Page 4 of Gabe's Lone Wolf

“Not alone. But with the James Pack standing with you, he won’t have a choice. There’s nothing demeaning about asking for help.”

“Yet, you won’t accept mine.”

He smiled, but there was sadness in his gaze. “You’ve already helped me more than you know.”

Wait? What? How? Had he been running from something back there that had him stealing my wheels?

“Are you in trouble?”

I glanced out the back window of my Jeep, fully expecting to see someone barreling toward us.

“Let’s focus on you and getting you away from Lockhart permanently. I’m not sure how he holds his rank when he seems to be more brawn than brain, but he won’t stand a chance against the James Pack. I promise you that. Go to them.”

“Come with me?”

The words were out of my mouth before I’d even finished thinking them. Maybe, my wolf was picking up on unspoken signals I hadn’t fully processed yet. All I knew was something told me he needed the James Pack as much as I did.

That sadness briefly filled his gaze again then his eyelids dropped, effectively hiding his thoughts from me. “Places to go. People to see.”

“Make the James Pack one of those places. Make Bastion James one of those people. Take me there, then you can go your own way if that’s what you want. You obviously know them while I only have rumor to go on. And the word of a stranger.”

I had no idea why I was pressing this stranger to go with me, but now that it was there, I couldn’t seem to let go of the notion.

“Afraid?” he taunted, and my hackles rose.

“Never,” I growled, baring my teeth.

“Good. You’ve probably got another hour before Lockhart and his boys pick up your scent and come after you again.” He pushed the door open, stepped out then reached through to the back to grab a pack from the backseat, tugging it onto his shoulder. “Be quick. Don’t stop.”

“Wait! What can I do to help you?”

“Just get to the James Pack. Knowing you’re safe will help.”

With that cryptic reply, he turned away again. There was nothing around us. No stashed vehicle that I could see. Where was he going?

“Why are you helping me?” I asked, still not understanding what he’d needed me to help him with. I hadn’t done anything, and as far as I knew, there wasn’t anything I had that would be remotely useful to him.

“Because I’d like to think someone would do the same if a woman I cared for were in trouble,” he offered with an arrogant lift of his brow. “There’s money in the console. Enough for food and fuel to get you to Rigton County. You should really clean out this Jeep when you get there. It’s a bit of a pigsty.”

I growled again, and he laughed. What did he expect from a vehicle that doubled as a home and transportation?

He turned once more. I called out again after he’d gone a few steps.

“Wait!”

He glanced back with that arrogant look on his face, and it hit me. He was an alpha. Had he once been among the bastards and misfits who made up the James Pack? He’d admitted he’d known Bastion James and his mate.

“What do I call you?”

“You don’t,” he told me. “It’d be best if you didn’t mention me at all. Take care of yourself, Eliza. I won’t be around to lend a hand next time.”

With that parting shot, he disappeared, leaving my life as mysteriously as he’d entered it, and I still had no idea who he was.

Chapter Two

~Gabe~

“I’m surprised you guys made it out tonight,” I teased Taylor and Simon. My two best friends were both recently mated, which meant I’d been hanging solo for some time.

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