Page 8 of In The Shadow of The Wolf

The man locked eyes with him in the rearview mirror, and Ronan thought he saw a hint of apprehension and maybe fear just before he turned quickly into a roadside gas station. He then jumped out of the car and opened the back door for them. “You have ten minutes.” He barked, but Ronan didn’t respond, just gave him back one of his dismissive looks and helped his sister out of the back of the vehicle.

“I’m going in with her,” Ronan said without asking permission and followed Molly inside. Terry remained by his car with his arms crossed over his chest, waiting none too patiently.

Molly and Ronan went quickly to the restrooms in the back of the gas station mini-mart. They checked the ladies’ room first, but it did not have a window. They went directly to the men’s room, and thankfully, there was a small window about six feet off of the floor, and it was open. Ronan locked the door, then walked over and jumped and grabbed the sill of the window, and hoisted himself up until he was balanced on the edge partially inside and partially outside of the window. It was going to be a bit of a drop to the ground outside, but it was worth it to get away from that asshole Terry.

He reached down and took his sister's hand and pulled her up to the window as he lowered himself to the ground outside. Molly scooted out and then dropped into the waiting arms of her brother. He quickly righted her and then took her hand and started running into the wooded area behind the gas station. They didn’t have a clue where they were headed, but they had to escape.

Ronan knew a little about navigation on the Great Lakes, so he hoped it would translate into useful knowledge for making it through dense woods. He thought Lance and Aaron really liked them and had their best interests at heart, but that turned out to be nothing but wishful thinking on his part.

The cop Terry obviously did not like them and definitely did not believe them, and yet Lance and Aaron had put them into his care. It said a lot about what they felt for both of them. They were probably contacting the authorities in Traverse City right now, or maybe they would call Jordan directly. Ronan didn’t realize that he had been running since they left the gas station without rest until Molly tugged on his sleeve and breathlessly asked for a break.

“I’m sorry.” Ronan pulled them over to a large tree, and they sat down for a moment, both breathing heavily, and their chests ached from the stress. “We can’t sit long. They will be looking for us soon.”

“Ass wipe is probably looking for us now; it’s been over ten minutes,” Molly stated caustically, and Ronan started to laugh and cough and laugh some more.

“You called it, sis.” He took her hand, and they both stood. “Let’s walk for a while, but we need to keep moving.”

…

Terry waited and waited, and finally, after twenty minutes, he went in to see what the holdup was. He needed to get these two to the manor and get them settled. He hated being responsible for two humans, especially considering one was the Alpha mate. And didn’t that burn to have a human as the Alpha Mate?

The mate of the Alpha was supposed to be strong and resourceful and capable of supporting the Alpha and seeing to the needs of the Pack. What could this whelp possibly do to support the Alpha or see to the needs of the Pack? He couldn’t even protect himself from a perp. He was nothing but a damn trauma victim, nothing but a burden to the Alpha and the pack.

Terry checked the ladies’ room, but it was empty; finding the men’s room locked and no one answering his knock, he went to the cashier and asked for the key. The men’s room was empty, and he noticed the open window.

“Did you see them leave?” He asked the cashier and got a negative. Terry rushed to the back of the station, but they were nowhere in sight. He could scent them and knew they had left through the window and knew the direction they took through the woods but he also knew he had to report this immediately. As much as he despised these humans, if something were to happen to them, it would be his hide that was skinned.

…

Lance was looking through some of the information Jamie called up when his cell phone rang. He tensed when he saw who was calling. “What’s wrong?” He snarled, causing Aaron and Jamie to stop what they were doing and give him their full attention.

“They escaped. I can’t find them.” Terry tried to explain.

“Escaped; they weren’t prisoners. Why would they feel the need to escape?!” Lance dragged his fingers roughly through his hair as he headed for the door and his car. “What the hell did you do to them?!” Lance could not stop shouting. He motioned for Aaron to follow, but that was unnecessary because Aaron was at his elbow with a stricken look on his face. “Wait where you are; I don’t want you pursuing them.”

“I didn’t do anything to them. I’m sorry, I . . .” Terry didn’t get to complete his sentence because Lance hung up. “Shit.” He muttered and leaned against his squad car and waited. All he really wanted to do was give a certain Asst. D. A. in Michigan a call and let him know where he could pick up his fugitives.

The Alpha and Beta could find other more suitable mates if these two were out of the way. Terry didn’t give much credence to the mate myth anyway. It was all a fairytale and amounted to nothing more than a severe case of lust and lack of sexual satisfaction. That was why Terry made sure to satisfy his sexual needs on a daily basis. He was one wolf who pledged never to give himself over to a mate.

...

Lance explained the situation to Aaron on the way. Aaron was ready to spit nails by the time they reached the gas station. They flew out of the truck and came at Terry with tight looks of disappointment and anger. Terry automatically stepped back and bowed his head to both.

“The girl needed the washroom, so I stopped here. Her brother went with her, and after twenty minutes, I went in to check, and they had gone out through the window in the men’s room.” Terry talked fast and tried to be as accurate as possible without giving away his attitude at the time, which probably led to them running. The Alpha didn’t need to know that he had deliberately frightened his mate.

Lance opened the back of the cruiser and, after taking a deep breath, turned and grabbed Terry by the throat and threw him onto the hood of the car. He held him there, leaning in face to face. “What did you do to them?” Lance was letting him live only because he needed for him to speak. “Answer me!”

Terry had never in his life seen Lance like this, even when confronting his enemies; he didn’t have the crazed look of terror combined with rage that he wore now.

“I didn’t touch them; I didn’t hurt them.” He kept his voice soft and respectful, hoping that he lived through this day. Aaron came towards them with a piece of paper in his hand.

“You did something, Terry; otherwise, they wouldn’t have run, and they wouldn’t have written this.” Aaron handed the wadded receipt to Lance. He threw Terry at Aaron, who caught him and held him.

Lance read the little shred of paper and immediately, in one lightning-swift move, yanked Terry from Aaron and held him up off his feet by his hand on his throat. While he held him in this position, Lance read the note to him. “He’s going to hurt us, Molly. We need to get away. Ask for a bathroom.” Lance let loose with a howl that shook the very earth.

“Lance, let go, don’t kill him yet.” Aaron broke threw his rage and was able to get Terry released. Lance leaned with his palms on the hood of the car, trying to regain his composure while Aaron held onto Terry. “Why would they think that, Terry? The back seat of your cruiser reeks of fear. Tell me what you did now before I give you back to Lance.”

“Mostly, I didn’t speak to them. I said a few things that were harsh. I kept the screen between the seats closed and acted like they weren’t even there. I didn’t threaten them with words, but I am sure my behavior made them uncomfortable.” Terry confessed and waited.

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