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Authors: Suzanne Cox

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BOOK: Relentless
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“Traveling is a special art, and those who control it can travel at will,” he said slowly.

“I didn’t even know I was doing it. So I don’t have control over it.”

He nodded.“It’s fine if you can’t. No one expects you to do anything more than try.”

That wasn’t really true, because Myles, Mr. Branton, and Robert all waited anxiously in the living room. Lana’s parents, who were working in Europe, had been notified. It would be tomorrow before they could get here. No one had any idea where the Fenryrians might have taken the two hostages. They had hundreds of secret locations all over the world. Myles was counting on me. I knew it. I didn’t want to let him down. Though it might be completely out of my control.

“Just relax and try to think about Lana and Daryl like you did this morning.” Dr. Grendel’s hand moved back to my arm, patting it reassuringly. He spoke in a low, calming voice.

Eyes closed, I tried to concentrate on the blackness at the back of my eyelids. I noticed the way the fan tossed the hair against my cheek, up and down, back and forth. I pictured Lana in my head and imagined the two of us laughing together. Then I pictured Daryl trying to show me some lab experiment and how patient he was when I screwed it up. Occasionally, Dr. Grendel’s voice would come to me, soft and soothing, trying to guide me out of my body and off to parts unknown. I dozed off once but only dreamed about getting a cheeseburger and how good and juicy it would be. They didn’t serve cheeseburgers in the cafeteria here.

Flinging my arms against the bed, I glanced at the clock and saw an hour and a half had passed and nothing. Absolutely nothing.

“I can’t do it.” A tear pricked my eye. I realized that, while the attack may not have been aimed at me, I would still be responsible for anything that happened to Lana and Daryl. All because I couldn’t use the one special talent I was supposed to have.

“Why can’t you try?”

Dr. Grendel shook his head. “I can’t travel. I’ve only worked with a couple of people who can.”

“Well, get them to come here and do it.”

He patted my arm. “To travel, you need to know where you’re going or have a connection of some kind to the place you go. You can’t just say ‘I want to find these people’ and find them. You’ve gone to where Lana and Daryl are because you know them. You have a personal connection to them that draws you to where they are. So another traveler couldn’t come in and just decide to find them.”

I banged my first against the mattress.

“It’s fine,” Dr. Grendel said, getting to his feet. “We’ll try again tomorrow.”

No one said tomorrow might be too late. I saw it on Vincent’s face. I rolled out of the bed and headed to the kitchen for some lemonade. Myles leapt to his feet as I passed through the living room.

“I couldn’t do it.” I said tightly without looking at him. The disappointment on his face would be unbearable. The front door slammed. I didn’t know if it was Robert or Myles who left, maybe both. I filled my glass and went back to my room without looking into the living room. The door of my bedroom thudded closed behind me.

After a few sips of lemonade, I set the glass on the bedside table and curled up on the mattress, pulling the sheet over me. The door squeaked open, and I heard the clickety-clack of tiny toenails just before Beowulf bounced on top of the bed.

Scratching his ears as he climbed on my chest, I laughed. “Don’t super-size right now or you’ll squash me.”

“It’s crazy, isn’t it?” Myles slipped into the room and closed the door behind him.  “With everything else that’s happened, I’ve had no time to even think about the fact this dog can now transform. Maybe he’s always been able to.”

I stared at the ceiling. “I heard the door slam, and I thought you left.”

The bed moved, and I glanced to see Myles stretching out on top of the coverlet beside me.

“That was Robert.”

I covered my face with my hands. “I’m sorry, Myles. So sorry I couldn’t find them.”

He shook his head against the pillow. “You tried. That’s all you can do.”

“I have this stupid skill, and I can’t even use it when I need it. Maybe it’s not even real.”

His hand closed over my shoulder, and he squeezed. “It’s real, and you’ll learn to control it, but not right now. There’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

I closed my eyes, fighting back tears as the fan whirred above us. If I cried, then Myles might get upset. What would I do if strong and confident Myles broke down? I didn’t know, didn’t want to find out.

“I’m tired,” Myles said quietly, releasing my shoulder and rolling onto his back.

“Go to sleep, and I’ll wake you up later.”

“Like you aren’t going to sleep.”

I shrugged. “I couldn’t before, so I don’t really expect to be able to now.”

I glanced at Myles; his eyes were closed. No matter how nice he was about it, I’d let him down.

