Relentless (25 page)

“I guess that leaves us the floor.”

I got some blankets and pillows out of the storage cabinet, and we tossed them on the floor between the banquette and the sofa. It wasn’t comfortable, but I knew it wouldn’t matter. I lay down on my side, and Myles stretched out on his back, staring at the ceiling.

“Did you know?” His voice was so low I barely heard him. He didn’t look at me but kept his gaze trained on the light fixture above us.

I moved my head slightly on the pillow. “Know what?”

His mouth twisted into a frown briefly, and he rolled onto his side to face me. Propping himself onto his elbow, he leaned closer to me.

“Did you know about Lana and Robert?”

I couldn’t move or speak for a few seconds. This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have. Myles was my friend, and I guess he’d had more than a few uncomfortable conversations with me about Eric.

“I saw they got along well and had a lot in common, but I didn’t know. I don’t think anyone did. Maybe they didn’t even know themselves until this happened.”

He snorted. “I doubt it.”

“I don’t think she meant to hurt you, Myles. Sometimes things happen.”

His face hardened. “Whose side are you on?”

“There is no side. You’re my friend, and I wish it would have all stayed perfect for you, but it didn’t.”

“We’re mated. She’s supposed to be with me. She has to be with me.”

“Can you not be mated? I mean, can you break it off or something?”

“I don’t know.” His words were slow and heavy with a sadness that I could see reflected in his eyes. “I don’t know if I want to. I love her.”

“The last thing I want is to see you be with someone who cares for someone else. You deserve better than that, Myles.”

A shimmer of moisture appeared in his eyes. “Do I?”

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Of course you do. And you’ll find her. She’s out there, probably looking for you right now.”

He gave a half smile then rolled back onto his back. “You’re nuts, you know.”

“Yeah, I hear that a lot.”

“We’re going to figure all this out, aren’t we?” he asked.

“No, we aren’t. But we’ll deal with it.”

His hand found mine and squeezed. “You’re probably right.”

Then he rolled away. I pulled the blankets up and closed my eyes.

I don’t know how long I’d slept when I finally opened my eyes again. Someone had picked me up and moved me to the sofa while I was asleep. Jared, I’m sure, since he had taken my spot on the floor beside Myles. Sitting up, I could see Thea behind the wheel and her friend in the passenger seat. We were bumping along some small road, the mountains and snow long gone. Dry, rocky hills surrounded us. I got to my feet and made my way to the driver’s seat.

We were somewhere in a desert. The sun was low in the sky so I deduced we’d been driving all day. Straight ahead of us at the end of the one-lane road we were on was a long, rusty, metal building and a long expanse of concrete that stretched forever. On the far side of the building was a large jet. My hand tightened on the back of the Thea’s seat.

“Where the hell are we? And what the hell is that?”

Thea brought the motor home to a stop next to the building. “It’s a plane. What does it look like?”

Myles had gotten up and was standing beside me, looking out the window.

“What is a plane doing here? We haven’t discussed taking a plane anywhere. What have you done?”

“Take it easy, Lex.” Myles put a hand on my shoulder. “I know that plane.”

Thea snorted. “Well, of course. Did you think we’d gone through all that just to turn you back over to the Fenryrians?”

I shrugged.

She got up from the chair and pushed past us.

“Idiot,” she said in a low voice. Then she was out the door and crossing the tarmac toward the plane.

“What was I supposed to think?”

Thea’s friend moved from the passenger seat. “That we’re part of your pack and not going to betray you the minute you fall asleep.”

I sighed and looked at Myles.

“Don’t worry. Let’s go.”

I shouted to Lana and Brynna to get ready.

Thea was making her way back to the motor home as Lana and Brynna came up.

“How’s Noah?” she asked.

“He thinks he can walk,” Brynna said.

“Good. You guys get over to the plane.  My friend and I will bring the motor home back to Florida.”

She left again, and Brynna headed toward the back bedroom.

“You okay, Noah?” she called out.

“I’ll make it.” The weak response came from the bedroom seconds before Noah appeared barefoot with a towel wrapped around his shoulders.

“Your feet are going to freeze.” Brynna glanced around the room as if she’d magically find some shoes.

“Can’t be helped. I don’t have shoes. So I’ll do without until we get where we’re going.”

I nodded. “Let’s go, then.”

The four of us left the motor home behind, Jared and Myles already well ahead of us. The wind was bitter cold, and there were still patches of snow on the ground. Noah seemed not to notice as he bowed his head against the wind, stumbling once. Brynna caught his arm to steady him and continued to keep a hold on him all the way to the steps that led to the jet. I held back, letting them go first. Heat hit me in the face at the door. The inside of the plane was luxurious, and I wondered who it belonged to. Near the back, Louise was helping Brynna get Noah settled on a sofa. After tucking the blankets around him, Brynna took a seat in the chair at one end of the sofa. I arched an eyebrow at her.

