When I make my way back to the room, she’s awake and blinking wildly at us. She holds the blanket to her chest and sighs.
“We’re going home, aren’t we?” she asks.
The disappointment is palpable.
“We gotta get you home and safe, darlin’,” Tate says softly.
Lily nods her head in resignation.
“I just wanted more time here with you guys. I guess, I didn’t want to face that it was coming,” she admits with tears welling in her bright eyes, breaking all our fucking hearts.
“Hey, as soon as we can, we’ll go to Myrtle Beach,” I offer.
She laughs and wipes a tear from her face. “You said it was a shithole.”
“A hellhole. But a hellhole you haven’t been to nonetheless,” I correct.
“You promise?”
“I promise,” I reply.
“We can always come back here, too. It’s not a long ride. I told you, we’ll be gettin’ you out more. But right now, we need to get you safe, and that means going home and getting your pretty ass in your nest,” Tate rationalizes.
“Ugh, okay,” she sighs.
“She should ride on the back of my bike for a while, we don’t want to set her off bein’ with one of you,” Axel suggests.
I want to roll my eyes, knowing he wants as much time with her as he can steal, but he has a fucking point.
“Fine,” I grumble.
“Shit’s all packed up. Let’s get you home,” Axel says.
She looks around the room one more time, and I can tell she’s disappointed that our trip is being cut short.
“We’ll make it up to you, I promise,” I repeat with a kiss to the side of her head.
“I know, at least we got some time here,” she sighs, and it’s a gut punch. We just got here yesterday.
“Let’s get goin’ then. Come on, darlin’,” Axel says, taking her hand and leading her out of the hotel to his bike.
We’ve beenon the road for nearly four hours, and at least we’re in Mississppi, but Axel has us pulling over. We all follow suit and park at the nearest gas station.
“What’s up?” Tate asks.
Lily hops off the back of Axel’s bike, tossing her helmet and making her dark hair spill over her shoulders before she begins to pace.
“Lily, sweetheart?” I ask her.
“I just… I gotta… can you take the edge off?” she asks me.
The thing is, there’s really no taking the edge off when a heat starts. Me giving in now could mean she fully spirals into her heat. But there’s also no way she can sit on the back of a bike for another two hours in pain.
I take off my helmet but don’t get off my bike.
“Come here,” I tell her, and she immediately listens.
Axel and Tate get off their bikes and make a barrier between where I am with Lily and where someone could walk by.
