have you.”

“Nope, but I’ve babysat plenty.”

“I’ve had dogs. They’re not easy.”

“Easier than people.”

He mumbled something indecipherable under his breath.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“Come on tell me.” I glanced in the rear view mirror. Genevieve and Denny were deep in conversation and not listening.

“Just that I probably won’t keep pets anymore. It isn’t right.”

“Why?”

Gage looked down at his lap. “Because I’m an animal now.”

“No.” I shook my head. “You’re still mostly human.”

“I’m not. I can’t explain it, but I’m not.”

“Can you try?” I needed to know. I needed to understand him.

“Try to explain what it feels like?”

“Yeah. I can’t imagine the experience you are going through.” I wanted to.

“It’s like I have two halves. One is completely new. It’s animalistic, and it constantly wars with my other side. The second is me, but it’s not. That’s the hard part to explain. Even my human side is different.”

“Different how?” I pressed. He hadn’t told me anything about how he felt, and I wanted to know. Maybe it would be good for him to share, and I knew it would be good for me to understand.

“My feelings are more intense, especially certain ones. Like I’m more possessive.”

“Possessive of what?” I assumed I knew the answer, but I wanted to hear it straight from him.

He ran his hand through my hair. “Of you. It’s almost scary.”

“I’ve noticed that a little.”

“Does it bother you?” He continued running his fingers down my arm.

“No.” The answer was an easy one. Usually I stayed away from possessive people, but he wasn’t the typical jerk guy. “I know you care about me, and considering the circumstances it makes complete sense.”

“You mean how I’m fighting with my Alpha for you?”

“You don’t have to fight for me.”

“I’ll always fight for you.”

My heartbeat sped up. “I mean because I’m already yours.”

He let out a deep breath. “It’s amazing to hear you say that.”

“You already knew it.”

“Yes, but it’s different. Every time I hear you say things like that it makes both sides of me happy.”

I wished there was a way to make him understand how strong my feelings for him were. “I’ll keep saying it a lot then.”

“Good.” He smiled.

“You called Hunter your Alpha. Do you view him that way?” I was trying to understand how he felt about the pack.

“I do even though I don’t want to.”

“It’s okay. I’m sure it’s natural.”

“The only natural thing is us.” He returned his hand to my leg.

“I might need a break from driving.” I’d never driven for more than a few hours before.

“That’s fine. I can take over. You’ve been driving for hours.”

“Thanks.” I slowed and moved into the right lane.

“Why are you slowing?” Denny asked from the backseat.

“Because I need a break.”

“I need to use the bathroom anyway,” Genevieve piped in.

“Me too.” Once she said it, I realized I needed to do the same thing.

“And we need gas.” Gage gestured to the fuel gage I’d neglected to check. I was usually on top of those kinds of things.

“Good time for a stop.”

I pulled off at the next exit and found a gas station. I parked and immediately hopped out. I waited for Genevieve, and we walked inside to find the restrooms. I’d driven for hours. Gage and Denny could handle the gas part.

“You did surprisingly well,” Genevieve teased.

A bell rang as I pushed open the door to the convenience store.

“Gee, thanks.” I held open the door for her to enter.

“Good evening.” A guy around our age greeted us.

“Hi.” I replied without even looking at him. We needed to be quieter. We couldn’t afford to attract more attention. We hurried toward the back of the store. I pushed on the door to the woman’s bathroom. It didn’t budge.

“Is it a single stall?” Genevieve asked.

“I guess so.” I crossed my legs at the ankles. Now that we were so close to the bathroom I could barely hold it.

“We could always use the men’s room.”

“Ugh. No way.” That sounded disgusting.

“After everything you’ve been through, you’re going to complain about using a men’s bathroom?”

The door to the women’s room creaked open, and an older woman walked out. “Hello, dears. I hope I didn’t take too long.”

“Not at all.” I gestured for Genevieve to go first.

“No, you look you’re about to burst, you go.” She pushed me in. I walked in but glanced back at the woman. There was something familiar about her that that I couldn’t quite place. It was probably my imagination.

After washing my hands, I walked out and let Genevieve take her turn. I walked around the small store looking for the woman. She was nowhere to be seen. That wasn’t surprising. Most people walked in to use the bathroom right before leaving.

I jumped up as someone touched my shoulder.

“Geez, scare much?” Genevieve looked at me funny.

“Sorry, I’m trying to figure out why that woman seemed so familiar.”

“That old woman?”