Lifting her menu high, she hid her face behind it, trying to keep her temper in check. When had she become so possessive? Not once in her other relationships had she ever been even a bit jealous. Why now and why with Galen? Was it her wolf causing her to feel such outrage that another woman was after her man, or was it because deep down she knew they belonged together just as surely as her newly acquired inner wolf knew?
“I’ll let the lady order first,” Galen said with a smile as he pulled away from the hovering woman. “After all, I always let my ladies order first.”
“You’re such a gentleman.” The waitress simpered. It was a wonder the tart didn’t drool all over him like a bitch in heat.
Kendra wanted to barf. How in the hell could the woman think anyone was enticed by her blatant act? It was clear she was throwing herself at Galen, though she attempted to maintain an air of guileless innocence.
She’s about as innocent as a porn star.
Kendra almost spit out her drink at that. How could he say such outrageous things in her mind without even cracking a smile?
It’s easy once you get used to it. His right eye twitched. Or was that a wink?
“I try to be a gentleman at all times, especially where my wife is concerned.”
The change was instantaneous and obvious. The come-hither smile disappeared from the server’s face and she straightened. “It figures,” she mumbled. “Like I’ve been telling my mother for years, all the good ones have already been taken.”
It’s more than likely she has undermined her search for a good man by attracting the wrong kind with her slutty approach. Kendra, immediately contrite for her catty thoughts, returned her attention to her menu.
You could be right, but some men love that kind of thing.
Not the gentle and loving, marrying type of man.
You’re probably right. It’s usually the young and wild studs that like it.
I wish there was a way to get her to see that. Now that she could practically feel the other woman’s near desperation at spending her life alone, Kendra almost felt sorry for her.
“What can I get for you, ma’am?” the waitress turned her way and asked with more respect. It was almost as though someone had flipped a switch. As soon as she discovered she was no viable competition for Galen’s attention because he was already smitten with his wife, the waitress acted almost nice.
“I’d like the country fried chicken, please.” Kendra closed her menu and handed it to the server. She could kiss Galen for letting the woman know he wasn’t interested. Kendra wasn’t used to losing her temper and now that she was a werewolf, she didn’t know if she could control the fit of anger she’d felt building inside her a few short minutes ago.
“I think I’ll have the same. It sounds delicious.”
“Two country fried chicken dinners coming up,” the waitress said as she turned toward the kitchen.
“Thank you,” Kendra called after her. There was no sense in not being courteous now that she didn’t want to rip out the other woman’s throat for flirting with Galen.
Turning back to her companion, she leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Why did you tell her that we’re married?”
Galen shrugged and took a sip of his cola. “It looked as though you were ready to rip her head off. I thought I’d save you the trouble... and the mess.” He grinned.
“I don’t believe you.” She stared down at her hands and realized she’d shredded her napkin. “I’m going to need another one of these.” She sighed.
“That’s easy,” Galen said as he stood and reached over to the next table for a full napkin holder. “Apparently, they missed our table when they set these out.”
“Apparently.” Kendra gave him a half-grin. “I’ll eventually get used to these new emotions, won’t I?”
“What new emotions?” Galen frowned slightly and leaned forward. “You shouldn’t feel anything you haven’t always felt as a human.” He lowered his voice when he said the last bit.
“I have never felt such a strong sense of...” Pausing, she thought for a moment, her head tilted as she met Galen’s eyes. “... antagonism toward another woman over a man in my life.” She lowered her voice further. “I don’t know what came over me. That woman was infuriating me. I wanted to rip her throat out and believe me when I say I have never felt anything like that before in my life. Not once have I ever been the least bit jealous over a man, but with this woman, I could barely control the urge to attack her.”
She placed her hands flat on the table and sighed. “This thing, this wolf inside me makes me angry. It urges me to rip that woman to shreds.” She shook her head slowly. How could she make him understand? He’d probably lived with the same emotions all of his life. But having done so, such emotions would be normal to him. Probably even tame.
“I don’t think I can handle it.” She shook her head. “I wasn’t meant to be like this.” Her vision blurred as her eyes filled with tears. “I wasn’t born this way. I’ll never be able to control it like you can.”
“No one can control it like I can, just like no one can control it the way you can. We are all different. We’re all individuals who take and handle things in different ways.”
It couldn’t be that simple. Could it? Kendra stared down at the tabletop. Bits of shredded napkin littered the surface, and she brushed them aside. The smell of hot grease permeated the air, and she wrinkled her nose. “I hope dinner tastes better than it smells.”
That was one of the cons of her new status as a were-being. Even as a human, Kendra’s sense of smell was heightened to the point of absurdity and things either smelled delicious or they smelled so bad she wanted to puke.
“It usually does in restaurants like this,” Galen said with a smile. “I’ve eaten in small diners just like this one across the country and they usually have excellent food no matter how they look or smell. There’s just something about the down-home country diner.”
“And this is the best one in four counties,” the waitress said as she set their plates down in front of them. “No one cooks like old Harvey,” she said with a smile. “Dig in. I’ll just go and get you both another glass of soda to go with that.”
