AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He pulls me into his chest and I squeeze him tightly. “Bea.”
“Yes.”
“You’re crushing me. Let go.” He winces.
“Sorry,” I say and move back to give us both space.
He crawls to the opening of the log before getting to his feet, and I steady him. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine.” He dusts himself down before looking around. We find some clothes in a nearby brush. I’m not sure who they belong to, but we get dressed in them anyway. “Where are the others?”
“I’ve only found you.”
“We should search for them, but your cabin was the last to survive. You should brace yourself for the worst.”
“Okay.” I rub my arms, and I want to lean into him for comfort, but I stop myself. He either chooses to ignore my sadness or doesn’t see it.
Together, we look for other members of our pack. As darkness begins to set in, we have to face reality; we can’t keep looking in the same place.
“There’s nobody here.”
“They could be at the local hospital, or maybe they gathered at the church hall with the humans?” I don’t want to give up hope.
He clenches his fist. He doesn’t like it when I talk about the mundane world. “My uncle’s pack lives in Mexico. If we follow the Rio Grande River, we could be there in a couple of days.”
He reached his decision quickly, and it feels wrong to give up so fast. I wave my arms in the air. “We can’t just go to another country. What if we’re leaving our pack behind?”
“Whether you like it or not, our home is ruined. We need a place to stay, even if it’s temporary.” The sure look on his face tells me he thinks it will be permanent.
“We could try a local motel?” If we have a few more days to search, maybe we’ll get answers.
“No.” His features harden.
He won’t change his mind, and after a few seconds, I give in. “My truck is under the old bridge. Maybe it’s survived. If we take the road, we’ll be able to take some clothes and you can wait in the vehicle while I check the hospital.”
“What about saving the environment? If we shift, we will save carbon emissions.” He folds his arms, giving off a negative vibe. He likes to get his way, but I’m not going to roll over and give him everything he wants.
I like to be as green as I can, but I have my truck for a reason. Sometimes having wheels is necessary.
“Yes, we should cut harmful chemicals in the air, but it makes sense not to abandon everything, especially right now when it might be the only thing I have left.”
“You’re telling me you’re going to wear this again?” he asks, holding up a ripped t-shirt.
I snatch it out of his hands, letting it fly up into the air. “No, but who knows when we’ll have a chance to purchase new essentials. We can gather up snacks, and these denim shorts are salvageable.” I pick them out of a nearby bramble. I have some money in the bank. It’s not a fortune, though, so it makes sense to save anything we can.
It doesn’t take him long to see I’m not going to change my mind. “Let’s go find your truck and see how lucky you really are.”
“I can’t be that lucky when my mate rejected me,” I mutter before turning away. I’m never going to settle for the conventional shifter life, and he can’t be in the human world. It’s not our way and he can’t change who he is, just like I can’t be who he wants me to be.
“Let’s go before it starts to get dark.”
We walk in silence to the old bridge. Everything is ruined, and a fresh start might be good for us both. We fight our way through the debris until we reach the truck, which looks to be in one piece. Next, we clear a route out from under the bridge. I turn the key in the engine, and it roars to life.
None of our pack seem to be in any of the local human venues. It isn’t easy to get out on the main road, but once we struggle through, we’re speeding into the night. Leaving Starr behind, we set off into the unknown.
Chapter Three
BEA
