Kalen (7 page)

Then, by all means, tell me what bothers you the most.
If she’d been human, she would have crossed her arms and tapped her toes at him. Instead, all she could do was tilt her head and let her tongue loll out. Since she didn’t think it would make her look either pathetic, or attractive, she refrained.

This man who calls himself a doctor has connections throughout the government and could easily find out where you live. Believe me, it wouldn’t take him long. He probably knows who you are already. He likes it when his serum works to change human women into shifters. He’s looking for breeders for some new perfect soldier.

Ally wanted to roll her eyes, but refrained. What if he was telling the truth? After all, the man she met in room two-twenty-five didn’t seem to have any qualms about injecting her and leaving her without even finding out if the crap he’d injected her with killed her or not. The jerk.

I almost don’t want to believe you, but there is the fact that the jerk left me alone after he injected me. That alone is enough to prove he doesn’t give a damn for anyone.
She wanted to cry.
I just want to go home.

I know, sweetheart, but you can’t. I would guess he knows your name and your address by now. He’s probably got someone watching your house as we speak.

Ally wasn’t sure if she wanted to believe him. Wasn’t being captured by that madman and put to death better than living out the rest of her life like this? Whatever happened had to be better than living like some sort of freak.
I don’t care. I want to go home. I don’t care if he captures and kills me.
In fact, running out in front of car was starting to look good right about now.

Kalen stopped and turned to her. The look in his eyes gave her pause. He looked angry, though Ally had no idea why he would look mad. After all, it was her life. If she wanted to end it, it was no one’s business but her own.

Stop thinking of how awful it is that you may have to live the rest of your life a bit differently now. Think about this, instead. No matter what you may think, that madman will not kill you if he gets his hands on you. He will use you to breed more were-beings. Weres that he will train to be the perfect soldier, the perfect killing machine.

Don’t think that he will merely kill you. He will put you in a cage with a male, perhaps two or three males and they will rape you. He will not let you escape to the oblivion of death, Ally. He will use you until you become too old to breed, and for a were, that is a very, very long time. Now, think about it, do you really want your children growing up under his thumb?

I don’t want to live like this, damn you! If you have even an ounce of compassion in you, kill me right here. Right now.

It’s because I do have compassion that I won’t do as you ask. If I didn’t know two women who have already come to terms with what happened to them, perhaps things would be different. But I
do
know two women who felt exactly the same way you did a bit over a year ago. Now, they live normal productive lives within the circle of our people and they’re
happy
. Give it time and you will adjust.

I don’t want to adjust, dammit.

No, you don’t.
Kalen snarled at her as they walked.
You want to go cower in some corner and wait for someone to end your life while people feel sorry for you. Poor, Ally. She was a victim of a madman and now has to relearn how to live her life.

He trotted ahead, then stopped next to a stream, dipped his head and lapped up some water before turning back to her, his eyes filled with contempt.
God forbid that you should try to live your life as a were, that perhaps you are someone’s long-anticipated mate, or that maybe, just maybe, you could learn to deal with what you’ve become and live a happy, productive life as something other than someone’s lackey.
Kalen trotted back to her and gave her a shove toward the stream.

I, for one, refuse to feel sorry for you. Many humans would kill to have the chance the fates have given you. You will live a long, long life. The were society will welcome you into its fold, give you a job, a place to stay and more importantly, they will teach you what to expect now that you’re one of us. Imagine a life with no illness, Ally. Imagine never having to worry about losing a child to cancer, or some other disease.
He gave her another shove toward the stream.
Now, get a drink. There’s nothing wrong with the water.

Ally approached the stream and gave it a tentative sniff. She looked down into the calm waters, listening as the slight current washed over the rocks on the bank. She wasn’t even sure if she would have heard the slight gurgle of water had she still been human, but now that she had her wolf’s hearing, she heard a lot of things she couldn’t hear before.

Turning her head, she saw a small rabbit, its little heart drumming with fear in the presence of two large predators. It sat still, most likely thinking that they wouldn’t see it if it sat still as death.

She looked up into the canopy of trees, listening to the birds flitting from branch to branch and wondered what it would have been like if that crazy doctor had turned her into some type of bird shapeshifter—if they even existed. Who knew? A few short hours ago, she had been living happily ignorant of werewolves. The thought of were eagles didn’t seem quite so far-fetched now.

Drink.

Kalen sounded angry. He probably was. After all, she hadn’t been very cooperative, but then again, what did he expect? In the last few hours, with the unwitting help of that crazy doctor, Kalen and his friends had managed to turn her entire world upside-down.

Ally bent her head to the stream. The water smelled delicious. As a human, she would never have attempted to drink directly from a stream like this, but as a were, she had a more acute sense of smell, and the scent of this water appealed to her. It smelled clean and a little sweet. She had no doubt she would have drooled had she not been so thirsty she couldn’t even work up a good spit.

Drink your fill, Ally. I’ll watch for other predators and humans.

Sticking her nose down close to the stream, Ally lapped up some of the water. It was delicious! Maybe it was the fact that she hadn’t had a drink in hours, or maybe it was her enhanced taste buds, or maybe this water was just that good. Whatever it was, she continued to lap at the water until her tongue began to ache from the exercise.
Being a do—a wolf
—
sucks. My tongue is tired and I’m still thirsty.

Kalen chuckled.
Don’t worry. We’ll follow this stream for a bit. You can have another drink once your tongue has had time to rest.

