Escaping Dominance (Heart of a Wolf Series - Trina's Tale) (9 page)

Amber grabbed Trina’s arm and pulled her towards the jeep. Once moving, Trina
turned and
ran with her
, not looking back. She
hurried around to th
e passenger seat and jumped in.

Amber didn’t bother with the seat belt. Turning the key, she popped the clutch a
nd tore out of the parking lot.

They left the officers wrestling with one pissed off werewolf.

****

After driving for a while in relieved silence, Amber continued to watch her rearview mirror
.

Trina sat quietly in the seat. The bellows of Dean echoed through her mind until she finally blocked him. Leaning her head back, she remembered Amber slapping her hand across her mouth to keep from laughing. Cutting her eyes over at her, Trina’s l
ips began to lift into a smile.

Amber glanced over at her, amusement filling her eyes. Her lips spoke the silent words a
s
her face returned to normal.

“Pure, fucking, genius!” Trina exclaimed in excitement then clamped her hand over her mouth. She didn’t cuss
like that very
often, but the si
tuation warranted it this time.

Amber shook her head with a grin, and then busted up laughing. “I just about lost it when you called me Mom. I was so
not expecting that!”

Toby stared at the two of them like they were nuts when Trina continued laughing so
hard she had to grab her side.

After a few minutes she sobered. “Seriously though, I have to know something. Do you have royalty blood in you?”

Amber frowned. “What makes you ask that?”

“Common wolves can’t change their appearance at random.” Trina leaned forward and looked at her and shook her head. “I can’t believe it. It actually worked.”

“I didn’t th
ink it was going to at first.”

Trina nodded. “Thank you for helping, again.”

Amber looked left, then right and up, checking the side and rearview mirrors.
She took
her time, but finally her eyes met Trina’s. She just nodded, her lips pressed together. Then he
r eyes turned back to the road.

131

ESCAPING DOMINANCE

CHAPTER nine

T
he ride the rest of the way to Las Vegas was non-eventful. Amber continued to watch her mirrors just in case Dean escaped the state troopers or the rest of the pack showed up
.

Trina’s eyes were wide with excitement when they sped down the highway
, taking
in the lights of downtown Vegas brightening the evening sky. Turning in her seat, seeing the same excitement on Toby’s face made her smile even bigger. “Isn’t it pretty?”

Toby nodded, leaning up, trying to sit tall so he could look around and
not
miss anything
.

At the last station they had stopped at for gas, Amber and Trina had removed the top again wanting to experience seeing the tall casinos for the first time.

“Have you been here before?” Trina w
as like a kid in a candy store.

“Not downtown. I’ve driven by on the interstate but never stopped.”

From where Trina sat, Amber looked like she was enjoying the si
ght
s too. Driving past the strip, they took the
T
wo
F
ifteen and headed towards Henderson. Trina started getting a little nervous. Silly she knew
,
since she had taken off into the unknown when leaving Dean the first night. Then, she was still in the mountains and in the forest. This time, being in a larger city meant a lot more people. No mountains, no miles and miles of pine trees. Her way of hunting had to change
.

Peering at Amber
she asked
, “How do you stay on the run and hunt in the different areas? Places unfamiliar to you?”

Amber took a very long moment to answer. “You have to learn your surroundings.” She didn’t glance at Trina
;
her body language became
more guarded, closed off.

Trina’s brows twitched together. She worked to keep the questioning frown from her face. Amber was hiding something but
she
didn’t get a chance to question it because they pulled into an apartment complex. “This is the shelter?”

Amber nodded. “They have to try to fit into the surroundings I guess.” She shrugged, looking away anxious
ly.

“Thank you again for helping me out. I really do appreciate it.” Trina understood Amber better after spending the past couple of days with her. “If you come back this way, look me up
, i
f you want to.”

Amber nodded with a small smile. Helping unload their bags out of the back of the jeep, she ran her hands through her hair, not quite shuffling her feet, but inching towards the driver’s seat
without being too obvious.

Trina smiled at her nervousness and hurried forward, wrapping her arms a
round her waist in a quick hug.

Amber’s arms lifted out, she looked down at the top of her head and then patted her on the back. “Hope everything works out for you. Take care of your mom
, Toby.”

His chest puffed up like he had been given a big job and
was proud of himself. “I will.”

Trina smiled and put her arms across his shoulders. Together they watched Amber climb into th
e driver’s seat and drive away.

Turning to face the entrance
,
and hopefully their new life, Trina grabbed their stuff a
nd headed into the main office.

****

Fitting into city life was not has hard as Trina thought it would be. Somehow
,
Charlotte from the office at the apartment complex slash shelter had gotten her the paperwork needed for Toby’s birth certificate. He was enrolled in school and loving it, and found other kids to play with. He made a good friend, Caleb, who was also from the complex. They hung out at Caleb’s place when she went to work and Caleb stayed with Toby while his mother went to work.
In other words, they traded babysitting duties.
Trina
met all kinds of people from the shelter, different members,
men and women, who sought refuge at the shelter
and
had a story like her,
some
even worse.

The
city
bus stop was conveniently located
right outside the complex
’
s parking area
and Trina rode
one
to work each day. A clan member owned the casino up the road and had a deal to allow the people from the shelter to work there. Trina began working as a waitress but hated the
job
.
O
ne day she’d had enough. It was time for her
to do what she wanted to do, not what other people wanted. Gathering her courage she walked into the floor manag
ers office and closed the door.

Baily
was
s
i
t
ting
behind the desk
and
glanced up
with her brow arched
, staring
at Trina.
“
You have s
omething on your mind?”

“Yeah
, I want to be a dealer.”

