"Yep," I quipped. I took some delight in his crestfallen face as I guided him into the trees.
"Then a midnight stroll to reminisce on our victories?" he guessed.
"Not quite."
"I'm out of guesses. Why are you leading me out here?"
"To scold you until you collapse beneath the weight of my nagging," I told him.
He chuckled and looped my arms through one of his. "After what we have overcome I will gladly hear your scolding."
"Funny you should talk about hearing because I swore I heard you say something about 'let me protect you one last time' on the back of the truck. What was that about?" I questioned him.
He shrugged and sheepishly grinned. "I wasn't sure I would make it out of there, and under such circumstances the words had a uniquely heroic ring to them," he pointed out.
"Well, let's not try to put ourselves in that circumstance again so you don't have to act the hero, or at the very least try not to leave me behind," I recommended.
"I will try my best, but we should forget the past for a moment. I must say you did wonderfully leading Steve and Rick as far as you did. It could not have been easy," he mused.
I snorted. "Like taking care of two children, and me playing the packhorse the entire time for their traveling armory. Then we met Wilson and had a run-in with some of Lance's men, and if it wasn't for the locals we would've been in a lot of trouble."
Luke stopped our walk and grasped my chin between his fingers to raise my eyes to his. "You don't know how much I missed you on these long nights."
"Yeah, I missed your warm body, too," I returned. I gently but firmly grabbed his hand and pulled it down. "But one last question before we go on with the smooching. How did you find us?"
He shrugged. "I merely followed your scent. It was difficult to track after Wilson retrieved you, but I concluded that you were headed for our home territory. Who better to go to than Stewart?"
My jaw slowly dropped open and my eyes narrowed. "So you followed us on a guess and saved us all on a fluke?"
"Precisely."
"I won't bet against you in a game of chance."
He leaned in close to my face and his breath brushed against my lips. "Then I bet right now that we will kiss."
I smiled. "That's-" He pressed his warm, soft lips against mine and all thoughts swept from my head. I groaned and wrapped my arms around his neck. The warmth of his body was soothing against mine, and I rubbed myself against his hard-
"Who goes there?" a voice called.
I growled and turned around to find myself staring at one of the patrols. He was recognizable by the green armband on his arm.
"We were merely taking a stroll," Luke spoke up.
The sentry walked up to us. "You'd better go back. There's no telling if more of Connor's men might be out here," he advised us.
I sighed and Luke took my hand. "Thank you, sir, we'll take your advice." Luke led me back toward the house.
"You know, it's not much fun fighting a war," I commented.
"No, but I have heard the victory party is worth the effort," Luke returned.
I smirked. "Then we're just going to have to make sure that happens soon."
15
We returned to the house to find two blanket beds on the floor and Martha waiting for us. "I thought perhaps you would want to stay here while you wait for a reply from Burnbaum," she suggested.
"I can't think of a more hospitable place, but has there been any word from Burnbaum or Brier?" Luke asked her.
Martha shook her head. "No. They are having trouble reaching the man, but they will keep repeating the message until they succeed."
"Sounds like Steve has a long night ahead of him," I mused.
Abby stuck her head out of her parents' room and her face brightened when she saw me. She dashed out and showed me she was dressed in her night shirt and had a teddy bear in hand. Abby latched herself onto my legs and smiled up at me. "Becky, can we do a slumber party?" she pleaded.
I laughed. "Maybe next time. I don't think I could do the party part right now, but the slumber sounds really tempting."
"Come, Abby, it's very much past your bedtime," Martha scolded her child. She unlatched Abby from my legs and led her back toward the room.
Luke and I lay down on our beds, and I made sure to scoot mine close enough to his so they touched. Then I snuggled up against him with my face buried in his neck. "Did I mention how much I missed your warm body?" I asked him.
"Yes," he told me.
I yawned and my eyelids forced themselves closed. The time must have been past midnight. "Well, I did. . ."
