Chapter 2
CHAPTER 2
S adie walked out of the bathroom to see Lily peeking out the window between the slit in the curtain. “Lily, please stay away from the window.”
Sighing loudly, Lily dropped the curtain and then plopped on the bed in a dramatic fashion. “I am so sick of this hotel room. If I don’t let my wolf run soon, she is going to tear me apart.”
“From what I have learned over many years, I don’t think your wolf is capable of giving you a scratch, let alone tear you apart.” Sadie rolled her eyes, but in truth, she felt terrible. Since they’d been in Ridge, Kentucky, Lily hadn’t been out of this room. “Soon.”
“You said that three days ago.” Lily sat up cross-legged on the bed.
“I know.” Sadie was the one sighing this time. “I think I found the place we’ve been looking for. I need to make sure before I approach them. From what I could tell, they take in wolves. What I don’t know is if it’s Shifters or not.”
“Well, if you’d let me go, I could tell you,” Lily said, then frowned when Sadie shook her head. “I know. I know. It’s not worth the risk to either of us. Blah, blah, blah.”
“I’m not worried about me,” Sadie answered, sitting next to Lily. “You are the one he’s after. And don’t you blah, blah, blah, me.”
“I may be younger by a few months, but come on, Sadie. Mom and Dad taught you better than that.” Lily said with real fear in her voice. “A human never interferes in pack business, and you pretty much broke that rule then spit on it.”
“I don’t spit.” Sadie snorted, then added. “No one hurts my sister.” Sadie growled, then glanced at her flip phone, identical to her sisters'. After they ran, she tossed their phones and bought two burner phones so they couldn’t be traced in any way.
Lily glanced at her, then reached over, pulling her into a hug. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you.”
“Yeah, well, I’m sorry I was right,” Sadie whispered, meaning every word. Lily had thought she was in love with Colton Kelly. And maybe she had been until Colton showed his true colors by laying hands on her. To see her sister marked by the hands of a man and terrified was enough for Sadie to lose her shit.
“I just want to be loved, Sadie,” Lily whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. “I thought he loved me.”
“You are loved,” Sadie whispered back, brushing Lily’s hair away from her face. “More than you know.”
“By a man.” Lily’s eyes looked up to hers with such sadness Sadie wanted to find Colton Kelly and rip his balls off. The man played with her sister’s emotions, drawing her in only to break her heart.
“And that man is out there, Lily,” Sadie said instead of gagging like she wanted to. Men were a pain in the ass. Men were selfish assholes who thought only of themselves, especially Shifter men. Shifter life was harsh, especially with all their ways and man rules. Even as a human, she had learned that men were the dominant species and had seen it growing up with shifter parents. Though their father had loved their mother with a passion, she saw firsthand what a dominant relationship consisted of and that the man had the last word. Sadie was secretly happy she was human, not a shifter. She did, however, know that finding one’s mate as a Shifter, especially for a woman, was essential to their existence. “You just have to be patient.”
Lily nodded and shrugged. “I know; it's just...why can’t I be more like you, Sadie?”
Sadie snorted, shaking her head. “Hard-headed, loud, and a fat ass?” Sadie stood with a chuckle.
Lily choked out a laugh between the tears. “You always could twerk with the best of them.”
“You little shit.” Sadie faked being offended and then grabbed her in another hug. “You are perfect, Lily. Never let anyone make you feel otherwise.”
Lily nodded, then pulled away. “I’m hungry.”
“We just ate.” Sadie looked down at her with a frown. “Where do you put all that food.”
“My wolf eats a lot.” Lily grinned, acting more like herself. “And she wants meat.”
Sadie stood, turning her back to Lily as she made her way across the small motel room toward her bag. The money was running low, but Sadie knew Lily had to eat a lot. Counting out the money, she turned to see Lily staring at her. “What?”
“Thank you,” Lily said, her beautiful brown eyes staring intently into hers. “I really thought he was my mate.”
“You are my sister; never thank me.” Sadie grabbed her thin rain jacket and slipped it on. She didn’t comment on the mate statement. She herself would have bet her last dollar that Colton was not Lily’s mate, and she would have won that bet. Not wanting to make Lily feel worse, she ignored it and then gave her a fake frown. “I guess you want a hamburger rare?”
“Yep, with two onion rings, a large Dr. Pepper, and something sweet.” Lily stretched as she stood.
“I would love to know what these people at the restaurant think of me ordering all these raw, bloody hamburgers.” Sadie headed for the door, making a gagging face.
“That maybe you’re a vampire.” Lily teased with a chuckle as she followed her to the door. “And you want to suck some blood.”
“You’re weird,” Sadie said as she gave a quick glance out the window before opening the door. “Lock it.”
“I will, and better to be weird than?—”
“Boring.” They said in unison.
Shutting the door, her eyes scanned the parking lot as her good humor and smile faded into nervous energy. She knew Colton was searching for them. The whole pack was searching for them. They hadn’t run far enough to feel at ease. The last text he had sent before she had tossed their phones was that he would never give up hunting them down, and he would find them. Swallowing hard, she pushed that thought from her mind, hoping she had found the place that could help them, help Lily.
