Finding Our Way (Werewolf Wars) (2 page)

Her tongue darted out, wetting her dry lips. She inhaled deeply, searching her aching head for the events that must have taken place earlier. Slowly, she sorted through the fog in her brain. The scene played out as a dream—it had to be a dream. She assured herself that a man had not turned into a wolf. Doubt crept in, and she peeked up into the front seat.

The man driving was the man she had struck with her car. Daniel, his name was Daniel, she recalled. As if to prove she wasn’t crazy, her car made an uncharacteristic clink, then grinded as it slowed.

Nora gripped the cushion beneath her as the car lurched to the right and bumped along the uneven terrain. The brakes squawked loudly as the car stopped. The driver’s door creaked open, the car dipping down, and then raising up as the stranger climbed out. Shifting ever so slightly, she peered out the window. They were at a gas station.

It was early in the morning, and she had no idea where they were. She could chance running away, but how far would she get? Would there be anyone to help her? What would the man do if he caught her? She trembled and blinked back tears as she tried to come up with a plan.

The car wiggled as the man slid the gas nozzle into the tank and began pumping.

Before she could contemplate further action, the back door swung open, and a head ducked down into the entryway.

Tensing, she shut her eyes, feigning unconsciousness.

“I know you are awake,” his voice floated in. “Are you okay?”

Nora opened one eye then the other, slowly maneuvering herself so she could get a good look at him. One-half of his face was shrouded by the pitch-black of the night, the other illuminated by the dull overhead lights from the service station.

Specks of dirt covered his cheek and stubbled jaw. His bicep pulsed as he gripped the door. He ran his free hand through his already mussed hair. The man’s eyes roamed over her before meeting her gaze. She gasped at the vividness of his emerald eyes, and a shiver shot through her spine at the intensity swirling in them.

He was handsome—he’s probably a serial killer, she reminded herself.
He hasn’t hurt you yet.
In fact, he’d kind of saved her—rescued her from the men that had grabbed her. Although, she couldn’t help but wonder if it were him they were really after. Does it really matter? He turned into a giant wolf, she reminded herself. Had she hallucinated that?

“Are you okay,” he repeated, pulling her from her thoughts.

“I...” she started, not entirely sure how to answer. Her mind was still muddled on what had happened. A part of her didn’t believe it. Men could not turn into wolves—it wasn’t possible. Maybe if she pretended nothing had happened, then he would think she didn’t remember anything—he could let her go. “Yes,” she answered, hoping to appease him.

“You hit your head pretty good. You’ve been out for a few hours,” he stated, turning back to the pump when it clicked. He pulled the nozzle out and hung it up. He spun around to twist the cap back on before poking his head into the car again. “You could have a concussion. Do you remember what happened?” he questioned, his eyes narrowing.

Nora swallowed the lump in her throat. What was she supposed to say? Yes, I saw you turn into a gigantic wolf and kill a man, it sounded absurd.
What would he do if she did remember? Would he hurt her? Kill her?
No, she didn’t think so. If he’d wanted to harm her, he would have already. At least that’s what she tried to convince herself.

Daniel cleared his throat. “The exit sign said there was a twenty-four hour McDonald’s drive thru half-a-mile that way,” he said, pointing to his right.

Nora nodded, slowly appraising him.
Is he offering to buy me food?

Daniel sighed gritting his teeth. The awful stench of curdled milk indicated her fear, yet, she was acting entirely too calm. He wished his brother, Vincent, were here. The younger McKinley was a people person. He would know exactly what to say to smooth the situation over. Daniel envied his siblings in that respect. People skills were something he severely lacked.

“We should keep moving. I was going to get a bite to eat before hopping back on the freeway,” he said watching her. He couldn’t afford for her to run. She’d seen too much. Even if the majority of people thought she was insane, there was always that small group of fanatics that would believe. The werewolf community had enough problems without human interference.

There was also the problem of Juarez’s men. The men that were chasing him earlier were powerful—they were everywhere. She could be in danger because of him. It was his duty to protect her and his pack.

“I’m kind of hungry,” she said, slowly scooting out of the car.

Her wide, amber eyes watched him intently as she stepped out of the vehicle. She edged away from him, taking deliberate care to walk around him to the driver’s side door.

