by Kit Lane
The motel was one of those shabby, 1930s single-story builds, with any glamor that it might have had, long since faded. I pulled into the parking lot and turned to the pack. I was dressed, so it may as well be me booking the room.
“How many rooms?”
“One,” Matt said, and there was agreement from everyone. “We can go wolf.”
I squashed down a hint of disappointment at not having the chance to be alone with Alex, and got out of the Toyota. I rolled my shoulders to ease some of the stiffness and headed in the direction of reception.
Reception was just as shabby, with wood paneling that gave the whole place a dark feel. The teenager behind the counter looked up from his phone with a scowl. He had a scraggly goatee and wore a T-shirt with the logo of one of my favorite bands. I had been to a concert from that tour. He was human, not wolf, and the knot in my chest eased a fraction. He forced a smile as I approached showing even white teeth his parents had probably paid a fortune for.
“Can I help you?”
“I’d like a room.”
I got the impression he just restrained himself from rolling his eyes. He went through the questions and asked me for my license. I handed it over, hoping I wasn’t giving us away to the local wolves, but he didn’t seem to take any notice of my tension.
He handed me a key saying, “It’s around the back.” That seemed to be the extent of his interaction as he went back to staring at his phone.
I left him to it and loped back to the car. Two pairs of human eyes and two pairs of wolf’s eyes, all dark amber, stared at me. I held up the key and there was a collective sigh of relief. I drove around the back and noted with relief we could park outside. I put the car in park and turned my head to look at Lee and Kyle.
“Wait until the door is open before you get out. The last thing we want is to be thrown out for having dogs.”
Lee chuffed at me, but they waited until I’d unlocked the door of the room before they scurried in. The room matched the outside; shabby with faded linens and scratched furniture, but it was clean and the bed was large. One human and four wolves could probably squeeze on there. Even better, there were vending machines close by.
Kyle waited until the door was closed and lay against it. “I’ll take first watch.”
No one tried to argue that we didn’t need a bodyguard.
Matt stripped off and climbed onto the bed. He was asleep almost before he was wolf. His coat was still scarred and tattered from the fight. I noticed Alex didn’t blink an eye now at being surrounded by naked men or wolves. Lee curled around him, buried his nose under his tail and fell asleep too.
I sat next to Alex, who’d stripped down to her T-shirt and was wearily kicking off her shoes. She shoved her jeans to her feet and sat on the bed. I slipped an arm around her shoulders. “You okay?”
She yawned and placed her head on my shoulder. “I will be. I feel like I could sleep for a year.”
I stroked her hair. “Go to sleep.”
Alex leaned forward and we kissed, a sweet meeting of our mouths, before she snuggled on the other side of Matt. It just left me enough room to curl next to her. Before I slept I raised my head to glance over at Kyle. He dipped his head, and I relaxed enough to follow the others into slumber.
Chapter 37 - Alex
Something tickled my nose and I sneezed. I rubbed my nose and sneezed again.
“Bless you,” Ronin murmured inside my head.
I cracked open one eye to see three wolves staring at me. I managed a sleepy, “Good morning.”
“Not even close,” Matt said in amusement.
“What time is it?” I squinted at my watch. “Five o’clock. Have we slept all day?”
“You did. We’ve been awake on and off,” Ronin said. “More off than on.”
Kyle, Matt, and Ronin nuzzled into me, and I gave each one an ear scratch that had them closing their eyes in delight. The sheer rightness of it struck me. Waking up next to wolves was normal. When had that happened?
The door opened and wolves went from relaxed to alert in a split second. It was Lee, dressed in Matt’s clothes and bearing a tray of coffee and a takeout bag.
He held up the bag. “I have dinner.”
The bed was full of men holding out their hands almost instantly. Lee handed me a cup and a wrapped something which proved to be an egg and bacon sandwich. The aroma was unbelievably good, and my stomach growled in appreciation. The room fell silent as everyone ate. Lee was sensible enough to bring two for everyone, and I idly contemplated whether we could send him out for more. He went and got more coffee from the vending machine, which was about as good as expected, but it was hot and washed down the sandwiches. I sighed in contentment as I finished the last of the coffee.
