“Today or in general?” Wow, he was really out of sorts. He shifted in his seat. No way should he be talking to Elizabeth about any of this. If he was smart, he’d close his eyes, shut up, and pass out before he made it so she would never want to speak to him again.
“You haven’t done anything particularly wrong today. Aside from leaving me in this car when you so clearly needed my help.”
The gleam in her eye made him grin. Maybe that was why he let his guard down completely. In any case, before he could stop himself, he told her the truth. “My whole pack thinks I’m a traitor. I basically have one chance left not to be put to death.” Chapter Eight
Elizabeth wasn’t sure how to respond to Rex’s pronouncement his entire pack thought he was a traitor. She bit down on her lip, insecurity making her mute.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have burdened you. Just ignore me. I think I must be exhausted.” He looked out the window as the heavy burden of silence stretched out between them like the darkness of the night outside had just invaded their stolen car.
Was Rex a traitor? He hadn’t said that, exactly. Instead, he’d told her his pack thought him a traitor. There was a big distinction between what other people saw and what really existed inside of a person. She had always known this, having been raised to see past the superficial, but she’d learned the hard way this was not how the rest of the world viewed things. Her cursed face was all anyone could see when they looked at her.
Except for Rex.
The thought he could see her as she really was made her shivers travel down her stiff spine. For the first time in more years than she cared to think about, someone looked at her like she mattered. He didn’t flinch or scream. He’d wanted to hurt those who had.
This wolf—whom she’d been raised to mistrust—had taken on fifteen artificially created creatures, willing to die fighting rather than run from the impossible odds to keep her safe.
She shook her head to change the course of her thoughts. No way, no how could she allow herself to become infatuated with Rex. She had to betray his secrets to her coven.
Romanticizing him would only make it harder than it had to be.
“Why do they think you’re a traitor, Rex?” She spoke softly, afraid any louder would shatter the air around them. It was so thick with tension she found it hard to take a deep breath. His silence surprised her and she turned her head to regard him. In the reflection of the car window she could see his eyes were closed. His breathing had turned deep and even. Rex Kane had passed out in the car, as he’d predicted.
What she hadn’t anticipated was the effect of seeing him so calm and vulnerable would have on her. Sleep had always fascinated her. Elizabeth didn’t dream very much, or at least she could never remember them after she awoke. She found it intriguing to wonder what other people saw when they slept. What did Rex, the youngest son of the royal family of his wolf pack, dream about at night?
A motel sign flashed in the distance. It looked to be about a quarter of a mile more down the road. Squinting, she wondered if she was going to have to finally break down and get glasses. It wasn’t that she was vain—how could she be when the whole world screamed at the sight of her face? Simply, she wasn’t sure she could face anything else.
Just the idea of finding an eye doctor, making an appointment and going, seemed like it was too much to handle. If she’d had her magic, she could have fixed her eyes.
The place looked worn down, which was not a problem for her. Although the twins had always insisted on staying in the nicest of places, she had not enjoyed luxury in a long time. It would be nice to have her own bed instead of having to make do with the floor of a closet wherever the twins slept.
Also, she wasn’t sure what was going to happen to Rex. Would he start shifting back and forth wildly? It would be better to be in a place where no one wanted to be noticed and didn’t ask too many questions.
She pulled off the highway. The place looked relatively empty, with few cars in the parking lot. Even better.
After she stopped the car, she sat for a moment without getting out. The one thing the twins had done for themselves during her care of them was to check in and out of hotels. Her face made it too hard to get a room. Sometimes the front desk clerks would run from the room as opposed to speak to her.
Elizabeth turned to look at the man beside her. Soft in his sleep, it was hard for her to remember he was a wolf-shifter. He just looked like a really handsome man who had suffered a really hard day.
She reached out toward him, her hand shaking slightly. How would she explain it to him if he woke up? What justification could she give for touching him while he wasn’t awake? Still, she couldn’t seem to stop the impulse to reach out and touch his cheek.
Hoping to keep her presence a mere whisper on his skin, she let her fingertips trail down the side of his face. Rex sighed but he didn’t stir. The sound did something to her insides.
Not sexually, not the kind of heat she’d come to associate with looking at him, but a different sense.
Rex made her want to protect him. With his eyes closed, the fierce warrior wolf, who had shifted and gone off to battle with no thought for his own safety, looked downright vulnerable. Trusting. Alert, he gave the impression of total control. It would be ridiculous to think Rex Kane needed anyone or anything as he pushed through life.
She groaned as she pulled her hand away. Somehow she had to get control of herself before he woke up. If she didn’t, she’d be the one who was totally vulnerable, and she had no doubt he’d walk right over her to get what he wanted. He was, after all, thought a traitor amongst his kind and was, apparently, marked for death if he couldn’t prove himself.
Except none of that sat very well with Elizabeth. He didn’t seem very traitorous to her. She knew what deceit looked like having lived with the children of a woman who had betrayed her coven. Rex didn’t have the smug look of a person pulling the wool over other people’s eyes for his own gain. Besides, shouldn’t his pack be able to smell his emotions? Tell if he betrayed them? He’d certainly read her emotions well enough.
