Over his shoulder, I saw Luke cramming my things into my ragged messenger bag. My bag wouldn’t last through another werewolf packing. I laid my head on Clay’s shoulder in case anyone else roamed the halls. He held me closely walking quickly.
In addition to figuring out why I had the ability pass on my gift, I needed to understand why I saw different werewolf colors. The werewolf who’d left the line and the ones waiting for him, worried me. Regardless of my anger at Sam, if trouble stalked the pack, he needed to know. But I needed to talk to Clay about it before I could talk to anyone else. He would help me make sense of it and figure out how it all tied together.
Uncertain if I could trust Sam with everything, I needed to leave before he started pushing me for answers I didn’t have. What reason could I give Sam for my sudden faint during the Introduction? He’d know any lie before I told it. And if I gave him the truth, would he then share it with all the Elders? After seeing those werewolves leave the Introduction, I couldn’t blindly trust Elder Joshua. Too many werewolves of that same color acted differently than the norm.
We made it out the main entrance quietly with Luke following us.
The black sky twinkled with stars, and crickets conversed with their night song. Relaxing my neck, I gazed up at the stars as the two werewolves stealthily moved over the graveled parking area. It must be Monday night. I regretted missing the classes today, but there’d been no way to help it.
Luke opened the car door for Clay, and the door’s loud creaking groan made us all cringe. Clay quickly settled me inside, reaching across me to secure the seat belt, and then jogged silently around the hood to get in behind the wheel. The car faced the gate. Luke must have moved it.
Luke handed me my bag and moved to close the door, but I motioned for him to wait. I dug in a side pocket of my bag for a pencil stub and paper. In those few moments after I shocked him and before I passed out, I’d gleaned some information about the person I saw. Whoever she was, Luke needed to find her and help me understand if some of my suspicions were right. Was she like me? Was she his mate?
I jotted him a hasty note and handed it to him with a wave. He quickly closed the door. I hoped giving him the information was the right thing to do. I barely knew him. Would he even try to find her or just hand the information over to an Elder? Worried, I looked at him through the window. He didn’t see me. His eyes scanned my note. He crumpled it in his hand and spun away toward a waiting motorcycle.
Clay pulled away from the compound, spinning gravel with the tires.
At least Luke had my number if I was wrong. A motorcycle roared to life, quickly zipping past us. Luke saluted me with a wicked grin then disappeared from sight.
I peeked in the side mirror and I caught the reason for their loud exit. Sam stood on the porch watching us, growing smaller as we sped away. I wished I knew whom to trust. What a crappy Introduction weekend. The worst yet. I hoped there were no more in my future.
The drone of the engine and the soothing vibrations of the tires eating up the miles of road put me right to sleep. I slept the whole way home waking when Clay lifted me from the car. Blankets still twisted around me, he carried me to bed.
A few minutes later, he settled next to me. It didn’t matter anymore if he wore his fur or stayed as a man. He remained with me. It was enough.
Clay tried keeping me home Tuesday, worried I still needed to rest. First, he planted himself, in his fur, in front of my door so I couldn’t get out of the bedroom. When I pleaded to use the bathroom, he allowed me out, taking the opportunity to hide my keys.
Suspicion rose in me when he calmly watched me get ready. When I discovered the missing keys, I resorted to further pleading stressing my need to talk to Nicole to help piece this puzzle together. The one sided conversation reminded me of the first time I’d reasoned with him.
Of course, Rachel caught part of my serious conversation with our dog and did a double take on her way to the bathroom. I laughed and waved her away then gave Clay a look. Grudgingly, Clay led me to my keys and I made it to class on time.
Before getting out of the car, I took a minute to lean my forehead against the steering wheel still recovering from sharing my ability with three people in one weekend. Clay had sensed it. If Tuesday hadn’t been the only day I saw Nicole, I’d still be in bed. Steeling myself, I got out and walked across campus.