Mated

Twenty-Eight

We found an old warehouse at least twenty miles from Ottis' pack. The good thing was we were in the middle of nowhere which was somewhere no one would look. The bad thing was it was another pack's territory.

"We should be fine for tonight," James said after Cort collapsed on the ground in a corner of the room. "This seems like an unregulated area."

I nodded. My brain was working on overdrive and my body still stiff like a Rogue would still jump out of nowhere.

James sat with his back against the wall and gestured for me to sit. I barely felt my legs moving but they did and I slid my back down the wall until I was sitting beside him.

Cort didn't say a word for a very long time and I realized he was already asleep. I laughed at the fact that a werewolf Hunter was so comfortable around his sworn enemies to sleep so close to them while an army of Rogues were out there after the lot of us–but the sound caught in my throat. I think I'm in shock.

"James," I looked at him. He was blinking at the wall opposite us where Cort slept. He turned his head without moving his eyes. "Those Rogues that came after me and Cort? They Turned at will."

He nodded, slowly. "The ones back at that house did too. After Cort grabbed you."

"I can't believe it," I continued. "I feel like everything I've ever known was a lie. First I find out wolves can mate more than once...now this? As if simply running for my life isn't enough."

I froze when James grabbed my hand. He still wasn't looking at me.

"You're in shock," he said, blinking. "You need to rest."

"What about you? You brought us all the way here from home." Home. How I wished I could rewind and go back to the day I went for a walk alone in the woods. I never would've gone out for a walk at all. And then–

And then what? My wolf nearly hissed.

And then I would've been dead. Cort says he only came after me to get me away from there before the Rogues found me. And they would've found me and gone after me just like they went after Eva when she tried to go back to the house.

It was safer this way. Live in the present, Malia.

"I will," he said, though I didn't believe it. He only slept last night because Hugh and Brent watched Cort. No way did I believe James would sleep tonight with it being just the three of us.

But I wasn't in the mood to argue with him about it. I set a mental alarm clock to wake me up after a few hours so I can take watch and he could sleep.

"Rest," he tugged on my arm and I realized, with a flutter in my stomach, that he wanted me to lay with my head on his lap. I let him pull me down.

When sleep was threatening to take me in its arms, I stirred with enough strength to ask him a question.

"James?" I mumbled, remembering the dosage. He didn't answer, probably stubbornly wanting me to stop talking and fall asleep. "Do you still have the dosage?" I hoped the vial wasn't damaged in the fight.

"Yes," he answered. "It's okay." I smiled against the material of his shirt.

I felt a heavy palm fall over the side of my face and some part of my mind registered that he was stroking my hair.

I dreamed.

And I saw my parents standing around the kitchen. But when I spoke, they didn't listen. I moved in front of them and screamed to get their attention, but they ignored me. I grabbed the nearest object and slammed it down on the table but it was no use, they couldn't hear me.

I smelled a fire and walked around the room, then the house to inspect its origin. I went back downstairs thinking it could be coming from outside. I froze. Every house was gone but two. The only other house on this otherwise cramped street was Rocky's grandmother's house.

I cocked my head to the side, blinking and confused. Stepping forward, I walked up to it. I knocked on the door but it creaked open on its own.

"Hello?" I called, peering inside the dark house. "Rocky?" I walked in, slamming the door behind me so whoever was home would hear me. I noticed a light coming from the back room where Rocky's grandmother had her private room for palm readings.

The room was empty. I noticed over turned potion bowls and scattered tarot cards. I picked up one that looked like a wolf, completely Turned, carrying a woman with black hair by its teeth. Its eyes weren't Rogue-like. I squinted, looking closer. They reflected a fire. I put the card down and looked at the rest of the cards, feeling myself wake up before I could make out the rest.

My head jerked against the hard ground beneath me. I winced against the cold slate, pulling myself up and feeling like I could've used more sleep.

"We need to move and we need food. Your boyfriend is crashing," Cort crouched in front of me, seeming to inspect my physical appearance. "Ready?"

I nodded, although I really wasn't. He held up the hilt of a knife and I rolled my eyes knowing he did it because he was afraid to touch me. I looked around for my said 'boyfriend'. I followed Cort outside.

"James?" He was packing back and forth beneath a tree a few feet away. He looked my way.

"Is everything okay?" I walked up to him.

He let out an audible breath. "I need a new phone to contact the rest of the pack. Let them know we're coming to them. I'm stronger when we're together."

I agreed, understanding. "Okay, let's go."

"You need to eat first," he said.

I gave him a look. "James, where are we going to find food out here? It's okay, I can wait."

"Great, glad it's settled," said Cort, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He swaggered past us heading in a random direction like he had a compass built in his body.

"Can we make a stop?" I asked just as James was about to Turn.

He furrowed his brows at me. "Stop? Where?"

"Vienna. My old compound," I said, cautiously, expecting him to turn back into the really mean James I met the first time.

"Malia–" his eyes widened. "It's too dangerous–You'd be putting your family in danger."

"I know, that's why I won't go in the compound with you. Cort and I can wait somewhere else, I just need to speak to my father's palm reader. Getting a reading may give us some clues as to the outcome of all this. Clues we can use in our favor–to make the right decisions. We need to use all our resources. My father won't deny my request. I want you to bring her to me." I said the last sentence with a little more finality and let my eyes glow, signaling it was a Luna order. James could shut it down of course, but I was hoping I wouldn't lose this one.

"Absolutely not," he shook his head.

"So, you know a different palm reader then?" I asked, crossing my arms.

He said, "Eva will find me one who's along our way."

I scoffed. "Oh, okay, so we're going to ask another Alpha if we can borrow his palm reader and put him and his pack in jeopardy like we did with Ottis?"

James turned his face and glared at the tree and I knew I won.

"That's what I thought," I nearly snapped, satisfied. Then, feeling a little like tormenting him, added sweetly, "I'm not sure why you didn't come up with the idea yourself."