Before I can even attempt to fight him off, Thane scoops me into his arms and takes off into the forest.
“Let me go!” I grunt, throwing my left palm into his chest with as much force as I can muster.
He stops running, his eyes falling to mine with a wild look in them that makes my heart stutter. Thane sets me down on the ground and starts pacing back and forth.
“How could you be so stupid?” He spits the last word, pushing his hands through his dark hair as he turns on his heel and rushes toward me. “Reckless, stubborn, impossible human!” He pulls me up from the ground and pins me against a tree. “You could’ve died!”
“If it meant taking you with me, then so be it!” I fire back.
He grabs a hold of my head with both hands like he’s about to slam it into the side of the tree, but he doesn’t. Instead, he presses his forehead to mine, drawing in a deep breath.
When he pulls back, there’s a smudge of blood next to his scar, and I wipe my forehead, realizing it’s my blood. Everything happened so fast, and with the adrenaline pumping, I hadn’t realized just how much I hurt. Thane rips a strip of fabric from his shirt and presses it against the wound with pinched brows.
“You and this damn forehead,” he breathes with the shake of his head.
The anger seems to dissipate between us with each passing second. Almost as if the mark is somehow making it impossible for us to fully hate each other. It’s like there’s an ocean between us. Sometimes there’s a hurricane violently whipping up waves, while other times, the water seems to be completely calm. Neither of us seems to have control over our emotions. I know I hate him after all that he’s done, but risking my life to take his doesn’t feel like me at all, and yet that’s what I did.
He pulls the fabric from my forehead and runs his glowing eyes down my face.
“Never, ever, do something like that again.” He says it as more of a plea than a threat, and I watch as his throat bobs, wondering if he’s swallowing the rest of his anger.
“What are you doing?” I scream, as he throws me over his shoulder and takes off through the forest.
He sets me down once we reach the road and immediately starts sprinting from car to car. Eventually, one purrs to life, and he calls for me to get in. When I slip into the seat, I chew on the inside of my cheek, trying to hold in my laugh.
“What’s so funny?” he asks, clearly not sharing my amusement.
I shake my head. “It’s nothing.” A laugh bursts from my lips, and I quickly clamp my hand over my mouth to smother it.
“Tell me,” he growls, reaching over to pull my hand away.
“It’s just…” I draw in a breath. “You went from an Aston Martin to a Prius.” Hysterical laughter spews from me as I take in the look of Thane bunched in the driver’s seat. “And it’s teal!”
He lets go of my wrist and sits back, letting out an irritated breath. “Get it out now because you won’t be laughing later.”
“Oh, come on. You know it’s alittlefunny.”
He rolls his eyes at me and inches the car out onto the side of the road that has been cleared. The engine struggles when he attempts to accelerate too fast, and I toss my head back, letting out a laugh that sounds a hell of a lot like a scream. He mumbles something, but I can’t make it out over my laughter.
“Quickly!” he adds, a bit louder.
I turn my attention to him, and my laughter immediately ceases.
“You have a cell phone?” I gape, watching him shove it back into his pocket.
He looks at me with confusion. “Yeah…”
“I thought… well, I just assumed that the cell towers wouldn’t work anymore.”
“I think you have the wrong idea of us, Grey.” He keeps one hand on the steering wheel and turns to face me. “We’ve spent hundreds of years living in the human world. Most of the werewolves integrated. They had jobs and houses. Even some of the vampires found isolated work.” He turns his attention back to the road. “The areas you’ve been living in are reserved for those who choose to live a morenaturallifestyle. Once we get to Seattle, you’ll see it’s not so different.”
“Seattle?” I blurt. “That’s where we’re going?”
“Mhm.”
“Why?”
He turns to me with a slight smirk. “I lost two leaders because of you. Now I need to find their replacements.”