That was the last I remember until, at an hour I can only describe as Too-God-Damn-Early. I felt myself pulled from Luke's warm body and set down on the blankets. I lay still, but creaked open my eyes. Luke climbed to his feet and behind him stood Burnbaum.
"What is it? Have you heard from the driver?" Luke whispered to him.
"Yes. Wilson says he will meet you where he left Becky, but he says there are many problems. Lance's men now are in many regions and towns, and causing trouble where they stay. People are getting mad and fighting back, but that makes travel very dangerous."
"We'll have to take that risk, and the more men Lance has in the other regions the fewer we will have to fight at the compound. Has there been any word about the compound or Sanctuary?" Luke inquired.
"Nothing from compound. We cannot get too close because patrols may find them and capture them, and then game is up for us," he explained. "At Sanctuary battle is better. The sheriff is not there any longer and Simpling is a coward. He cannot lead his own men." Burnbaum stroked his beard. "I do not know if Sanctuary is worth trouble. We have lost many already."
"We can't let their deaths be in vain, and if we capture the capital and Lance then the war will end much faster," Luke pointed out.
"I suppose, but do you think this Callean will help us?" Burnbaum wondered.
"He has no love for Lance and his family is greatly attached to Stacy, so we may have a chance," Luke replied. "What time are we to meet this Wilson?"
"He will be at meeting place in two hours, and I think it only takes one hour to get to spot from here," Burnbaum told him.
"Does Brier know yet about the message?" Luke wondered.
Burnbaum nodded. "Yes. He is preparing to leave right now and will be here soon."
"All right. We'll prepare to leave and wait for him. If anything changes send your fastest wolf to inform us," Luke advised.
"I will. Now I must stand watch over barn and cannot see you off." Burnbaum held out a hand and smiled at Luke. "Be well, my friend."
Luke took the hand and gave it a firm shake. You, too."
They broke apart and Burnbaum turned to me. "You will have to keep Luke out of trouble, Becky," he teased me.
My game was up. I raised my head and snorted. "I don't think that's possible."
Burnbaum chuckled. "No, I think not. Goodbye, my friends."
We parted on our farewells, and I climbed to my feet. "So time to leave?" I guessed.
"Time to leave," Luke agreed.
I stood and winced when my aching body protested. The previous battle was hardly a few hours old, and here we were getting ready to travel. The door to the bedroom opened and light streamed into the open space. Martha stepped out in her nightgown and looked to us. "Are you leaving already?" she asked us.
"Yes, I'm afraid we must leave your hospitable home for another long journey, but we hope for this to be our last," Luke told her.
"Then allow me to provide you with backpacks and pack you some food. You cannot go hungry on such an important mission," she insisted.
Martha evidently wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer because she shut off the bedroom light and swept across the floor into the kitchen. She turned on the light and scoured the cupboards and refrigerator for food. "The backpacks are in the closet near the front door," she informed us.
Luke fetched the backp
acks from the closet just as the front door opened, and Adam slipped inside. He had a backpack over one shoulder and dark pouches under his eyes. I doubt he'd slept a wink. "Are you ready?" he asked us.
"We need to pack, but we will be ready in plenty of time to reach the rendezvous area," Luke assured him.
Martha stuffed as much homemade goodies as could be crammed into our bags, and even folded the blankets and tied them to the tops of the packs. In a quarter of an hour Luke and I strapped on our packs brimming full of food and care, and turned to our lovely hostess. She smiled back at us, and there were hints of tears in her eyes. "God keep you safe," she told us.
I smiled back at her. "We'll come back. I still have to have a slumber party with Abby."
Martha bowed her head and led us to the door. "Then you have to hurry back. Abby isn't a very patient girl."
"We'll try," I promised.
