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“He was thinking that interstates and public transportation are neutral territory, overseen by the Federal DOT so no one species can control them.” Heath answered, his tone poking fun at me for being worried. “Our ticket out of here.”
Heath hadn’t been on my good side in a while, and this only solidified my annoyance at him. But I still asked, “What’s the DOT?”
“Department of Transportation. They wouldn’t want one of their precious interstate buses getting damaged this far out in the middle of nowhere,” Heath answered.
“He knew the risk.” Flint’s fingers wove between mine.
He steadied my footing as we navigated the steep drop-off from the slope to the shoulder of the highway. Together, the three of us approached the Howling Echo pack alpha. Gage shifted back to two legs just in time for the bus driver to come out and berate him.
“Idiot shifter, what the hell was that about, huh?”
I stared in shock when I noticed the bus driver barely came up to my waist. He had long, drooping earlobes, and the short, greenish hair on his head looked much more like… moss?
“Is that a…” I whispered to Flint.
“One of many fae species,” he whispered back.
The fae man’s uniform seemed so out of place against his skin, which was pale with a moss green undertone. But instead of green eyes like I’d expected, his shone with an eerie lilac color.
Gage stared down at the little man. “We need a lift.”
“You couldn’t wait at the bus stop like everyone else?” the driver grumbled. “I don’t suppose you have any clothes, either?”
My surprise at seeing the little fae had stolen my attention. But at his words, my eyes involuntarily shifted to Gage, and I couldn’t help but ogle all the naked skin on display. Even his back was muscular, with his waist narrowing down to deliciously round buttocks. Muscle on muscle broadened his already wide shoulders. And his powerful thighs…
“Laura here has his clothes, don’t worry,” Heath called, pointing at me.
I blinked at the fake name before quickly realizing his intent. If anyone on the bus blabbed to the Ironwood pack about an unmarked wolf with pure white hair, they could be on us in a matter of days. Best not to make it even easier by identifying me by name.
Then I stepped forward with a smile plastered on my face. “Right here in his —mysling bag.”
Gage strode to me, making it hard for me to find a safe place to properly avert my gaze. When we were around outsiders, I had a part to play as a packmate of the Howling Echo and a shifter who could actually shift. No subordinate wolf would meet her pack alpha’s gaze for long.
Instead of taking the sling bag from me, Gage towered over me, then cupped my cheek and ran his thumb over my lips, as he was so fond of doing. I tensed, wondering what Flint would do. Then I recalled his words from a few nights ago…My wolf doesn’t mind, nor do I.
Gage did a reverse striptease, his eyes burning into me the whole time, as if daring me to look away from his sculpted body. From his dark gaze, I knew he’d decided the deal was still in effect, despite what I’d said back in Moonblessed.
“Sure, take your time,” the little fae called. “Not like the rest of us have somewhere to be.”
As if his words prompted the bus’s passengers, someone called out the window, “Get out of the way, already.”
The bus driver hopped up the stairs, and I stifled a smile as he climbed up a wall as tall as he was in order to take his seat. Gage followed him aboard, making the stairs look tiny in comparison. Flint went next, pulling me along by my hand, and Heath brought up the rear.
Once aboard, I turned to find an entire bus full of passengers staring at us. A few empty seats were scattered around here and there, and I squeezed Flint’s fingers.
There were whole families on board, and not all the passengers were shifters. One family shared matching amber eyes, but they were my height or taller and had long, pointed ears. I had to assume they were some other type of fae. One of them had long, flaming orange hair that deepened in color toward the tips, while the other two ranged from indigo to purple.
Gage tromped down the narrow aisle ahead of Flint, and I could spot which few passengers were wolves by the way Gage growled at them as he passed, and the way they all averted their gazes. He was one of the most dominant wolves I’d ever met, and their inner wolves instinctively sensed it, too.
The bus started rolling before we found our seats. Some seats faced backward so that passengers could gather in groups for the long journey. Gage stopped at one such section and growled, “Move.”
“Fucking wolf shifters,” a girl with dyed purple hair grumbled.
Since I could see her brownish roots, I had to assume she wasn’t a fae. She got up and headed for another open seat in the back.
Once the other passenger had vacated the spot, Gage’s broad frame filled the seat beside the window. He sighed, facing the front of the bus as if he’d been waiting for his stop this whole time. His wide shoulders crossed into the tiny seat beside him, so Flint and I took the seats facing him, which meant we faced backward.
Instead of crowding Gage, Heath smirked down at me, then scooped me up from my seat.
