Page 77 of The Strongest Wolf

Especially not when I think about Galen waiting for me at the end of my journey.

With that thought in mind, I leave Eden and the rest of the Blackshaws behind me, ready to start my journey toward my new life with Galen in New York.

18

GALEN

Not even a guy coming within inches of rear-ending me wipes the stupid grin off my face.

Sierra is coming to New York.

I still can’t believe Dayne and his pack pulled together like that for her—for us—but they did.

Dom and I need to get ID sorted out for her.

While the idea of being trapped on a plane for hours is enough to have my wolf snarling, it would have been safer and faster than driving.

But if I rejected the idea, I can’t imagine Sierra would have agreed even if flying had been an option. No shifter likes being packed into a small space, but the thought of being trapped in a space with no way to get off? A growl erupts in my head.

Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.

My gaze settles on the cell phone in the passenger seat. It’s been silent since I woke to a text message from Sierra telling me she’d set off from Hardin and would probably get to New York a few hours after I did.

I don’t think I’ve ever dialed so fast. She didn’t answer, but twenty minutes later she called back to say she’d been on the highway and had to pull over.

Torn between amazement that the Blackshaws had made her journey even possible, alongside worry about her making such a long drive alone, all I could do was sit stunned as she filled me in on everything they’d done to prepare her for the journey.

They’d thought of everything she would need.

But it wasn’t what they’d done for her that had left me the most shocked. It was hearing that she’d been driving all night.

Sierra had told me she would find a way to get to New York, but I never could have imagined she’d set off minutes after we’d hung up.

Now, even hours after I’ve checked out of the motel and gotten back on the road, it still hasn’t sunk in.

Sierra is coming to New York.

When the shock eventually wears off, I start thinking about where I’ll stop for breakfast. After Sierra’s big surprise, eating was the last thing on my mind when I woke.

A red light changes to green, and I continue. Crossing into Pennsylvania means I’m only a handful of hours away from home. Unless there’s traffic in New York.

“Unless?” I mutter under my breath as I drum my fingers on the wheel. “When has there ever not been traffic in New York?”

My phone vibrates across the passenger seat, and I dart a glance at it. It stops vibrating right away, so I know I have a text waiting for me. I drive for another couple of miles, anticipation building in my gut as I hunt for a place to pull over.

But then I remember Sierra has been on the road all night. She had coffee, and she sounded wide awake when I last spoke with her, but tiredness can hit without warning.

What if she’s been in an accident?

My hands tighten around the wheel as the thought plays over and over in my mind.

It’s not even nine yet, but the streets are bustling with people, and no matter how hard I look, I don’t see even one parking spot.

How many people live in this fucking city? And why the fuck is everyone and their fucking mother out so early?

I’m growling beneath my breath, my wolf as impatient to make sure Sierra is okay as I am, when a car’s headlights pop on just up ahead.

I stare at the parked gray sedan, willing him to go. “Pull out, pull out, pull out,” I mutter as I slow my truck down so I’ll be in a prime position to take the spot.

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