She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. Steeling herself for the scene she knew would happen as soon as she entered the motel lobby, she told herself the same mantra she’d said to herself for years now.
I don’t care. I don’t need anyone’s approval but my own. It doesn’t matter what they think of me. Someday it will be better again.
Except she wasn’t even particularly fooling herself anymore. It did matter what she looked like. There would never be a time she could get out of her present circumstances if she couldn’t even get others to look her in the eye when she spoke. She would be forever dependant on someone else to take care of things. Elizabeth hated living in the shadows.
That was why she had to make her plan work. She had the means to free herself and her family. It was time to take back control of her life. So, why did the thought of fulfilling her idea make a pit of worry form in her stomach? Why did she feel like she might never be okay if she followed through?
She pulled open the door to the lobby and stepped inside. It was dimly lit although it shouldn’t have been. Half of the lighting in the room seemed to be malfunctioning. If all the fluorescents had been working, the room would have been as bright as midday. This would be easier since they wouldn’t be able to see her clearly.
“Can I help you?”
The smoke-altered voice of the man behind the desk caught her attention. She looked over at him, not surprised to see the exterior of the man matched the sound of his words.
Dark liver spots marred his skin.
She swallowed, steeling herself for his reaction to her. Why was this bothering her so much? She’d been shrieked at before. “Hello.” She stepped forward, making her feet move beneath her. “I need a room, please.” Maybe she should get two. The way she reacted to Rex in the car did not inspire confidence in her ability to withstand whatever wolfish charms he sent out to her.
&nb
sp; “What is wrong with your face?” The man rose to his feet as he spoke, his hands coming down in front of him as if to block her from getting any closer to him. As if the way she appeared might reach out and assault him from afar.
“That is not a very polite thing to say.” She could feel her cheeks burning with embarrassment. Why was she bothering to respond at all? Still, she couldn’t seem to stop her mouth from letting her words out. “Is that how you were raised? To say rude things to women?”
“Look, lady.” He stood up. “I don’t want any trouble. I’ve lived in the world a long time now and I’ve never seen anything like you before.”
“Anything like me?” She fisted her hands at her side. “Listen, sir. I want a room not a lot of hassle. Think you can handle it?”
He cleared his throat before he reached down to pick up a key. Without another word, he slammed it down in front of him. “Please take it. I can’t look at you anymore.” Liz said a silent prayer to the goddess for patience. Maybe she would listen this time.
She picked up the key, letting her hand slide slowly over the counter as she grasped it in her fingers. What had she been thinking? Laughing, she realized she wanted to blame Rex. It was his fault. He’d spent the last day looking her in the eyes and making her feel almost normal again.
She liked it so much she had decided to insist on the behavior from others. Big mistake and one she wouldn’t let herself make again. She swallowed away the sinking sensation telling her life would never be any better than just getting by.
Turning away from the counter, she stared down at the key in her hand. The man hadn’t told her what room they were in. Wishing she was the type of person who kicked or shouted, she turned back around before leaning over the table. “Excuse me,” she called out into the hallway in which the man had retreated. “Which room is this?”
“Twenty-two,” the voice called back before hacking for a moment. “Where the hell is my lighter?”
Elizabeth rolled her eyes, prepared to leave the lobby this time. He hadn’t taken her credit information or discussed payment at all, which gave her a great deal of relief since she had no idea how they’d do that. Perhaps he would prefer not to receive any money for her stay in the establishment. She grinned at the thought as the cell phone the man had left on the counter caught her attention.
She scratched her head. One way or another she had to reach the twins’ mother to make a deal about trading Rex’s information for her family’s release and the return of her natural looks. Not to mention her powers. She really needed them back.
Maybe she could “borrow” the phone in the way Rex “borrowed” things.
Goddess, I’ve been with Rex just one day and I’m already considering thievery as a viable option.
Looking left and right, she didn’t let her internal musings sway her. She needed the phone and, unlike Rex, she would return it when she was done with it. Maybe.
She grinned at her naughty thought before she picked up the phone and rushed from the room. In the distance, she could see the dark car exactly as she’d left it. Rex, still presumably out cold, tucked inside of it, oblivious to what she was about to do.
Moving from the lobby door, she walked to the side of the building. She could keep her eye on Rex in the car without being entirely out of the light from the motel. For some reason she didn’t wish to explore, she knew she couldn’t make this phone call standing any closer to Rex than she already was.
She dialed the number. Liz hadn’t called it years—she’d been forbidden to—but she still knew it by heart. Would always know it. The phone rang once before a tired voice answered.
“Hello?” Her mother sounded exactly the same way she’d sounded when Elizabeth had awoken her for one reason or another when she’d been a child. Disoriented but strong.
“Mom.” She said the name like a sigh, ignoring the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.
“Elizabeth.” Her mother’s voice shook. “How can you be doing this? Won’t they catch you calling me? They’ll hurt you.”
“I’m more concerned about them hurting you.” Elizabeth leaned against the building, wondering how the sound of her mother’s voice could make her feel like her knees might give out.
