Luke's Dream (13 page)

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted to stop yet,” I
said with a nod toward the hotel.

“No,” she said, struggling to get off my lap.
She shuddered and fear clouded her scent once more.

“Shh,” I said, wrapping my arms around her
and pulling her close. “It will be okay.”

“No. It won’t.” She pushed me back and met my
gaze. “They won’t give up.”

Her doubt in me hurt. "Have you died in this
life? Not this cycle, but this life?” I asked, showing that I’d
paid attention to her explanations and fears. “No. Do you know
why?" I leaned in close. "Because you have me. Because I won't
let
you die. I’ve already sent a call asking for someone to
meet us. We don’t need to—”

Her head shot up, hitting my jaw. I grunted
as my mouth closed with a snap on my tongue. She grabbed my face
between her small, cold hands.

“What did you say?” she demanded. “What did
you tell them?”

The sting in my tongue faded in the intensity
of her focus.

“That we would be here and needed an Elder
and a few others to help escort you back to the Compound.”

“When?” Her impatience was palpable.

“A few moments before I woke you,” I
said.

She dropped her hands and hopped off my lap.
I watched her check the road in both directions before she turned
on me again.

“Go get a room. Hurry!” She waved toward the
hotel. When I was slow to get off the bike, she started walking
without me. I hurried to catch up to her.

In the lobby, she acted like the happiest
person on the planet as she asked for a room. I’d thought I was
used to her mercurial mood, but this was a new level for her. While
she filled out the forms and provided her fake ID, I quietly paid
and continued to wonder what she was up to. She wrote the hotel and
room number on her palm, took the key, and strode down the hall. I
trailed behind her.

When she reached the room, opened the door
and paused to wipe her hand over the door jamb. She studied it,
leaned closer, then licked it. Odd didn’t begin to describe Bethi
at the moment.

She didn’t step further into the room.
Instead, she closed the door again and walked back the way we’d
entered. She waved at the receptionist then went outside.

“What are we doing?” I asked when we reached
the bike.

“We’re leaving, but you need to keep quiet
about it.” She motioned for me to sit, and quickly got on behind me
once I was settled. “Don’t tell anyone. If I’m right, that room
will have visitors soon.”

I glanced toward the hotel, understanding her
implications. Did she really think that Joshua would send men who
were interested in challenging me? Yes. She did. I could smell her
certainty mixed in with her fear. I wanted to be a good Mate and
believe her, but still held my doubt. Sometimes fear clouded the
way we saw things.

Yet, I couldn’t dismiss the way those unmated
males kept finding us. I knew she believed Joshua was betraying us,
but what if it wasn’t him? I’d assumed he had a Mated male who was
willing to help. Perhaps the “friend” he’d sent for us was unmated
and the one who couldn’t be trusted. He could be the reason we’d
been found? Hadn’t I helped my friends when we’d heard about
Gabby?

Either way, I needed to keep moving with
Bethi. Safety and answers would only be found at the Compound.

I started the bike as Bethi looped the strap
over my head and chest. I removed the slack and pulled out of the
parking lot heading west.

She tapped my shoulder. “Go south!”

It wasn’t the direction I wanted to go, but I
humored her. Taking the next turn, we headed south. She remained
awake enough that when she suggested a main highway, I took it.

For the next two hours we drove, until she
tapped my stomach.

“I think we can stop,” she said.

I signaled at the next exit, and we took the
northern route to the next town.

I turned my head and asked, “Are we getting a
room?”

“No, not yet. We just need a pay phone.”

I pulled into a gas station that had a phone
near the road. She ducked out of the strap and hopped off the back
while I cut the engine. Using her shoulder to hold the phone to her
ear, she dialed the hotel’s number from her palm. When a man
answered, she started peppering him with questions about their
recent break in. I stood and moved closer to hear his
responses.