***

It was dark out, with only a huge crystal moon glowing in the sky. I crossed the ocean, flying, hair streaming behind me. It wasn’t the ocean to Key West. It was bigger, and I skimmed the top of it, occasionally dragging my fingertips in the swells. Images below me began to blur—a swamp, then trees, and then ground that was flatter than any I’d ever seen, not a hill or tree in sight. Where was I going? A mountain rose in front of me. I stopped in the driveway of a huge lodge nestled at the base of a rocky cliff. A black SUV was parked in front. I drifted downward until my bare feet settled on the ground. There was ice there, though I couldn’t feel the cold. I ran toward the vehicle. The man who’d chased me that day on the beach with Eric got out of the passenger seat. He jerked open the back door and dragged Lana out and onto the ground. Her legs buckled beneath her, and she fell to her knees.

I wanted to help her, and I ran to them, reached out. I couldn’t touch her, couldn’t feel or grasp anything with my hands. On the porch, the red-haired boy stood on the top step.  He was smiling at something someone said. Behind him, a man walked out the front door. I had never seen him before, but I knew him. There was no doubt. He was an older replica of Eric. I knew it was his father. It couldn’t be anyone else.

“Take them to the holding cells in the mountain,” he said in a clipped voice.

The redhead on the steps nodded, and when he turned, I saw his face stiffen. Somehow he knew I was here. Just like the other times. He didn’t say anything to anyone as he came down the steps and opened the door to pull Daryl from the other side of the car. He stared across the hood of the vehicle from where I stood, his eyes burning into mine, or at least it felt that way. Then I was gone, in a swoosh of air that blew my hair and tugged at my clothes. I was flying again. The sky blurred into night, stars, gray moon. I spun and whirled until it was hard to breathe.  The ground rushed up to me, the house, the roof. I slammed into my body and into the mattress. I rolled up quickly to my knees, my hand at my throat. For a moment, I couldn’t catch my breath. I gasped again and again, sucking in air. Next to me, Myles was sitting up, and Beowulf barked incessently.

Chapter Seventeen

“Shhh,” Myles hissed at the dog. Beowulf gave him a haughty look and went to curl up on my pillow.

He smacked me on the back, and I gasped a final time.

“You did it, didn’t you?” His eyes flashed with excitement, with hope.

“I know where they are.” I slid out of the bed and started digging through the boxes.

“What are you doing?” 

“You’ll need warm clothes where we’re going. It’s cold.”

He crossed the room “We’re not telling anyone.”

It was a statement, not a question. Sometimes he and I thought too much alike.

“I couldn’t do the travel thing with them around, and I will probably have to do it again to be able to find exactly where they were taken. I think if we go now, by ourselves, we’ll be faster.”

“I’m not arguing with you. I agree completely. It will take the pack hours to get a team together, then they’ll have to plan and organize. If we go, we’ll have surprise on our side. The last thing they’ll expect is to see us coming for them.”

I pulled out a sweater, jeans, and a light jacket. They were the only warm clothes I’d brought from Chicago. We were in Florida. I hadn’t thought I’d need a parka.

Myles was staring at me as I threw clothes in a backpack. “Well, are you going to just stand there?”

“I’ve got to take Beowulf to my dad’s cottage. I don’t think he needs to go with us. Then I’ll get Brynna and my clothes.”

“Is there anyone else you think we should take?”

Myles frowned. “I’m not sure I trust anyone else not to tell.”

“You know them better than I do, so I’ll leave that up to you. The three of us have done things before, though I won’t say it always turned out well.”

“We’ll do better this time. Meet me in the woods at the edge of the dock in about thirty minutes, and we’ll decide where to go from there.”

Myles left, and I finished stuffing a few changes of clothing and underwear into a backpack. Louise wasn’t here. They were likely at the school discussing what to do next. Maybe we were wrong, maybe we should have told them, but somehow I knew the Fenryrians would be watching the adults. They wouldn’t expect us. I glanced around the kitchen and saw what I was looking for on the counter. I felt guilty going through Louise’s purse. I straightened my shoulders and unzipped it anyway, digging around until my hand finally closed around the metal ring. Keys in my pocket, I slipped the backpack on my shoulder and headed out.

Near the docks, the moonlight sparked silver and white on the water. I paused until I recognized three figures waiting at the tree line of the sandy beach.

“What’s he doing here?” I eyed Jared, who frowned at my question.

“He saw Brynna and me leaving her room with our backpacks and insisted that he should come, too.”

“You three could use an extra person,” Jared pointed out.

“You’re even newer at this werewolf stuff than I am,” I said.

“But I’m twice your size. I think I can hold my own.”

