Into the Unknown (Werewolf Wars, #2) (19 page)

“Everything alright?” Gene asked as she shut off the water.

Natalia turned, placing a kiss to her son’s head as he continued to sob. “Yes,” she said, brushing past him to walk into her bedroom.

Gene frowned before turning to follow her. He hoped that she was flustered because of Adrian’s duress and not because of their actions last night. The evening had been incredible, and he wasn’t about to let her shut him out. Not now. Not Anymore.

“Can I help?” he asked, leaning against the doorframe.

Natalia looked up, her chestnut eyes widening as they met his. “He has been fussing for an hour now. I am not sure what is wrong. This is not like him. He calmed down enough to eat, but now...”

“I’m sure it’s okay.”

Nodding, she tucked a strand of coffee-colored hair behind her ear, and ran her hand up and down Adrian’s back. She opened her mouth to respond when a loud knock thumped against the door.

Gene turned and briskly walked to the entryway. Looking through the peephole, he sighed before unlocking the door.

“Preston, Vincent,” he said, relieved as he motioned for them to come in.

“Nice set up you got here, brother,” Preston said as he took in the room.

“Beats our accommodations,” Vincent said with a whistle.

“Well, that’s your own fault. You could have gotten any room you wanted,” Gene commented.

“You want us to turn your rental in while you two get packed up?” Preston asked.

“We are just about ready,” Natalia said, carrying her and Adrian’s bag out to the front room.

“Is he better now?” Gene asked, concerned.

Natalia shrugged, continuing to pat her son’s back. “For the moment. I think he is tired.”

“Could it be his ears again?” Gene questioned.

“I should hope not, he only just finished his medicine from the first time.”

Adrian lifted his head from her shoulder, snorting before he began to cry again.

“He seems perfectly fine to me. Isn’t this what babies do?” Vincent said, pointing to Adrian.

Natalia scoffed, rolled her eyes, and headed back into the bedroom.

“What’d I say?” Vincent asked, turning to Gene and Preston.

Gene sighed, running a hand over his face as he yawned. “Why don’t you start taking the bags to the car? I’m going to get a quick shower, and we’ll be down in a minute.”

“Yeah,” Preston said, lifting Natalia’s bags and heading to the door.

Vincent inhaled sharply and smirked. “I would think you’d both be in much better moods this morning. Or are you too tired from your activities last night?”

“Get out!” Gene snapped.

Vincent chuckled as Preston beamed, heading for the door.

Gene waited for the door to click shut. He turned, striding quickly to his room to gather his things. He picked up his discarded shirt from yesterday and shoved it into his bag. The alpha riffled through his bag for a moment, finally coming across a clean grey Henley.

Natalia’s soft footsteps clicked toward his door. “How did they know that we...” she trailed off.

“I smell like you. Your shower washed away my scent, but I still carry yours,” Gene answered simply. “It will go away after a good shower.”

“Oh!” Crimson colored her honeyed cheeks, and she shuffled her feet.

“Are you okay?” Gene asked.

Natalia licked her lips, before slowly raising her eyes to meet his. “I do not regret it. But I do not know where this leaves us. I am not sure I am ready for a relationship, Gene and...” she sighed, kissing Adrian’s head. “I just do not know.”

Gene let out a long breath. Not exactly the words he was hoping for, but he supposed it could have been worse. “We have a connection, Talia. I think we owe it to ourselves to figure it out.”

“I do not think it is a good idea to form attachments when I will be leaving.”

“So you’re going to put your life on hold? How long are you going to live your life waiting?” Gene countered.

“I do like you, Gene, and there is a connection between us. I cannot deny that. I just...” she stopped as the suite door opened, and Preston and Vincent walked back in.

“Everything’s all packed up?” Preston asked after a long moment, breaking the awkward silence.

“I’ll be ready in ten,” Gene said.

***

“I
forgot to ask how things were going with the other packs last night,” Gene commented as they all settled into the ranch’s SUV.

“Good, I think,” Preston replied. “We recruited another twelve guys yesterday. They should get home about the same time we do.”

“How was New York? Meet any pretty girls?” Vincent asked, leaning forward into the front seat.

