Unbound

Chapter 41

I called Aubrey first. She sounded alarmed when she picked up, fearing something was wrong. "I need to borrow your car."

"For how long?" She asked.

"I'm not sure." I was already on my feet, throwing a handful of clothes into my backpack.

A pause. "Okay. Don't do anything stupid."

I debated calling Ephraim next but thought better of it. There was no chance he wouldn't tell Gabriel. Instead, I called Dmitri. It rang through to his voicemail and I left a message letting him know that I was on my way. I knew where to find his house, so I could get there without his direction. I had no idea what he wanted to discuss with me, but at this point, I didn't care. This was my way out.

When Jack had driven me to Castle territory the first time, then again when I'd driven back to see him, the drive was made purposefully long. Multiple rest stops, stretch breaks, drive-throughs. This time, I blew through it. What should have taken me seven hours took just over five. I should have gotten a speeding ticket somewhere along the way, but for the first time in a long time it felt like luck was on my side. The more distance I put between myself and Gabriel, the fainter his voice became in my head. The further away the burning ache in my chest seemed to feel.

It was odd, pulling into Sawtooth territory and not turning down the road that would have taken me to my house. Jack's house, I reminded myself. I'd never felt so disconnected in all my life. I didn't linger at the crossroads, instead directing the car down the alternate, smaller dirt path that I knew Dmitri lived on.

His home was modest in comparison to Gabriel's, but far more welcoming. He had a multitude of rooms that he reserved for visitors or pack members that needed a temporary place to stay for any reason. Constance kept a tidy garden out front, which was just beginning to peak through the last layer of melting snow. As I pulled in to park, Dmitri emerged from the front door. He'd been expecting me, and by the excited spark in his eye it was clear he'd been waiting impatiently for my arrival.

Hardly giving me a chance to catch my breath, he ushered me into the house and shook my hand. He grasped mine in both of his own tightly, pumping it up and down just once.

"Thank you for coming. I didn't expect you'd be able to on such short notice." Dmitri wore his emotions plainly: gratitude was written all over his face. It was nice, for a change, to know exactly what someone was feeling.

"I could hardly ignore a text like that," I said as he showed me back to his office. "Too much intrigue." Maybe this wasn't my home anymore, but I felt lighter already just being here. If I kept everything in me to do with Gabriel locked away in a tiny box, buried as deep as I could manage, maybe I'd be okay.

Dmitri chuckled, though it sounded darker than he'd likely meant it to. "There was too much to write out. And it's...sensitive. Drink?" He'd directed me to a plush leather armchair and was now beside a mahogany bar, built into the wall between towering bookshelves. He brandished a bottle of whiskey.

"Please." I needed that warmth inside of me now.

Dmitri handed me a glass and sat with his own in the chair beside mine. He tipped it towards me in a cheers motion and took a long sip. I concentrated on keeping my face neutral when the burning alcohol touched my tongue. It raised goosebumps down my arms, but it almost instantly gave me exactly what I craved as I drank it down. The heat that spread down my throat and into my muscles as I powered through the next few swallows was worth the bitter taste it left in my mouth. Smartly, he'd carried the bottle over as well and refilled both of our glasses once he'd also finished his own.

"Constance will be sorry to have missed you. She's staying in town with her sister, helping with the babies."

"That's too bad," I agreed. I was slightly disappointed, though if anyone would have seen straight through me, it would have been Constance. She was sharp, and almost too perceptive.