“He’s right about that,” Brynna said, looking bored. “Can we go now, or should we stand around here until we get caught?”

We started across the sand toward the dock where several boats were tied up. Halfway there, Brynna stopped short.

“Wait, I hear… Someone’s coming.”

We all broke in the direction of the trees. Before we could get there, a figure burst into view on the path that led from the dorm.

“What the hell!” Myles slid to a stop, and I did the same.

“You aren’t going without me.” Robert planted his feet firmly, a backpack hanging from his hand.

“Absolutely not. You don’t even know what we’re doing.” Myles glared at him briefly then made for the dock, waving for us to follow.

“I’m not stupid. It’s obvious you’ve figured out where Lana and Daryl are, and you’re going after them.”

Myles kept walking. “You are not going.”

Robert sprinted after us, but Myles spun around and caught him with a hand to the chest, slamming him to the ground. “I said no. You aren’t trained to fight.”

Bounding to his feet, Robert was face to face with Myles, their chests nearly touching. “I can fight if I need to. I’m going.”

Though he was trying to sound strong, his voice cracked a bit at the end. I moved to Myles’ shoulder, wrapping my fingers around his upper arm.

“Let him come, Myles. He’s worried, too.”

The water washed softly against the sand, and somewhere, night birds called out to each other. None of us spoke.

“Fine. He can go,” Myles said gruffly.

Robert skirted around us, hurrying to the boat. Neither of us moved for a moment.

“It’s the right thing to do, Myles.”

His hand covered mine, and he turned to face me. He stepped closer, bending until his chin brushed the top of my head. He paused there then sighed. With a quick intake of breath, he was moving again, and I hurried behind him.

The four of us climbed into a small boat with a battery-operated motor on the front.

“Is this thing big enough to get us across the water?” I pressed myself onto the seat and tried to find something to hold on to.

“We’ll be fine,” Myles answered distractedly as he used the trolling motor to move the boat from the dock and across the inlet. Once we’d made it out of the harbor and the island was a dark blob behind us, Myles maneuvered his way to the middle of the boat where the steering wheel was and started the large motor. The boat took off with a jerk, and soon we were bouncing across the waves.

“Go more north!” I shouted over whine of the motor.

“What are you talking about?” Myles shouted back at me.

I got up from where I was huddled and half stumbled, half walked to where Myles was. I locked my hands onto a piece of stainless pipe near the console and hung on.

“Go more north,” I repeated, now that I was close to him.

“I figured we’d rent a car in Key West,” he said. “I didn’t have money for plane tickets, and we’d be easier to follow like that.”

“I’ve got transportation, and it’s better than a rental car.”

Myles’ eyes narrowed. “What?”

“You’ll see.”

With a slight movement, the nose of the boat turned to the north. I hung on to the rails by the center console in silence until land came into sight.

“Follow the land a bit until I see what I’m looking for.” I studied the shoreline. After a few minutes, I could make out the lights of the campground.

“This is it!” I shouted at Myles. “There’s a dock ahead. We can leave the boat there.”

“I hope you know where we are,” Brynna griped as we all scrambled out of the boat. Jared was tying one rope off while Myles worked on another.

They followed me along a path to the front of the large black and brown motor home.

“What the hell is this?” Jared ran his hand along the shiny paint.

“It’s Aunt Louise’s motor home. By the time she realizes it’s gone, we’ll be halfway to where we’re going. It’s the best way for us to travel. We can adjust our route when we need to, and whoever isn’t driving can sleep so when it’s their turn to drive they’ll be rested. There’s food in here and a bathroom, so we only need to stop for gas.”

“Looks like we’ll need lots of that,” Brynna said, nodding slowly. “But I like it. How much will it cost us to fill it up?”

I dug the keys out of my pocket. “A lot. It’s full now, though. Louise filled it up right before we got here. I brought all the cash I had. It’s about two hundred dollars.” I looked around at the rest of them. “We’ll all need to chip in whatever we have.”

“I borrowed some from around the dorm and, along with my own, I have four hundred.” Brynna dug the cash from the purse hanging diagonally across her.

“I’ve got two hundred and fifty,” Myles said.

“Three hundred for me,” added Jared.

“I think we’ve got enough money for gas,” Robert finally spoke. “I’ve got five thousand dollars in cash.”

The four of us turned slowly to stare at him.

He shrugged. “I’m not in school like you guys. Lana and I get a salary for our work. When they called and told me something had happened to Lana, I took money out of the bank before I left Miami.”