She widened her eyes and mouthed “what?” as if daring me to comment on her sudden devotion to Noah. I guess Noah had no idea how out of character her behavior was. Myles had already dropped into one of the soft leather seats, and Lana took the one next to him. Robert sat down in an empty seat directly across from her. She narrowed her eyes at him and frowned, but he didn’t move.

“This was a ridiculous stunt.” Louise stepped in front of me.

“I know, I know. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“You don’t know how to evaluate a good idea.”

I rubbed my forehead, ready for the first of what I imagined would be many lectures. “I guess that’s true.”

“Maybe we should do something about that.”

I’d been studying my still-wet tennis shoes but jerked my head up quickly to look at her.

“Like what?”

“We’ll discuss it when we get back to the school.”

I nodded, and Louise went toward the front of the plane. When I looked back where Myles had been, the seat was empty. Lana stared down at her hands. Myles was two seats behind her, sitting diagonally across from Jared. I went back to take the seat next to Myles.

“Don’t say anything.” His voice was clipped, and he stared out the small window at the fading sunlight.

“I wasn’t going to.”

“Yes, you were.”

“Whatever. I won’t now. It’s going to be okay, Myles.”

He twisted in his chair. “Really, you’re one to talk. Do you feel like it’s going to be okay, now that your world had been turned upside down?”

“Again?”

“What?”

“Now that my world’s been turned upside down again. It’s happened to me a couple of times.” I managed a wry smile.

He grunted angrily. “Not like this.”

“You’re right. Our situations are different, but the answer to your question is yes. I do think everything is going to be okay.”

His eyes had been trained on the rocky landscape out the window, and now he turned to look at me. “Really?”

I could hear the surprise in his voice. He hadn’t expected me to say that.

“Yes, everything is going to be okay because I have all of you.”

He refocused his gaze out the window. Myles and Lana had been together for a long time. For it to be over, like this, wasn’t fair. Across from me, Jared gave a slight shake of his head, as if telling me to let it go. I did. I knew when I first realized I couldn’t be with Eric, I’d been inconsolable. But things had happened. Our lives had changed. Myles’ life would change, too. It was changing right now. That was the miserable part. In the midst of such a life-changing event, it was impossible to see, to imagine a new future. It would come, though, and he would recover.

Louise shouted from the front of the plane for us to fasten our seatbelts. Noah sat up on the sofa, and Brynna helped him get a seatbelt around the blankets before sitting down to latch her own belt. I settled back in and gave Jared a quizzical look.

He leaned forward as far as the seatbelt would let him. “What’s going on with them?”

I bent toward him until my belt stopped me. “I have no idea.”

“Have you ever seen her be so nice to a guy? I haven’t known her long, but I’ve never seen her be even remotely that nice—to anybody.”

“She can be nice, but you’re right, not quite like this. Especially with some guy she doesn’t know…and he’s Fenryrian.”

“You’re talking about me, and you know I can hear you.” Brynna’s voice was sharp.

I glanced back at them, and Noah was smiling. Brynna was not.

“Sorry.” I turned to Jared and pointed to my ear. “Really good hearing.”

He nodded. “I forgot about that.”

Behind us, I could hear Noah and Brynna laughing. The plane taxied down the runway, made a turn, then raced along until it lifted into the air. An occasional word of conversation could be heard over the noise of the engine, but the three of us remained quiet until the plane had stopped climbing and we were allowed to remove our seatbelts. Myles immediately got up and disappeared up front where I’d last seen Louise.

I stuck a foot out and kicked the toe of Jared’s boot. “So you’re really strong. What’s up with that?”

He laughed. “Nothing’s up.” Then he gave me a slow wink. “I’m really strong.”

“Did you not know? Or were you hiding it?”

“Hiding it.”

That gave me pause. For some reason, I’d felt Jared was so straightforward, so honest, that he wouldn’t hide anything. I thought he hadn’t realized how strong he was.

“But why? Why would you hide something like that?”

“I’ve been on my own my whole life. I knew I was different, that I was adopted and not like my parents. What did I know about these people who called themselves werewolves? I mean, they’re like me, but I didn’t know what they actually wanted from me.”

“You didn’t trust them.”

“Not at first. Did you?”

I smiled. “No, I didn’t. And Louise is my aunt. So I guess I understand. What changed your mind and made you trust them?”

