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“Thanks, kiddo,” she said, ruffling his hair.
“How are you feeling? Can I get you anything?”
Mia looked down and saw she was still wearing the hospital gown Lucian had found for her. Just the thought of him made her wolf prance happily in her mind.
“Can you take me home?”
“Um, Mal said you need to stay here.”
“Why?”
“Doc said he wanted to talk to you when you woke up, and also, Mal’s not here.”
“I don’t need to see Doc. I went through a heat-cycle and now it’s over.”
Her brow arched. “It’s not September.”
“I know. It was a drug, but it felt real. Well, worse than real, actually, but it’s over and I’m fine now. Luc saved my life.”
“He’s the reason it was in danger in the first place.”
Mia looked at Nila for a quiet moment. “Do you know where Lucian is?”
Her eyes narrowed. “He’s gone.”
Mia glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand. It was two in the afternoon. She had little memory of what happened after Lucian carried her from the ravens’ building. It had been dark out, but she’d felt entirely safe in his arms and had fallen asleep almost immediately.
“What do you mean he’s gone?”
“You can talk to Mal when he gets back from Acksel’s. He’ll be bringing Doc with him. I’m sorry, Mia, but Mal threatened Lucian if he came back here. You’re better off without him. I’m…angry with myself for getting involved. I should’ve told you to get on with your life instead of trying to orchestrate a meet-up between the two of you.”
“He’s my mate, Nila.”
She stood, lifting Jack into her arms. “Well, your wolf is an idiot. I’ve never met a more dangerous male in my life, and that includes my ex and his nutjob pack members. He was covered inblood, Mia. You could’ve died.”
She turned and walked from the room, closing the door behind her.
Mia stared at the door. Part of her wanted to just curl up and cry, but it was the small pathetic part that felt abandoned by Lucian. Larger than that was her wolf, who was howling that they werenotgoing to be a damsel in need of rescuing ever again. She and Lucian had marked each other, and she knew he would come back for her. But rather than wait for him, she was going to go get him herself. Wherever the hell he was. She’d start by finding a phone and calling his cell.
She pulled the blanket off and stood, walking to the closet and sliding the door open. Just as she’d remembered, there was a plastic tub pushed against the wall, with a label that read: ‘Brynn’s Stuff, No Touchie.’ Before Mal had moved into the home, Brynn had rented it from Mia’s parents. Once Brynn had moved in with Acksel, she’d taken most things to his house, but some items had been left behind, including this tub of old clothes.
Tugging the container free of the closet, Mia opened the lid and gave herself a mental high-five. Although what she really wanted was a shower – in her own bathroom – and her favorite comfy lounge pants, she’d settle for Brynn’s old clothes. After finding a pair of jeans, a black tank top, and a pink plaid button-down, Mia dressed and then went looking for socks and shoes. She found a pair of hiking boots on the other side of the closet, but no socks.
Mal’s home was on the other side of the woods from Mia’s. She could cut through the trees, avoiding the main roads and possibly being sighted by pack members who would give Mal a heads-up. She knew her brother very well, and when he got his mind set on something, it took a lot to change it.
He clearly thought that Lucian was to blame for her capture, but she just didn’t feel that way. From her perspective, Lucian had done everything he could to keep her safe. It hadn’t worked, because the ravens were sneaky bastards, but it wasn’t Lucian’s fault – it was theirs. Only assholes targeted mates, and although she’d never been glad to see anyone die before, she wasn’t shedding any tears for the ravens.
Going to the window, she poked her fingers between the blind slats and looked out. She didn’t see anyone patrolling, but it wouldn’t surprise her if Mal had asked some of the pack protectors to keep an eye on the house. She lifted the blinds slowly so they didn’t make a lot of noise. Twisting the locks on the window, she pulled it open and then pressed the buttons on the screen to unlatch it. After angling it, she brought it into the room and then swung her leg over. Fortunately the house was a ranch, so she didn’t have to worry about falling and breaking something.
She wiggled through the window and dropped to the ground. Tilting her head, she listened for voices or footsteps, but heard none. Settling into her wolf, she held her breath for a few moments to calm her wild pulse, and then she raced away from the house to the woods. She ran as fast as she could, dodging low branches and tree trunks as she made her way home. She stopped at the edge of the tree line behind her house, peeking around a broad trunk and trying not to pant too loudly. Her home wasn’t surrounded by pack members, and no one had followed her through the woods, which made her wonder if Mal was really worried about Lucian coming back.
Stepping from behind the tree, she cast her gaze back and forth along the edge of the woods and listened intently. When she was sure there was no one around, she hurried across the back yard to her home. She kept a spare key taped under a large terra cotta pot on the back patio; she tilted the pot and pulled the key from under the tape. After pushing the sliding door open, she unlocked the back door, replaced the key, and then walked into her house.
The moment the door shut, she knew she wasn’t alone. Fear ratcheted through her. She kept her hand on the door handle and wondered how fast she could get it unlocked.
“Don’t be afraid, Mia,” a male voice said from behind her.
There was the sound of a smack and another male said, “That’s the most idiotic thing to say to someone. It’s like saying ‘don’t look down.’”