“The two men walked in and went straight down
the hall. They seemed to know where they were going so I figured
they already had a room. I’d just started my shift, you know? But
then they stopped at the door and one of them kicked it in. One
kick. Our doors are solid. As soon as they disappeared inside, I
called the police. The two who went in never came out again. When
the cops got here, the window in the room was broken. It looked
like they’d jumped out. And, I heard one of the police say
something about this happening a state over, they’d found a bo—”
There was the sound of the phone changing hands.

“I’m sorry,” a new voice said, “we’re not
taking any questions at this time. The police have asked us to
direct all questions to their office.”

Bethi hung up without saying good-bye.

“Did you hear most of that?”

I nodded, clenching my jaw. How could Joshua
be so foolish? My esteem for Elders dropped. They were supposed to
protect us and our females. I had been forced to kill three times
because of his stupidity.

“Someone is betraying you,” she said softly.
“I think we need to be more careful with the route we take to the
Compound. They know where we’re headed and will be waiting. It
should be safe to get a room in the next town. No more
communicating with anyone.” She rubbed a hand over her face,
exhaustion slowing her moves.

I stepped forward to wrap her in my arms, but
she quickly side-stepped and walked toward the bike. Fear coated
her.

“Bethi,” I said, frustrated she still didn’t
trust me.

She didn’t turn back. “We need to keep
moving. The dreams are calling again.”

* * * *

We drove until just before the sun set. She’d
managed to stay awake for most of the ride, but it was costing her.
She staggered when she finally climbed off the back of the bike to
check into the motel. Once I walked her to the room, she kicked off
her shoes and landed face first on the bed, completely ignoring
me.

I hesitated in the doorway. She was pulling
away from me again. She didn’t trust me to protect her and her fear
was the problem. The dreams made her feel powerless. Having a
measure of power and control might help her feel safe, and perhaps
she would be able to forget the dreams. But, how could I give that
to her?

Taking the key, I stepped back out and locked
the door. When we’d pulled in, I’d noted a sportsmen warehouse down
the road. If my presence didn’t make her feel safe, maybe owning a
weapon would.

In the store, I walked around and considered
my options. Guns required permits and usually took time to process.
Plus, Bethi’s moods were volatile, and I didn’t trust that I
wouldn’t see a hole or two in my hide. I went to the knives.

The purchase took longer than I’d hoped, and
it was a full hour later that I left the store with a wickedly long
and very sharp hunting knife.

Before I reached the hotel’s parking lot, I
heard her. She was crying out in her sleep again. Running, I made
it to the room and quickly unlocked the door.

She lay on the bed, her arms and legs jerking
as she struggled against the dream.

“Bethi! Wake up!” I gently slapped her damp
cheek.

She sat bolt upright and flinched away from
me as her hand clasped her shoulder, holding it as if it hurt. Her
gaze darted around the room, in time with her ragged panted
breaths. Panic gripped her features.

I held up my hands. “It’s okay. It’s me,
Luke.”

“I know it’s you,” she said as she wiped the
sweat from her temple with her free hand.

I slowly sat beside her. When I settled, she
pinned me with her gaze.

“Where were you?”

Setting the knife and sheath on the blanket
between us, I hoped it would be enough explanation. She glanced
down at it with an odd mix of fascination and fear.

“It’s yours,” I said, ducking a bit to
recapture her gaze. “I thought it might help you feel safer. I’ll
show you how to use it.” She remained silent. “I want you to feel
safe. I want to see the fear fade.”

“It’s not just fear. Imagine discovering
you’re not who you thought you were. That you belong to a dangerous
hidden world. Imagine closing your eyes and seeing yourself and
your loved ones die again and again. The fear in your eyes would be
eclipsed by your desperation to stop it all.” She glanced back at
the knife. “They are coming. They always do.”

She touched the blade gently then stood.
“Thank you for the knife. I already know how to use it.” She slowly
removed her hand from her shoulder. “The knife might help,” she
said, walking into the bathroom.

The skip in her pulse flagged the words for a
lie. As she shut the door, I fell back onto the mattress, lost.

