Luke's Dream (12 page)

Keeping in mind what she’d said about being
fine, I tried to time our stops to every hour and a half. Sometimes
it was just a respite so she could walk around; sometimes we
stopped for something to eat. The breaks set us further behind than
I wanted but traveling with her awake worked far better than having
her pass out.

Bethi did well until the sun began to hug the
horizon.

“I think we need to stop for the night,” she
said, tapping my shoulder.

I nodded and sped up. At our last stop I’d
used my phone to search for nearby motels and knew we were within
minutes of reaching a decent one.

“We’re almost there,” I said, passing a
rundown looking roadside motel.

A few minutes later, we entered the next
small town. I pulled into the parking lot of the motel and cut the
engine. Bethi leaned heavily against my back, and I could tell by
her slow pulse and even breathing she was close to sleeping
already.

“Come on, luv,” I said, lifting the strap and
wrapping an arm around her so she wouldn’t fall off. “Let’s get you
to bed.”

She giggled, and I frowned. I couldn’t take
her inside like that. She willingly stayed beside the bike while I
procured a room. When I returned, she was pacing a slow circle
around it, looking like a very inebriated human.

I led her to the room and opened the door.
She shuffled directly toward the bathroom, and I quickly handed her
the bag before she shut herself inside.

While she was busy changing, I went outside
to call Joshua.

“It’s good to hear from you, Luke,” he said.
“I must admit, I’m not a fan of texting yet.”

“Sorry about that. She was sleeping, and I
didn’t want to disturb her.”

“Understandable.”

“We’ve stopped for the night. I was hoping to
get a little further today, but we should still be there on
time.”

“Very good. I could always send the car for
you.”

“That’s not necessary. But I could use some
cash. We’re running low.”

“Of course. Since Dean is already waiting for
you, it would be easier to wire money to you directly. Where are
you staying?”

I told him, and he found a place to wire the
money to in the morning.

“Thanks, Joshua.”

“This is what I’m here for, Luke. Sleep
well.”

When I walked back into the room, Bethi was
already face down on top of the covers. Sideways seemed to be her
favorite sleeping position. I shook my head and repositioned her so
she was comfortably using a pillow and under the blanket. Then, I
used the bathroom for a quick shower. By the time I finished, she
was already twitching and crying her way through another dream.

“I have you, luv,” I said as I hurriedly
crossed the room.

Lying beside her, I pulled her into my
arms.

* * * *

“Here.”

The softly spoken word woke me just before
dawn, and it took a moment to recall I was in a hotel room with
Bethi draped over me. I blinked and looked around the shadowed
room.

The door knob moved slightly, drawing my
gaze. Someone was outside our room, testing the door to see if it
was locked.

I was already easing Bethi to the side when I
caught a scent through the door.

Werewolf.

“Ready?”

I shoved Bethi out of the way and jumped from
the bed just as the wood splintered. A man moved inward with the
swinging panel of wood. Before the door hit the wall, I pulled the
change forward. Fur erupted and bone cracked. With teeth and claws,
I rushed the man who was in the midst of his own change. I couldn’t
allow him to enter. Not with Bethi just a few feet behind me.

We collided, his teeth crashing against mine
as we tried to maneuver for each other’s throats. I pushed at my
opponent, forcing him back and both of us onto our hind legs.

My attention remained with the fight, but I
still heard the frantic race of Bethi’s heart and couldn’t be sure
if she was awake and watching or in one of her dreams. This time, I
hoped she dreamed.

My opponent managed to bring up his front
legs and heave them against my chest. Off balance on my hind legs,
I began to fall backward. As I did, I lunged for his exposed throat
and caught flesh. As we went down together, I heard a growl from
outside.

The glass of the room’s large window
shattered inward, giving birth to two furless men as Bethi dove
from the bed and rolled toward me.

I locked my jaw and twisted my head, needing
to end this one to get to Bethi. However, I gave up my efforts in
the next instant when the newcomers landed on their booted feet
within the room. Releasing my hold on the wolf, I spun to face the
pair.