“Should have gotten three each,” Lee muttered before licking his fingers clean, and I snorted as everyone agreed.
“We ought to stock up on more supplies,” Matt said. “How much money have we got?”
It had taken me a while realize the Cinco shared everything. I guess I was now included in the pack. “I’ve still got the credit card. Aunt Ruth put a lot of cash on it. We’re not short of money as long as we go carefully.”
Matt gave a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Aunt Ruth.”
“There’s also basics in the vehicle,” Lee said. “Travel rations; jerky, trail mix, water. Even if we get stuck we won’t starve.”
I gave him a skeptical frown. “She was only expecting me to take the car.”
Lee shook his head. “Either you were going on a long journey or she planned for all of us.”
Devious Aunt Ruth. All that talk about me being by myself. It was just to get me through the tunnels while she talked some sense into my wolves. My wolves. My inside rumbled its appreciation at the thought.
“So we have money and food.” Matt looked relieved. “Now we just need a destination.”
I took a deep breath and blurted out, “I know where we’re going.”
No one seemed surprised, and they all waited for me expectantly. One of the things I appreciated about these guys was their ability to be quiet.
“I’ve been dreaming about this one place in Maine we used to visit when I was a child.”
Lee bit his lip. “What if he’s trying to tell you something now after two years of silence?”
“Perhaps he knows Alex has found her Cinco,” Kyle said. “If everyone else knows, maybe he found out too.”
I had other questions circling in my head like water around a plug. Like why my dad had gone into hiding? Why he hadn’t taken me with him? Why he’d left me to be thrown to the wolves? But Kyle had a point. It was too much of a coincidence. “You mean I’m not dreaming? My dad is trying to tell me something?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Lee said.
“We’re on the opposite coast to Maine,” I protested.
“Road trip!” Matt grinned and for a moment, all the wolves had the frat boy excitement about them.
I rolled my eyes. Before I could make a snarky comment there was a knock at the door. We all went on alert, then Ronin called out, “Who is it?”
“It’s Ken from reception.”
The voice cracked and Ronin mouthed, “It’s the kid from reception.”
“Get rid of him,” Matt murmured.
Ronin nodded. “What do you want?”
“Do you have dogs in there? There’s a no pet rule.”
“Oh crap,” Lee muttered. “I’m sorry, I poked my head out as wolf.”
Ronin chuffed and flung open the door. “See for yourself. No dogs here.”
Even from where I was sitting, I could see the color drain from Ken from reception’s face.
Ronin was naked, so was Kyle and Matt. I was half dressed, and Lee was the only one fully clothed.
“What’s going on here?” Ken demanded. I could see him square his shoulders and try not to act like the frightened kid he was. “Why are you all in here? This is a decent place, not a… not an adult
movie.”
To give everyone credit, they didn’t laugh, although I saw Matt’s lips twitch.
“We just needed a place to sleep and save money,” Ronin said, trying not to spook the kid any more than he was already. “Give us five minutes and we’ll be gone.”
“You needed to sleep naked,” Ken asked skeptically.
“What do you sleep in?” Matt asked.
“I… I think you should leave.”
Ronin nodded. “Five minutes.” He shut the door on Ken’s defiant gaze. “Okay then, time to go.”
I got up and dressed, wishing I’d had clean clothes to change into. Ronin, Kyle and Matt made no effort to dress. I raised an eyebrow at them. “You’re leaving here naked?” In answer, they shifted. “You just told the poor boy there were no dogs in here.”
Lee shrugged. “No dogs, just wolves. And plenty of fur in the bed.” The wolves could do smug asshole like no one else, but he was right, the bed had a fine layer of gray hair over it. “Oh well. I guess I’m driving.”
I picked up the keys and opened the door. Ken waited for us. His jaw dropped when he saw the three wolves.