From within the bathroom, I heard the water
start followed by her soft sobs. The sound devastated me. If I
didn’t help her feel safe and the knife didn’t, what would? I’d
thought stopping at the hotels so she could rest was helping her,
but maybe I should have pushed harder to get her to the Compound.
With Gabby there to help explain things, it was the only place she
might feel safe.

Getting to the Compound was proving
difficult. I pulled out my phone, needing advice. The messages from
Joshua had me frowning.

Where are you?

An hour after that text, he sent another.

Remember, you cannot Claim this female
without Elder acknowledgement.

I stared at the words as doubt crept in. Was
this more than mistakenly sending unmated males to help? Were the
Elders trying to prevent another Forlorn from Claiming a Mate? I’d
heard that one of the leader’s sons, Emmitt, had found a woman
early this year. They’d kept her existence a secret until she was
well attached to him. It was also no secret that Charlene was doing
everything in her power to pair their second son, Jim, with a
Mate.

Growling, I clenched the phone. Bethi was
mine. With a slow exhale, I responded to Joshua.

Understood. We’ll see you at the Compound so
you can acknowledge her interest.

His response was almost immediate.

Where are you?

On the road. We’ll contact you when we’re
close.

Not good enough. Where are you?

I stood and paced the room until the water
turned off. If the Elders wanted her badly enough, they would
command me to tell them. Until they did, I’d get her to the
Compound on my own. I’d use that time to help her get to know me,
and hopefully, when we reached the Compound, she wouldn’t want to
Claim me just to stop her dreams but because she didn’t want anyone
else but me.

When she opened the door, I’d made up my mind
that we wouldn’t stay and had the bag in my hands. She glanced at
the bag then went to the bed and picked up the knife from where I’d
left it. She studied the blade, sheathed it, then came over to tuck
the knife into the bag.

“You all right?” I asked.

“Honestly?”

I nodded.

“The answer hasn’t changed. No, I’m not all
right. But the knife gives me”—she took a slow breath—“a tiny bit
of power over my fate.”

She didn’t sound any happier by the idea.
Instead, she sounded a bit resigned.

“Are you ready to leave, then?”

“I think I’ve slept enough if that’s what
you’re asking.”

I let her shoulder the bag to keep the knife
close and led the way to the bike. She didn’t speak as we left or
several hours later when I stopped at a gas station for maps. We
snacked on chips and protein bars and planned our route. She didn’t
look happy when I pointed out the general area of the Compound’s
location in Canada.

“They’ll know this is where we’re going,” she
said, tapping the map. Then, she traced her finger along the three
roads that led to the entrance. “And this is where they’ll rally if
they don’t catch us before we get that far.”

“It’s claimed territory. There are too many
Mated males and Elders at the Compound for them to try anything so
close.”

She shook her head at me but said no more. I
continued to study the map and knew she was right about them
trying. They wouldn’t rally just next to the Compound but at the
three entry points leading up to the road. We needed help, but I
wasn’t sure who to trust with something so—I glanced at
Bethi—precious.

Once we were back on the bike, she managed to
stay awake until past midday. Although I felt her start to relax
several times, she always resisted.

Knowing she needed a break, I pulled into the
next small town diner I found. The smell of real food had my mouth
watering before I even cut the engine.

Bethi groaned as she ducked out of the straps
and stood.

“I always thought motorcycles were cool. And
maybe they are…for the first hour.”

“You’ll feel better after some food,” I said,
grinning at her disgruntled expression.

She eyed the diner. “You sure it’s okay to
stop here?”

Anxiety and fear were such a normal part of
her scent that I only noticed them when the scents intensified.

“We’re as safe here as we were driving past
it.”

She seemed twitchy as we walked inside. I
held the door and eyed her face. She was exhausted again, dark
crescents underscoring her eyes. She picked a booth and slid in. I
sat beside her, hoping my proximity would help ease whatever was
bothering her.

“Relax,” I said as the waitress walked
over.

The woman handed us menus and asked for our
drink order, barely looking at us in her hurry. That was fine with
me. The faster she served us, the faster we’d be on our way
again.