His gentle words made me feel like a coward. So, I made a face at him and exposed the cut. “Go on, you sadist. Inflict some more pain on your poor little human.” I closed my eyes waiting for the pain, but felt nothing. Then, something brushed my forehead. A soft kiss. I smiled. He did that when he wanted to comfort me. It always worked.
A light touch of something cold on my almost healed cut elicited a gasp from me. Immediately, the antiseptic sting followed. He methodically touched each spot. I knew he had finished when he placed another kiss on my forehead.
Opening my eyes, I caught his tender look as he apologized. “I’m sorry I hurt you.”
I gave a little laugh. “You didn’t hurt me. I did. I’m good at that.”
He helped me sit up. “But not anymore. Never again.” He placed gentle fingers under my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze until I nodded.
Satisfied, he moved away from the bed and cleaned up the tissues he’d used. I stood slowly, testing my capabilities. It felt weird. It was probably in my head, but I worried the wound would pop right back open. So, though I stood straight, my movements were slow and easy like Nana recommended.
“Since we’re eating at the hotel’s restaurant, it might be better if you leave that here,” he commented nodding toward the knife strapped to my thigh.
After leaving the compound, I’d taken to wearing my knife strapped to my leg. Nana had loaned me a cute peacoat to replace Luke’s shredded jacket. The new coat covered the knife whenever we stopped.
Sighing, I bent and released the clasp. I handed the bundle to Luke and watched him tuck it into our bag. When he joined me at the door, he placed another gentle kiss on my forehead. “We’ll all be there,” he murmured. “You won’t need it.”
I gave the bag a long wistful glance and left with Luke.
Down in the lobby, the others waited. The boys were being entertained by Grey and Jim doing “up-downs”. The term wasn’t something I associated with what they did. Each boy held the thumbs of one of the men. The men closed their hands over the boy’s wrist and then started lifting and lowering them. It caused fits of giggles, but I didn’t see how it could be much fun. To me, it looked like their arms would get sore. The boys, not the werewolves. I knew the werewolves could lift like that forever.
“All set?” Nana asked.
I wrinkled my nose. “Yes. He got each one.”
She smiled. “We’ll get you a dessert for putting up with that.”
Aden immediately begged to be let down and scampered over to my side. “Can I sit by you?” he asked sweetly. I’d watched how Jim often stole food from Aden’s plate, and Aden in turn robbed whoever else sat closest to him. No doubt, he wanted my dessert. Still, I agreed.
The wait staff had already prepared a table for our large party and sat us as soon as we entered the hotel’s dining room. Luke sat on one side of me with Aden on the other. Michelle sat on Aden’s other side, close to Emmitt. Jim was quick to sit across from Aden. Liam was on his other side.
Gabby claimed the spot directly across from me. Since driving together, she often took every opportunity to talk to me about her gift, trying to figure out all of its possibilities. We even found a moment free of our men where she’d offered to pass her gift to me. I’d been so tempted but knew we couldn’t risk her losing her ability to see the sparks and guide our route. So, I’d regretfully declined the offer.
Talk around the table rose as everyone tried to decide what to order. It was nice not having to worry about money. Michelle’s lawyer contact helped her get the funds we needed throughout our journey. No one made a fuss about using it, so I didn’t either. I had enough to worry about. Besides, that’s what she was meant to do.
While eyeing the baked lasagna on the menu, Gabby nudged me under the table. I looked up to see her unfocused gaze. “One of them just changed direction,” she mouthed. Both Luke and Clay caught it, but no one else paid it any attention. “Maybe the rain?” she whispered hopefully, her eyes focusing again on the menu. She didn’t look up again, but I could tell she monitored the progress of whoever had caught her attention. We ordered, and most of the adults conversed or entertained the children. I kept a close eye on Gabby.
She reached for Clay’s hand. He wrapped both of his around hers and tilted his head. That finally caught the attention of Grey.
“What is it?” he asked softly, looking between Clay and Gabby. The table grew quiet, even the boys. Michelle hugged Aden to her side. Jim placed a gentle hand on top Liam’s head.
“Someone’s changed their direction,” I said.
“A complete turn,” Gabby added.
“With all this rain, we should be fine,” Sam assured the suddenly tense group. But we knew all it took was one of them to catch the scent and send word.
“Have any others changed?” Nana asked.