“How about we meet at The Boot tomorrow morning?” Allie suggested.
“Where’s that?”
“Right off campus. Near Broadway. It’s the unofficial campus bar.”
“Ok…” A campus bar? That was where they wanted to meet? It sounded crazy, but hadn’t Genevieve just explained that all worthwhile ideas started that way?
“And bring Gage.” Allie put her hands on the wheel.
“Wait, what?” I hadn’t expected that. “Do you expect us to walk right into a trap?”
“It’s not a trap. Not at all.” She turned to look at me. “I promise.”
“Then why do I need to bring him?” I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but I wasn’t going to simply turn him over to The Society. That was insane.
“I understand your apprehension.” She nodded. “But, if you want our help, we need yours.”
“And you think Gage can help?” I narrowed my eyes.
“We thought Dires were near extinct.” Hailey leaned toward the front. “It would be helpful to speak with him.”
“Because you’ve been hunting them.”
“It’s not so black and white. Remember you’re getting your information from a biased source.”
“So are you.” And that was the problem. Everything was a mess because of lack of communication.
“I’m not going to deny that, but Gage is important.”
“Important because it means Dires can change humans… that can’t be good.” For him or the Dires. At the moment I was specifically worried about him.
“Levi is a very reasonable king. He’s not as scary as he wants people to believe.”
Hailey laughed. “Not at all.”
“Do you know him well?” Hailey seemed to be close friends with Allie, but what did that mean about the king?
“I’ve known him my whole life. My brother is his best friend.” Hailey sounded proud.
I had no idea how anything worked with the Pterons, but I assumed there was some sort of hierarchy. Every society had one. “Oh. Ok.”
“You’ll probably meet him if you stick around here long enough. He’s usually with Levi.”
“Ok…” I was hoping to avoid sticking around long, but I wasn’t admitting that yet.
“You think you can find your way back this time? To wherever you were really coming from?”
I laughed. “We weren’t really lost.”
“I know.” Hailey shook her head. “I didn’t believe it even before I found out you’d met Allie previously.”
“Hey, I thought we were convincing.” Genevieve put a hand to her chest.
“Sorry, nope.” Hailey opened her door. “We’ll see you tomorrow at ten a.m.”
“At The Boot. See you both then.” I opened my door and got out. I met Genevieve on the curb, and we watched Allie drive away.
“That just happened.” I watched the purple car disappear around the bend.
“Yes, that just happened.” Genevieve linked her arm with mine.
15
Gage
I’d been waiting forever. At least it felt that way while I stood waiting for Mary Anne and Genevieve to meet us at the levee. I wasn’t sure if my hat and sunglasses were going to hide my identity from anyone, but I wasn’t about to wait miles away in the woods while Mary Anne put herself at risk to help me.
“You’re a lucky S.O.B., you know that?” Denny took a swig from his flask. He held it out to me but I shook my head. I didn’t need alcohol muddling my reactions or mind.
“Why am I lucky exactly?” I assumed he wasn’t referring to my half-changed status.
“You have someone who cares about you like that.” He took another swig before pocketing the flask.
“Mary Anne?”
“Who else would I mean?” He looked behind him. I wasn’t the only paranoid one.
“I am lucky, and I don’t deserve her.” No reason to pretend otherwise. It didn’t mean I was planning to give her up though. I’d make myself the kind of man who deserved her.
“You don’t.”
“Aren’t you going to lecture me on her belonging with Hunter?” He’d acted like he didn’t care, but I knew his true motivations would come out eventually.
“I already told you I don’t care as long as you end the hunt. She loves you, not him. And call me sentimental but that means something.”
“She needs to live.” Everything else aside, her survival was the most important goal. I wanted to live too, but she was still human. She had a chance at a normal life.
“She will.”
“Even if I die.”
“You’re not dying. We’ll get Hunter out.”
“That doesn’t mean he’ll finish changing me.” I had no guarantee. He wanted Mary Anne; he wouldn’t be sad to get me out of the way.
“I’m making the promise on his behalf. He’s honorable. Besides, he knows it.”
“Knows what?”
Denny shook his head. “That she loves you. It pisses him off and he might try to deny it, but he knows it’s true.”
“And that changes anything?” Hunter didn’t strike me as the type to care. He was an Alpha. He could have or take anything he wanted. I felt a growl rising up inside. A burning heat. He couldn’t have her. She was mine. My Dire voice was different from my human one, but I knew it was mine. My two halves were growing closer in a way that the other Dires had never described.
“It does.”
“Where are they?” I glanced at my wrist even though I’d lost my watch days before. “It’s been too long.”
“We don’t know how long the meeting will be, if they even have it. It could be a good sign if it’s taking a while.”
“You actually think that?” I adjusted the brim of my new hat.
“Yes. I want to free my pack. You know this is important to me too.”
“I know.” I nodded. Denny was far more tolerable than the rest of the pack. Of all the guys to be stuck with, I was glad it was him.
“We can’t stay here too much longer though. We may be spotted.”