He scooted to the edge of his seat and motioned for me to move closer. I slid forward until our knees were nearly touching.

“Nothing.”

“Nothing changed your mind? But you showed your strength. We all know. It’s not something we’re just going to forget.”

“I didn’t have a choice. My ability got us out of that situation. I didn’t show it because I trusted anybody. I did it because it was the only thing I could do.”

I nodded. “So trust no one, huh?”

His arms were crossed and resting on his legs. He moved one until his hand closed over my knee. “I trust you.”

“Don’t. I’m not really that trustworthy.”

A smile creased his face. “Yes, you are. You just haven’t figured it out yet.”

I looked down at his hand, covered with healing scratches and bruises. I traced the length of one scratch with my finger. It ran from his wrist all the way up his forefinger. When I reached the tip of his finger, I placed my hand on top of his. He quickly flipped his over, his fingers wrapping around mine, holding on to me. My eyes jerked upward to meet his.

“I know your heart is elsewhere. I get it. But I’m holding on to you.” He squeezed my hand. “And I’m not letting go.”

“I need to talk to everyone.”

Louise appeared from the front of the plane. Myles was right behind her. She stopped a few seats away from us, and he came around her and took the seat next to me. The hum of conversation stopped as we all gave her our attention.

“While what you all did was foolhardy, we were able to go ahead with a plan we’d been holding off on for some time.” She looked pointedly at Noah. “For now, it will be too dangerous for you to stay on Dromen. It’s harder to protect. It was always a training site and never intended to be a place to fend off attacks from Fenryrians. When we get back, all of you will pack your things. We’ll be moving everyone to a safer location.”

“Where?” Lana asked.

“When you’re all packed and back on this plane, we’ll let you know. You can’t tell anyone, including your family, where you are. I’m sure the Fenryrians will figure it out, but maybe by then, we’ll be far along in our plans, and they won’t have time to be worried about you.”

“Will all of us go to the same place?” I glanced back at Brynna when she asked the question.

“Yes, you’ll all go together. We’ll land at Key West and take the boat over. You’ll need to pack quickly. We’ll leave as soon as we can get back to the airport.”

Beside me, Myles shifted in his seat. When I looked at him, he was staring out the window. I guess he wasn’t thrilled that he’d be sent to a location where he’d have to see Lana and Robert, together, every day. I couldn’t blame him for being unhappy about it.

Louise waved at me to get my attention then motioned for me to follow her. She headed to the front of the plane. There was a small divider near the front, and on the other side of it were four chairs with a small table positioned between them. She took a seat on one side and pointed at the chair across from her. I sat down and folded my arms on the table.

“You cannot tell that boy where you are. Do you understand?”

“I do.”

She stared at me, and I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. “I’ve contemplated sending you somewhere by yourself, away from the others. I’m afraid you’ll compromise their safety.”

I fell back against the seat. “What?”

“Oh, come on, Alexis. What do you expect? Every time someone tells you not to see the boy, that it’s dangerous, you don’t seem to care and go right on doing what you want to. Eventually you put everyone’s life in jeopardy.”

“The reason they took Lana and Daryl had nothing to do with me.”

“No, but they knew more about our location because you were spending time with him.”

“That’s not true. I never told him about the island, and Eric never went there. Daryl was the one giving all the secrets away. He was working for the Fenryrians. Ask Noah, he’ll tell you it’s true.”

“You’ll have one chance to do the right thing. At the first sign of any problems, I’ll move everyone again and send you somewhere away from them.”

I clenched my fist angrily. “I understand. Where will you send me? To live with my father?”

She stared at me. Neither of us spoke for a moment.

“What does that mean? We don’t know who your father is.” Her voice was uncertain, so unlike Louise.

I tapped a finger on the tabletop. “You may not know who my father is, but Brodin does. I guess my mother does, too, because, well, you’d think she’d know that kind of thing, right?”

“What did Brodin tell you?”

“That Vincent Unger is my father. They were going to kill me because of it. He says that’s the real reason I can never be with Eric. It’s not just because I’m Lycernian, but because of who Eric is and who I am.”

“You’re Alexis Miller.” She grabbed my forearm where it rested on the table and jerked it toward her. “That is who you always will be. Did you tell the others?”

“No. I haven’t told anyone.”

“And you cannot. You must not tell anyone. Do not ever speak of it again.” Her eyes were wide with what almost looked like panic. Though I’d never seen Louise in a panic so I wasn’t sure.

“You knew, didn’t you?”

She sighed and nodded. “I did. In the beginning, there was a possibility that the gene for the werewolf would bypass you like it did your mother, so there was no need for you to know. But once you became a werewolf, it was simply better for others not to know.”