Page 5 of Clawless

I stared at her, bug-eyed, but my feet instantly obeyed. Maybe this was all I needed to bring my obedient omega side out – a crazy, giggling chick with blood on her teeth. I was shaking my head at the idea as I collected her things, pausing only to grab the shotgun from over the door before heading back. The blonde shifter took her jacket and pulled a pair of silver zip-ties from an inside pocket.

“Shifter proof,” she told me, holding up the cuffs. “The sneaky suckers adapt to the shifter form. Stops them slipping out when they wolf out.”

I just watched as she trussed up the two guys, who were now both unconscious. I wasn’t sure what she’d done to Kody and she wasn’t gentle as she gave them both a parting kick. At least she wasn’t wearing her steel-toed boots yet. A situation she remedied by pulling her jeans on, commando-style, then hopping from foot to foot as she laced up her boots. She watched me all the while. “I would’ve been here sooner, but I waited to lift their keys. Ran into that boy of yours loading a rifle like he was hunting bear.” She pulled a face. “Had to hit him pretty hard to keep him down, but it gave me a moment to study him.” She slid on her jacket, then scratched her chin. “You know he’s not a wolf, right?”

I shrugged, a little envious of how she could go from blood-splattered naked to effortlessly cool in under a minute. My puffy snow coat was looking the worse for wear after running through the woods, then wrestling with a shifter. “Trey Barakat’s not my boy. And I have no clue what he is.”

She hummed. “Me neither. Which is weird, because I’ve seen some shit.” She suddenly slapped her thighs, making me jump. “Ready to hit the road?”

I looked down at the two naked shifters lying next to my garden bed and nodded. What the hell else was I supposed to do?

“Cool! I’m hungry enough to eat a bear.” She paused and arched a brow at my shotgun. “You want burgers, or...?”

I didn’t let her finish that sentence. “Burgers would be great.”

We hiked to where the shifters had left their off-roader, which was so new and fancy it wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Barakat garage. “All the worst boys have the best toys,” she mused as we climbed in and buckled up. When the engine roared to life, she gave a happy wiggle. “This is my first Hummer. Want to find some tunes?”

I managed to find a song that met her approval just as the seat heaters clicked on. “Ahh, tunes and a rump roast! Delicious.” We were already well on our way down the mountain when she asked, “Where to?”

I glanced at her in surprise. I was grateful she’d helped me get away from the shifters, but I figured she’d want to dump my troublesome ass as soon as possible. “You can just drop me anywhere round here. My guardian has a cabin up north…”

She grunted. “Those dirtbags won’t let up now they have your scent. You need to get some distance between you and this mountain for a while.”

I swallowed hard. The only places I could think of had their own dirtbags-in-residence. And no doubt the welcoming committee would run me off with more than flashbangs and garden tools. “My brother goes to the Agri-Science College near Mount Whitnor. I know it’s a way off…”

“It’s fine. We’ll get burgers first, then stop for gas.” She gave me another of her winks. “Lie back and rest, little wolf. You’ve earned it after taking on a Black Denner with a gardening fork.” She squeezed the wheel and gave a low chuckle. “Best damn thing I’ve seen in months…”

I must have dozed, because I woke as she dropped the nozzle back on the pump and sauntered into the gas station to pay. I tilted my head, watching through lowered lashes as she wandered around the little store, filling her basket with snacks and chatting to the cashier. I didn’t feel hungry, which I thought was strange, until I looked down and saw the crumpled burger bags on the floor. My mouth tasted weird. Not just salt and grease, but a metallic flavor I wanted to wash away. I reached for the soda cup, but missed. I frowned at my hand, which somehow felt disconnected from my arm.

I was thinking about reaching for the soda again, when the driver’s door popped open. The blonde shifter was standing there with a bag of groceries slung over her arm, but she didn’t get in. “Hey, little wolf,” she whispered. “You doing okay?”

I nodded, even though my stomach was starting to churn. “Is your name really Sin?”

A dimple popped in her cheek. “Sure is. Maybe someday I’ll tell you what it’s short for.” I blinked, my eyes sliding off her until I forced them back. The gas station lights lit her fauxhawk up like a jagged halo. She looked like a grungy angel, especially with the crooked smile on her wide mouth. “I’d love to hang out some more, but there’s a guy here who’s going to take you somewhere safe.”

I blinked at her. “What? Who?”

“He’s just a guy with some info I need.” She rubbed a hand over her spiky hair and puffed out a sigh. “That sounds super shady.” She paused, a distant look in her eye. “You know, not every place has to be a clusterfuck for wolves like us. Maybe somewhere, the freaks are the norm, you know?” She reached out and ruffled my hair, the manic gleam resurfacing. “And I’ll come and check on you, okay?”

I just stared at her, and she shuffled back, talking to someone I couldn’t see behind the tinted window. But then hands flashed, a folded piece of paper swapped out for a set of keys. I was still blinking heavily, trying to make sense of what was going on, when Sin the shifter loped off without a backward glance.

I opened my mouth to call out, but the words died on my tongue as my dad swung into the driver’s seat. His gaze went straight to the shotgun propped against my knee, and his smile was sad. “Hey, sweet pea. I hear you’ve had some shifter trouble.”

Five – Vail

The last time I saw my dad, it was like looking at a blurry photograph. When he’d appeared in the pack lab, I’d instantly recognized his caramel and olive-green eyes, and the neatly trimmed beard that covered the cleft in his chin. But he’d looked older, the grooves around his mouth deeper. It had been six years since I’d last seen his face, and I’d felt cheated by how strong he’d looked. How alive.

That bittersweet reunion was less than a month ago, but somehow the man sitting next to me was even more of a stranger.

And not only because he wasn’t my blood relative anymore.

“You’re on the run,” I whispered, that detached feeling suddenly so much worse. He could’ve been a random hitchhiker from the side of the road for all the connection I felt to Gabriel Michaels. “You look like shit.”

“Watch it.” He slid me a sideways scowl as he pulled out of the gas station and headed east. According to the dash clock it was nearly two in the morning. What time had we left our cabin? I didn’t think it could have been much after eleven and I suddenly realized why I was missing time.

“She drugged me.” I tried to sit up straight, but my spine felt like it was made out of putty. A wave of fear washed over me. I remembered the drug Klein had used to make me relaxed. Pliant. It had stolen all but the smallest movement, and I’d been totally at his mercy. “That bitch drugged me!”

“A Valium. You freaked out in the burger joint.”

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