(Un)wise (19 page)

“Bethi, I’m sorry—”

“I’m sorry.  I’m sorry...  Try being something else for a change.  Like on time,” I snapped picking myself up off the floor.

Hurt reflected in his eyes as he picked up a glass from the floor and handed it to me.  “Here’s the drink you asked for.”

I took the glass and watched him walk away.  He was always doing that.  Walking away.  But then again, so was I.  We were hopeless.

I sipped the water and slowly walked the halls.  After the pain had faded from my back, I regretted my words.  I roamed, slightly lost, and hoped to find Luke, but I didn’t see him anywhere.

We were at a stalemate.  He wanted to wait, and I desperately needed to Claim him now.  Neither of us wanted to bend.  Well, I’d been willing to bend by selecting someone else,
temporarily.
But he didn’t like that idea either.  I needed a way to convince him to help me before it was too late.  He didn’t seem to understand the risks.  The attack on the way here showed the desperation of the Urbat.  What would they do next?  I needed to Claim Luke to calm the dreams so I could focus on their real message.  It would also make it easier for him to find me if they took me.  If I were completely honest with myself, I just wanted to Claim him because he was mine.  Done.  Forget the Urbat. Forget the whole the-world-will-burn crap.  I just wanted Luke.  I sighed.  But I couldn’t just forget everything.  Elder Joshua concerned me. Having the pack of Urbat pull back concerned me.  Why hadn’t they attacked?  There had to be something more, something big going on that I hadn’t yet figured out.  And I needed to, fast.

A few more steps, and I recognized where I was.  The door to the padded room stood before me.  Closed, but I didn’t care.  I needed help.  Maybe the Elders could help me force Luke’s hand.  I opened it, surprising Nana, Grey, Sam, and a new guy.

“Oh,” I mumbled.  “Sorry.”  I moved to close the door but Nana stopped me.

“It’s all right, Bethi.  Come in.  This is Elder Joshua.  We were just discussing you.”

The Urbat Elder.  He watched me closely, and I made sure to keep my face a blank mask.  Having him here was better.  We could keep an eye on him.  I again wished there was a way to control him.

Inspiration struck.  Finally!  Luck was on my side.

Closing the door, I smiled pathetically at the group.  “Sorry for interrupting.  Nana, what’s your policy on killing potential mates.”

Nana looked concerned, Grey amused, and Sam curious.  Joshua’s reaction was just as I’d hoped.  Cautious.  Trying to figure me out.

“It’s Luke,” I said to Nana.  “He’s being completely stubborn about my age, and I think I’m going to hurt him pretty soon.”

Grey actually laughed.  Nana smiled in understanding.

“Do you have time to take a break and help me talk some sense into him?” I asked her.  I knew there was no talking sense into him.  He’d already explained he didn’t have a pack leader because he didn’t want to be forced to follow rules.  Elders only enforced laws.  I just needed to talk to her in private, away from the other Elders.

“Certainly,” she agreed standing.  “I’ll return promptly,” she assured the rest.

Anticipation made my head spin.  I wrapped my arm through Nana’s and leaned on her for support as we walked the halls.  I’d found a way to stop my dreams, a way to forestall the next Urbat attack,  a way to keep tabs on Joshua, and maybe a way to force Luke to hold still so I could Claim him.

I planned to Claim Joshua
temporarily.
  Sure there would be risks.  Luke would be both furious and hurt with my solution.  Joshua would have the ability to find me wherever I went as long as we were Claimed.  But the benefits outweighed the risks.  Joshua would be driven to protect me.  Even from his own kind.

The real problem was getting Joshua to let me bite him.  I needed to get him alone, play it carefully, and hope Luke would forgive me afterward.

“Can you tell Luke to meet us in our room?”

“Already done,” she assured me.

The door opened before we reached it.  Luke stood there waiting.

Nana preceded me.  His eyes tracked my progress as I shuffled through the door.  My heart beat heavily, and I suffered a moment of doubt.  His declaration of what I mean to him, all the times he’d come after me...If I did this, it would do more than hurt him.  I wanted to go to him, wrap my arms around his waist, and hold him tight.  But I knew he wouldn’t let me.  His resistance to us as a couple was the whole problem.  I’d lived too many short lives.  I wasn’t about to let any opportunity pass by in this one.  I would solve our problem for us.  I just hoped he wouldn’t hate me afterwards.