“You said you didn’t have any dogs,” he said in an accusatory tone.
“These are wolves,” I said mildly as I opened the door for them.
Ken drew back as Matt snarled at him. “You had wild creatures in there?”
“Don’t worry. They’re house-trained,” I assured him.
There was a collective groan in my head.
“Where are the rest of the men you had in there?” Ken demanded.
“In the vehicle. Bye for now.”
I got into the car and drove away, leaving Ken staring after us.
“I guess he doesn’t like shifters.”
“It happens,” Matt said, “Knowing about shifters is not the same as seeing them in the flesh.”
I pinked, remembering my initial reaction to them. “We’ll be lucky if he doesn’t call the cops on us.”
Matt shifted into human form. “Nah. A beautiful woman with four guys? This’ll give him jerk-off fantasies for months.”
There was a silence in the vehicle and I suddenly remembered that moment before the attack. I swallowed hard. “He’s not the only one.”
Chapter 38 – Matt
The image that flashed into all our minds was so detailed, so right, and I couldn’t tell who it had come from. This time, Alex was on her hands and knees, being taken from behind. She was loving one of us with her mouth, one was under her, and the others kissed down her back. I was glad Alex didn’t turn around to see the four men/wolves behind her freak out. I had no way of hiding my reaction in front of the others, but we’d all been there before. Lee fidgeted in his seat, and Ronin and Kyle were fixedly staring at the floor.
Alex sighed. “I said the wrong thing again, didn’t I?”
I looked at Lee, who shrugged. His meaning was clear. You have to handle this, Alpha. Thanks. He smirked at my scowl.
I coughed. “Not wrong. Just unexpected.”
“You can’t tell me you haven’t thought about it.”
To my surprise, Lee answered her question. “Of course we’ve thought about it, but you were adamant you weren’t interested before, and you and Ronin seemed close.”
There was silence in the car for a long while before she replied. Ronin’s wolfy gaze fixed on Alex. We all knew how he felt about her. He’d made it clear from the start, and she seemed to return his interest.
“I am attracted to Ronin,” she said, her voice soft. “He’s kind-hearted and gorgeous, and he’s been a friend from the start.”
She seemed not to be saying something. “But you’re attracted by the idea of us being together in one bed?” I wasn’t trying to be a dick about it, but at least if it was out in the open, we could handle it together.
“I can’t imagine not being together,” she said, her voice soft. I couldn’t see her face but I sensed her cheeks were pink. “I like sleeping curled around each other.”
“I do too,” Lee said. “It feels right.”
The two wolves chuffed, presumably showing their agreement, and I said, “I’ve slept better since we’ve been sleeping in the same bed than I have since we were pups.”
“But we’re not talking about sleeping.” Kyle had shifted and it seemed he had something to say.
“No,” she agreed.
One of my unspoken roles as alpha was to approve of the mates of the Cinco. While we’d been four, I’d told the guys they could hook up with any girl but there would be no long-term mating. We were at college. It was time to play around. I was the only one who had hooked-up regularly, but I’d never met anyone I’d wanted to call mate. Ronin and Lee had kept their relationships discreet, and Kyle didn’t seem interested. Now we were a complete Cinco and pheromones were flying around from all of us, so thick I could feel it in the back of my throat.
“We need to deal with this,” I said. “Talk it through. But only when we’re safe. I can’t think about this while we’re running for our lives.”
I could sense the agreement and the disappointment from everyone. Tough. I needed to protect them all and I’d do that, even from themselves.
Alex didn’t answer, and one quick glance told me her attention was focused in the rear-view mirror.
“What’s wrong, Alex?” I asked, nerves sharpening the edge of my tone.
“There’s a black SUV. I think it’s a Ford Explorer. It’s been behind us for the last five miles. It could be nothing, but if I speed up, it speeds up. If I slow down, it falls back.”
“If it’s following us, it’s not being subtle,” Ronin said.
