Page 30 of Crave

She raised an eyebrow. “You aren’t getting punished for saving Quinn. I won’t allow it. We’re coming with you and we’ll corroborate your story. I’ll tell them all about how Wilkie treated us.” Her voice cracked a little at the end, and I wanted to drag her into my arms. Yeah, that wasn’t good either.

“No offense, Omega, but there’s no way I’m taking anyone who smells as good as you anywhere near a room full of hungry vampires.”

She stepped into my space, her blue eyes staring me down. “I don’t believe I was asking permission, vampire.”

Was it bad to want to kiss her right now? Was that breaking some kind of doctor-patient professional boundary? I mean, technically, she wasn’treallymy patient… right?

“I agree with Susannah,” Merrick said firmly. “You protected one of our own. You put your own safety on the line. You cleaned up our mess. We’re coming with you.”

I sighed. Well, if it was unanimous... “We better go. It’s a long drive. Let’s hope no one catches on fire while we’re gone, hey?”

They all looked at me, shocked again, and I decided to leave the comedy for the professionals—at least for the night.

Turns out,the second car that Wilkie had stolen for his abduction attempt was a Legion car. So we decided to save it from imminent destruction and drove it out of Maxton, with the fire on our heels. Even with the flames in eyeshot now, there were still a few Manix out preparing their Packhouses. They were leaving it too late to get away safely. I knew that.

I was almost relieved to see the Alpha General climbing into the back of an SUV with Radic as we rolled through town, leaving his sinking ship. I knew the man well enough to know that he wasn’t the type to stay and fruitlessly argue with people too stubborn to change their mind. He had a Pack, cubs, and a family to live for.

We followed the highway, first east and then north, until we came to the turn-off toward Moonburst. I looked over at Susannah and Quinn, both of whom looked exhausted. “You should go to the town where all your family will be. They’ll be worried if you don’t turn up.”

Susannah stubbornly shook her head.I shouldn’t find that so bloody attractive, right?

“I’ve already messaged my father and told him we were out and fine, but we were going to lie low for a while.” Then she grinned, and I realized I was in trouble. “Sorry, shark boy. You’re stuck with us for a little while yet.”

I sighed, but deep down, I wasn’t mad about it. I’d spent decades being alone. Leaving Australia as soon as I could on a red-eye flight, then slowly realizing that not all vampires were like Steve. Most were brutal and vicious, deranged from years of being an apex predator. It was only in the last decade that I’d stumbled across Dark River, and Raine, and they’d shown me a new kind of life. One where I could hold on to the small amount of humanity I still had left. But for all their camaraderie, I was still alone.

There was something about Susannah and Quinn that made me feel like I was a part of something. Like my soul was reaching out for a friend.

Or maybe I was losing it.

We drove to the Canadian border, but unfortunately, no one had any documentation except me. Right before the border, long after the sun had set, I let them out on the side of the road. They’d run across the border, and I’d drive the car over, then collect them at the north fork of the Belly River.

Watching four half-shifted Manix melt into the darkness was like watching a magician while you were drunk. Your logical mind knew that it was a trick of the light, or your brain, or something, but some other part of you—maybe your inner child, if your inner child drank cheap beer—thought it was magical.

If I wanted what was best for them, I’d just keep driving. Take the left, instead of the right straight out of the Customs gates. But I didn’t, because I was selfish. I just drove to the Big Belly campground and waited.

18

MERRICK

When Quinn shifted, his Omega scent perfumed the clearing. I bit back a groan as my cock went hard.Fuck.How had I missed it for so long? He smelled so fucking delicious. Susannah shifted too, and I took a moment to admire her Beast. She was slighter than a male Manix, and tiny in comparison to an Alpha. But she was still strong and fierce, and my own Beast wanted her bad.

We were only half-shifted, because the soft, dappled fur, and shorter claws were best for stealth through the forest and going across the border.

You know what was not stealthy in this form? My raging fucking hard-on.

Luckily, it was an unwritten rule of etiquette not to stare at people’s dicks when they were shifted. I mean, sure, we’d all broken it with the vampire earlier, but we’d all been raised better than that.

I could hear Murphy’s soft laughter behind me, and I shot him the finger over my shoulder. Okay, maybe we weren’t all that well-raised. He was lucky he was upwind, otherwise, he’d be eating his words right about now.

“Let’s go,” I grunted, turning so I could shift my cock around.

We set a steady pace, a slow jog that should’ve been easy even for children and the elderly. I was aware that despite the fact he wasn’t broken anymore, Quinn had just taken some serious injuries. I wanted him to shift back so I could carry him, maybe prevent some exacerbation of his wounds, but a furry giant carrying a human through the woods? It was unlikely we would be spotted, but if we were, the Bigfoot conspiracy theorists would have a coronary.

So instead we just moved slower than I’d like. We headed north-west until we came to the almost dry bed of the Belly River. Come the spring melt, this would be another flowing river, but right now, it was as good a marker as any to run beside. We’d stay deep in the shadows of the trees, but soon enough, we’d come out the other side.

If we ran across some hikers in the meantime? Well, we could always shift back and pretend we were kinky naturists having an orgy in the forest. I mean, it wouldn’t be the first time in history.

I tried to think how long it had been since I’d run in my shifted form through the woods in a Pack like this. Not since we were teens, that was for sure. Murphy was bringing up the back, still slightly injured and probably enjoying the leisurely pace with the two Omegas between us.

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