“We can’t leave. They won’t be able to find us.”
“She has a phone. We can reach her.” He tapped his own phone in his jeans pocket.
“What if they take away her phone?” If the meeting went bad, that might be the first thing they’d do.
“Great point. If that happens, what’s the chance she’s going to show up here anyway?”
“It’s not the case. She’s fine.” I said it for my benefit rather than his. He wasn’t the one worrying.
“We give it another few minutes and then we walk. We don’t have to go far.”
“We won’t go far. I can promise you that.”
He laughed. “You’re a lovesick fool, you know that?”
“At least you acknowledge it. Genevieve thinks I’m messing around with her or something.”
“Do you blame her for thinking that?” He did another 360 scan of the area.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Just that.”
“Is it that improbable that I could love someone?” I did my own scan. Where were they?
“I barely know you, yet I can already tell you what kind of man you were as a human.”
“Oh, can you?” I turned back toward him. “I didn’t realize I was that easy to characterize.”
“A playboy. The type that went through women as often as you changed clothes.”
“Not quite that often.” He wasn’t too far off. It wasn’t all my fault though.
“But you went through them?”
“Yes.” It wasn’t something I was proud of, but the women I attracted seemed to want that. It’s not like they were calling me for second dates.
“So why are you surprised that Genevieve doubts your feelings? It’s easier to believe someone hasn’t changed than to believe they have.” He was right, but I didn’t want to believe him. “But that shouldn’t matter. Worry about whether Mary Anne believes it.”
; “I hope she does.”
“I’d make sure of it.”
“Or what? She’ll leave me for Hunter?”
“No. I doubt that, but she deserves to know. The girl has been through a lot.”
“I know.” No one needed to remind me of that.
“It isn’t all your fault.” He started to walk, and I reluctantly followed. Hopefully Mary Anne wouldn’t be too mad.
I walked as slow as possible to stall him. “Is there a confession in there?”
“You already know why you crashed, right?”
“I do.”
“So what other confession are you waiting for?”
“I don’t know.” I put a hand on my forehead. “I keep thinking there is something I am missing. Something else happened that night I’m forgetting.”
“Have you talked to Mary Anne about it?”
I shook my head. “No. I don’t want to freak her out any more. Besides, we’re better off focusing on moving forward rather than looking back.”
“Unless looking back is the answer.”
“Come on, what are you even talking about?” I stopped.
He stopped next to me. “Just that everything is a mess, and I can’t help thinking there is more to the story.”
“You think I’m holding out on you?” I’d have no reason to be.
“No. I don’t.” He shook his head.
“Then what are you implying?”
“Just that we might find answers if we look back. Something isn’t adding up. You aren’t the only one having doubts about that night.”
“Do Dires have the ability to time travel?”
He chuckled. “Not at all.” He stuffed his hands in his pockets.
“Then how is that supposed to help us?”
“It isn’t. It’s just a thought.”
“Keep having those helpful thoughts.”
I turned back to where we had come from to make sure Mary Anne wasn’t looking for us. She couldn’t be too much longer.
I saw them from a mile away. “They’re here.” I sprinted back without worrying about whether Denny followed.
“Hey.” Mary Anne smiled and walked right into my arms.
“How’d it go?” I greedily pulled her against me, allowing the wave of relief to move over me before worrying about reality. “Does the smile have to do with the meeting or with seeing me?”
“Both.” She put her hand on my chest. “Although you might not like everything that we discussed.”
“Uh oh.” Denny leaned over. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“She’s being over dramatic. It’s not a big deal.” Genevieve sounded less than convincing.
“Over dramatic?” Mary Anne raised an eyebrow. “Neither of them are going to like it.”
“Spit it out.” Denny huffed. “I’m not one for waiting.”
“Okay.” Mary Anne let out a deep breath. “Allie suggested we all go see the king together.”
“Go see the king?” I repeated her words, convinced I must have misheard her.
“What good is that going to do?” Denny asked. “Do you want us all locked up?”
Mary Anne wrung her hands. “Of course not.”
“We’re not going to break into this prison easily. We don’t even know where it is. Technology is not our friend.” Genevieve put a hand on her hip. “Allie thinks we might be able to reach a deal.”
“Yes, because that’s likely.” I appreciated their optimism, but it was naive. The king wasn’t negotiating anything with us.
“If nothing else we might get more information.”
“And we’ll get locked up.” Denny crossed his arms. “It’s a bad idea.”
“I thought you guys were strong.” Genevieve rocked back on her heels.
“We are.” Denny puffed out his chest, and in any other situation it would have been humorous.
“Then stay alert. Don’t allow yourselves to get locked up.” Genevieve rolled her eyes.
“Easier said than done.”
“Then why bother with the whole macho, I’m so strong stuff? If you’re too weak to do anything about it, you might as well throw in the towel.”
I felt a growl grow inside again. “I’m not too weak.”