They followed the winding ribbon of water, the night growing darker as they moved along.
Shouldn’t we rest for a bit? It’s getting late.

Yes, it is, but if we travel at night and sleep during the day, there’s less of a chance that anyone will see us.

Ally hated to suggest it, she really did, but the way she saw it, they didn’t really have much of a choice.
What if we find the nearest town and you get me a pair of pants, or a leash and rent a room. I want a shower.
She
needed
a shower was more like it. No matter how far they went, or how fast they ran, she couldn’t seem to escape Bobby’s odor, or the stench of their deaths. At the moment, Ally needed to wash that stink off her more than she needed sustenance to live.

Kalen made a choking sound.
You want me to lead you into town on a leash?

Why not? Won’t the entire world think I’m a damned dog anyway?
A strange odor assaulted her nose.
What is that nasty smell?
She wrinkled her nose.
It smells like a cross between burnt rubber and car exhaust.

Kalen made a sound that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle.
Part of it is car exhaust. The other part is skunk.

It smells a lot worse as a wolf than it ever did as a human,
she complained.

Come on. I think there’s a town this way. If we’re lucky, you might change back into your human form before we get there.

He didn’t say that if she did, he wouldn’t have to drag her through town on a leash. She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t like it. Her ex-boyfriend used to like experimenting with BDSM and she had found that she did like some of the things he’d come up with from time to time.

Even if I don’t, you could still walk me in like your pet.

No. I can’t. If you change back, how will I explain where my pet went?
He gave her a sideways glance.
Dare I hope that you’ve finally come to terms with what happened to you?

Ally tried to stick her tongue out at him, but it just didn’t have the same effect in this form
. Not really, but what choice do I have? You’ve already said that I can’t change back to being a full human,
she said as she continued to follow his lead.
We already know that I don’t have the sense of direction to find my own way home.
She snorted.
I have to rely on you whether I like it or not.

Kalen chuckled into her mind and that made her want to kick him
. That’s true.

Her ears perked up at the sound of a car horn.
Are we close to a town?

I believe so. I think we’re close to the hotel you worked at.

Oh, he probably shouldn’t have told her that. Ally took off, running as fast as she could to see if he told her the truth. She burst from the woods on the side of the road and looked to the right. There it was.

She could actually hear the buzz of the old neon sign. The lights were lit, the little sign advertising a vacancy. Of course it had a vacancy. They lived out in the middle of nowhere and the rooms were barely larger than the queen-sized beds the motel owners crammed into them.

Ally frowned when she noticed her little car was gone. Where did it go?
My car is gone,
she said with a little whine.
Someone stole my car.

I would imagine the police took it after their investigation. Or perhaps the alpha, or one of the others in my team scented you in it and took it back to your home so as not to raise suspicion.

She spun around and stared at Kalen.
What investigation?
Fear shot through her like a rocket. Her stomach churned and she felt sick.
I haven’t done anything!

Of course you haven’t, but you
have
disappeared in the middle of broad daylight. Any security cameras the owners may have did not record anything out of the ordinary, except, perhaps that we carried what they’re going to think is a dog out of Thornton’s room.

Kalen nudged her shoulder, urging her down the road.
Let’s go. We still have a long walk ahead of us and I’m getting hungry.

Ally turned and snarled at him.
Stop pushing me, dammit
! She turned in the opposite direction that he wanted her to go.
I’m going home.
Taking off at a trot, Ally headed back to her house. She knew the way from here and there was zero chance of getting lost unless she decided to try to cut through the woods.
Fat chance of that happening.
She had no intention of getting lost again, especially when she was so close to home.

Finally making up her mind what she wanted to do, Ally took off at a run. There was no way she wasn’t at least stopping by her house to pack a few of her things, and Kalen could take her keys and pick up her car since he could change at will. To hell with this walking nonsense. She was damned tired and her feet hurt.

Chapter Six

Where the hell do you think you’re going?
Kalen asked as he fell in beside her.

Home.

Ally kept running in the same direction, no matter how hard he tried to get her to turn around.
I swear I’m gonna bite you if you don’t stop that crap
. She lifted her upper lip just enough to prove to him she meant what she said.

Kalen laughed.
You’ve done that already and I didn’t turn into a human, or get rabies. I think I’m safe.

Shut up, you jerk. I’m not diseased
.

I never said you were.
Kalen chuckled.
I was worried about turning into a full human, though. I like being a were. It’s fun.

Not from where I’m standing, it’s not
. Ally continued to run what must have been all out for her. She was starting to look tired.
I’m not stopping until I get home.

Dammit, Ally. I told you—

I don’t give a good damn.
She did stop, just to look at him, most likely so he could see that she meant what she said. She was quiet for a moment, catching her breath. She looked back the way they came and her expression grew grim.
I’ll go with you if I must, but I refuse to go without my things. I need my purse. I never go anywhere but work without it. I need my car. I worked hard for that damned thing. I want it back. And I refuse to wear the same clothes day in and day out. I want to pack some things to take with me.

Kalen relented with a sigh.
If you insist, but remember, if there is anything off about your home, the way it looks, or smells, we’re not going near it.

That’s fair, I suppose.
She turned and continued on at a more sedate pace.
I really don’t want to get captured by that nut. He’s already ruined my life. The last thing I want is for him to end it next time.

That’s a good sign. At least you’re thinking about a future now, instead of wanting someone to kill you.

I figured I’d give you the benefit of doubt since I can run out in front of a car anytime. Some assholes even
aim
for dogs.

How many times do I have to tell you?