Chapter 9
Damian
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“You’re sure we canafford to stay here for a couple of days?” Sabrina asks, and I twist in my seat to see her.
Out of respect, I’m riding shotgun to give her a little space, but I couldn’t bring myself to go so far as riding in the truck instead. Everything in me revolts against the thought of allowing any more distance to come between us, yet I can’t bring myself to risk touching her, either. If I did and she pulled away from me? I can’t promise I’d be able to hold onto my already tenuous control of my baser half that’s been going out of his damn mind since she brought up severing ties between us.
There isn’t a place in this world or the next she could go that I wouldn’t follow. She’s mine, and I will always find my way back to her.
I fucked up, but fading into the background isn’t going to fix anything. I let my obsession with saving our people get carried away, but it’s the only thing that’s kept me putting one foot in front of the other my entire life. All I was focused on was a life without anyone having to live in fear of Ash, and my mate at home with me where she belongs. If push came to shove and I had to pick between them, of course I’d choose Sabrina in a heartbeat every single time. But she’s the key to our freedom, I can feel it. So how can we not at leasttry?
Everyone else in my life has given up; I couldn’t stand seeing Sabrina fall into the same trap. I thought giving her a purpose to latch onto would keep her from spiraling any further than she already was, not send her into a tailspin. Now, I’m on the verge of losing her.
A fresh slate to do things right. One chance to fix this. But if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s going all in when I make up my mind about something, and I’m not stepping foot on that mountain until I convince Sabrina that my life means nothing without her.
“Absolutely. And to prove it,” trailing off, I pull my phone out of my pocket, dialing the Slaughters’ number.
Merrick answers on the second ring. “Kincaid, you better have a damn good reason for not being here yet.”
Ensuring there are absolutely no secrets, I switch it to speakerphone. “I do. Bit of engine trouble, but we’re back in action. Going to stop in Khalida for a day or two, stock up on supplies, and let her enjoy her fill of civilization before dragging her back to a mountain of depression.”
His low growl echoes around the confines of the SUV. “Getting pretty damn sick of your excuses, boy. It’s been over a month. If you’re trying to hide something, time isn’t going to-”
“It was my idea,” Sabrina interjects, and I scowl, because this is the fucking opposite of what I was trying to do.Again.“There are a few things I wanted to grab if we’re going to be there for the indefinite future without being able to jog down the road to the store. Need me to pick up anything for you guys while we’re there?”
Several moments stretch on before Merrick clears his throat. “Don’t waste your money.” Apparently, that’s all he’s going to say to her, barking a sharp, “Kincaid?”
“Still here.”
“Steer clear of the east side.” With that, he hangs up, and a massive grin splits my face.
Sabrina’s lips buzz with her exhale. “Well that went crap-tacularly well.”
“Are you kidding?” Ignoring the scowls Boden and Reid are shooting my way, I meet her nervous gaze with complete confidence. “That was even better than we could have hoped for.”
“What are you talking about?” Reid demands.
“Eastern district is Raiden’s territory. Human, but has a hand in damn near everything that happens in Khalida's underbelly. Or at least, I thought. Met the guy once back when I was a kid, and I could have sworn he was one of us; intimidated the fuck out of me. But there was something off about him that didn’t fit the mold of a wolf. Now that we know there are others like us out there, I’d bet my left nut he’s one of ‘em. If Merrick is warning us off, that means he wants to keep you clear of whatever's going on. Which means heknows.That’s fantastic news, because it means he'll have at least some of the answers we’re looking for.”
Slade makes a sound of agreement, but doesn’t comment. He simply follows the GPS directing him to follow the fork in the road to the right through the mountain pass, looking years younger simply from not worrying about staying ten steps ahead of everyone for once. Bo, on the other hand, chimes in, “To be fair, if he knows, he’s likely in business with Raiden, too. And how the hell did none of us know others even existed in the first place? I understand keeping it a secret from humans, but not other shifters. Yet not only did you three not know, but we weren’t even aware there were wolves outside of Shadow Ridge. I don’t get it.”
One glance at the way Sabrina stiffens in her seat, and I put a hard end to the conversation for now. “Discussion tabled for another day. Tossing around theories will do nothing but stress everyone out, and it’s not like we’ll get the answers to them tonight, nor do we need them. Today is officially a day off of any and every even remotely depressing topic.”
Suspicious now, Sabrina asks, “So what are we doing here?”
As we follow the curve in the road, the massive city of Khalida finally comes into view. “Taking you on a real date.”
Set into the valley beneath us, it’s surrounded by mountains on all sides. Parts of the city are spreading up to encompass the base of them, expanding a decent amount since I was here as a kid. With a road leading in from between every mountain, there’s no issue getting supplies, but it’d be easy enough to block the main routes if there were ever a need. People could still access by hiking, but the terrain wouldn’t make it easy.
How did I not see it before?