Adam led our small group out into the cold, starry night. I could see my breath and snuggled against Luke for his warmth. In the woods I could just make out the forms of the captives snuggled beneath blankets provided by Burnbaum's group. I tried to find the familiar shapes of Ian and Emily, but my eyes were too tired to discern their forms. Martha stood on the threshold of the home and waved to us. "Good luck," she spoke up.
"Thanks. We'll need it," I replied.
We headed away from that little glimmer of paradise and out into the dark woods. There was plenty of time left for the rendezvous, and our speed in our human forms was still much faster than the normal human. We jogged through the woods with our full backpacks as quiet as church mice on our backs. Martha had packed everything tight so nothing would rattle and alert our enemies. Abby was really lucky to have that great of a mom.
"Have any of Lance's patrols been seen in the woods since the sheriff's attack?" Luke asked Adam.
Adam, who played the leader right then, glanced over his shoulder and shook his head. "No, but with that descent formula they could have reconnaissance groups watching us right now and we wouldn't know they were there unless they made a noise."
"Comforting," I mumbled.
"It was not meant to be. We must all stay on our guard until we reach the safety of this Wilson's truck, and even then we can only out-drive any pursuers for so long before we reach the border to Prospera," he warned us.
Our little group was quiet for a few minutes until a wind blew past us. Adam and Luke stopped and glanced around, and I, too, smelled something distinctly familiar in the breeze. We stood in a wide part of the path, and I could see nothing move around us. I pressed close to Luke and felt his stiff body. "What is it?" I whispered.
"It's just us," a voice spoke up, and out from the shadows stepped Ian and Emily. Emily was the speaker, and she had a grin on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest. "And you won't stand a chance against Lance in his own territory unless we help you."
Adam snarled at them. "And why should we trust you? You could still be in Lance's employ and merely wish to be led to Callean."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Your brother tried to kill us, and this girl is our witness to prove it," she argued, gesturing to me.
"Possibly a ruse to gain our trust," Adam countered.
She snorted. "You believe we would need that complicated a ruse to fool you?"
"Why do you believe we won't survive in Lance's region?" Luke spoke up. Adam pressed his lips together, but didn't interrupt.
Emily smirked and leaned against Ian. "Because Lance has that place fortified like a vault. You'll be lucky to cross the border without getting shot, and even if you do get in there he has more loyalists than those who hate him."
"And you can ensure we won't be captured?" Luke wondered.
"Or shot?" I spoke up.
"We were Captains, after all," Emily reminded us.
"And may still be," Adam argued.
She glared at him. "After what he did to us? No way. Besides, we followed Alston and Cranston because they cared about us. Connor would rather shoot us himself than see us captured."
"So this is revenge for you?" Luke guessed.
Emily smiled and gave a nod. "You bet. We'll help you across the border if you give us a chance at Connor, and see what he did to Cranston. The Boy Scout here has already taken care of that stupid sheriff," she added, nodding her head toward Adam. "Oh, and if you say no we're still going to follow you, and having two parties spread out means there's double the chance of one of us getting caught."
Adam scowled at the pair. "Then it would be safer if we fought you here rather than-"
"We accept your offer," Luke interrupted him.
Adam whipped his head to Luke. "Are you mad? No good can come of allowing murderers with us," he argued.
"Perhaps not, but I would rather have them with us than behind us," Luke countered.
Emily smiled and clapped her hands together. "Good! Now how about we get going to the rendezvous point before I freeze to death?"
16
We hurried on our way with Luke in the lead and Adam at the rear. Ian, Emily and I were in the middle. Adam wouldn't have them at his back, and the other two weren't sure where the rendezvous point lay. I was a little lost, so I couldn't be leader. However, I could doubt my mate's decision to bring along the two self-professed-changed-for-the-better werewolves.
I sidled up to him as we jogged on our way and lowered my voice so I hardly heard my own words. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked him.
"No, but it's wise to keep your friends close and your enemies closer," he returned.
"And if they decide the light side is boring and the dark side offers better-tasting cookies?" I wondered.