Kendra looked up and noticed her nametag for the first time. “Thank you, Samantha.”
“You’re welcome. But just call me Sam.”
Sam pulled two napkin-covered sets of utensils from her apron pocket and set them on the table. “I’ll be right back with those drinks, just let me know if you need anything else.”
“Wow.” Eyes wide, Kendra watched their server enter the kitchen. “What’s up with that? One minute she’s got an attitude from hell and the next she’s being sweet as pie.”
“She’s not looking at you as competition anymore. She’s accepted that I’ve made my choice.”
“But we aren’t married,” Kendra whispered.
Galen smiled and rested his hand on hers. “She doesn’t know that.” He gestured to her plate. “Enough talking,” he said as he leaned forward then lifted her hand and kissed it. “Eat that before it gets cold.”
Chapter Twenty
“I’ll let you use the bathroom first so you can take a shower and put on some clean clothes,” Galen said as he opened the door to their room. As tired as he was, he thought it best to forego the sleep and keep moving. “We need to get back on the road as soon as possible.” He could practically feel their enemies breathing down their necks.
Instead of continuing to head north to Michigan, he planned to head southeast hoping that those following them would think they’d taken the most direct route back to the Grand Rapids area.
He didn’t like the fact they were still alone on this quest to get to Michigan. He wasn’t certain what had kept his men from joining them before he had turned off onto this alternate route, but whatever it was couldn’t be good and his first priority was keeping his mate safe, whether or not he’d bound her to him.
“I thought we were staying here for the
night.” A little crease appeared between Kendra’s brows.
He wanted to kiss that little wrinkle away. He didn’t want to worry or frighten her, but a scared mate was still better than a dead or missing mate any day.
“I’m tired and,” she paused to reach up and brush a lock of hair from his forehead. “I can see you’re exhausted. You can’t possibly keep driving.”
Galen took her hands in his and kissed the back of each one. Gods how he already loved this woman for her bravery and her willingness to face danger so that he could get some much-needed rest. “I’ll be all right for a while. I just don’t want our enemies to catch up with us.”
“Enemies,” Kendra said with a shake of her head. “Our enemies...” Tears filled her eyes. “I’ve never had that word used in the same sentence with something describing me before.” She shuddered. “Will we ever be safe again? Will I ever be able to live a normal life again?”
How could he tell her he didn’t have the answer to that? What could he say other than now she would have to live her life as a shifter, constantly watching what she said and did, always making sure she didn’t shift in front of someone she shouldn’t.
Taking her arm, Galen gently pulled her into their room. “I don’t know, hon. I only know that I need to keep you safe. I can’t do anything but continue to do everything in my power to get you back to protected pack lands where we can keep the doctor and his henchmen away from you.”
If that meant going without sleep for a few more hours, then so be it. He would go without rest until he was close to passing out, then he would change into his wolf and protect her that way. He wasn’t sure why, but his people had never needed much sleep in their wolf forms. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that wild animals always slept in brief intervals. Whatever the reason, if he shifted for a couple of hours, he would be fighting fit when back in his human form.
“Just take your shower and get dressed and then I’ll do the same so we can hit the road again.”
“Will you at least let me drive? You’re exhausted. I can see that. You need to get some sleep.”
“I tell you what. I’ll let you drive if you’re feeling up to it, but I’ll change into my wolf. I won’t need much rest in that form to recuperate. Just two or three hours of sleep in my animal form will be enough to put me back at peak strength.”
Kendra blinked up at him. “You don’t need sleep in your animal form?”
“I didn’t say that.” He chuckled. “We don’t need as much sleep or need to rest for such long intervals in our animal form. You’ll see. One day, you’ll be exhausted in your human form and you’ll shift into your wolf form for a short time for one reason or another and you’ll find that you’re more invigorated when you change back into a human.” He smiled down at her. “Not to mention the fact that you’ll find you don’t need to shower or many other things that humans must do to be a part of civilized society.”
“I like to shower.” Kendra frowned and stood up straighter. “Though it does explain why I had no desire to use the shower in that glass cage where they kept me.”
“I don’t think anyone would have been in a hurry to shower with an audience. I don’t blame you for not wanting to use it.” Galen followed Kendra into the room and closed the door behind him.
Galen’s body shook every minute she was in the bathroom. He couldn’t help but imagine how she looked with the water cascading over her perfect skin. How he wanted to break down the door, climb into that shower with her and lick every drop of water from her lush body.
He’d almost given in when she exited the bathroom, her hair wrapped in a towel, her cheeks pink from the hot water. She still smelled wonderful, though it was mostly the soap she’d purchased when they had bought the clothes.
“Would you like to use this?” She held up the bottle of bath gel.
“No. Thank you.” Galen shook his head. “I’ll use the bar soap the motel has provided.” He would go mad in that bathroom with the scent she used to wash herself surrounding him as he bathed. He would never tell her that, though. Keeping the sexual needs of her wolf contained would be difficult enough without having to resist his advances as well.