“Then stop being so afraid. You can defend yourself. We need you to come to show we are willing to uphold our end of things. Besides, you didn’t like the idea of Mary Anne seeing the queen without you. Do you really want her seeing the king alone?” Genevieve leaned toward me slightly.
“No.” Damn it. She got me right at my weak spot, but there was an even simpler solution. “I don’t want any of us seeing the king.”
Mary Anne let out a deep breath. “I’m meeting them either way. I don’t want you to die.”
“You make it sound so simple. Nothing is black and white.” I was learning that more and more each day.
“I’m not pretending it is simple, but it’s all we’ve got right now.”
“When are we supposed to meet them?” Part of me expected her to say immediately.
“Tomorrow at ten a.m.”
“Isn’t that a random time?” I asked. “Aren’t they more night people?”
“You think we know?” Genevieve rolled her eyes again. She did that entirely too much.
“Fine, then let’s get food and talk about it.” Denny started to pull out his flask, but then let go of it.
“Where are we getting food?” Mary Anne asked.
“I know a place where no one will bother us.” Denny smiled.
I shrugged, a place where no one bothered us sounded perfect. “Ok, sounds good to me.”
* * *
No one even looked at us as we walked into the dingy bar. It was a total hole-in-the-wall, complete with peeling paint on the walls and low light. Denny was right about one thing. No one would bother us there.
“Are you sure they serve food here?” Mary Anne whispered.
“Yes. But it’s not the kind of place that has menus.”
I kept Mary Anne and Genevieve close as I followed Denny toward the long wooden bar. He went right up to the bartender.
The man with a long gray beard looked up. “Been a long time since you’ve been in here.”
“Years, yet you don’t seem surprised to see me.”
“I’m not.” The bartender leaned forward on the bar. “There aren’t too many Dires out there to be causing trouble.”
“You’ve heard?”
“Who hasn’t heard?”
“I didn’t realize the news spread that fast.” Denny took a seat on a stool. “I’d have thought The Society would have wanted to keep a lid on it.”
“Oh they tried, but you know how these things go.”
“I do.” Denny rested his elbows on the bar. “I brought some friends.”
“I see that. Two pretty ones and what’s with the fella who looks like he’s going to hurt someone?”
Denny laughed. “That’s Gage. He’s new to the Dire world.”
“Ah, Hunter changed one?”
“Not by choice.”
I hoped Denny knew what he was doing spilling secrets to a random bartender. He had better have been trustworthy.
“What can I do for you?”
“We need to eat and a place to sleep for tonight.”
“Hiding out in the city?”
“Hiding in plain sight.”
“I see. You are welcome to both here.”
“What can I get for you pretty ladies?” He looked at both Mary Anne and Genevieve.
“Oh, anything,” Mary Anne quickly answered.
“That doesn’t narrow down the choices. I know your friends here want some meat.”
“She wants chicken fingers.” I took a guess. If she liked chicken nuggets maybe she’d like those.
Mary Anne nodded. “Do you have those?”
“Of course. It’s a specialty of the house.”
I doubted there were too many specialties here, but I kept that thought to myself.
“Fries or chips?”
“Fries,” both girls answered at once.
“Why don’t you all take a seat? I’ll take care of it.”
“Thanks, Carl.” Denny stood up.
“Anytime.”
I stepped back and let Denny lead the way again. I wasn’t sure if there were any unwritten rules about what tables were available. I didn’t have much experience dealing with bars like the one we were in, paranormal or otherwise. I had a feeling Mary Anne and Genevieve didn’t either, but neither seemed uncomfortable. I guess compared to everything else, the bar wasn’t that strange.
Denny pulled out two chairs at a table in the back corner beside the bar, and gestured for Mary Anne and Genevieve to sit.
“Thanks.” Genevieve smiled and sat down. He pushed in her chair.
Either he was into her, or he was suddenly showing his gentleman side. I sat down next to Mary Anne. I figured she wasn’t going to appreciate me pushing her in. She was the type of girl who liked to do that kind of stuff herself.
“Nice guess on what I would eat.”
“You like chicken.” Gage shrugged.
“It’s a nice change of pace.”
“That I actually know what you like?” I wasn’t sure if that was supposed to be a snub or a compliment.
“That you’re the one who knows something about me. I’m usually the weird one who knows too much.”
“You’re not weird, and you don’t know too much about me.”
She smiled. “I am weird, but I’ll accept your word for the second part.”
“All right, back to serious things.” Denny leaned in. “Do you really think we should meet with the king?”
“Yes.” Mary Anne answered immediately. “What other choice do we have?”
“Find another way to get them out.”
“And then what? We get Hunter and the others out and miraculously things change? You’ll still be running for your life.” Mary Anne straightened her shoulders.
“Why do you care?” Denny watched her closely. “You get Hunter out, he helps Gage, and you’re done.”
“We all know that’s not true. I’m not done until we end the hunt.” She sighed.
“And you really believe that’s going to happen by having a heart to heart with a king who despises us? He’d rather we didn’t exist.”
Dawn (The Dire Wolves Chronicles Book 3) Page 11
