Turned out, my aunt had managed to get word out that the pack leaders were hunting me in this area and contacted a local pack alpha who called Thea. I didn’t ask how they knew the details. Shifters were the biggest gossips in the world and if someone had seen me in the laundromat or even the club and heard a description of a missing female, they could know it was me. There might even be a reward.
And people could get hurt. I sat down and listened and pretended to agree to lie low, but I knew what I had to do, and it wasn’t staying here where someone I cared about, someone who had already been hurt or even Thea or one of my alphas might suffer. It was fun, but it was over.
After a while, Diesel and Carver came in and they discussed with Thea the best way to handle the situation. Their house was not secure enough, they all agreed, for now at least. They’d never gone to much trouble to set up cameras and alarms, but first thing tomorrow, they’d add to the security of here and start on theirs. For now, they would take turns staying here with me.
Yeah, that wouldn’t need to be for long because as soon as everyone was asleep, I changed my clothes, pushed up the window in my room, and climbed out. Tears streaked down my cheeks at the loss of the only people besides my aunt who’d ever cared for me—or who I loved—and the safety of this old motel. My heart ached as I dropped to hands and knees to get past the living room window where Carver was lying on the sofa with a blanket over him, flipping channels on the TV. It hurt even more, that final glimpse of him before I stood up again and ran with all I had in me until I finally found myself in front of a sign that saidDerby Katz Wilderness Park. Whoever that Derby Katz was, he had my thanks for a place to hole up. At the edge of the city, it had wide-open acreage and lots of trees. Not a permanent solution, for sure, but with any luck, I’d have a day or two to make plans. This time, I’d left wearing clothes and with the small amount of money I’d made tucked in my pocket. Running through the city as a wolf would have attracted too much attention.
Alone again. This time, it hurt so much more. And my wolf was upset too. Last time, she’d been all in.
Chapter Sixteen
Carver
“Can I get you anything before I turn in?” Thea laid a pile of bedding and pillows on the end of the sofa. “Hot milk?”
I held back a smirk. “No, I don’t think so, but thanks. I know you have a no-boys-allowed policy here, but I can’t think of another way to protect everyone until we upgrade the security tomorrow.”
“First, you own the place.”
“True, but—”
“But nothing. If you wanted to fill the common room with elephants, you could do that. Second, we are grateful you are willing to help us. When you asked me to take this job, I was afraid it would be like every other shelter I’d worked in. Instead of taking care of the females and any young they brought with them, I spent most of my working hours fundraising in order to keep the doors open and feed them gruel three times a day.”
“Gruel, really?” I eyed her with suspicion.
“Well, maybe not, but we served a lot of thin soups and stews with oatmeal for breakfast every single day. Also thin. Nobody gave us an account to buy nice clothes for the ladies when they were ready to set out and go on job interviews. We were treated like a nuisance, and it stung.”
“We do well at the club, and you are careful with the funds we give you. Thea, there are too many males in our world who treat females and young like property. And often property they don’t value very highly. We all have our own stories, and I know you do too.”
“You know that, do you?”
“Did you think we would have tracked you down and offered you the job without doing a background check? We neededto know that you’d gotten past your own traumas before we plunged you into a situation where you had to deal with other people’s.”
“I see.” She still didn’t look happy. “Then if you’re all settled, I’m going to bed. If you want a drink or snack, help yourself.”
“Thank you.” I probably shouldn’t have told her that we knew her story, but sometimes I didn’t know when to stop talking. Also, I hadn’t realized she didn’t know. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Night.”
After she was gone, I made up my bed with the soft sheets and fluffy comforter Thea left me then settled in to watch TV for a while. I got up every couple of hours and walked the hallways, checked the front and back door, and looked outside to make sure there were no sneaky characters roaming the sidewalks. Everything appeared quiet and safe, and eventually I turned off the TV and burrowed down in the makeshift bed to get some rest. If anyone tried to break in, we’d hear them.
Content that our mate was safe for at least one night, I let my eyes drift closed and fell into dreams of the day when she acknowledged us as her mates.
Warm and comfortable, I slept until I heard a shriek and Thea came running into the room. “Carver, wake up! Hurry!” She ran out again and returned. “Why aren’t you dressed. Come on!”
Catching on to the urgency even after my few hours of sleep, I jumped up and grabbed for my shoes. “What’s going on?”
Chest heaving, she pointed outside of the room as if there was something I would see if I only looked. But before I could get there, she spat out, “Josie is gone!”
“No, she isn’t.”
“Yes, she is.” Thea looked at me oddly. “Unless she’s in here somewhere? Did Josie join you during the night?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then, why are you saying I’m wrong? She is gone. Her bed is empty, and she’s nowhere to be found. She doesn’t have an early shift at the laundromat, does she?”
“No.”