In my peripheral, I saw the wolf I’d released
reached for Bethi with a partially shifted hand. Rage consumed me.
Turning, I went for what was closest—his face—and savagely bit
down. He screamed as a canine punctured his eye. Using my hold, I
yanked him backward, moving him away from Bethi.

She was mine.

She scrambled back until she bumped the
bedside table hard enough to make the lamp wobble. I dropped the
dead wolf and leapt at the man closest to me as Bethi threw the
bedside lamp like a mace at the other man.

Dangerously, I kept half my attention on
Bethi and her opponent while trying to sink my teeth into mine.

Mutt one lifted his forearm to protect his
face. I sank my teeth to the bone and started to pretend he was a
cob of corn. He cried out as mutt two batted the lamp away. The
lamp shattered, and Bethi rolled under the bed. With her safely
tucked away, I focused. Removing my teeth from my opponent’s flesh,
I leapt up, gave him a paw to the groin then went for his throat
when his hand automatically dropped to protect his jollys. I bit
hard enough to keep him down, but not to kill. As he fell, I turned
to meet mutt two, who had started bending toward the bed. He
predictably blocked me with a forearm and a swipe to my ribs. I
twisted to fall behind him and savaged the tendons behind his right
ankle and left knee.

Within seconds, he was stomach down on the
floor along with his partner.

“You won’t win,” mutt one said, his words
barely a whisper. Didn’t he realize I already had? One of his
friends was dead and he and the other would take days to heal.

I shifted back to my skin and wanted to swear
as I reached into our bag. I was back down to one pair of pants. A
thump under the bed had me hurrying into the dark bathroom. Bethi’s
rapid breathing, drumming pulse, and scent of panic told me she was
close to losing it. As I tugged on my pants, I watched her crawl
out from under the bed and look at the men slowly changing back to
their skin on the floor. Her eyes watered, and she quietly eased
back under the bed.

My poor girl.

Moving quickly, I picked up the two living
men and carried them out on my shoulders. Since the front of the
motel was well-lit, I used my speed to rush them from our semi-dark
room to the shadowed side of the building where I tossed them to
the ground. I went back for the third and laid him beside his
friends.

“There are too few of us for this kind of
death,” I said, hoping one of them would hear me. “Don’t try this
again.”

When I returned, Bethi was still under the
bed. I worked to remove every trace of the fight, not just for her,
but also for the motel staff. To explain the broken window, I
tossed the glass and broken lamp out onto the ground. Luckily,
there wasn’t much blood on the carpet to contradict the scene. A
wet towel removed any visible trace from me and the room.

Tugging on a shirt, I quickly left the room
to check the motorcycle. They’d left it alone. Good. We needed to
move.

Bethi was already in the bathroom with the
bag when I walked through the door. I sat on the bed, put on my
shoes, then waited.

Her eyes looked haunted when she opened the
door. She paused and just stared at me.

“Are you all right?” I asked softly.

When I moved toward her, she flinched. I
stopped.

“It will be okay, Bethi. I left money and an
explanation with the manager for the broken window,” I lied. “We
should go.” Preferably, before someone saw three bloody, naked
bodies piled in the dark. I didn’t want her to know any of those
gory details, though. She’d been through enough.

She nodded, and I gently took the bag from
her and held out my hand. She ignored it and walked through the
door. The scent of her hopelessness choked the air as I
followed.

In silence, she took her seat and allowed me
to place the strap around her. However, she didn’t hold on. As I
took off, she held herself rigid behind me.

“Are you all right back there?” I asked after
several minutes.

She didn’t answer me.

Willing to give her some time to process, I
kept driving. However, after two hours of no responses, I began to
worry. Not only was she not moving, she wasn’t falling asleep. We
hadn’t slept long at the hotel before the challengers had found us.
Not enough for her to be well-rested.

Unable to wait any longer, I pulled to the
shoulder and cut the engine.

“Bethi?” I said, turning. “I’m sorry. Those
were not typical challenges. They did not back down. I had no
choice.”

