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Each mile we put between us felt freeing. But staying out of my own head was the hardest part.
The thought of Vanya, finding out that I was fated to another person, hell, a man… well, that conversation would be interesting. Vanya wasn’t unreasonable and hopefully she would see that it was beyond my control. We may have chosen each other as mates but now that I knew Holt was also my mate, I wouldn’t be letting go of either of them.Not without a fight at least.
Even just knowing him for a few days, I knew that he’d get along with our pack. If he came back with me at all. We hadn’t been able to talk about the mating, much less the future, and here I was already worrying about every angle I could.
The farther we walked, the more tension rose in the air. I could sense he was holding something back from me and it was driving me fucking crazy. There was a feeling of foreboding I couldn’t shake anytime I glanced at him. It wasn’t like I was in his head or could feel his emotions, yet there was an inherent, underlying intuition that told me he was struggling right now.
“We’re not far now,” Holt promised.
At this point the sun was low enough it was hard to see the ground in front of us. A cover of clouds kept the moon from view making the night even darker. If not from my wolf senses starting to sharpen again I’d likely have fallen and Holt was only upright because of me. Each time I steadied him by the elbow I could feel how cold and clammy his skin was to the touch. Now I was getting really fucking worried and he was remaining as tight lipped as he had from the moment we left.Why was I cursed with two stubborn mates?!
Holt let out a low whoop of excitement that scared the shit out of me. It was muted, likely so anyone trailing behind couldn’t pick up on our sound, but still stark enough to the silence surrounding us that it had me crouching in a defensive stance.
“It’s just up here,” he promised again like he hadn’t been saying that for the last twenty minutes with no further explanation.
“What is up here?” I growled. “I still don’t understand why we are walking in this particular direction.” What was he hoping to find at the end of this journey? From my understanding they took wolves and witches from all points of the United States. So the likelihood of him being from Nevada was minimal. He had no idea what could be beyond this trail.
“A safe location.” He’d waited so long to answer my question that it confused me for a second.
“How do you even know the area?” I asked. “Did the Grave Pack extend out this far?”
“No,” he answered. “I don’t know the area. I’m trusting my magic.”
That was more than he’d given me so far and was something tangible I could grasp onto at least. He’d asked me to trust him and that was something I was willing to do.For now.
He stumbled again, but this time the ground underneath him was solid and steady. There were no holes or rocks to trip on, just flat earth covered in dry grass and weeds.
“Tell me what’s going on,” I demanded yet again. He let out a sigh like he knew I was officially at the end of my fucking patience with his evasiveness. If it was magic, why would he hide it?
“There are buildings ahead. Just take me to one of them and let me sit down please. I’ll explain more when I can catch my breath.” I swear this man was more stubborn than Leven and Vanya combined. He’ll give them a run for their money when we’re reunited. My stomach dipped at the thought, knowing it was uncertain if he would ever join a pack, but there were more pressing matters at the moment. Like getting my mate to safety, finding shelter, and surviving unnoticed until morning. No big deal, right?
Finally the moon peeked out from behind the cloud cover. The sliver of moonlight caught on the metal of a chain-link fence. It was the first manmade structure we’d found out here, and a glimmer of hope and relief bubbled within me. Our fingers trailed along the fence as we followed it down. At this point the fence was all that was keeping Holt upright. The dim light we now had revealed his shaking hands and wobbling legs.
“There’s a break in the fence,” he hissed excitedly. He tried to pick up his pace but it was pitiful to watch.
This time I didn’t stay back. I walked up and wrapped one arm around his hip and threw his other arm around my shoulder for support. Shockingly enough, Holt didn’t protest or complain. In fact he was leaning heavily into me and that only amped up my frazzled nerves.
The break in the fence was just big enough I could crouch down and pull him through with me. On the other side, our feet met concrete instead of the dry ground. The scrape of our footsteps on the dirt-covered cement sounded ominous in the quiet night. It was eerily silent here being without the sounds of the city or creatures of the forest.
Finally a cluster of buildings came into view. Holt gestured to the far building, meaning we’d have to trek our way across the compound. I wasn’t thrilled about having to force him to walk that far. I wanted to sit his ass down and figure out what the hell was wrong, or even carry him, but he continued to brush me off. My job as alpha had always been fixing things that went wrong with my pack and right now he needed help. He was just too fucking stubborn to stop for even a moment. I needed control of this situation for my own sake. But even more I needed to know that my mate was all right.
Mate.
It was still so fucking crazy to me. I’d never considered men before. Sure I’d found the occasional dude attractive but I’d never initiated anything with a man. I was too busy playing the field and finding myself. But now that I was faced with it, I found I wasn’t upset or confused. It just felt natural. And now that I found him, or rather fate did, I didn’t plan on letting him go. Vanya and Holt were both my mates now and I’d do everything I could to hold us together if given the chance.
We finally reached the door to the long building and I reached out for the knob. Of course when I turned it the door didn’t budge. It was locked.
“Fuck. What now?”
“Put me down here and go see if there are other doors. I don’t think I can make it,” he admitted. His jaw was clenched in pain. I needed to get him inside and fast.
The building was huge but I worked my way around, trying two more doors. Every one was locked tight and I was just starting to panic when I rounded the corner and found one last door. This one turned and even pushed open slightly but something on the other side was blocking it. Using my shoulder, I rammed my body into the door. It gave a loud, metallic groan. My body froze at the noise but when I didn’t hear anything in the night, I gave it another shove, putting everything I had into it. The less times I had to do this, the better.
This time it gave way with a loud crack. I was fairly positive the frame or the hinges were busted now but that was the least of our worries.
The building inside was even darker than outside. I doubted a place out here in the middle of fucking nowhere had any sort of electricity. Even if they had solar panels they’d be long corroded by the sand and dirt by now. With any luck, tomorrow we’d find a generator or a satellite phone.
Putting my hands out in front of me, I took slow steps as I moved through the room like a blind man. Any time I hit something I’d feel my way around it until the route was clear again. It felt like it took a fucking hour to get across one building but I eventually reached the front door and unlocked it. The sight of Holt looking up at me was a huge relief.