“Do you now?”

She’d watched them plenty of times and had a g
ood understanding. “Yes, I do.”

The woman looked her up and down with a critical eye. “You would bring people to the table.” Turning
away, she picked up the phone.

Trina was shocked it went so easily, but kept her face vacant of expression. Her karate classes were paying off and making her more assertive
,
her confidence was building
as well
.

The door opened and Sebastian walked in. His coal black hair shining in the overhead light hung down to his shoulders in controlled waves. His soft bedroom blue eyes raked across her face, he stared into her eyes a moment before they descended and took in the swell of her breast poking out of the top of h
er outfit.

Trina felt the heat rising to her face. The look he gave her was all male and hot! She’d had men look at her before, but never like that and she wanted to turn and run. But that was the old her. The new her smiled and turned back towards the desk when Baily spoke.

“Starting now, Trina is going to shadow you for the next couple of days.”

“Sounds like fun.” Sebastian turned
and
swept his hand towards the door, bowing slightly. “After you
, my lady.”

Trina grinned
. “Thanks for the opportunity.”

“Don’t let me down.” Baily picked up he
r pen and went back to writing.

Trina bowed her head slightly, but kept her eyes on his face
. H
er shoulders squared, she
preceded him through the door.

With her confidence soaring, Trina worked with Sebastian, enjoyed his flirting and even flirted back. She wasn’t ready to try the dating scene
yet, so she
concentrated on working
and saving money when possible.

She worried that Dean or
someone from
the pack would show up, but she didn’t let it control her life. The night before the full moon Trina felt restless. Her senses on high alert, she scanned the parking garage. There were security cameras everywhere but a few of them weren’t working properly. She usually avoided those areas, but with the casino busy, she was forced to park in that area. Hurrying from her car, she checked her surroundings as she r
ushed into the elevator.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Trina signed in and went to her station. The uneasiness didn’t leave her right away. Keeping an eye out for anything strange, she went to her table and
relieved Ashley for her break.

Hopping from table to table allowed her to scan the casino floor more freely. Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, Trina began to relax and enjo
y the games with her customers.

At the end of her shift, Trina
walked
down the hall heading towards the parking garage when Sebastian called her name, then ran to catch up with her. Turning, she waited with a smile on her face. He was just too dreamy good looking for his own good. For her own good. Yet she welcomed his company
for the evening
. T
he next
night she would have to take off for a day or two. She would go out into Spring Mountain Recreation Area to hunt the first night
,
allow
ing
her wolf’s bloodlust to be satiated, and then she woul
d return home and back to work.

“You want to go catch a movie and dinner?”
Sebastian walked alongside her.

He was tall, she judged him to be six inches taller than her. His shoulders were broad and he had a narrow waist. He worked out, but he wasn’t overly muscular. For a human he was strong, and since Trina’s genetics made her just as strong she didn’t feel intimidated around a man for the first time since Dean. S
haking her head, she
clear
ed
her thoughts.

Sebastian stopped in his tracks when he saw her shake her head. “
Then ho
w about dinner and a movie
?
”

Trina’s mouth dropped slightly and her eyes grew wide when she realized he mistook her actions. “I didn’t mean no,
but
I don’t know
.
I uh
...”

“Come on Trina, just as friends.”

She considered her options. Toby was spending the next two nights with
his
friend. She didn’t have anything to do after work and she hadn
’
t gone out with anyone other than Dean. She was taking control of her life. One night out to the movies didn’t constitute a commitment and he was not wolf. She was not sleeping with him. The corner of her m
outh lifted.  “Sure. Let’s go.”

Happiness lit his features and even his steps appeared to be lighter. Holding the door open for her, he motioned for
Trina to go through with a bow.

She liked that about him. He was always a gentleman and always held doors for women at the casinos. He treated them, her, differently than
any other man she had ever met.

Laughing and talking, Sebastian walked her to her car.
Suddenly t
he hairs on the back of her neck stood on end and she stiffened. She felt as if someone were watching her, but glancing around the parking garage, she came up empty, no one was there. Giving herself a mental shake, she told herself to calm down. The jitters of going out on a real date getting to her, she thought back to the feelings before coming to work. She was becoming paranoid and
smiled at the
thought of Amber. She was definitely becoming more aware of her surroundings and t
aking control of her situation.

Sebastian opened her car door for her.

Trina glanced in the backseat before climb
ing in.

“I’m parked on level two.”

Sebastian looked nervous and she wanted to laugh, but refrained. She was nervous too. “Hop in
.
I’ll take you to your car and follow you to where
ever we are going for dinner.”

Running around the back of the car
,
he cli
mbed into the passenger seat.

While f
ollowing him to dinner t
he feeling of being watched still had Trina’s insides in knots
, but
she did her best to ignore it.
Once at the theater, they sat in the back. With a clear view of everyone coming and going, she was finally able to relax and enjoy the movie
as
the feelings subsided.

Sebastian
had chosen a light hearted romantic comedy which had them both laughing. Their hands brushing one another, she smiled when they wrestled inside the bag of popcorn for the prime kernels of butter coated popcorn they both wanted.

Trina enjoyed the evening and didn’t want it to end. She considered inviting him back to her place for a drink
, but
decided against that.
This didn’t matter, because when they walked out of the theater, Sebastian holding her hand, Trina stopped and stared.

Dean leaned against the fender of her car. His arms crossed over his chest, eyes trained on S
ebastian.

He must have felt her tense because Sebastian pulled her to a stop, moving her behind him slightly. “Can I h
elp you?” He walked up to Dean.

Trina’s mind raced. With his strength, Dean would tear Sebastian apart. She touched his arm. “It’s okay.”