3. Lumi
Chapter 3
Lumi
“ F inally, a motel. Stop here. We need to sleep tonight,” Kael says. We’ve been driving all night and all day after not being able to find a hotel the night before.
A yawn overtakes my entire body as I blink through my dry eyes, trying desperately to moisturize them. I don’t want to stop. I need to find the Moonlight wolves as soon as possible. It’s the only way to save my father and the rest of our pack.
That is, if they aren’t already dead, that brutal voice in my head says.
They’re not dead. I would feel something if they were, wouldn’t I?
Still, Kael is probably right, so I pull off the highway and up to the single-story lodge just off the road.
“Wait here; I’ll see if they have any rooms.” Kael jumps out before I respond.
Tapping my finger against the leather of the steering wheel, I watch him run inside. The lodge has maybe a dozen rooms and is the only building we’ve seen in hours. If there aren’t any rooms available, I don’t know how much longer we will have to drive until we find another place to stay.
Kael jogs back to the Jeep. “One room left.”
“Thank gods.”
We grab our bags and head into the lobby. The second I step into the lodge, my nose is assaulted by stale cigarette smoke and a damp, musky scent.
“Maybe the car would be a better place to sleep,” I mumble to Kael.
He shakes his head. “I know this place isn’t great.” He walks two doors down the hallway and then stops in front of a moldy door. After three failed swipes of the room key, the door finally unlocks, and Kael opens the door. He holds the door open with his duffle bag over his shoulder. “But this place has a bed and bathroom. It’s better than sleeping in the car.”
I step inside and see the single bed in the corner, a damp spot on the floor, and a stench coming from the bathroom that smells like something died in there. It’s obvious this place has barely been cleaned, if it has ever been cleaned at all.
With a raised brow, I say, “I’m not sure I agree.”
Kael sighs. “We really can’t get any luck, can we?”
“We are the cause of a curse that stretched across all the wolf shifter packs. We are the definition of bad luck.”
He smiles as I drop my bags on the floor and then fall onto the bed. One of the springs in the bed snaps, and the bed lurches.
I jump up as Kael laughs at me. The sound is rich and hearty, the likes of which I haven’t heard since before my father ordered us to leave.
I hit him playfully on the shoulder, but the sound of his laughter warms my heart. “Don’t laugh at me.”
“Maybe we can put the mattress on the floor. Then, if it breaks, we won’t have far to fall.”
“Do you think we’ll both fit on it?”
Kael’s pupils dilate in an intense and piercing blackness, and I think for a second I see the flicker of lust I saw when we were kissing in the woods.
But that can’t be. He doesn’t like me. He doesn’t want me. We aren’t mates. We’re just friends.
He yawns. It’s contagious, and I yawn again.
“Do you want to shower first or just go to bed?” he asks with another yawn.
I stifle my own yawn as I say, “Bed. I don’t think I can keep my eyes open for another second.”
Kael grabs the mattress and slides it off the creaky bed frame and onto the floor. I still don’t see how we are both going to fit, but Kael kicks off his shoes and jeans until he’s standing in his boxers and a dark gray t-shirt. The dressing from his wound is thick enough to see under his shirt.
“Undress,” he says.
I raise an eyebrow and grip my midsection with a blush.
He lets out a boisterous laugh as he yanks off his shirt and then climbs under the covers. “I just meant take your shoes and jeans off.”
I kick my shoes off easily enough. But I’m only wearing a thong, so I’m not sure I want to take my jeans off.
“Really? You were willing to kiss me and let me have sex with you in the woods if the bond shone between us, but you aren’t willing to take your jeans off so we can sleep.”
“Close your eyes.”
He rolls his hazel eyes before snapping them shut.
I yank my jeans down and then hurry to the spot on the mattress next to Kael, my heart racing as I slide under the covers.
“Okay.”
Kael opens his eyes with a soft grin. “Come here.” He holds his arm out, and I slowly lower my head onto his shoulder.
“See? I’m not going to bite.”
“Doesn’t it feel strange, though?”
With a rough exhale, he stares down at a spot on the comforter like it’s the most interesting thing. His shaggy brown tendrils fall into his eyes. “Yes. I should have told you earlier, but you were so convinced that we were mates, that we’d discover a bond between us. I couldn’t deny you that chance. But I only think of you as my annoying little sister.”
His hazel eyes finally look at me in the protective way they always do. I can’t be mad at him. He loves me—he’s just not in love with me.
Maybe it’s because we grew up together as the only two young members of our pack. Maybe it’s because even if we were mates, we’d never feel anything until the curse is lifted.
I let my eyes drag down his bare chest and bandage, then over the taught skin of his thick muscles before his narrow waist disappears beneath the covers. I’ve imagined his muscles contracting over me countless times. I’ve imagined how his tongue would taste against mine and how his hard length would feel pushed between my legs.
But after that kiss, after feeling him, it felt wrong—so fucking wrong. It must have just been a silly crush. Now that I’m here in this bed next to him and he’s shared his feelings, I’m beginning to see him as what he’s always been—my protective older brother.
“Thank you for telling me. I feel the same.”
He grins, and his eyes light up with relief. “Good. Now, let’s sleep. We can discuss our next move in the morning.”
“You mean you’re not going to argue with me about finding the Moonlight wolves?”
He narrows his eyes. “No. Why would I when I plan on coming with you?”
A soft smile spreads across my face, and the uneasiness in my belly disappears instantly. I would have searched for the pack on my own, but having my best and only friend with me gives me more courage to face whatever dangers we will encounter.