Behind me, the Elders moved, reminding me of their presence. My mood shifted. The anger and betrayal from their lack of warning resurfaced. With a stiff back and tight mouth, I made my way back toward the door and the waiting Elders. I didn’t meet any of their eyes.
Sam had hours during the drive up here to say something and all of his secrecy for nothing. I hadn’t found a mate. Did he realize the pointlessness of his gesture? I seriously doubted telling me in advance would have changed the outcome other than increasing my nervousness during the drive up. Though, that could mean that I shouldn’t be mad at him if the result would have remained the same either way… Frowning, I disregarded that thought. Honesty was honesty. He should have told me.
Walking the dirt path toward the door, which I realized I’d tread over several times in my socks, I saw a peculiar shadow on the ground melding with the shadow of the still open door.
Looking up at the space behind the door, I saw the flash of eyes just before a man stepped out into view. I froze. My stomach dropped and my heart did a strange little flip. Before I could take my next breath, a shiver ran up my spine and gooseflesh rose on my arms as my anger spiked uncontrolled.
“You have got to be kidding,” I whispered to myself without thinking. I’d been so close to escaping.
His filthy long dark hair trailed in front of his eyes shadowing his face into obscurity. An old dull-green army jacket hung from his frame as filthy as his hair while his bare feet shone pale against the black sweats he wore. I couldn’t tell his age, the color of his hair, or the color of his eyes through the tangle of hair, but could see the glint of them as he moved away from the door stalking close to me.
I remained frozen, trying to deny the significance of the encounter as my stomach continued to do crazy little flips. Just before he reached me, he turned away and walked around the corner of the building, heading not into the woods as the rest had, but to the front of the building.
I stared after him, momentarily confused. I struggled to think coherently to get my feet moving again, my thoughts jumbled. He’d recognized me. Just as I had him. Why had he turned away? Did it matter? Move! Escape before he changed his mind!
Finally lurching toward the door, I said in a rush, “Sam, I’ve more than fulfilled any obligation I had to you or the pack.” The Elders stepped aside before I bowled them over. “I’d like to leave tonight,” I added walking past him and the other Elders.
I didn’t wait at the door but walked through the Introduction room to the interior hall, pausing only to pull off my dirt-caked socks. Charlene would have me cleaning floors if I walked through the halls in my dirty socks.
Maneuvering through the fortuitously quiet and empty halls, I struggled to control my emotions, or at least tamp them down. Over the years, I’d learned control, knowing those around me would be able to smell things like fear, anger, lust, or even sadness, but tonight all that control evaporated. Anger and fear swamped me. Anger at Sam for arranging the whole damn thing and fear that the Elders knew what just happened.
I’d been so close to freedom. Sam had set me up, stacking the odds against me with the sheer number of werewolves in attendance. Why would it have to be the very last one I saw that sent a bolt of lightning right into my stomach? Was it too much to ask for just one break in my life?
Self-pity began to flood me and then a spark of hope surfaced. Could it be possible that no one noticed? Maybe they’d attribute my reaction to the way he looked. I turned a corner, almost to our rooms. If I didn’t acknowledge him in front of others, then it didn’t count, right?
I let myself into the apartment I shared with Sam and headed straight to my room, grabbing my bag from the bed, glad I hadn’t unpacked.
Moving quickly, I went to Sam’s bed and zipped his bag closed just as he walked through the door, his grey hair slightly mussed. When agitated he tended to run his hands through his hair. Good. He deserved a little agitation to match my own.
Immediately spotting me standing beside his things, he met my gaze. Now, after the Introduction completed and he’d gotten his way. “Now Gabby,” he started in his soothing tone.
“Stop.” I held up a hand to forestall him from saying anything else and keeping my temper in check. He might not know he’d gotten his way. Even if he did know, he didn’t deserve the pithy remarks running through my head. He deserved my respect for all he’d done for me in the past, for everything he’d shielded me from. Still, I wasn’t going to listen to anything else tonight. Amazingly, he didn’t try to continue.
Holding his bag in my hands with my own bag over my shoulder, I asked “Are you driving me or not?”