Chapter Eight
~ Ajag ~
Someone was following us. I'd known it since we crossed the Oregon border into Idaho. I couldn't pinpoint any one specific vehicle, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we were being followed.
I just didn't feel any malicious intent.
That didn't mean that there wasn't any. Just that I wasn't feeling it. I mean, why else would someone follow us all the way from Idaho through Montana and Wyoming and then into Colorado?
If I could spot someone that looked suspicious, that would help, but I couldn't. No two cars looked the same for any length of time. I'd even taken to pulling off at different spots to lose whoever was behind us, but the feeling of being followed didn't go away.
I decided to change things up and have us stay at a campground instead of a motel. I doubted it would throw off whoever was following us because they seemed pretty determined to stay on our tail, but it would give me and Sy a chance to run through the woods.
I glanced in the rearview mirror to see Sy watching out the window. "Hey, little man. I thought we'd switch things up a little tonight and camp out. What do you think?"
"Hot dogs?"
Gross, but I nodded anyway. "We can do hot dogs."
"Marshmallows?"
"Them, too."
Sy raised both fists in the air and let out a happy little whoop noise. It was actually really great to see. Even though we were still on the run, Sy seemed to be coming out of his shell more and more each day.
Maybe it was because, while we were still on the run, we weren't desperate. We had a vehicle, supplies, and cash. We weren't hiding in the woods and avoiding people.
Well, most people. I still tended to keep to less populated areas if I could help it. We might be driving through Colorado, but I had no intention on driving through Denver or any of the other big cities in the state.
Back roads were great.
I did worry some that being in less populated areas would make us a bigger target. Not only did I need to worry about the wolf shifters out there, but humans, too. Not all of them were nice. My recent brush with those idiots at the ranch was a good case in point.
We stopped at a little market not far from the campground I'd found online and purchased the items Sy wanted. If there was any way to make this a fun trip for him instead of a nightmare I'd do it, even if it meant eating hot dogs.
Still gross.
We grabbed our groceries, loaded up, and headed for the campground. I'd found one that was kid friendly and not too big, hoping that there wouldn't be a lot of people there. It was also close to a river where I hoped to take Sy to play.
When we arrived at the campground, I purchased a spot as close to the woods as I could get. It was the farthest spot from the main buildings and entrance. It was also a bit away from other camping spots.
It wasn't perfect, but it would do.
As I drove through the campground, I noted every spot that was occupied. Just because we were farther away from everyone didn't mean there couldn't be trouble. People did stupid stuff all the time.
When we reached our designated spot, I pulled into the small parking spot and turned off the engine. I smiled as I glanced into the backseat. "You ready for camping?"
"Yeah," Sy replied with a big toothy grin.
I climbed out and then went to release Sy from his car seat before going to the back of the vehicle to get out the camping gear. I was really hoping this ten came with instructions because I had never set one up in my life.
We might be sleeping on the ground.
The pictures that came with the instruction were a lot more informative than the actual directions. It took me a little while, but I got the tent up and placed everything we'd need for the night inside.
There was a fire pit. I appreciated the fact that it was actually a metal container buried halfway in the ground. There was even a stack of firewood next to it.
"Do you want to go for a hike in the woods?" I asked Sy. "See what's around us?"
Sy's bangs fell away from his face as he peeked up at me. "Fur?"
I shook my head. "Not yet, maybe later."
I'd love to tell Sy that he could shift and run through the woods, but I needed to get the lay of the land first. I couldn't do anything that might put my little brother in danger.
I grabbed a backpack with a few essentials like water, snacks, and a first aid kit and then I made sure everything was locked up.
I smiled as I held my hand out to Sy. "Ready?"
He nodded as he took my hand.
We headed off into the woods directly behind our camping site. We followed a well-worn dirt trail for awhile, which told me here was not a good place to shift. Too much chance of running into humans.
I couldn't risk it.