“’Bout time you’re where you should be,” I grumbled struggling with the guilt that filled me.  As I passed him, he reached out, his fingers tracing the shell of my ear and tucking back a loose strand of hair.  I forced my feet to keep moving.

“Now,” Nana started, sitting on the couch and waiting for Luke to close the door and join us.  “What is the problem here?”

Luke stood beside my chair, his hands tucked casually in his pockets.  He glanced at me a clear question in his eyes.  Oh, the games I played.

“Before we start is it possible for you not to share this with the rest of the Elders?  I know you have a special connection with them and everything,” I glanced at Luke quickly, playing into my hesitation, “but I really don’t want anyone else knowing this.  I mean you can tell if someone is close enough to hear, too, right?”

“Of course.  For the moment, we have privacy.  And I won’t share the details of private conversations unless I ask first.”

“Do you swear?”

“I do.”

“Fine.  Nothing is shared from this point forward unless you ask me.”  I sat across from her.  “I lied,” I said flatly.  “Oh, Luke really is annoying me with his whole Puritan attitude,” I assured her when she glanced at him.  “I lied about something else.  Rather, I didn’t tell you everything.  But for a very good reason.  Now, I need you to trust me.”  I smiled.  “Funny asking for trust after admitting to a lie,” I said with a shrug. I took a deep breath, reached for Nana’s hand and stared into her eyes so she would see and feel the truth of what I had to say. “Joshua is not one of you.  He’s an Urbat.”  Her eyebrows rose in question, but I hurried to explain.  “I couldn’t say anything before because I hadn’t figured out what to do about it, but I have a plan now.”

“What’s an Urbat?”

“The Urbat are a cousin to the werewolf.  Not quite the same, but very close.  There’s more, but we don’t have time or the privacy to get into it.”

She sat quiet for a moment.  I knew she had many questions for me, but hoped she wouldn’t push for more.

“What do you plan to do?” she asked finally.

I sat back with a slight smile.  “That’s where I need your trust.  I can’t tell you yet because it depends on Joshua believing me and you.  I’m a great liar to your kind.  I know the tricks.  Scent.  Heart rate.  All that stuff.  If you can’t lie, I need you to stay here.  If you can lie, I need you to back me up.”

“I don’t understand,” Nana said slowly.

“We need to go back in that room, tell them Luke won’t let me Claim him, which is the truth by the way, and I’ll explain to the room why I need to Claim someone.  If...when Joshua offers a solution, I want us to go along with it.”

“What do you think he’ll offer?” she asked.

“Something that will lead me away from here and to my other potential mate.”

Luke growled from behind me.

“No one asked you,” I said not looking at him.  “I won’t go, of course,” I said to Nana.

“Will whatever you plan put you or the pack in danger?”

I gave a dry laugh.  “I’ve been in danger since I started having those dreams.  What I plan shouldn’t make it worse.  As far the pack goes, that’s what I’m trying to protect.”

Another dream started tugging at me, and I rose to my feet, cringing at the pain in my stomach.  “I swear I have the perfect plan, Nana.  All I need is your support and trust.”

“I would feel more comfortable if you shared your plan first.”

“Me too,” Luke added.  His voice was laced with concern and sprinkled with suspicion.

I was already shaking my head.  “Sorry.  If I do that, you’ll both try talking me out of it because you don’t understand everything.”  She opened her mouth, “and I don’t have time to explain it all.  We need to start this quickly.  Joshua is a huge threat that can’t be dealt with through reasoning or a drawn-out fight.”

Nana nodded and stood.  “I’ll give you my support.”

Luke made to follow Nana and me, but I stopped him with a raised hand.  “No, Luke.”

He flicked a glance at Nana.  “I will keep her safe,” she promised him.

My heart thumped heavily, and I fought to keep a perfectly straight face when his suspicious gaze fell on me again.  “What are you planning?” he asked stepping close.

His fingers tangled in my hair, and he leaned in, nuzzling my hair aside so his lips rested near my ear.  Shivers ran down my arms, and my eyes closed.

