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“Wait!” Ophelia called after me.
My inner wolf was already picking out the safest route between balcony and clan boundaries, but my human brain forced us to pause. If our companion needed additional reassurance, then we’d risk the patrols and do our best to give her the required support.
But, instead, she was the one giving something to me. First came the low hum of her suitcase’s zipper, then a padded envelope struck me directly on the nose.
“Oops, sorry.” Ophelia’s laugh was breathless and I wouldn’t have put it past her to miss my hands on purpose. Blue-eyes surely would have.
“What’s this?” I asked, sniffing the parcel rather than waiting for a reply. The aroma wafting off the padded paper was spicy and sweet all at once, like pumpkin-pie filling straight out of the oven.
Blue-eyes, my wolf brain reported.
“Angelica asked me to give that to you,” the pack princess answered, confirming my supposition. Then she handed down another item, this time taking more care so it wouldn’t be in danger of tumbling into the shrubbery below.
I heard the clink of metal before I felt the cool weight of a round ring in my hand. “A key?” I asked, knowing I sounded stupid but unable to come up with a more suitable retort.
“A truck key,” Ophelia clarified. “There’s an old beater around the backside of the barn that no one will miss for a while. It’s just got farm-use tags on it, but if you’re careful it’ll take you wherever you need to go.”
She paused, perhaps hoping I’d fill in the blanks. But, despite three days of running with nothing else to fill my mind, I didn’t have a solution planned out quite yet. Just leads to follow and lines to tug.
So, instead, I took her palm in mine. The pack princess’s fingers were slender, her skin cool despite the heat lingering in the overcast evening’s air. And when I pressed a kiss to the back of her hand, the taste of rose petals nearly overwhelmed my senses.
“You deserve much more than a pup like Colin,” I growled, wolf once again at the fore. I hoped my companion’s teenage romanticism wouldn’t turn kiss and words into a promise I had no intention of fulfilling. But I couldn’t leave without reminding Ophelia that she was neither defenseless possession nor unwilling prize.
And I think my companion understood what I was getting at. Because her spine straightened and her odor took on the slightest tinge of caustic pine tar. Ophelia had more potential than either one of us gave her credit for. Maybe, just maybe, she’d grow into her strength tonight.
“Get out of here before they catch you,” she commanded, standing tall and regal above my head. Then she turned and swept away into the darkness.
I’d been dismissed. So, tucking the envelope under one arm, I released my hold on the railing and fell into the night.
***
THE PICKUP COASTED down the gravel driveway, lights out and motor silent. Good thing the barn is at the top of the hill rather than at the bottom, I thought.
I fully expected an irate Gray guard to jump out in front of me at any moment. Or perhaps a shotgun blast would shatter the glass above my head. But, instead, the night remained still and serene and I made it to the highway unscathed.
Pausing at the intersection, I was tempted to flip on the dome light so I could explore the contents of Angelica’s envelope immediately. Bad idea, my inner wolf murmured, the jitters of adrenaline sending images of danger flickering through our shared mind. No, we needed to make good on our escape before anyone knew we’d been present rather than hanging around waiting for a predator to pick off its prey.
So I started the engine at last and turned right, back toward the highway. Only once the old farm truck had chugged up the entrance ramp and was toodling down the midnight-empty four-lane did I take one hand off the steering wheel and rip into the parcel with human fingernails and slightly sharpened teeth.
The scent of well-worn dollar bills mingled with my own aroma and that of Blue-eyes, making me laugh as expensive sheets of paper spilled out across my lap and blew around in the breeze of the console vent. Trust a pack princess to use money in the place of packing peanuts.
But even though the funds were much appreciated, they weren’t of primary importance. Instead, I dug deeper in search of the hard lumps I’d felt from the outside. At last, my fingers brushed across a wallet and a cell phone...my wallet and my cell phone.
I powered up the latter and glanced down at the screen. Fifteen missed messages. Yep, Stormwinder was pissed.
He’d be even more pissed in the near future.
Attention half on the road and half on the device in my hand, I paged through until I found the single message I wanted to listen to. The caller didn’t bother to greet me or to introduce herself by name. Instead, wolf-like, she got straight to the point.
“I hope you haven’t done anything stupid,” Blue-eyes’ voice admonished me. “I also hope that I judged you right and you’re going to make me proud rather than making me wish I’d never met you.”
I half expected her to tack on a “you idiot,” or two. But, instead, the pack princess stuck to business.
“Don’t use the Tribunal credit card until the bitter end,” she warned, and this time I was the one who wanted to roll my eyes and tell her not to teach her grandmother how to suck eggs. “Daddy’s tracking your spending, although he hasn’t shut the card down quite yet.”
Excellent news since I planned to put Stormwinder’s gargantuan credit line to use in the near future. I pulled into the left lane, veering onto the east-bound highway as the one I was traveling along split into paved trails headed in two different directions.
Blue-eyes’ voice lowered, and if she hadn’t been an eighteen-year-old kid, the ensuing huskiness would have made me salivate. “I know you want to make Daddy proud,” she said, her tone promising to illuminate the secrets of the universe. “For the longest time, I wanted that too. But I finally figured out that sometimes you have to choose the greatest good rather than the greatest ally. And I have faith you’re doing just that. So, good job, Hunter. Whether or not Daddy understands, I’m proud of you.”
Kid or not, her words buoyed me up just as much as her father’s had once done. Angelica was smooth, and I had high hopes that she—if no one else—would manage to take hold of the opportunity I was preparing to offer on a silver platter.
I could just imagine Blue-eyes using the step up to burst through the glass ceiling above her head with the force of a steam locomotive. I could hardly wait to witness her ascent.
But I didn’t dwell on the future for long. Instead, I set the phone down on the seat and returned my attention to the drive. I needed to stay alert for the long miles ahead.
To my surprise, though, her husky whisper popped back out of the speaker long after I was certain Angelica was done.
“Oh, and by the way, have you noticed how your wolf is staying in line even though you’re no longer under Daddy’s thumb? Think on that when you’re considering giving in to his every demand.”
Then, with a click, the pack princess’s manipulative little missive was complete.