“We should get quite a few men from Clive’s pack. We left before we got final word, and I haven’t had the opportunity to speak with Clive about the details of everyone’s arrival.” Gene turned in his seat, glancing quickly at Natalia before turning his gaze to Vincent to answer his question. “Binghamton isn’t in the city. It’s very rustic and secluded there.”

“Oh,” Vincent shrugged. “So was Guymon, but I still managed.”

“Uncle Isaac’s coming home?” Preston asked.

“Yeah.”

“I haven’t seen him since mom passed,” Preston said quietly.

“He’s doing well. I look forward to having him here with us.”

“Speaking of family,” Vincent spoke up, the usual playfulness gone from his voice. “Have you talked to Daniel since Maddie fessed up? My mom is anxious for him to come home. She went on and on about it for an hour last night. She’d have Dev call him, but who knows how that would go over.”

“I haven’t had the chance. That will be one of the first things I do when we get home. I have a feeling cell reception will be bad today, since we are going to be traveling some very rural areas.”

“Are you going to let him come back home?” Vincent asked quietly.

“That depends on how he answers my questions.”

“I agree with Devon on this,” Natalia said. “He should not be trusted.”

“You don’t know Daniel,” Vincent huffed.

“I do not?” Natalia hissed. “I was a prisoner at your father’s home for several months. I was to be his mate at one point. There were times when we spoke, and, I assure you, he is not a good man.”

“He was under Emmett’s control,” Vincent defended.

“And you were not? The difference between you and your brother is that you did something about it. He followed your father’s orders, regardless of how...how awful they were.” Natalia shook her head and turned to the window.

“You know,” Vincent said quietly, a haunted look ghosting over his face. “Sometimes I think Daniel had it the worst out of all of us. He had to live up to Emmett’s expectations whether he wanted to or not. You can never judge someone until you really know them.”

“I’ll speak with him,” Gene assured Vincent before averting his eyes back to Talia. “He played a huge part in your rescue, Talia. Maddie set him up with the phone calls. Until I decide otherwise, he is a member of the pack.”

Turning back around in his seat, he met Preston’s gaze for a long moment. His brother gave him a small smile before flicking his eyes back to the road. Gene rested his head on the headrest. He was thankful for his relationship with Preston. Their family had been close, loving. Preston was his younger brother, but also a friend. He couldn’t imagine living any other way.

***

N
atalia relaxed into the booth as the server arrived with their food. The woman scooted the plate across the checkered table towards her. Natalia grabbed the ketchup and mustard bottles from the middle of the table. She squirted the condiments on, and put the bottles back trying not to bump Gene at the cramped table.

They’d squished into the booth, not wanting to wait for a bigger table. Gene and Natalia sat together while Vincent and Preston sat across from them. Adrian sat in his seat—which was cradled by a sling-like device—at the edge of the table. The space was tiny, and, now that their plates were here, she worried they would be knocked off the table and onto Adrian. As if sensing her fear, Gene scooted his plate all the way to the white wall and shuffled over as far as he could. Natalia gave him a small tight-lipped smile, and her stomach somersaulted when he returned it.

“So what’s the plan?” Vincent asked as he poured an obnoxious amount of vinegar over his fries. He picked one up with an eager look on his face, popping it in his mouth delightedly.

Natalia quirked her brow before turning to Gene.

“We’ve still got at least another good four hours, and I don’t want to push anyone,” Gene said, glancing at Adrian. Her son had cried for a large portion of the car ride today. She suspected it was from all the chaos and hoped it wasn’t because he was sick.

Natalia sighed and nodded as she picked up her cheeseburger. “Whatever is safest is what we should do, regardless of whether he is irritable or not.” She took a huge bite, wanting to eat before Adrian decided he was hungry too.

“I spoke with Devon, and he is running patrols on the route we will be taking home. Without knowing where Juarez has his men, I think we should play it safe and stay out another night. Devon assured me everything was under control at the ranch,” Gene said.

“You going to put us up in a nice fancy suite too?” Vincent asked, dunking his fries in ketchup. “I’ve got to say, you know how to travel.”

“We’ll all share a room. There should be at least two bedrooms and a couch or two,” Gene replied.