“It’s okay,” he said his hand meeting hers on the handle. Heat shot through his fingers. She reeled back, wiggling her fingers, and he wondered if the same inferno had seared through her as it had him at their touch. “I’ll drive.”

“It’s my car,” she mumbled, taking a step back.

“You hit your head,” he reminded. He pointed to her forehead, hoping that would stop further protesting.

“It’s my car,” she repeated slowly enunciating every word.

“Nora,” he sighed, not entirely sure what to say.

“Where am I?” she questioned, her eyes darting around.

Her phone chimed, a soft melody rang out. The front of the car illuminated as her phone vibrated in the cup holder.

“It’s been going off all night,” Daniel said, following her gaze.

Nora ducked into the car, retrieving the device. She clutched it against her chest, eyes wide, watching him. After a moment, she slid her finger over the phone and held it to her ear.

“April?”

“Nora, thank god. I’ve been calling you for hours. Are you okay?” the feminine voice screeched into the phone.

“Um,” Nora frowned. Her hand gripped the open door, and her knuckles turned white. “I ran into a bit of trouble.”

“What happened?” April breathed.

Daniel folded his arms over his chest, his jaw clenched tightly.
Please don’t say anything about wolves.
Nora faltered under his gaze, and he grimaced, hating that he frightened her. Still, he needed to make sure she didn’t say anything incriminating.

“I had an accident. I hit a guy and...” she trailed off, dragging her foot through the dirt.

“You hit someone?” April gasped.

“He’s okay. I’m with him. I...I don’t really know what happened.”

“Nora? How close to my house were you? This guy...did he...”

Daniel’s ears perked up, realization settling in. The other woman’s name was April. There had been an April at the Bayou Pack. Nora was driving down one of the abandoned roads leading to the pack. The dots connected together in his head.

“Let me speak to her,” he said, holding his hand out.

“Who’s with you?” April asked her voice rose with each word.

Nora cringed and cleared her throat. “His name is Daniel. He’s the guy I hit with my car.”

April was quiet for a long moment, but Daniel could hear tiny puffs of air hitting the mouthpiece. “Let me talk to him.”

Nora blinked, her mouth popping open. Slowly, she moved the phone from her ear and handed it to Daniel. Her soft creamy fingers brushed against his as he accepted her phone. A rosy shade colored her cheeks, and she reached up tucking a matted strand of hair behind her ear.

“Hello,” he said, gruffly.

“Who are you? Are you one of Juarez’s men?” April bit out.

“Daniel McKinley,” he said after a long pause. “I was there right before...I opened the gate,” he replied, not wanting to go into too much detail.

Nora’s brow furrowed as her eyes followed him intently.

April sighed, causing the phone to crackle loudly. “Thank god. Is she okay? She said there was an accident.”

Daniel watched as Nora twisted a strand of copper hair around her finger and released it.

“Yeah, she hit me with her car. We had a little altercation with Juarez’s men, but she’ll be all right.”

“Oh God. This is all my fault,” April murmured, her voice breaking. “I told her to come. She’s my roommate at college—my best friend. I got a call from the police a little while ago, our apartment was broken into. I put her in the middle of this war, all because I wanted a normal life.”

Daniel ran a hand through his hair, wincing slightly as the action pulled at his tender ribs.

“I think she needs to come to Abilene,” April started. “We have to keep her safe. She fits their profile, Daniel. Her grandmother just passed away, and I hate to say it, but her parents wouldn’t notice if anything happened to her. Nothing can happen to Nora. I’ve already lost my parents and grandparents. I won’t lose my best friend too,” she said her voice getting quieter as she spoke. She sniffled as a raw sob tore through her throat.

“All right, I’m not sure how well that is going to go over though. I don’t think she trusts me,” he said, casting a glance at the weary woman. If he didn’t have the keys and her phone at the moment, she would probably bolt.

“How much did she see?”

“Too much,” he sighed.

“Let me talk to her,” April insisted.

“Sure. Can you tell Vincent I’m okay?” Daniel asked after a long moment.

“Of course. Thank you, by the way, for what you did back there,” April said, graciously.

“Yeah, sure,” he mumbled, turning back to Nora. He offered the phone to her. “She wants to speak to you again.”

