Luke's Dream (28 page)

All thought stopped as two pieces clicked
into place in my mind. Bethi had said Urbat have always wanted
power, to be the top race. They’ve spent lifetimes searching for
and eventually finding these girls with abilities.

I stared out the window, not really seeing
anything. Could it be that obvious?

Why are there so few women for us?
I
sent Grey.

It’s gotten better since Charlene joined us,
but before that, so many died in the woods. Hunters. Other animals.
The world just became too small for us to safely live in our fur
and raise cubs.

Hunters. Animals.

What better way to become the leading race
than to quietly start killing off the other? Without females, we
had no chance.

I kept my thoughts to myself as we drove. It
wasn’t until lunch that we stopped again. Bethi had managed to stay
awake the whole while.

“About time,” she said under her breath. “I
have to pee.”

Opening the door, I helped her from the
backseat. She moved stiffly and held an arm to her middle. Winifred
and I both watched her closely as we walked into the fast food
restaurant.

“She still looks pale,” Winifred said after
Bethi disappeared into the lady’s room.

“She’s looked pale since I met her. But, yes,
she’s reached a new level of pale lately. She needs food and
rest.”

“Order whatever she needs. Michelle received
the money we need. Hopefully, Bethi will nap in the car.”

“Napping won’t help. The only time she
actually sleeps is when she’s lying on me, skin to skin. Otherwise
the dreams trap her and she wakes like she never slept at all.”

“I see.” She looked toward the restroom for a
moment. “We’ll try to ensure we stop at a reasonable hour each
evening.”

She left me to go speak with Gabby, and I
went to the counter to add our order to the rest. When Bethi
reemerged, she moved around the restaurant listlessly.

As soon as the food was ready and everyone
had used the restrooms, we piled back into the cars and started
driving again. Bethi barely ate, claiming it would just make her
more tired. I didn’t think it would matter; we both knew she’d only
be able to hold out on sleeping for so long. But I didn’t point it
out to her, preferring to avoid a fight.

She didn’t make it more than forty minutes
before she started crying and twitching. Gabby watched with sad
eyes as I inadequately tried soothing Bethi.

We stopped traveling around six and checked
into our next hotel. As a group, we found somewhere to eat and then
split up into our rooms for the evening.

That day established the pattern for our
lives on the road, with the exception of the car assignments. After
that second day, Carlos and Grey were again our companions.

With Gabby’s ability, the group avoided
detection, with a few occasional close calls. One morning we woke
to a knock on our door and a quick “pack up.” We’d left that hotel
minutes before the Urbat reached town.

Gabby assured the Elders the Urbat had only
been scouting, with their net still spread wide in an effort to
find us, but everyone was nervous after that.

From that day, I began to notice Gabby’s
exhaustion from constant monitoring, Michelle’s growing fear for
her brothers, and Charlene’s quiet withdrawal into her own
thoughts. We were losing our females far a field and close to
home.

* * * *

On the fourth day, Grey told us the Urbat had
managed to catch a lone werewolf. They tortured the man, stretching
out his death for hours in hopes of gaining information about
Charlene, Gabby, Michelle, and Bethi. Grey didn’t share any of the
details; but when a tear trailed onto his cheek, I knew the man had
finally found his end.

Bethi shivered beside me, and I wrapped an
arm around her shoulder.

“Shh. Don’t think. Don’t remember. Just
breathe and look at the trees. You’re here, now. You’re safe.
Shh.”

It took a long while for her shaking to end.
We stopped early that night. Everyone quietly went to their
rooms.

Most nights Bethi and I had a room to
ourselves. Whether alone or with company, we slept together as we
had that first night. It was the only time I really felt connected
with her. Although I tried to talk to her in the car, she never
said much. I’d like to blame it on increasing stress and lack of
rest, but most mornings she woke well-rested. Sure, a few dreams
snuck in here and there, but nothing so drastic as to stop her
healing. Color started to return to her face and the sharp angle of
bones under skin had softened.

After that first night, I’d grown a little
smarter and kept some extra food in our bag and the remote within
reach. The television helped keep my mind off how completely
comfortable she was using me as a body pillow and how very much I
liked it.

