Unbound

Chapter 10

It took me until midnight to pack the smaller of my two suitcases, and I couldn't be bothered to deal with the rest of my clothes that I'd left strewn around the bedroom as I'd worked. On my way back from the clinic, I had stopped at one of the small clothing stores in town and had hastily grabbed several dresses, slacks, and shirts from the racks and rung them up. I hadn't wanted to overstay my welcome by taking them into a dressing room, so I was lucky that a few of the pieces fit reasonably well.

Unsure of what constituted mid-morning to Gabriel, I spent an hour waiting inside by the window before I moved out to sit on the curb with my bags. I was impatient, but more than that, I didn't relish the idea of Gabriel, or anyone else, seeing the inside of the apartment. I should have cleaned it top to bottom, from my unit to the entryway, right after I'd moved in. So far, I hadn't been able to find the motivation. It wasn't my home.

Just before ten, a small convoy of two SUVs pulled around the corner. The lead car was equipped with a plow, and I hopped up and drug my bags back onto the sidewalk to get out of the way of the rolling hill of snow it shoved to the side of the road. The windows of both vehicles were so heavily tinted that it was impossible to see the passengers, so I stood awkwardly until the rear door of the second car opened and Gabriel stepped out.

"You can put your things in the trunk," he said. I busied myself with my bags so that I wouldn't have to look at him, but once they were stowed I had no choice.

"Where would you like me to ride?" I asked. He gestured toward the open door that he had just exited.

"You can take the back row."

Gabriel pulled the door shut once we were settled and the cars began driving again in unison. He sat in the middle row, in the seat to my right, and shifted so that he could stretch his long legs out into the center aisle. Two wolves I hadn't seen before sat in the front seats. I was at least glad that Gabriel wasn't driving, though that would have meant he'd be sitting at least slightly further away from me. A part of me wished I'd been sent to ride in the lead car instead.

"The Cascade Pack Alpha is hosting us on his estate up north. In this snow, it'll be a day's drive." Gabriel said. I wasn't sure whether he was talking to me or to the men up front, so I nodded silently. He looked back at me over his shoulder.

"Estate?" I asked, guessing he was waiting for my response after all.

"Three times the size of my home at least. On a lake in the mountains." Inwardly, I relaxed. If the Alpha had an estate, then he would likely have a whole staff of healers. I wouldn't be needed.

"You've been?"

Gabriel turned back to face the front of the car. "Once, years ago. He doesn't host these often."

I glanced out the window, watching the forest pass as we left Castle Pack territory and headed north slowly in the path carved by the lead car's plow. Two weeks of heavy snowfall had turned everything into a pristine winter wonderland, the tall pines and evergreens adorned with dripping icicles. I'd always enjoyed this time of year, when everything felt clean and fresh and new. I hadn't gotten to fully appreciate it here yet, but from the warmth of the car I could enjoy the scenery as it passed us by.

As we drove, I was able to relax cautiously despite Gabriel's close proximity and his deep scent swirling in the air, circulating with the heat from the car vents. No one spoke, and the steady hum of the engine was lulling. My sleepless nights and long hours in the clinic storeroom were catching up to me, so I rested my cheek against the cool glass of the window and let the motion of the car rock me into a light sleep.

I drifted in and out, and each time I woke my eyes found a different part of Gabriel to study: his broad shoulder that pressed against the seatback. A loose lock of dark hair that had fallen out of his hair tie and now grazed his jawline, catching in the short stubble there. The way his thigh flexed under his jeans as he braced himself against the movement of the car. Though he sat with a relaxed posture, I could tell he was anything but. His eyes were focused straight ahead. He was alert, tense. Anxious, even. I could hear nothing but the steady hum of tires against the road, but I was sure an entire discussion was happening between the two cars across their link. It annoyed me more than I cared to admit.

"Water?" The passenger asked when, after several passes in and out of sleep, I sat up and stretched. He was looking at me in the rearview mirror and holding up a bottle. I nodded gratefully and leaned forward to take it from him. Just as my fingers closed around the cap, the car hit a pothole and I caught myself against Gabriel's seat. My hand brushed his leg, and though the touch was light and brief, he jerked away like I'd given him a painful shock. I quickly righted myself and drew back into the far corner of the seat, embarrassed by his reaction. I clutched the bottle in my lap and willed my racing heart to calm.

"Sorry," I muttered, stopping myself before I finished my sentence: Sorry I'm here, sorry you've had to bring me along, sorry my company is so unbearable. Gabriel only grunted.

We continued north, the setting sun to our left bathing the snow in a soft golden light that glinted and sparkled and was at times almost blinding. The landscape at this hour was breathtaking, and I could nearly get lost in it if it weren't for Gabriel shifting uncomfortably in his seat every few minutes.

Just after dusk, we followed the lead car up a narrow service road around the back side of a mountain pass. We drove slowly up the steep pitch, but it had been plowed clean ahead of our arrival and fresh tread marks made it clear that we were not the first party to reach our destination.

Gabriel hadn't exaggerated in his description of the estate; if anything, he'd downplayed it. The sprawling mansion sat on the far shore of a crystalline lake that had taken on the same shade of soft purple as the sky. Nearly every window was lit up so that the whole place seemed to glow from within, a beacon in the vast wilderness we'd traversed to get there. It could have been a ski resort at one time, all rustic luxury and spa-like finishes.

The car pulled to a stop in front of the main entrance, and the driver got out to open the door for Gabriel while the passenger went around to pop the trunk and retrieve their bags. I lingered in the back seat, reluctant to join the fray. Gabriel turned and gave me a hard look.

"Let's go," he said flatly.

I took a deep breath and climbed out of the car. My legs were stiff from being cramped in the back seat for so long, and I was grateful for the chance to stretch them. Gabriel walked ahead of me, his long strides eating up the distance between the car and the mansion. I trailed behind him, feeling small against the scale and grandeur of the estate.

When we approached the front door, Gabriel pushed it open without hesitation and stepped inside, leaving me to follow in his wake. The foyer was grand and imposing, with a sweeping wooden staircase leading up to an open second floor. Timber trusses crisscrossed the high, peaked ceiling. The scent of other wolves filled my nostrils, and I could feel my nerves starting to unravel.

Gabriel was greeted quietly by a younger man who walked ahead, up the staircase, with Gabriel at his side. Without any instructions or acknowledgement of my presence, I continued to follow them up the stairs and down a long hallway into the east wing. I tried to keep up with the pair, but between their long legs and my heavy bags, I lagged behind. Though all the doors in the hallway were closed, I could hear sounds in several of the rooms as I passed by. They stopped in front of one of the rooms and the man unlocked it.

"Your room," he said, more cheerily than I'd expected. "The welcome dinner is in an hour." I nodded blankly but he and Gabriel had already proceeded further up the hallway. It took me until my hand was on the doorknob to process his words, and I turned quickly to find him again where he was unlocking a second door at the far end of the hall.

"I'm sorry," I called. "Where is dinner?" The last thing I wanted to do was wander aimlessly through the estate.

"In the main dining hall, through the foyer to the left. I can come show you when it's time if you'd like."

I began to accept his offer, but Gabriel cut me off. "I will bring her."

I didn't argue, nor did the other man. I retreated into my room and once the door shut, I let out a deep breath that I was certain I'd been holding since I'd climbed into the SUV that morning.