“How long do you think it will take us to get to Michigan?” Kendra asked as he headed for the bathroom.
“At least a week.” It might even take longer, depending on their roundabout trek through the states.
“A week!” She frowned. “It shouldn’t take a week. I’ve driven from Mississippi to California by myself in less time. And I stopped every night. We’ve been on the road a good twenty-four hours, if not more. We should at least be getting close.”
“And we would be closer under normal circumstances, but we have to dodge henchmen. We’ve been taking a circuitous route to keep them off our trail.” Galen stood in the doorway to the bathroom, his cock hard and aching as he breathed in her luscious scent. “Trust me, Kendra. If you believe nothing else I’ve told you, believe this. I refuse to put you in danger no matter what. I believe that the men after you expect us to go straight to Michigan. That’s why it’s imperative for us to head southeast instead of northeast for a while. With any luck, they won’t expect it.”
He closed the door behind him, locking himself in the bathroom before he gave in to the desire to strip her naked and fuck her until she knew she belonged with him, to him, and he belonged to her.
Galen stripped his clothing off as quickly as he could. He had every intention of taking a quick shower, dressing and getting the hell out of the hotel before Thornton’s men caught up to them.
His only question was where the hell were Johnson and the twins?
Chapter Twenty-one
Cameron MacDonald followed the man through the convenience store to the back entrance near the bathrooms. He didn’t believe his luck in spotting Dr. Thornton’s right hand man buying food and drinks.
If he played his cards right, he could get to their vehicle and place a tracking device on the damned thing. Then they’d know exactly where to go next to capture the rat bastard.
He watched as the big man Thornton called Martin left the building through the backdoors and casually followed. Cam observed his target through the glass doors for a moment before exiting.
Hey, big brother, I just picked up their trail inside the store. Thornton’s goon, Martin just grabbed some snacks and headed out through the back. I’m going to follow him and see if I can’t put a tracking device on their car.
Don’t you dare do anything so fucking stupid. They probably knew you were in there alone. Let me get to you before you head out.
No can do. Martin is getting into the crew cab pickup they’re driving. I can see the tops of cages in the back. My senses tell me at least one of those cages holds a captured were. We can’t let that bastard get away again. I’m going in. It’s a charcoal gray crew cab with an eight-foot box.
Don’t you dare go in without me, you fucking sonofabitch!
Remind me to punch you in the mouth for that remark about our mother. We might be wolves now, but our mother is not a bitch.
Cam mentally cut himself off from his brother and headed after his prey. Randy had his back, he always had. If someone should ever capture him, he knew his brother would move both heaven and Earth to find him.
A glance out through the glass showed that the two men sat inside the vehicle presumably eating the sandwiches Martin had purchased. Using his stealth training, Cam made his way out of the building unseen and into the back parking lot.
Using the brick wall at the back of the lot for cover, he made his way to the vehicle. Reaching into his pocket, Cam pulled out one of the tracking devices he always carried and attached it to the metal reinforcement shaft beneath the plastic bumper.
The tracking device is in place. See? I told you that I could do it. I’m not a fucking baby. I don’t need your help, big brother.
It was after that comment that something stung him in the leg.
“Fuck, that hurts!”
Cam wriggled out from under the bed of the truck. Looking up, he noticed the emotionless smile and dark glasses of the man he’d followed out of the building. “What the fuck did you just shoot me up with?” He snarled at the other man, though his mind grew increasingly fuzzy.
“Something that will knock your ass out, you crazy blond bastard.” Martin’s grim smile told Cam he’d made a horrible mistake.
They got me Randy. Come quick!
Where are you Cam? Came his brother’s immediate reply. I can’t seem to get through this damned store. A fucking tourist bus just pulled in and the passengers are swarming the place.
Cam tried to answer but couldn’t. Something in the shot they’d given him had somehow blocked his mental link with his brother. Whether or not they’d meant to do that was anyone’s guess.
WHERE THE FUCK ARE you? Cam? Cam!
Randy looked frantically for his twin. Where was he and how had they stopped him from communicating?
He ran into the back parking area just in time to see a charcoal gray crew cab pickup pull out onto the busy highway. He had to get to his car. Randy knew he could outmaneuver the bastards if he could only get to the damned thing in time.
He reached his Hummer and pulled the nozzle from the tank, ready to hang it up and climb behind the wheel.
“Shit. Fuck! Sonofabitch!” They’d been on empty when they pulled into the gas station and he’d just set the nozzle to automatically fill the tank when he’d heard Cam’s call and ran. “How the hell did the nozzle get turned off?”
“Apparently, it’s state law,” a young man said as he pulled the nozzle from his own vehicle. “You’re supposed to stand next to your car while it’s filling in case a spark starts a fire. At least that’s what the old fart said when he turned it off and walked around the end of the building. I figured he worked here or something.”
Randy jammed the nozzle back down the fill tube with a curse. He’d never catch them now. It would take at least two minutes to fill the tank and he’d never even make it to the next gas station if he didn’t get more than just a couple of dollars’ worth into it.
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