She blinked at me. “Don’t be sorry. It wasn’t
a challenge. There will be more wolves. They will come until I
choose or I die.”

The flat emotionlessness of her voice scared
me. It was as if she’d given up.

I opened my mouth to tell her she wouldn’t
die, that females were safe, but I remembered my mother. There was
no such thing as absolute safety in this or any life. I wished
there was.

Knowing I didn’t have the words to promise
she wouldn’t die, I faced forward, told her to hold tight, and took
off from the shoulder. I needed to get Bethi somewhere she’d feel
safe again.

We were
going along fine until the strap pulled tight. I knew Bethi was out
when she started to twitch. Slowing below the speed limit, I kept
driving. The car behind us honked and passed, the driver raising
his middle finger. Ignoring him, I focused on Bethi and balancing
us as she jerked in her sleep.

When I found a sign for a hotel, I turned off
the road and eased into the parking lot. Grabbing Bethi, I pulled
her onto my lap. Her eyes shifted back and forth under her lids and
her heart stuttered. Fear coated her scent already.

She needed sleep, and I needed to put more
distance between us and the men I’d left behind. From experience, I
knew how possible it was to follow her scent trail.

Pulling out my phone, I called Joshua.

“Luke.”

“Joshua. We’ve run into some more trouble.
One more death I couldn’t avoid and two wounded. I think I need to
take you up on your offer to have your guy meet us.”

“Certainly. Where are you?”

After I gave him the name of the town and
hotel, he promised to have a car to us within an hour.

“I know it’s asking a lot, but if you could
arrange to escort us to the Compound, she will feel safer. These
challenges have her shaken.”

“Of course. I will make plans to meet you as
soon as possible.”

“Thank you.”

Tucking my phone back into my pocket, I
exhaled slowly and looked down at Bethi. Her eyes shifted under her
lids, and the delicate muscles along her jaw tensed rigidly as she
twitched in my arms.

“Bethi,” I said, tapping her face.

She immediately opened her eyes, the black of
her pupils almost obliterating her blue irises. It took a moment
for her to focus, but the wide-eyed fear didn’t leave her.

“Why didn’t you lean against me? The dreams
aren’t as bad then,” I said.

She blinked and her eyes watered.

“Betrayer,” she whispered.

I tightened my arms around her. “I would
never betray you.” Betrayal wasn’t possible. “Never.” How could I
help her understand she was mine? My only priority? She wasn’t some
trivial piece of my life from which I could walk away. What I felt
for her couldn’t be set aside or momentarily forgotten. In the last
few days, she’d branded me. My beautiful broken girl had doubted me
from the beginning. I couldn’t let her continue.

Gently smoothing back her hair, I cupped the
back of her head. My heart raced with anticipation of my
intentions. Her eyes held mine as I leaned forward. Her breath
caught, and her mouth opened slightly. Her scent changed, fear
dissipating as surprise and hope surrounded us. My gaze dipped to
her lips. Her heart skipped a beat.

“I
will
protect you,” I said.

Closing the distance between us, I brushed my
lips against hers. The flavor of her teased me, and a tremble shook
me at the innocent contact. Hours of laying with her pressed
against me demanded more. But I retreated so she could see my eyes
and know she was truly safe with me.

“You are everything I am,” I said. “Without
you...” I would be nothing. Just like I’d been nothing before
finding her.

She wet her lips, the action tempting me. As
if reading my thoughts, she quickly leaned up and pressed her mouth
against mine. The taste of her flooded me. My hand reflexively
gripped her arms tightly before I quickly pulled back.

Frustration showed on her features. She took
a deep breath through her still wet and parted lips. I pulled my
gaze from hers and stared out at the road ahead.

“Why?” she asked.

“Why what?” I kept my eyes on the road.

“Why protect me? I’m not your Mate.”

That brought my gaze back to her. She was my
Mate. We just hadn’t made it official yet.

“Do not mistake my patience for disinterest,”
I said, gently threading my fingers through her hair.

She lifted her lips to mine hopefully. I
smiled at her persistence but dropped my hand. She’d already
tempted me too much.