That night, after hearing about the death,
Bethi went to bed right after eating. I fell asleep easily enough
but woke in the wee hours to a grumbling stomach. Sighing, I pulled
the sheet over Bethi’s head—I’d learned my lesson after dropping
ham on her face—and snacked on some chips while watching
television.

Just before dawn, I shook off the sheet and
settled in to doze once more. Most times, I dreamt of Bethi
trailing kisses from my chest to my neck or some similar version of
making out the second time I fell asleep. I figure it happened
because she tended to snuggle a bit more in the morning hours. It
was the best way to wake up.

However, snuggles weren’t in my immediate
future. I woke to Bethi’s very loud protest in my ear and for a
panicked moment I thought she’d discovered the inappropriate
direction of my thoughts.

“What the hell, Luke?”

I peeled my eyes to find her scowling at me
while holding up a rather large chip crumb in front of my face.

“In my hair,” she said, her face turning
red.

I scrambled for something to say that would
save me from her anger.

“I’m sorry, luv. The sheet must have slipped
from your—”

Her eyes narrowed. “You pulled the covers
over me so you could eat?”

I kept quiet, unwilling to say anything
further to anger her.

“I’m not a table. No eating in bed.”

She stomped off into the bathroom, crumbs
clinging to the back of her hair. She didn’t talk to me for the
rest of the day.

Because of the weather and the Urbat, we
ended up a little further south than where Gabby said we wanted to
be after a week of travel. Bethi still carried a chip on her
shoulder, but I couldn’t be sure if it was still toward me or
because we were all tired of the never ending road trip.

Dripping wet, we trudged into the lobby of
yet another hotel. While Charlene and Thomas went to the desk to
check us in, Winifred approached Bethi and pulled her off to the
side.

“I’d like to take out the stitches today. It
was a shallow enough cut that it should be fine, but you’ll need to
take it easy.”

Bethi’s gaze brightened as she nodded
eagerly. “I’m so ready to get rid of my Frankenstein.”

After getting our room card, we went to
settle in before meeting for supper. Not more than a minute after
the door closed, Winifred knocked. She came with gauze, alcohol,
and sharp scissors. Bethi moved to the bed as Winifred came in.

“Are you ready?” Bethi asked. “Should I
assume the patient position? On my back with my shirt up?”

“That would be best.”

“That’s what he said.”

Winifred gave me a questioning look, and I
held up my hands as Bethi snickered.

“It’s a saying,” she said, easing onto her
back. “He’s still being annoyingly puritan about Claiming.” She
lifted her shirt, exposing her flat, soft stomach. I swallowed hard
at the sight of so much skin, my thoughts going south until I saw
the neat row of little black stitches. Guilt gripped me, and I
moved closer so I could hold her hand.

“Removing the stitches will be far less
painful then receiving the cut,” Winifred said. I wasn’t sure if
she was assuring me or Bethi.

Probably me. Bethi looked completely at ease
as she lay there. Her jean clad legs hung off the edge of the bed
from her knees. The knife strapped to her thigh stood out without
Bethi’s long coat to hide it. She was a tiny, slightly broken,
badass girl who kept me on my toes.

Winifred didn’t appear to care about the
knife as she doused a piece of gauze with alcohol. Bethi had kept
the weapon fairly hidden, but Grey had noticed it early on. No
doubt the reason Winifred didn’t seem surprised or question the
knife.

Winifred swabbed the area with alcohol then
cut the first loop. Bethi winced when Winifred tugged the first
stitch free, but kept quiet through the rest. As soon as the last
thread pulled free, Bethi sighed and moved to tug her shirt
down.

“Not yet,” Winifred said, reaching down for a
bottle. “It needs to be cleaned again.” She passed the small bottle
of rubbing alcohol to me. “I think you can take it from here.”

Bethi frowned at Winifred’s back as she left.
Without sitting up, she pulled her shirt down over the little
bleeding holes.

“You heard her,” I said. “Let’s do this
quick, and then we can grab dinner.”

