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They returned to their temporary hut, both disappointed but motivated into action. Reika did her best not to mope and leaned on her hands as she spoke over a hot cup of tea.
“I can always go to Canada,” she said. “Perhaps I can find a mate there.”
Owen nearly dropped his tea. Reika looked up and saw a devastating look of agony. Their eyes locked, and Reika realized she had made a mistake.
“What are you talking about?” Owen sneered.
Reika felt like smiling, despite the look on his face. He placed the cup of tea on the table, his look of annoyance remaining.
“What are you smiling about?”
“What do you think?”
Owen allowed his lips to curl over his teeth, revealing sharp, sparkling fangs.
“This isn’t a joke, Reika,” he snapped.
Reika’s grin melted away like ice in a desert. She immediately scowled back at him, her fingers curling around her mug.
“We can’t run forever, Owen,” she responded. “I was thinking you could go back to your father and say that I died, and I can find someone up in Canada who will take me in.”
Owen breathed in deeply. She could see and feel his wolf threatening to pop out from beneath his human skin. “That is literally the worst idea you could have thought of!” he bellowed.
His voice startled Reika slightly, but she wasn’t afraid of him. She stood from the table and met his glare unwaveringly.
“You know your father better than anyone!” Reika screamed back. “He is not going to stop until one or both of us is dead! If you have a better idea, I’d love to hear it!”
Owen brought his finger to his mouth with wide eyes. Reika felt like steam was going to burst from her ears.
“Don’t do that,” she said through gritted teeth. “You were the one who started yelling in the first place.”
They both stood still and silent for a long moment. They were arguing like they had been together for years. Reika felt guilt pass through her and reminded herself they were doing this for each other. They weren’t enemies.
Owen must have felt the same feeling because he let his head fall to his chest, and he let out a long, heaving sigh. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. “I just … I know deep down I would rather die than be without you. That really isn’t an option for me, ever.”
Reika’s heart skipped a beat, and she moved to him. They embraced, letting their rage go, putting it in a place where it belonged.
“I’m sorry too,” Reika whispered into his chest. “I want the best for you. That’s all I was thinking.”
He pulled her head away and held her in his hands.
“What is best for me is what is also best for you,” he asserted. “We are one now, you and I.”
They decided to get more information from the sage Torak the very next day. He suggested to them that they find somewhere they could live on their own, freely, perhaps on an island where their scent could not be caught by either family.
Owen and Reika agreed that they were running out of options, and the island idea seemed like the best chance they had at survival.
Owen
They decidedto take off the same day that they spoke to Torak. Owen was still in a bit of agony, but he knew the longer they stayed with the Blue Pack, the more likely it was they would be caught. So they packed up their things and headed out to their next destination.
They had researched a place that rested on island territory the night before, somewhere where their scent could be lost in the masses of human flesh. They had to get back to San Francisco and take a ship to Farallon Island and try to begin their lives disguised as humans.
It wasn’t the most foolproof plan, but they simply had no other choice. Owen was comforted by having Reika by his side, his mate, his beloved. There wasn’t any storm they couldn’t weather together.
As wolves, it was easier to move through forest areas at a faster pace and to camp out every now and then when they needed rest. They were almost back to San Francisco one night when Owen felt his ribs throbbing through his wolf fur.
Reika had stopped and sniffed his face.
