Every Were Gets A Mate

Chapter 16

Another picture of this area of Wyoming

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The speed at which Cade took the interstate on ramp pressed my back into the cushioned seat. A few seconds later, the Jeep was going 85, an acceleration I didn't know it was capable of. Adrenaline flowed through my body, but Cade appeared relaxed, his body an extension of the Jeep, every movement fluid and natural.

"We're going 85."

Cade glanced at me. "Yeah. Is that a problem?"

"No."

"You sure?" He flashed me a smile.

"I'm sure. It's just that I hadn't driven over 35 until I ran away a few days ago. When I first got onto the interstate, I thought I was going to die. 60 was terrifying."

Cade cursed and braked gently.

I laughed. "No, no. It's okay. Go." I waved him forward.

"But you said—"

"No. It's okay now. Really. I got used to it."

"Oh." Cade paused as if still unsure. "Okay." He sped up to 65.

Another laugh escaped me. "Go back to 85. It's okay."

"Really?" The skepticism in his voice was cute.

"Really. I like it."

"You like it?" His tone held a teasing note, which made me smile.

Yes, I think it's hot.

"I especially like it when you are driving. I feel safer because you look so relaxed. It gives me a thrill, but I trust you, so it's a good thrill."

We smiled at each other, but Cade looked back to the road. "We're getting off now anyway."

Cade braked as he took an off ramp, but enough speed remained to turn the clover leaf into a centrifuge. The force pushed me to the left, right up against Cade. I grabbed the handle above my door and hung on until released by the straight path of the state highway.

Who needs Disney World?

Cade brought the Jeep back up to 75. My heart rate had shot up, but Cade showed no tension. His fearlessness was very arousing to me. I forced myself to look away and think of other things.

Most of the Wyoming I had seen from the interstate was flat, open, and uninteresting. The grass lost a fight with snow and lay trampled, mauled, and leached of color. A few patches of white hung on, stubbornly awaiting the next fall, but most of the snow had melted.

The state highway passed more of this flat land, but hills and mountains appeared in the distance, marbled with dark green, gray, and white. These colors slowly focused into beautiful evergreen trees, bare stone hills, and patches of snow. I preferred Cade driving as it allowed me to appreciate the scenery. We talked and joked along the way, but he got quiet when something new appeared for me to look at.

The moment Cade said, "Not long now," I got nervous. I was about to meet another alpha. The title already meant threat to me. I was bringing danger to his pack and planning on stealing his best tracker. This meant antagonizing the threat when the instincts I had built up screamed for diplomacy and avoidance.

Cade picked up my hand, threaded his fingers through mine, and held it on top of his thigh. "Don't worry. They're going to love you. My alpha isn't scary like yours. He's a great guy. You'll like him."

He gave me a smile, and I returned it. My nerves didn't disappear completely, but my thoughts turned to loving both how Cade was already so sensitive to my mood and how firm and warm his thigh was.

We took a back road through pine forest and came to a valley clearing filled with RVs, campers, vans, tents, and 18-wheeler trucks. I couldn't see them all to count. Cade turned off the road and slowly rolled through the maze of vehicles. I didn't see anyone but heard loud noises when I opened my door. Focusing, I discerned yelling, laughter, grunts, and crashes. I looked at Cade with a curious expression.

He grinned. "Sounds like there is a game on."

"Game?"

"You'll see." He kept smiling, took my hand, and led me closer to the noise.

We approached a heavily trampled field where two lines of shifted weres crouched facing each other beyond a crowd of onlookers sitting on the ground. Movement erupted on the field, but I froze, gaping at what I was seeing. Some of the bodies collided and locked in a struggle for dominance. Others ran at full speed, prey followed by predator, and leapt through the air to cause or avoid collisions. A mid-air somersault was smacked down by a chaser, and the crash made a divot in the field.

A ball arced across the length of the field, a brown football at the speed of a baseball. One runner leapfrogged from the back of another to catch it, gained speed from the ball itself, hit the ground tucked in a roll, flipped back up, ran about fifteen yards, threw the ball down, turned to face the field, lifted his arms at his sides, and let out a howl that sent a chill down my spine. Answering howls came from the field.

Football.

Images of large humans in padded uniforms and helmets came to mind. But there were no pads or helmets here. Penalties for 'holding' and 'unnecessary roughness' were definitely not present.

The lines reformed in the middle of the field, and the other team had the ball. Tackles were made all over the place. Someone lunged at the man running the ball but received an elbow in the nose, fell back, and was brought down by the ball carrier's teammate. The touchdown was scored, and the players lined up again.

The game became clear: line up in the middle of the field and do whatever necessary to get the ball to the opposite end. I wasn't a fan of football. The helmets, pads, and rules made it uninteresting. Traveler Pack had found a way around that.

Shifted Werewolf Football. No protection. No rules.

"Wow."

Cade laughed. "You've never seen weres playing football before?"

"No."

"That's odd. Weres love football."

I shook off my awe and looked at Cade. "No one plays games in Fury."

Cade nodded and squeezed my hand. He guided me closer to stand near the seated spectators.

We watched the group line up and let loose three more times. They were lining up again when one of them yelled, "Cade's back with a woman!" He was staring straight at me and pointed.

A second later, everyone was staring at me, player and spectator alike.

Tension locked my every muscle, and instinct screamed, Disappear! My rational mind and imagination fought. Clearly one of the pack finding their mate was a notable occasion. Everyone was happy for Cade and curious about me. But I was uncomfortable with attention, and many of the weres staring at me had fangs, claws, and blood on them.

One of the players loped away from the group, heading straight for me. Power sizzled around him like static electricity. Alpha. My body couldn't get any tenser, but it wanted to. I knew the threat felt more severe because I was a lone wolf, but knowing didn't help much, especially when he stopped right in front of me and bared his fangs.

Cade tried to let go of my hand, but my grip on his was locked tight.

Where the hell does he think he's going?

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AN:

Thanks for reading!