“Is he violent towards you?” Tina demanded. Paige shook her head, too choked with emotion to speak. “Tell me in words that he’s never hit you before.” Paige shook her head again and put her hands over her face. “You’re saying he’s hit you?” Paige was very still, but then she nodded. Gently, Tina took her hands and peeled them off her face. Paige forced back the tears that were threatening to spill from her eyes. “How many times?”
“Twice,” she whispered. Tina gasped.
“Paige! Do you realize how fucked up this is?” Paige pressed her lips together.
“I know, I know. If you’d told me when we were in high school that I’d end up with a guy who beat on me, I would’ve laughed. But it happened slowly. First of all, he was this cool guy, who seemed to really like me, fat and all, and then little by little, he changed. I kept trying to make excuses to myself, but I know it’s not right. And, to be honest, I’m dreading going back home with him tomorrow.” Tina’s eyes had become huge and liquid, as if she was moments from tears herself.
“Paige, listen to me: you have to leave him right now. Like, tonight. I’ll come with you and you can tell him it’s over.” Paige shook her head.
“I can’t.”
“Why? Please don’t tell me it’s because you love him?”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what?” Tina frowned. “Are you pregnant?”
“No! I’m not that stupid.”
“Then explain to me, as I’m having a hard time understanding why someone as cool and beautiful and awesome as you would stay with a loser like Kurt.”
“I tried to leave him once, but he said he’d hurt me, and my family if I did,” Paige said in a trembling voice. Tina stared at her, frozen with shock.
“That lowdown, dirty animal,” she said when she was capable of speech again. “And you think he means what he says?”
“Yes.” Paige looked down at the table, overwhelmed with embarrassment at the situation she’d ended up in.
“I want to kill him. I want to find some local thugs and pay all the money I have to have him dealt with permanently,” Tina spat, her fists clenched and eyes full of fire.
“Tina, please.”
“Then I’m telling my brother about it. He made Sergeant last month. He’ll know what to do.”
“No. You have to keep it quiet, please. If a cop spoke to him, he’d go nuts. I don’t think the police would do anything, and it would end up being so much worse for me, for my family. Kurt knows people.”
“But Joe knows people too, people who could find out exactly who Kurt knows and have them all dealt with.” Paige twisted her fingers together and let out a long breath.
“I don’t know,” she said.
“I know this is scary, Paige. But at least let me speak to Joe? I’ll explain about your situation, and ask him what the law can realistically do to help.”
“Maybe. But not yet. I just want to have Christmas over with, and Kurt far away from my family again, and then I’ll think about it.”
“You mean that?”
“I do. But promise me that you won’t say anything yet?” Tina nodded.
“I don’t want to go against your wishes, hun, but I can’t wait too long. Promise me that you’ll call me within a month and we’ll come up with a plan?”
“Ok.” Paige nodded.
“I hate to see you hurting like this. You deserve to be with a really great guy, Paige.” Paige snorted.
“After what Kurt’s done to my self-esteem, I really don’t know what I deserve.”
“We can fix that. You can move back here and we’ll get you back to your old self in no time. Mike’s got some cool friends – maybe one of them would be the guy for you.” Paige flashed her a small smile.
“Thank you for being my friend, Tina. Especially when I hardly see you anymore.”
“Of course, hun. Friendship is for life,” she replied, taking Paige’s hand in her own.
Several hours later, Paige lay in her childhood bed, staring up at the ceiling. The room was spinning a little, but it was worth it for the night out she’d had. After Paige had solemnly promised that she’d call Tina within a month, she’d made her promise not to talk about Kurt again that night, and they’d had fun, chatting about old times and checking out the guys in the bar. By the time they’d moved on to the small, raucous rock bar that they used to hang out at in their teens, Paige was drunk enough to forget about Kurt for a while, and they danced for hours to all their old favorites.
Now that she was alone again, thoughts of Kurt returned. His possessive behavior used to come out in random bursts, but the failure of his business seemed to make him more fixated on their relationship, and he’d been acting in a terrible way towards her almost on a daily basis. But what can I do? Where’s the solution? she thought, looking at the dream weaver that had been hanging from the ceiling since she was a kid. She would call Tina in a month, ask her to have a discreet word with her cop brother. But suddenly, a month seemed like a very long time to wait.
7
The present time
Caleb squinted, trying to figure out whether the figure was a man or a woman. Two seconds later, it was undeniably a woman. With long, blonde hair. A shot of adrenaline hit him. It’s her! He opened his door and the passenger side door and waited. She ran up to his side, carrying a small holdall, her eyes wild.
“It’s ok. Climb in!” he shouted. She sprinted around to the other side and jumped up into the seat. “You should probably get down,” he said, and as she closed the door and hunkered down in the seat, he began to drive out of the parking lot, fast, but not so much that it would attract anyone’s attention.
A minute later they were on the highway, continuing in the direction he’d been heading the day before. They hadn’t spoken yet. She was breathing hard, and Caleb was temporarily stunned at the reality of her being in the car with him. Her scent filled the car, rich and intoxicating, but beneath that, he could smell the sharper scent of her fear.