Bethi shook her head. “I’m too sick for
dinner. Let’s skip it.”

Tilting my head, I studied her. How could a
little sting of alcohol cause this much trepidation when mutts and
knives never had?

She stared back at me, a challenge that made
me want to grin. I loved her stubborn will as much as it aggravated
me. But, right now, her fear was prompting her to make a decision
that might lead to infection.

“Bethi, you’re tougher than this,” I said,
gently.

She made a face at me, but lifted her shirt
again.

“Go on, you sadist,” she said without rancor.
“Inflict some more pain on your poor little human.”

She scrunched her eyes closed and took a slow
deep breath.

It was too late for her to hide. Those words
created an ache in my chest. My little human…I rubbed the spot over
my heart.

I studied her. Dark hair spread like a halo
behind her head. The healthy flush spreading over her face,
darkened her lips. She tempted me with each chest expanding breath
she took. The exposed area of skin begged for kisses, not
sanitation. I leaned over the bed and pressed my lips to her
forehead, then dabbed some alcohol on each tiny little hole in her
stomach. Touching her soft smooth skin again and again made my
hands tremble. She made a few noises and twitched a little, but
kept still and quiet for the most part.

Finishing, I leaned forward to kiss her
forehead again. When I pulled away, she was watching me.

“I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“You didn’t hurt me. I did. I’m good at
that.”

I tossed the gauze into the bin and helped
her sit up. “But not anymore. Never again.” I lifted her chin,
wanting her promise.

She nodded.

Satisfied, I moved away from the bed and
cleaned up the tissues and stitches Winifred had removed. Bethi
carefully sat up then stood. She moved cautiously, testing the
newly healed thin line on her stomach.

“Since we’re eating at the hotel’s
restaurant, it might be better if you leave that here,” I said,
with a nod toward her knife.

She sighed and made a face, but bent to
remove the knife and hand it to me. I packed it into our bag, in
the spot she favored for easy access.

She wore an anxious expression while she
waited by the door for me. As I’d hoped, the knife had given her a
small sense of safety.

“We’ll all be there,” I said, placing another
kiss on her forehead. “You won’t need it.”

“Right,” she said under her breath. She gave
the bag a long look then left the room with me.

The rest were already waiting in the lobby,
the cubs loudly entertaining themselves with Grey and Jim.

“All set?” Winifred asked us.

Bethi wrinkled her nose. “Yes. He got each
one.”

Winifred smiled. “We’ll get you a dessert for
putting up with that.”

The smallest cub immediately scampered over
to Bethi.

“Can I sit by you?” he asked.

Jim had already taught the cub to be a food
thief. When Bethi nodded, I knew I’d be guarding her food. She
hadn’t yet gained enough weight. The cub was cute but not enough to
sacrifice Bethi’s food. The dreams took too much out of her to be
content with the few meager pounds she’d added.

As a group, we moved to the hotel’s dining
room where the wait staff had already prepared a table for our
large party. I sat on one side of Bethi with Aden on the other. Jim
was quick to sit across from Aden, with Liam beside Jim. Gabby
claimed the spot directly across from Bethi, which meant I was face
to face with the Yeti. He didn’t annoy me as much as he once had,
but I wasn’t about to admit it to anyone.

Talk around the table rose as everyone tried
to decide what to order. I focused on the menu, debating whether I
wanted a quality cut steak or tender prime rib. My mouth started to
water as I debated, wishing both were an option.

Bethi moved slightly beside me and looked up
at Gabby. I followed Bethi’s gaze and saw Gabby’s unfocused
expression.

“One of them just changed direction,” Gabby
mouthed.

I glanced at Clay. He frowned. I think.

“Maybe the rain?” Gabby said softly, her eyes
focusing again on the menu. She didn’t look up again, but her gaze
would go in and out of focus as she monitored the progress of
whoever had caught her attention.

That was one positive thing that had happened
since leaving the Compound. Bethi’s frantic desperation had
decreased. Marginally. Being with Gabby, Michelle, and Charlene
seemed to help her feel less alone. I felt a slight bit of guilt
that Bethi’s arrival had done the opposite for them.