“They’re not going to hurt our child.You all are freaking crazy, and if the Mother thinks that, then she and I need to have a chat!I’m sick of her fucking up my life,” El screamed.
“She is our Mother,” Willow said as she was trying to warn El of her harsh words.
“She’s not my Mother.All she is to me is a tormentor.”
Persia finally quit running when they got to a car and then waited for Willow to get inside before she put El in.El figured there was no way for her to get out of the car, but that didn’t stop her from trying the door and window.Willow gave her a sympathetic look.
“What about you?You have to feel the pain from your own mate, Willow.He probably thinks you betrayed his family,” El asked.
“I do feel the pain, but as far as the rest, my mate will know that I would never betray anyone.I was very clear that I would do what was best for you, regardless of the consequences.Your mates will probably kill me once this is done, and I’m okay with that.”
“You’re all fucking crazy,” El said with a small hysterical laugh.
The car pulled forward, and El watched as everything familiar slowly faded in the rear-view mirror, and nothing but the unknown lay ahead of her.They didn’t stop for hours, and even though El’s stomach growled and grumbled, she refused to acknowledge her hunger or thirst.
Persia pulled into a small gas station in a town so small, El wasn’t sure if it could even be considered a town.
“We’re almost where we’re going just a few more hours, so I’d recommend getting out now and using the bathroom,” Persia told her.
El didn’t respond, but when the door clicked signaling it was unlocked, she slid out of the backseat.Persia watched El walk around the car and meet up with Willow before she started getting gas.El felt her lioness bristle at the close scrutiny but otherwise held herself in check.El had spent most of the car trip wondering if she shifted into her lioness what would happen.
The reason she simply didn’t try was deep down, aside from the betrayal, the two women who had taken her were the two women El felt closest to.She wasn’t sure what her lioness would do to them, and El wasn’t sure she could live with it.Willow stayed with her until she got to the restroom.
El did her business and washed her hands.When she emerged from the bathroom, Willow wasn’t standing there waiting like she usually was.El tentatively stepped out of the hallway and looked around the gas station.Willow perky blonde curls were nowhere to be seen.El had a brief rush of adrenaline thinking maybe she had found her window to run.She hurried down an aisle, hoping there would be a different exit other than the one right in front of gas pumps, but there wasn’t.El looked to her left, and there was both Persia and Willow standing by the car, their eyes locked on El’s.They knew what she had been thinking.Her lioness once again bristled, letting her know she could take her away, but at what cost, El couldn’t be sure.She turned and headed back to the car.
“She could kill us, you know,” Persia said once they were back on the road.
“I know,” El replied.
They were talking about El’s lioness, and even her panther, although her panther had taken more of a back seat to her lioness.El wished she could ask Willow for advice on why that was, but she refused to acknowledge Willow’s information as anything but bullshit.
“I’m sorry there’s so much we can’t tell you,” Willow spoke up.
“Right now, the biggest question I have is why I care what my lioness does to either of you.Maybe by the time we get where we’re going, I’ll know the answer.”
“Deep down, your lioness can feel that we mean you no harm.She’s upset because we’re taking you away from your mates,” Willow explained.
“Willow, do me a favor and keep your lessons to yourself,” El snarled.
Nobody said anything else for rest of the trip.They pulled down a long driveway that led to a small cabin in the middle of nowhere.El wasn’t even sure if she was still in California, but she didn’t care.They got out of the car, and just as Persia was about to open the door, it flew open and the last person El thought she’d ever see greeted Persia with a hug.
“Thank you for coming Leilani.”
Chapter 26
Trip
“Have we heard from Ryan today?”Trip asked as he entered Ryan’s office, where Marcus, Shawn, and Adam were.
“There’s scent of him on the far northeast boundary,” Adam said his tone melancholy.
“Any word on the traffic cameras?”Trip asked.
“Not a sign of them,” Marcus answered.
Trip felt like putting his fist through the wall.It had been three days since El had been taken from them.That meant it had also been three days since Ryan had shifted into his lion, and for all they knew was unable to shift back.It had taken a full day to get Shawn to shift back and even then it had been pure luck.Shawn had finally fallen asleep and in his slumber had relaxed enough that his human form finally overcame his panther.Trip was glad Shawn had finally shifted though because they would need him to be able to shift for the shit storm that was no doubt coming.
The Pride was already asking questions since Ryan had been stuck in his lion form and no sign of El.The unrest was to be expected since they also had yet to find Leilani in the middle of it all.Trip dragged his hands through his hair.