Nora snatched the phone away from him. Her heart hammered in her chest as she fought back nausea. Daniel and April somehow knew each other. She couldn’t help but wonder if April knew what he was. Hell, for all she knew, April could be one of them too. A wolf. It was crazy—insane, but she knew what she’d seen.

“April. What is going on?” Nora demanded.

“I’m on my way to Texas.”

“Texas?” Nora shrieked. Her eyes darted around her surroundings, and she took a step back.
Where am I?

“Abilene, Texas. Someplace where it is safe.”

“Safe? Safe from what, April?” her voice rose with each word she spoke, and she swallowed trying to fight back the hysteria. “From giant wolves? From men who are chasing you?” She gripped the phone tighter with her trembling hands and forced calm, deep breaths into her mouth.

“Nora, calm down,” April pleaded.

The small ounce of sanity she’d been clinging to snapped. “Men attacked me, April! The man I hit—who should be dead—got up and turned into a wolf. Don’t tell me to calm down!”

Nora closed her eyes and counted backwards from ten. She had to keep it together—needed to figure out what was happening. “Did you know that these things—animals existed?”

April was quiet for a long moment. “Yes. I’m one of them—a werewolf.”

“Werewolves,” she cackled. Her phone wobbled against her ear, and it took her a moment to realize that her hand was shaking uncontrollably.

“It’s true. I know you’re freaked out right now, but-“

“Freaked out?” she shrilled loudly. “My best friend just told me she’s a werewolf, I hit a guy with my car, he turned into a wolf, men tried to abduct me, and the wolf-man killed a guy in front of me.” She wasn’t sure what the right word was, but she was beyond freaked out.

“My family and Daniel’s family are at war with another pack. We are allies. He’s going to keep you safe, and when we get to Abilene, I promise I’ll explain everything.”

Nora squeezed her eyes shut; fighting back the angry tears that were threatening to spill over.

“Nora, listen. I know what I am saying sounds crazy. But Daniel is a friend, and I think you might be in trouble. We’ve been roommates and best friends since freshman year of college. I love you and I want to keep you safe. Please, please, just go to Abilene with him. I promise I’ll explain everything to you, and answer all your questions when we get there,” April begged.

“You’re asking me to drive to Texas, with a man I don’t know? A man who killed someone?” Nora asked, incredulously. Chills shot down her spine at the mere memory of what had transpired a few hours earlier.

“Yes! I know it sounds crazy, but please just trust me,” April paused. “I know things have happened tonight, and I haven’t been entirely honest with you, but I would never let anything happen to you, Nora. How long have we known each other?”

“Four years,” Nora replied. The panic began to slip away, and she tightened her grip on her phone.

“And you trust me, right?”

“Yeah,” Nora hesitated. April was her best friend, and she
did
trust her. Nora kept her eyes locked on Daniel. He stood, arms crossed over his chest, back against the car. He didn’t look dangerous—at least not to her.

“Then please listen to me on this, Nora,” April pleaded. “Please, please just do this for me. You’ll be safe with him. I promise you.”

“Fine,” Nora sighed leaning back into the door. “But when I see you, you owe me one hell of an explanation.”

“I know, Nora. I know.” April was quiet for a long moment before continuing, “I’ll see you in Texas. Be safe, Nora.”

“You too.”

***

“C
an I get a number four with a vanilla milk shake, two quarter pounders with cheese, and a large fry,” Daniel spoke into the intercom, before turning to her. “What did you want?”

Nora blanched, she’d thought for a second he’d been ordering for the both of them, apparently not. Her eyes inadvertently drifted to what she was sure were washboard abs beneath his form-fitting tee.
Where in the world does he intend to put all that?

“Will that be all?” a broken voice spoke through the speaker.

Stop staring and order, she chastised herself. “Um, I’ll have a number five with a Coke, please.”

Daniel lifted his bottom off the seat and pulled a wallet from his back jeans pocket. He opened it and thumbed through the contents for a moment. Then shifted the car and drove toward the window. After paying the woman, the werewolf took out a carton of fries, and then handed her the bags.

Daniel picked up a handful of fries and shoveled them into his mouth as he maneuvered them back onto the road. Nora gaped a moment longer before handing him one of his sandwiches and taking out her sole hamburger and fries.