"We must be prepared for the worst, but I worry less about them than about finding Callean. He wouldn't have hidden himself in Lance's own territory if he didn't have a very good hiding spot," he pointed out.
My face fell and my voice came out an octave higher than I planned. "So how do you plan on finding him?"
"I haven't worked that out, but I'm sure something will come to me," he replied.
The color drained from my face. "Oh boy. . ." I whispered.
We arrived at the rendezvous spot with no time to spare. As we exited the trees I heard truck tires crunch on the rocky road ahead of us, but didn't see any headlights. Wilson was playing it safe to keep us safe. The dark outline of a truck stopped near the edge of the trees with the passenger side turned toward us for a quick getaway.
Luke leaned close to me. "Is that Wilson's truck?" he asked me.
I gave a nod. "Yep, and the smell, too." If this wonderful adventure was going to teach me anything, it was going to teach me the distinct scent of diesel.
The truck engine shut off and Wilson leaned his head out the open passenger window. "You coming or wanting to stand here all night staring at my fine truck?"
I smiled and strode up to the truck with the others close behind. Wilson's grinning face greeted me at the door. "Didn't think I'd see you again so soon, Becky," he commented.
"It feels like forever since you dropped me off," I returned.
"Well, let's hope this ride gets you to a better place," he replied. He opened the door and slid back to allow us inside the cab.
Luke turned to the three others in our group. "Adam, will you sit in the back with our two friends?"
Adam cast a side-glance at the pair. "I would prefer it."
Emily rolled her eyes and climbed into the truck bed. "You don't have to be so paranoid. We won't kill you in your sleep."
"I won't give you the chance," Adam countered as he, too, took a spot in the back of the vehicle.
I scooted into the cab while Wilson looked through the rear view mirror at our two new companions in the back. "You seem to have picked up two strays. I was told there'd be three of you," he commented.
"A change of plans after the last message," Luke explained as he climbed into the truck.
"Yeah, about that. Were you really wanting me to take you into Lance's territo
ry?" Wilson wondered.
"If you can. We're not sure of the danger, but if we find Callean we may be able to-"
Wilson held up his hand. "I'm not saying this isn't worth the trouble, but it won't be easy getting across that border and you'd better know where you want to go before you get there."
"We don't want to get to a place, but to a person. Frederick Callean is supposed to be hiding in Prospera, and he may be our best chance at fighting Lance," Luke explained.
Wilson whistled as he started the truck and shifted it into gear. "That's a mighty big name to be wanting to find. Where's he supposed to be in the region?"
"We have no idea, but we hoped you would be able to shed some light on where someone could hide in Prospera," Luke replied.
Wilson shook his head as he turned the vehicle around and drove down the road. "Nope, but if this mess is as important as you think it is then I'll help all I can. I'll get you across the border, but I can't guarantee someone won't know we're there."
"We can guarantee that," Emily spoke up. She opened the window at the rear of the cab and smiled at us. "Just drive us to the border, Jeeves, and we can show you a way through that will make us nearly as invisible to sight as Lance's men are to smell."
He smiled at her, and I noticed with horror that he didn't slow down the truck from his normal breakneck speed to we-may-survive-this. "I don't think we've been introduced. My name's Wilson."
She smiled and took his hand. "The name's Emily, and my mate here is Ian," she replied.
Wilson glanced back at Ian and nodded his head. "Pleasure to meet you both. How'd you come to be in this little party?"
"We volunteered. It was either that or stay at the camp tied to a tree," she told him. She expected at least a raised eyebrow, but all she got was a smile from our nonplussed driver.
"That so? I can see why you'd want to come with these nice folks. Doesn't sound very comfortable staying at the camp," he commented. "Now where do you want me to take you along the border? I know most of the east border of Prospera hereabouts and can get us most anywhere in a half day or so."
Emily smirked and leaned her head through the window close to Wilson. "Do you know where the wicker tree is? The one by a creek running along the border?" she wondered.