Sy and I walked around for awhile, stopping to play at the edge of the river we found, and then exploring more of the forest. We started to head back to camp when the sun began to set behind the mountains off in the distance.
When we reached camp, I pulled out the food we'd bought. I was pretty sure Sy was starving by now. I had to find a couple of twigs and cut them down a bit so we would have something to roast the hot togs on.
The glee in Sy's eyes as I handed him one with a hot dog on the end made everything worth it. I chuckled as I watched him hold it over the open flames. This was the childhood Sy was supposed to have. Not running from place to place every day just so we could stay alive.
I wanted to give him this.
I just wasn't sure how to go about it. It wasn't like I had the money to buy a place where we could settle down. I didn't even have a job. I had no way to pay for a place for us to live.
I had to figure something out, however. Eventually the money Rad had given me would run out. Even if we stuck to our furry forms and lived in the woods, we'd need money. There were just some things a person needed even if they were a shifter.
Sy was three right now. At some point, he'd need to go to school. I wasn't sure how all of that would be done when he was a young shifter. I'd been part of a pack when I was a child. I'd gone to a shifter school.
By the time I cleaned Sy up and tucked him into his sleeping bag, I was ready for some alone time. I sat on the ground in front of the fading fire and leaned back against one of the logs placed around the fire pit for sitting.
I absently stared at the glowing embers, my mind racing more than I would have liked. I tried to take stock of our situation. Currently, we were safe, or safe-ish. We had a car, supplies, and money.
We were still being hunted, but I suspected that wouldn't end until we were dead or the people chasing us were dead. This was a constant in my life that I had actually grown used to.
How sad was that?
My brow flickered as I dug the cell phone Rad had given me out of my pocket and powered it on. I knew this was stupid, but I couldn't exactly talk to Sy about all of this. He was a kid and I needed an adult.
I refused to think about why calling Rad was my first inclination.
As soon as the phone powered on, I dialed the man, holding the phone to my ear. "Hey," I said as soon as he answered. "Can you talk?"
"Yes."
God, his voice. It was deep and raspy and made my insides curl.
That was bad.
I swallowed tightly and tried to gather my thoughts and figure out why I had called the man. There were things I couldn't tell him and that made this conversation a bad idea.
"Ajag?"
"Yeah?"
"Just tell me."
"I'm trying to figure out what to do," I finally said. "We can't stay on the road for the rest of our lives, but we can't stay in one place for too long. Eventually we're going to run out of money and—"
"Don't worry about the money," Rad stated. "I can send you more if you need it."
That made me frown. "I can't keep taking your money, Rad."
"You can if I offer it."
I sighed as I dropped my head back and stared up at the night sky. I didn't really want to think about why Rad was so willing to give me money. I didn't have the ability to spare thoughts for that right now. I needed to think about Sy right now. He'd been my sole focus for the last couple of years. That wasn't going to change because I'd found a shifter I couldn't stop thinking about.
"Sy will need to start school pretty soon," I started. "I mean, I've got a couple of years, but eventually he'll need to stay in one place long enough to go to school, but I'm not sure how to go about that. I attended a shifter school when I was a kid. I can't send Sy to a human school, but we can't be registered in a pack."
"I know you don't believe this, but you can go back to the ranch. Everyone there knows you and Sy and they know you are running from something. They are not going to report you if you don't want them to."
Rad was right. I didn't believe it.
"Someone would figure out I was there at some point and that would put all of us in danger, not just Sy and me."
"What are your other options?" Rad asked.
There weren't a lot of them.
"I know I can home school Sy for a few years, but eventually he'll need a formal education."
"Not necessarily," Rad stated. "Home schooling has come a long ways in the last few years. With the internet, you could actually home school all the way to college."
"Sy would still have to be registered."
"You can use the ID I gave you."
I gasped as I sat up straighter. I hadn't considered that. If I used the fake ID Rad had given me, I could register Sy and home school him. That way, he wouldn't need to be in a human school.
I still needed a place to settle down.