“I’ll check the network.” Lee’s eyes went blank as he focused his attention elsewhere.
“Get dressed, then buckle up in case we’re involved in an accident,” I ordered as I rummaged through my bag for anything to wear. Lee was still wearing my T-shirt and sweats from yesterday. At some point we were going to have to hit a shopping mall. “Kyle, you shift and dress too.”
I sensed his annoyance and I got it. Kyle could handle himself much better as a wolf. “If we’re rammed, you’ll go flying and could damage us and yourself. We can get a doggy harness later.” From the wave of fury being sent my way, Kyle obviously didn’t like the idea of being strapped into a harness. I did my damndest not to laugh. I felt the amusement from Ronin and Lee, and when Kyle shifted, his face was a study in outrage. “Easy, Hunter. I’m being practical here.”
Kyle grumbled under his breath, but he scrambled into his clothes and made sure he was strapped in.
“What’s the vehicle doing, Alex?”
She glanced in the mirror. “It’s still behind me. I could try to outrun it.”
“We don’t want to attract the attention of any cops.”
“We could take back roads. If he follows us, we know he really is on our tail,” Kyle suggested.
Alex scanned the GPS. “There’s a set of roads about five miles ahead. It’ll put us back on the highway just before the next town.”
“Are we okay for gas, Alex?” Ronin asked.
“Yeah. We’ll have to fill up tonight.”
“Take the back route,” I ordered. “Ro, sit next to Alex. You can navigate. Kyle, you and I’ll keep an eye for our follower.”
Alex speeded up enough to overtake a slow-moving truck.
Ronin unbuckled his seat belt and scrambled into the passenger seat beside Alex. I didn’t miss the swift exchange of smiles they shared. Their connection was unmistakable. Was I misreading the situation? Pressing a group relationship where there was only Alex and Ronin?
I didn’t have time to think about it now. The atmosphere was tense as Alex turned left onto a small road. I watched the highway we’d left behind intently. An old Chevy ambled past, followed by a new Impala. Then the slow-moving truck took its time.
“We’re about to lose sight of the highway,” Kyle said.
Just as he spoke, the Explorer shot past, making no
attempt to turn.
I expelled a breath. “It didn’t turn.”
The atmosphere eased considerably. Then Lee said, “They were following us. They’re not sure what to do. They’re seeking help from the Elder.”
“What do you want me to do?” Alex asked. I caught her staring at me in the rear-view mirror.
“We lose them,” I said, gritting my teeth, not knowing how the hell we were going to do that.
Chapter 39 - Alex
We got back onto the highway and resumed our journey. Conversation was minimal, all of us searching for anyone who might be following us. Fear gripped me, and I wondered how the hell I’d even considered trying to find my father by myself. I jumped as Ronin slid closer to me, his long arm around my shoulders.
“Hey.” His voice was soft and soothing, and I relaxed infinitesimally, appreciating his closeness. Despite our hours on the road, Ronin smelled good. By contrast, I felt rank, but he didn’t seem to care.
I shot him a brief smile. “Hey.”
“Are you all right?” he asked.
“No,” I muttered, keeping my voice low. “I’m scared.”
“We all are,” he said. “None of us has been in this situation before.”
“I know, and I feel really guilty about that.”
“You just stop that. We got ourselves into this mess.”
“What are we doing?” I asked. “We’re just a bunch of kids.” Okay, we were all twenty-one, and I ran a business. But these guys were college students, barely out in the world.
Ronin stroked my hair. “Then we’re going to grow up fast. We’ve got this far.”
“Thanks to Aunt Ruth’s help.”
“And each other,” he pointed out. “We survived so far by helping each other. We got to you before the Elders reached you. Without you, we’d never have gotten Matt back. And you knew to drive to Aunt Ruth’s.”
“Who was a Fae. Your enemy.” I shivered at what might have been. What would have happened if she’d rejected us?
He chuckled. “Yeah, that was a surprise. But she loves you more than she hates us.”
