“Depends on the model and how long they had it activated.” I close her door and walk around to the driver’s side, telling myself to move at a normal pace when everything in me wants to rush. “This one looked like the same type Raegen found when she infiltrated one of their camps. If I remember correctly, the effects lasted about a couple of hours.”
“A couple of hours.” She says it like a curse as I slide into the driver’s seat. “A couple of hours of being trapped like this.”
I start the engine with that familiar rattle. “I’m sorry. I know what it’s like to be cut off from your wolf.”
She looks at me with surprise. “You do?”
“Training exercise gone wrong when I was younger. Some idiot thought it would be good practice to see how we’d handle combat without our wolves.” The memory still makes me uncomfortable, makes my wolf growl with remembered displeasure. “They used a prototype suppressor on a group of us. It was one of the worst experiences of my life.”
A crease forms between her brows. “What was it like?”
“Empty. Like part of my soul was missing.” I pull onto the road, grateful for something to do with my hands that isn’t reaching for her. “Everything felt muted, distant. My senses were dulled, my strength was halved, and I couldn’t shake this feeling that something fundamental was wrong.”
Her voice comes out small when she replies, “That’s exactly how it feels. Like I’m only half here.”
“But you get through it. Your wolf is still there, just out of reach. She’ll come back once the suppressor wears off.” I glance at her briefly before focusing back on the road. “In the meantime, you’re safe. I won’t let anything else happen to you.”
The promise floats between us. It’s more than I should be offering to someone I just met, more than is appropriate given the circumstances. But I can’t help myself. Every fiber of my being demands I protect this woman, keep her safe, and make sure nothing else hurts her.
She’s my mate. Protecting her isn’t optional.
We drive in silence for several minutes. The landscape changes around us as we move deeper into Grayhide territory, away from the rocky borderlands and into the desert proper. The sun has fully set now, leaving us in darkness, broken only by my headlights.
I should turn around. Should take her to Llewelyn territory so she can report the attack to her matriarch and get medical attention from her own pack healers. That would be the logical thing to do. The respectful thing.
But every instinct I have screams at me to keep her close. To take her somewhere safe where I can protect her properly. Where no one else can hurt her.
After a few minutes, she sits up in her seat, seeming to realize what direction we’re headed. “You’re going the wrong way. Llewelyn is east. You’re driving south.”
“I know.” My hands grip the steering wheel harder.
“Then where are you taking me?”
“Home.” The word comes out before I can stop it. “My home. In Grayhide territory.”
She turns to look at me now, and I can feel the weight of her stare. “Why?”
“Because you’re cut off from your wolf and vulnerable.” I force myself to keep my eyes on the road because looking at her right now feels too dangerous. “Besides, Thornridge obviously knows you were on this road, and they might send more operatives to finish what those three started. Because taking you back to Llewelyn right now means driving through areas where we have no backup and limited visibility.”
All true. Also, not the complete truth.
My mate is coming home with me. Everything else can wait.
Chapter 5 - Sera
“Absolutely not.”
The words are saturated with finality as I cross my arms over my chest. Reeyan keeps driving like I haven’t just told him to turn this truck around.
“Sera—”
“No.” I cut him off. “Take me home. To Llewelyn. Right now.”
“I can’t do that.” His voice is calm, which only makes me angrier.
“You can’t, or you won’t?” I demand. “Because last I checked, the steering wheel works in both directions.”
He doesn’t answer. Just keeps his eyes on the road like I’m not sitting here about to lose my mind.