“You smell like sweet pears and cinnamon,” he whispered.  “The last time you smelled like this you left me at the laundromat waiting for a burger.”

My insides froze and my mind told me to push him away.  My arms rose to his chest, but not fast enough.  Not before he did the unexpected. His tongue darted out, and he lightly licked the edge of my ear.  I went stupid.  Forgot how to talk.  Forgot how to move.  I forgot how to breathe.  Darn the man.

“Are you running again, Bethi?”

I struggled to gather my wits. His questioning, boyish look helped bring back a little clarity. He’s scared, I realized.  “I will come back here when I’m done,” I managed to say.  My internal self was chanting “More kisses, more kisses!” at the top of its lungs so I couldn’t be sure my words came out coherently.

Luke stepped back, his uncertainty clear on his face.  “Watch her closely, Winifred.  She’s up to something.”

“Of course I am,” I said indignantly.  “I already said that.”

His lips twitched and a full smile lit his face.  It melted my insides, which made me nervous.  He might not forgive me for this.

Containing my doubts, I left the apartment.  Nana followed me quietly.

We let ourselves into the padded room, once again stopping conversation.

“Is everything all right?” Sam asked Nana.

She held out a chair for me.  “Bethi, sit.  You’re looking pale again.”  She turned to Sam.  “I’ll let Bethi explain.”

Clever Nana.

I gave her my best wobbly smile.  It wasn’t hard.  All I had to do was think of Luke’s reaction if my plan actually worked.

“Okay,” I said with a deep breath.  “Like I said, Luke found me a couple of weeks ago.  I’d run away from home because of those dreams I mentioned.”  I met everyone’s eyes briefly.  Elder Joshua nodded for me to continue, so I guessed the Elders had recapped my last conversation for him.  “Anyway, I wanted to run away from Luke, too, after he showed me what he was, but the dreams weren’t so bad with Luke around.  And he kept me safe, you know?”

They all watched me, waiting for me to get to the point.

“But he only makes the dreams better when he’s next to me.  And he keeps leaving,” I said with true annoyance.  I took another deep breath, carefully planning my words as I flattened my palms on the table.  “I don’t want these dreams anymore.  I don’t care about puzzles or their stupid pieces.  They don’t make any sense and they’re scary.  Terrifying.  I think it would help me if I Claimed someone.”

I uncurled my fingers with effort.  The subject annoyed me to the point that I’d fisted my hands.

“I asked Luke, but he told me I was too young.  I almost had Paul convinced to let me Claim him, but Luke showed up and scared him away.”

Grey gave me an indulgent smile as if to say “of course, he would scare the boy away.”

“If Luke won’t Claim me, I’m asking for your help to find me someone who will and to keep Luke out of it.”  Because I don’t want him hurt, I silently added.

No one made a sound.  Nana kept her face perfectly straight, but I could still see her surprise.  In fact, all of their faces registered different states of shock.  Joshua’s also held a note of thoughtful concern.

“Does Luke know you’ve come to us?” he asked.

“Luke knows I’m talking to you guys, but I didn’t exactly tell him why.”

“I thought you wanted us to help you figure these dreams out,” Sam said, finally finding his voice.

“No, I wanted to know why I was having them.  After this last one, I don’t care anymore.  I just want them to stop.  Will you help me?”  I looked around the table and didn’t see much approval.  Nana looked like she was having an internal struggle.  No doubt she was regretting her promise to support me.  “Please.”

Nana sighed.  “If Luke is denying your Claim, you have a right to request Introductions.”  She didn’t sound happy about it, but she was going along with it.

Silence wrapped around the occupants of the room.  I waited, keeping calm, meeting everyone’s eyes.  I could see the discomfort growing in Grey.  Sam looked seriously troubled.  Nana looked just a tad angry.  I couldn’t blame her.  She probably felt betrayed on Luke’s behalf.  Joshua though, kept his eyes on the table, deep in thought.

Finally, he broke the silence.  “We should consider this carefully before we move forward with anything.”

Good.

“If he is waiting for her to mature,” he glanced at me and gave me an apologetic smile, “then it is possible he will challenge whomever she Claims.  We don’t want to be reduced to chaos when there are so many other elements concerning us.”