Shaking my head, I turned and unlocked the door. Leaving the others to get settled, Jared and I went around the outside of the coach, disconnecting all the hookups the way Louise had shown me. Thank goodness she liked me to be self-sufficient. When I’d asked her why I needed to know how to hook and unhook the sewer line, she’d said I might be on my own sometime and need to do it. Maybe she’d had a premonition. Either way, it came in handy now. Once all the cords and pipes were stowed in the storage compartment, we climbed in.

“I hope you can drive this thing,” Brynna said from the sofa.

“I drove it on the way down here. Louise and I split up the driving.”

“That’s good.”

I smiled at Jared. “Yep. Louise is a good teacher.”

Sliding into the driver’s seat, I twisted the key, and the engine roared to life. With only a few jerks, we were rolling. I steered along the small streets that crisscrossed the campground.

“Do we have to check out?” Jared asked from the passenger’s seat.

“No. Louise said she was renting the site for several months so there shouldn’t be a problem.” We rolled through the gates and onto the highway, heading north.

Jared leaned across the armrest of his seat toward me. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Colorado. To the mountains near Durango.”

“That’s where they are?” Brynna called out from behind us.

“There’s a lab in the mountains. I guess it’s in a cave. That’s where they’re holding them.”

“You guess it’s in a cave? You mean you don’t know?”

I glanced in the mirror to see Brynna, who was sitting forward on the sofa, watching me.

“I haven’t seen inside the mountain place yet.”

“Uh, do you plan on taking a look before we get there?”

“I hope so.”

Brynna sighed and shook her head. “Well, I hope so, too. Why is it every time I go off on some kind of life-saving trip with you and Myles, neither of you really has much of a plan?”

“We’ll have a plan before we get there,” Myles interjected.

“You better believe we will, or I’m going to be on the phone getting us some help.”

I ignored Brynna and concentrated on driving. Later, when we were closer, I’d try to see inside the mountain. I prayed I’d be able to.

***

Ten hours into our drive, I stood at the counter in the motor home making sandwiches. We’d stopped at a rest area for everyone to get out and stretch their legs. We’d eaten snacks while on the road but hadn’t gotten any real food yet. Not that I considered sandwiches real food. But it was better than chips and snack-sized candy bars. I’d put some gumbo that Aunt Louise had stored in the freezer into the microwave, and it was almost ready. So at least that part seemed like real food. The floor jerked underneath me as Jared climbed the steps. I handed him a sandwich, and he took a bite then set it down and grabbed slices of bread to help me make more sandwiches.

“Your aunt was well stocked.”

“Yeah. She was living in the motor home until day before yesterday when she had to come over and stay in the cottage with me.”

“So she was going to be your guard to keep you from seeing your boyfriend?”

“Something like that. I didn’t blame her, though. I didn’t expect the Fenryrians to come after me like they did.”

“They say your boyfriend is the son of the most powerful werewolf in the Fenryrian pack.”

“Pack leader, to be exact.” I smeared mayonnaise on a bread slice, trying to keep the knife steady in my hand.

“So why does that keep him from coming over to the Lycernians or keep you from joining them?”

“He’ll have to have a chosen mate. It can’t be just whoever he chooses. So if I join his pack, we still don’t get to be together. He’d be killed if he tried to join the Lycernians. Fenryrians don’t look kindly on their young leaders, or any other pack member, dumping their pack for ours.”

“And they think you wouldn’t be a good mate for him?”

I turned and raised an eyebrow at him. “Uh, hello. I’m Lycernian. Besides, they’d want his mate to be fully invested in the pack.”

Jared smashed the two pieces of bread in his hand together and tossed the sandwich on a paper plate with the others I’d already done. “What does that mean? Fully invested?”

I counted the sandwiches and started making another while he did the same. “It means I’d be expected to help them infect humans, kill them when necessary, and kill members of the Lycernian pack if that was needed. And I’d have to be Fenryrian, which I’m not.”

He put down the knife and turned to me. “You’d do that, kill innocent people or change them to werewolves, to be with the guy?”

With a quick motion, I slammed the two pieces of bread together and threw the mayonnaise knife in the sink. “I’m here and not with him, so what do you think? Of course I’m not going to do that. I hope one day things might change. Maybe they’ll find a way to accept me as I am and let us be mated. I’m not killing anyone unless maybe they’re trying to kill me, and I’m definitely not going to infect humans. I want to be with Eric, but the other, well that’s just not who I am or who I want to be.”

BOOK: Relentless
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