Thankfully, the motel they were staying at had a small restaurant that shared the same parking lot. Heading that way, she flipped her raincoat hood up, keeping dry from the misty rain that was falling as well as shielding her identity the best she could. Sadie kept her head down but her eyes up as she scanned the area for danger. She only felt somewhat safe at night under the cover of darkness, which is when she did most of her investigation into finding a safe place for her sister.
A car sped into the parking lot freezing Sadie to the spot. Her heart stopped, as did her breathing. She prepared herself to run—run where she didn’t know, but it definitely would not be back to the motel where her sister remained safe for now. The car swung into a parking space. A young couple got out laughing as they met behind the car, clasping hands, and then headed toward the restaurant.
The breath she held whooshed out of her mouth, making her feel lightheaded. Her heart didn’t just resume beating again but pounded inside her chest like a battering ram. With weak knees, she started to walk again, trying to get her breathing under control. She wondered suddenly if she would ever be the same again after this ordeal. She was terrified and paranoid, with a certain foresight that she would have PTSD after this.
She reached the door and slowly opened it, scanning the small crowd of customers with her eyes. Relief coursed through her as she did not see a familiar face. Walking to the counter, she kept her hood up as she sat down on one of the stools.
“You’re back.” The older waitress said with a friendly smile.
“I am.” Sadie managed to smile back, realizing how suspicious it was that she was getting all this food for herself. Thinking quickly, she blurted the only thing that came to her mind. “Eating for two is no joke.”
The woman’s eyes widened slightly as she lowered them, but Sadie knew she couldn’t tell whether she was or was not pregnant because of the counter and raincoat she was wearing.
“Congratulations.” She finally smiled and then looked around. “Why isn’t your man coming to get you food?”
She knew the waitress was prying without being totally obvious. Sadie understood, coming from a small town herself. Gossip was undoubtedly the most entertaining thing places like this could muster up. She was a stranger, alone and pregnant. So, without straight out asking if she was married, the waitress formed a question that would tell her what she wanted to know.
No one knew Lily was in the motel across the parking lot. They arrived four days ago in the very early hours before daybreak, and she hadn’t left the room, which Sadie felt guilty about. Sadie hated to lie to anyone, but to keep Lily safe, she would lie her ass off. If Colton or anyone from that pack came hunting for them there, they wouldn’t be looking for a lone pregnant woman waiting for her husband at a little rundown motel.
“My husband is meeting me here,” Sadie smiled, hoping her lying vibe was on point. “I’m visiting family; unfortunately, he got caught up at work. So I came without him, and once he gets here, we are off on a vacation before the baby arrives.” Man, she hoped that sounded logical.
“How nice.” The waitress finally said, still eyeing her, then a smile slid across her face. “So, where are you going on your vacation.”
“Darn it, Bess.” A man came out from the kitchen with a huge frown. “You don’t need to get everyone’s life story. Take the poor girl's order, and then get this food that’s been sitting in the window before it gets cold.”
Sadie had never wanted to kiss someone more than she did at that moment. The man, obviously the cook with his greasy apron, saved her from making up more lies. She just wanted to get the food and get back to Lily. The longer she was away from her sister, the more her nerves frayed.
“I’m just being friendly, Buck.” The woman rolled her eyes and then took out her small pad of paper and pencil.
“No, you’re being nosey,” he responded, pointing a spatula at her. “I pay you to take orders, not write customers' life stories.” He then looked at Sadie and gave her a wink before heading back to the kitchen.
“One of these days, I’m going to quit on him, and then where will he be?” Bess murmured under her breath. “Okay, what will it be today?”
Sadie tried to hide her grin, liking these two, and wondered if this was an everyday occurrence between them. She gave her the order, noticing Bess’s mouth turning into a huge frown.
“Honey, raw meat isn’t good for you, and I’m sure it isn’t good for that baby.” Bess stopped writing to stare at her.
Dammit, think fast, Sadie told herself. “Not raw. Just rare, and I’m having difficulty holding anything down.” She lied again, wondering if she was getting better at it. That thought made her a little sad. She didn’t want to be a liar. “This is the only thing that seems to stay down. Not to mention the crazy cravings I’m getting.”
Bess stared at her for another minute before grinning. “When I was pregnant with my Benny, I craved pickles dipped in chocolate pudding.” Bess chuckled at the grimace Sadie couldn’t hide. “Sounds disgusting, but it got me through. It’s all I wanted. My poor husband gagged every time and left the room. Don’t knock it till you try it. I got some pickles and pudding in the back.”
“I think I’ll stick to rare hamburgers,” Sadie replied, trying not to gag herself. “But thank you.”
“Don’t know what you’re missing.” She replied before walking toward the kitchen with her order. Letting out a breath, Sadie leaned back in her chair, letting her body slump in relief. Even something so simple as ordering a meal was turning out to be almost too much. She honestly didn’t know how much longer they would be able to run, and that terrified her.