“You’re safe now,” he said softly. She turned her head towards him and he did the same, holding her gaze for several seconds. She was shaking with nerves, every fiber in her body on edge. She’s your mate, his bear told him, pacing restlessly inside him.
“I’m Caleb.”
“Paige,” she said, her voice little more than a whisper.
“I come from a small town, way up north, called Stonybear Peak, and I’m on my way to a town called Green Fields, about another eight hours’ drive away,” he said, trying to encourage her to relax a little, to understand that she could trust him.
“What takes you there?” she said.
“I’m moving, actually. I’ve been single for far too long, and I’ve got a cousin down in Green Fields who thinks he might have a match for me.”
“That’s cool.” She fell silent again, watching the road swish by.
“Is there somewhere I can take you? We’re heading south, but I can make a detour too, if you like?”
“I’m not sure yet... I’m not sure where I’m going. Perhaps you could just drive for now?” she said, her voice full of confusion. He caught her eye for a split second, before she dropped her gaze again.
“Of course. If you need to stop at any point, just let me know.”
“Thanks.” She flashed him the ghost of a smile.
Twenty minutes rolled by, the landscape flat and pure white. It took an incredible effort for Caleb not to speak to her, but he sensed that she needed some time to compose her thoughts.
“Why did you do that?” she asked suddenly.
“Do what?”
“Pass me the note in the restaurant.”
“I heard the way your boyfriend was speaking to you. It was no way to speak to a woman. And I had a strong sense that you were kind of desperate.” Her lips tightened and she stared out of the window. He waited.
“I was,” she said at last, in a choked voice. “Sometimes he can be mean.” Caleb gripped the steering wheel tigh
tly as his bear tried to burst out of him. His jaws were clenched to prevent it from roaring in rage. “I’ve been wanting to leave him. I went home to see my folks for Christmas, and I talked about it with my best friend. I was planning to wait a little longer, because he’s dangerous, and I don’t want him around my family. But he’s been so awful on the journey. Really aggressive and saying all kinds of nasty stuff to me.”
“That son of a bitch!” Caleb exclaimed, before he could stop himself. “I’m sorry. But it makes me so angry to hear that he’s treated you like that.”
“It’s ok. I’m glad you’re angry,” she said. He realized that she probably took it as a sign that he wasn’t a psychopath himself, and he felt a little comforted.
“So do you want me to take you to your folks’ place?”
“No!” she almost shouted. “He’s already threatened to hurt them.” Wow. He’d love to get his hands on that asshole. He’d take him apart in a second. His bear growled in agreement. She jumped at the sound. And then she stared at him.
“I could be way off the mark, but are you a shape shifter?” she asked. He grinned.
“Yup.”
“What kind?”
“Guess.” She regarded him closely, and he felt like his skin was burning under the intensity of her gaze.
“Definitely not a wolf. Not a tiger or a lion either.” She paused. “A bear, right?”
“Guilty,” he said happily. In his peripheral vision, he saw that her body seemed to loosen a little, her nerves uncoiling themselves.
“No-one knows that Kurt is a werewolf,” she said. “I’ve had to keep it secret from everybody. At first I was freaked out when he told me, then I thought it was cool, but now I wonder if that’s why he’s so mean –” she broke off. “I mean, I’m not trying to say that all shape shifters are bad or anything.” The edge of Caleb’s lips curved into a half smile.
“That’s ok. We bears are known for being strong and fiercely protective of our mates, but very soft and warm-hearted in relationships. Wolves on the other hand, are a particular kind of shifter. They’re all about power and pack politics.” He couldn’t resist a sniff of distaste. “I’ve met a few bad ones. But I guess every type of shifter, or human community contains a few bad pennies. You were just unlucky to find a shifter who doesn’t have a good heart.” Caleb was amazed that his voice was so calm, because his head was spinning, and his bear was driving him crazy. She was so gorgeous and lovely and he wanted her. He longed to tell her that there was another shifter out there who was absolutely perfect for her – a shifter who was sitting only three feet away from her.
“Yeah, just my luck,” she said, squinting a little as she stared out of the window at the dazzling whiteness.
“Tell me, where do you need to go right now?” he said. She blew a long breath out.
“I don’t know. I made such an impulsive decision to come with you. Maybe even a wrong one. I’ve never done anything like this in my life before. I literally have no idea where I am right now.”
“Uh, according to the sat nav, we’re on route 49, just passing the town of Chamberlain. That probably doesn’t help too much though?”
“Not really.” She laughed again.
“So if you can’t go to your folks’ place, is there anywhere else I can take you?”
“Not that I can think of. I lived a pretty small town life up in Carrington before Kurt took me away from it all. None of our relatives ever moved out of state even.” Caleb had a thought, and he decided to blurt it out before he had a chance to change his mind.
“Would you like to come to Green Fields with me?”
“Sure,” she said immediately. His head jerked towards her. He hadn’t expected that reaction at all.
