“I’m bound to the past as much as I’m bound to the present, floating in the shadows in between. This is the only place we may speak. You must hurry to find your sisters. His anger is growing and even she won’t be safe much longer. Tread carefully, loved one.”
She smiled and reached out to pat Luke’s bare arm. He shifted in his sleep. Then, she leaned over him to place a kiss on my sleeping self’s cheek.
I bolted upright, eyes wide, the feeling her lips lingered on my skin. The place beside the bed was empty, but I couldn’t shake the creeped out feeling.
“What is it?” Luke asked, instantly awake and sitting up with me.
I turned worried eyes to him. “I don’t think I’m done dreaming, yet.”
He kissed me gently, coaxed me back under the covers, and encouraged me to lay my head on his chest. He ran his fingers through my hair and rubbed my back until I relaxed again. Still, I lay awake long after he started snoring.
She was worried about Courage, I was sure of it. If she lived in the past and the present, she had to know what we planned and where we were headed. I bit my lip thinking of what Courage might be enduring despite Michelle’s vision of gentle treatment.
Luke inhaled long and loud just then, his fingers twitching in my hair. I smiled at the sound before closing my eyes again. We would never need to share a room with anyone else with the noise he made.
Epilogue
The morning brought heartache for the group. We all witnessed Michelle hold back tears as she pasted on a bright smile and said goodbye to her brothers.
I glanced at Nana and wondered if she’d reached my mother. She met my gaze briefly, but her expression gave nothing away other than how she felt about the current situation.
Liam gave Emmitt a hug and asked him to watch over Michelle. Everyone heard his loud whisper. “I think she’s sad we want to play with Paul and Henry.”
Emmitt smiled and hugged the boy until he protested. Then, Emmitt promised to take care of Michelle, always.
“You too, you know,” Luke murmured close to my ear.
Puzzled, I turned to him.
His eyes looked slightly green in the morning light. He wrapped his hands around my arms and pulled me close. “I promise to take care of you, always,” he whispered just before his lips brushed against mine.
“Always is a long time for a girl who keeps coming back,” I said leaning into him.
“Forever isn’t long enough,” he said enfolding me in a warm embrace and taking the kiss to the next level.
Nana cleared her throat. “All right you two. We need to travel today.”
Luke pulled back with a sassy grin and clasped my hand. I needed the support after that kiss. My head spun and heart stuttered.
We arrived at the last hotel I hoped we’d need to stay at. Well, in our search for Peace anyway. There was still a lot of traveling and waiting to do when—if—we exposed werewolves. The Elders still hadn’t given us their official decision.
“It seems like she’s staying in one spot now,” Gabby commented sitting on the edge of the bed in Nana’s room.
“I think it would be best if just a few of us go,” I said. “Gabby, since you can locate her, an Elder, and myself.”
Nana looked worried about that but didn’t need to comment. Gabby did for her.
“We’ll need more than that. There are more Urbat here than there should be,” Gabby said.
I wrinkled my nose. It was a big city. We didn’t have much of a choice. We needed to be here. I understood the need to protect ourselves but didn’t like how it would look to Peace. Having a large group of strangers come up to you and try to convince you to leave with them...I didn’t see that going over well with her.
“What do you suggest?”
“Six of us. Grey, Carlos, Clay, you and Luke, and me. It’ll give us better protection and still leave enough protection here for the rest,” Gabby said.
I knew she was right. “Okay.”
“Sam’s out driving to see what kind of place she’s stopped at. When he gets back we can go,” she stood and walked to Clay who waited by the door. “If it’s somewhere nicer, Nana promised we can raid her suitcase.”
“Absolutely,” Nana agreed, hanging some of her things. Most of her wardrobe was a little more mature than I’d ever worn, but she always looked nice.
I looked down at my worn jeans and stained t-shirt. Ugh. Clothes kept you from being naked and cold; I hadn’t thought about them any further than that. How had I not noticed? I looked at Luke.
“How can you—”
“What you wear doesn’t matter. You are beautiful,” he said leaning in to place a tender kiss on my forehead. “Your clothes just help hide it from all the other guys out there.”
Smiling, I shook my head at him. Possessive creatures.