“I’ve told you not to. We’re handling things here. They’re tough but we’re surviving.
You’re out there with those twins. I can’t stand it.”
The wobble in her mother’s voice clenched the decision for Elizabeth. She couldn’t allow this to continue for them. Not one more minute. “Mom, I need you to get a message to Drea. I’m not with Charra and Penny anymore. I’m coming back, but I’m bringing some information with me Drea will want. Tell her I’ve recently come into possession of some of the secrets from the Westervelt Wolf pack.” She heard her mother gasp but kept talking before the woman who had always loved her could argue. “I’m travelling with a wolf. He thinks I’m his mate. He tells me anything I want to know. If Drea releases all of us from the curse and lets us leave, I’ll tell her anything she desires.”
“If the wolf thinks you are his mate, Elizabeth, then…” Movement caught her eye from across the parking lot. The door to the car opened, which could only mean Rex had awakened. “I’ve got to go, Mom. I suspect I’ll be back in Florida tomorrow. When I get into town, I’ll call.” She switched off the phone, moving to intercept Rex before he got any closer. “Are you okay?” she called out over the parking lot.
“I was until I woke up and saw you had left the car. Then I was … terrified for you.” She shrugged. “I appreciate the concern but I was just getting us a room.” Rex stretched, exposing his abs from underneath the makeshift blanket he must have found in the car. Her mouth went dry as she stared at the perfectly formed muscles poking out at her.
“Did they give you any trouble?”
“What?” Her mouth hung open. She knew she must look like a landed fish. All she wanted to do was to reach out and stroke him on the chest, to feel what his skin felt like there. Was it warm and hot or rough and calloused?
“Did they give you any trouble checking in?”
She shook her head, trying to smile. “No more than what is to be expected. Come on.
Let’s go inside.”
“What? Than what is to be expected?”
Rex planted his feet where he stood, and she knew there would be no moving him until they addressed this problem—even if she would rather stick her hand in a blender.
“He objected to my face.” Rex moved forward. By the set of his eyes, she could tell he intended to go into the lobby and let the man know what he thought. She stopped him by placing a hand on his chest. Beneath her fingers, she could feel the strong beat of his heart. She had to swallow through the dryness assaulting her whole body at the contact.
“Look, I took a page out of your book and I borrowed his phone without his knowing.
Why don’t we say that’s enough?”
Rex stared down at her, a small smile finally crossing his hard features. “I’m a bad influence on you.”
She nodded. “Clearly.” Holding up the phone, she stuck it in his hand. “Do you want to call Tristan?”
He’d used that name a few times. At some point, she’d come to realize it was one of his brothers, the alpha of his pack. Rex seemed to be preoccupied with him. Maybe phoning him would take his mind off her.
She gasped as his hand came down, cupping her chin. “No, I have no interest in speaking to Tristan right now. Not even a little bit.”
“No?” Words seemed to have left her or at least the ability to speak without staring at his mouth. “Did your rest do you good? You weren’t asleep very long.” He took her hand, grasping it in his own as he placed the phone back into it. His fingers were so much larger than hers. “Elizabeth, there is something I need to do.” She blinked. “What?”
“I must feed you before you fall over.”
“Feed me?” As if on cue, her stomach growled. She hadn’t been aware of how hungry she
was, but now that he’d mentioned it she couldn’t think about anything else.
When was the last time she’d eaten? She hadn’t even gotten to have a meal at the diner.
“Yes, you need to eat. I can smell how your blood sugar is dropping. We will get some food.”
“Where?” She looked around. “It’s the middle of the night. I doubt anything is open.”
Rex pointed at the lobby. “The man who objected to your face, he will help us.” The wolf who had made her life very odd since she’d met him, dropped her hand and walked with a determined stride toward the lobby.
“Well, do you want to give him back his phone?”
He shook his head as he called over his shoulder. “We are not done borrowing it yet.”
Elizabeth stood in shock. She could have sworn Rex had been talking about something quite different when he’d first grabbed her hand. What had changed and why did it bother her?
The phone in her hand vibrated. She looked down. The area code was the same as the one she’d used when she called her mother. Someone was calling from Key Biscayne.
She took a deep breath to steel herself. There could be no doubt in her mind she knew who would be on the other end when she answered it.
“Hello?” she whispered, turning her back to the lobby. Rex was in there. She didn’t want to look at him.
“Liz. I hear you have abandoned my daughters. Tell me why I shouldn’t put your family to death—right now.”
A thousand retorts filled her mind. She’d love to be able to tell the woman she should leave her family be because it was the humane thing to do, because any witch worth two cents in the world would know they were to cause no harm. But Drea had shown herself to be amoral more times than Liz could count at this point.
“Because I am in possession of knowledge about the Westervelt Wolves. One of them thinks I am his mate. I can tell you things we have never known before.” She silently prayed it would be enough to get her family released. Despite Rex’s belief they could simply go in and remove Drea from power, Elizabeth knew it would never be so simple. He had no idea how her world worked.