“Really?”
“Why not? I’m not going back to Kurt. I can’t go back to my parents. A kind stranger has just rescued me from a terrible situation. Everything seems unreal now. Why don’t I just embrace it?” He shrugged.
“Makes sense.”
“Are you sure I won’t be in your way though?” she said. Caleb repressed the ‘hell no!’ that was on the point of bursting from his lips.
“Not at all. I’ll be very glad of the company,” was what he said instead. This time when he turned his head towards her, she didn’t glance away. Instead, they held each other’s gaze for a few beats, and he tingled all over. He had the strongest urge to pull over onto the road and take her into his arms, and soothe all of her troubles away. Instead, they continued driving south, mile after mile of snowy road rolling by.
“Did you tell anyone at the motel where you were headed?” Paige asked, breaking through the silence. His stomach tightened.
“No I didn’t,” he answered immediately.
“Good,” she muttered, and he heard her exhaling slowly. He’d told the waitress last night. He remembered doing it. He’d answered her eager questions carelessly, because he had nothing to hide at that point. But he knew exactly why she was asking. She must have been sitting there, figuring out whether her boyfriend had any way of knowing where she’d gone. Had that waitress been working this morning too? She hadn’t served him, and he didn’t think he’d seen her. Did Kurt even have the brains to ask the right questions anyway? Hopefully there was nothing to worry about. But what if he comes after us? He had no doubt at all that he could deal with him. But if he brought reinforcements? That could be a different story. He suspected that he was part of a biker gang, and those werewolf gangs were notoriously dangerous. He put a halt to his thoughts. One thing at a time. Now his attention needed to be on the girl, to try to comfort her and help her to relax a little.
“So you’re going to this Green Fields place to find your mate?” she blurted out while he was trying to figure out what he could ask her next that wouldn’t startle her.
“Yup. There are lots of bears there.”
“And this girl that your cousin has picked out for you – is she a shifter too, or a human?”
“Oh –” He laughed. “There’s actually no-one in particular. It was just easier to explain it to you that way before you knew that I was a bear.” She laughed too, a pretty, melodic sound, and he thought he felt a flicker of intimacy passing between them.
“Shame you have to leave your home to find a partner.”
“It is. I love my clan and my cabin. And my town. Stonybear Peak is the most beautiful place in the whole country.”
“Says the man who’s travelled all over the country,” she said teasingly.
“True,” he acknowledged with a shrug. “Until now, I’d never been out of state. But I hadn’t needed to. Everything I wanted was right there, up on the mountain. And the views are amazing. I don’t know how I’ll get used to living at low altitude.” As he thought about his hometown, another twinge of homesickness knotted in his chest, and he fought to dismiss it.
“It’s not so bad. I grew up surrounded by plains. I love the way the sky comes right down to the ground. And the views are amazing too. There’s nothing but space. Open fields and no hills for miles. But then there’s nothing stopping the winds, and they whip up pretty bad this time of year. It’ll be warmer where we’re going, won’t it?”
“In the 60s I think,” he replied. She shuddered.
“I can’t even imagine that right now. It’ll be late April before it gets that warm back home.”
“It’s more like May in Stonybear Peak.”
“It’s kind of crazy that we live someplace so cold when you think about it.”
“It’s kind of crazy for a human anyway. We bears have plenty of insulation,” he said with a grin, and turned the heat up a couple of notches, in case she was cold.
“You spend a lot of time in your bear form?”
“Yeah, at least half in summer, but in the colder months, its probably more like 90% of my time.”
“I hardly ever saw Kurt in his wolf form. Only occasionally when he went out on the full moon. Most of the time it was like he had this secret life that
he kept separate from me.” Caleb frowned. He had yet to hear anything good about this mutt.
“How did you meet?”
“In a bar. There was a biker gathering in town, and my friend dragged me along. I was more impressionable than I am now, and I thought Kurt was this really cool guy. And out of all the girls there, he was paying me attention. I think I was always more into the idea of him, than the reality. Which, more often than not was being home alone while he went out with his biker friends.” Caleb’s lip curled. Yup – a biker gang. That could mean trouble. But what disgusted him more than that was the thought that someone could leave Paige at home by herself. She was a great prize for any man. If she was his mate, he’d never voluntarily leave her by herself for a moment.
“So you bears hang out in clans, right?” Paige said, breaking into his thoughts.
“Yeah. Big extended family groups, and other waifs and strays who’ve joined us over the years. I actually lost my parents a few years back – shot by some hunters. It was very hard on me, but I was glad that there were so many other elders around to look out for me.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.” Caleb nodded acknowledgement of her words. It’d been long enough since he’d lost them that the thought of it was no longer a stab of pain, and he found that he liked talking about them now.
“They were amazing parents. They always supported me in everything, and encouraged me to be kind and supportive of other clan members. It’s the way of bears.” Wait, what am I doing here? he thought. I sound like I’m trying to sell myself to her.
Ethereal King Page 18