“Are we heading off again or staying here in town?” Preston questioned.

Gene frowned. “I think we’d be better off to stay here. The closer we are to Abilene the more likely we are to run into trouble.”

“I agree.” Preston took a bite of his burger and leaned back into the plush blue cushions surrounding him.

“I’ve contemplated having some men meet us here, but I’m afraid they could be followed,” Gene said.

“They could meet us on the outskirts of Abilene—a motorcade maybe—and escort us back to the ranch,” Preston suggested.

Gene nodded, placing his elbow on the table, his skin brushing against the female wolf beside him. Natalia closed her eyes as chills shot up her spine and heat pulled in her belly. She wondered at how a simple touch could arouse her so much. Her attraction to Gene was undeniable. Still, could she let herself trust him completely? While he seemed different, there had been a point where she’d thought Juarez wanted to help her too. Granted, Gene had upheld his demeanor a lot longer.

Then there was Adrian. Gene seemed to care about his well-being, but, if anything further happened between them, would he consider her son as his own? She would not allow Adrian to be treated any differently because he was not Gene’s child.

“What do you think, Talia?” Gene asked, pulling her from her thoughts.

Natalia cleared her throat, eyes widening as she looked around the table. “Um, what?”

“Stay here for the night, and we’ll take off again in the morning,” Gene suggested.

“Sure.”

“So are you two sharing a room tonight, or will it be separate rooms?” Vincent asked as he shoveled a fistful of fries into his mouth.

Natalia bristled, feeling heat engulf her face as her heart thudded against her ribs. “I...um,”

“Natalia will be sleeping in a room of her own,” Gene answered.

“Oh!” Vincent said.

Natalia shifted in her seat, staring at her burger as she felt Preston and Vincent’s eyes boring into her.

“I’d appreciate it if you’d keep your innuendos to yourself too,” Gene growled.

“I didn’t mean any harm,” Vincent said, throwing his hands up in the air. “I was just trying to see if Preston and I stood a chance at getting an actual bed for the night. Guess it’s the couch for both of us. I’m sorry if I offended you.”

“It is fine,” Natalia said, looking up. “I appreciate the fact that you feel you can be yourself around me.”

“She likes me,” Vincent declared, banging his fist against the table. The silverware clattered against the checkered wood. The racket caused Adrian to jump in his seat and his blue eyes to flutter open for a brief moment.

“I don’t think that’s what she said,” Preston chuckled.

***

N
atalia hurried to the bedroom door, tugging it open. “Hi,” she greeted, pulling the door open further. “Did you want to come in?”

“Thanks,” Gene said as he entered.

Natalia shut the door behind him and crossed her arms over her chest. She looked around the room, focusing on the silver and gold wall border that ran around the top of the room; it matched the comforters perfectly. There was also an ornate basket atop the dresser with similarly-colored decorations in it.

They had rented a private cabin for the evening. It was situated back in the woods, away from the main lodging.

“How is everything?” Gene asked.

“Very nice. I think this is the nicest room thus far. It is similar to some of the rooms at the resort where my mother worked.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

The room grew quiet, and her stomach twisted with unease. They had never truly finished their conversation earlier, and she wasn’t entirely sure where that left them. In fact, she was confused about her feelings in general.

“About earlier,” she started, meeting his chocolate eyes. “I...this—” she paused, motioning between the two of them, “—scares me. I do not understand it, and I do not know what the future holds.”

“The future is your choice, Talia.”

“For almost a year, all I could think about was going home. And now...I still want that, but there is a part of me that wants to stay where I am too.”

“What’s keeping you from staying?” Gene asked, taking a step toward her.

“Cabo San Lucas was my home. I miss the ocean, and I want the chance to put my mother to rest, to say goodbye. After that, I do not know. I can see a future in Abilene,” she answered honestly. Natalia sniffled as tears pricked her eyes.

Gene reached under her chin, cupping her face in his warm hands. “I don’t understand what this is between us either, but I can’t ignore it, Talia. I want you.”

Natalia shivered at the desire and intensity in his swirling irises. Her breath quickened, and she closed her eyes. The she-wolf shook her head, to keep the gap between them from closing. “And Adrian?”