I punch the bridge of my nose and continue, to Andrea, “But this is my plan. I’m not going down there with you bossing me around.”
Andrea’s jaw clicks, then says through gritted teeth, “Fine.”
“I’ll tell you the plan as we go. I was going to shift, but since we have the truck—” I give the dashboard a pat. “Can we take this?”
Andrea thinks for a second, debating. “If we’re keeping the truck, I need my wallet. Hand it over.”
I do, and she digs it out and counts through the cash. “They might be able to track us if we use a credit card. Let’s stop and get gas, and I’ll use the clan card to take out some cash. After that, we’re on our own.”
There’s zero hesitancy in her tone, but she looks me over, then says, “Mona, I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am that you’re willing to do this. And if I were a better person, I’d probably drive you right back to your mates and lock your ass up. It goes against my nature as a soldier, as an alpha with an omega in her clan. But…”
“I can’t. I won’t go back, not without at least trying,” I plead.
“Well, I’m too selfish to send you back. But I need to ask… are you sure? You can just tell me what Deidre said, and I’ll go. You can stay here—”
I hold up my hand. “No. It’s us, or me. That’s it. Deidre won’t… she’ll know if I don’t go. She has a way to access my mind now. Because of my blood and my Seeker magic. I have to go. She was very clear about what would happen if I didn’t leave right away.”
“Okay. I accept your terms, though there are times I’m going to ask you to defer to my expertise. I know I tease you about not knowing how to fight, but you really don’t.”
“Yeah, yeah, I get it.”
“But, I can admit, I don’t know shit about this witch stuff. You’ve been in our world less than a year and know more about it than me. So, yes. Together.”
She looks behind her before pulling back onto the road. “You’re sure? Sure, sure?”
“I’m sure,” I tell her, my voice betraying my confidence, or lack-thereof, keeping my eyes fixed in front of us, unable to watch the mountains grow smaller in the distance.
“What’s in the backpack? And for the love of god, what the fuck is in your pants? You stole something from the hospital, right?”
I open the bag and begin chasing down all the bottles in my pants, stuffing them into the backpack. “I remembered they helped Lily. Heather told me once that wolf meds are pretty simple, mostly herbal compounds, less complex than human drugs. I figured if anyone needed immediate medical attention once I got there, these should help…”
Andrea’s quiet as we near the gas station. No one expects us back for hours.
“I wouldn’t have thought of that,” she says softly.
“Drugs?”
She leans forward, clears her throat. “When you said we could find her—Ingrid—that’s all I focused on. I can strategize, get us into the building, silo whatever, get us there, deal with whatever else comes up along the way, but it’s like my blinders are on. All I can think about is Ingrid. I didn’t even consider the others. It’s just… it’s nice you thought of everyone else who’s there.”
I shrug, my ribs constricting like a vise around my lungs with every mile that stretches between us and home. “I get it. My mates are my world. I know what it’s like to only see them.”
“You wouldn’t be here if that were true.”
I stare out the window, watching the blur of trees. Her words sit like a stone, pressing against my sternum. Is it noble or selfish, what I’m doing? Isn’t my loyalty to them supposed to be blinding, above all others? I push the thought away.
We get gas, while Andrea digs through my bag to see what I’ve brought. She takes a bunch of cash from the clan’s debit card at the ATM. I don’t tell her where we’re going yet, but once we get on 95, she’ll know we’re headed south. We should be in Massachusetts by the end of the day, maybe further.
The miles tick by, and the silence and tension between us thicken. I glance at Andrea, thankful for her solid presence beside me. Without her, I’d probably be making a U-turn right now, racing back to the safety of my pack, of the clan.
A bitter smile tugs at my mouth. I’m not quite the self-sacrificing martyr Andrea thinks I am.
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Chapter 33: Silas
Ihurl the chair against the wall with an unsatisfying crack as one leg splinters off. “Where the fuck is she!”
“Don’t put holes in the wall, Mona won’t like it,” Orion growls.
