Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Plus, after her little 'chat' with Kellen's wolf, she felt energized, as if she could take on the world.
His wolf had heard her loud and clear, but she had no idea if the wolf shadow took her threat seriously.
At least it knew how she felt and that fighting could wind up hurting Kellen more than her.
She had no life so long as Josiah had a bounty on her.
Walking away from Kellen would tear her apart, but that feeling would pass before she died sometime in the next four or five decades if she was careful.
Kellen's wolf would have to live with Kellen's disappointment until the day he died, which could be centuries. If he honestly cared about her.
That was a question for later, though. For now, they needed to focus on getting ready for the evening.
After twenty-two hours of driving, Leo checked them into a no-tell motel on the far edge of the Riverstone border using fake IDs and cash.
The Riverstone Pack's compound was still a twenty minute drive northwest, but Leo said this was a better location to keep the van.
When he returned with the room keys, they deliberately parked on the other side of the parking lot in front of different room doors.
If somehow Josiah did find them and tracked the van, keeping the van away from their actual rooms would give them a head start to shift and run, or fight if necessary.
The Winterbourne Brotherhood took no chances with safety. "Um, there's only two rooms?" she asked.
"Don't worry." Kellen opened the back doors to the van. "I'm bunking down with those two. You get a room to yourself."
She did her best to keep her expression neutral so the disappointment she felt deep down wouldn’t show.
Leo pulled a wad of dollar bills out of his wallet. "There's nothing around here for food except a couple of vending machines. What do you guys want with your coffee?"
"Chips," Stephen said, pulling a couple of backpacks out of the van.
Kellen raised his head from where he was digging more sandwiches out of the cooler. "Cookies."
Huh. Kellen liked vending machine cookies. She tucked that information away for later. Then she realized Leo was waiting for her answer. "Anything chocolate."
He nodded and disappeared around the corner.
"He better not spill the coffee," Kellen muttered, balancing the sandwiches in his arms before knocking the cooler's lid closed with his hip.
"Can I help?" she asked, holding out her arms to grab a sandwich or two.
Instead of giving her any of the food, he nodded toward another backpack. "That one is yours. Bring it into your room. There's more clothing, but also a few extra things you'll need."
Samara grabbed the extra-large, and very heavy, army backpack and slipped the straps over her shoulders and set out for the rooms. Once inside her room she dropped it on the bed with a thud.
The bed springs squeaked in protest. She could already tell this was going to be a noisy night, and not in a fun way.
That thought presented an opportunity to get a one-up on Kellen's wolf.
A second later Kellen entered the room with a box of bullets. "We're going to hike to Riverstone, and I want us to be ready for anything."
He dropped the box on the other bed. Before she could say anything about that, Stephen opened the door and tossed Kellen a first-aid kit. "You'll want to remove the stitches before we knock off for the night."
Then he was gone with the door shut tight and the slink-chick of the lock sliding into place. This left Kellen with a face that looked like he'd just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Stephen's implication as to what Kellen should be doing couldn't have been clearer.
Well, well. It appeared that Stephen and Leo were giving her and Kellen space to figure out where they would go from here.
Good. She'd already decided that she liked them, but this nudged them higher on her list of people she respected.
They certainly weren't worried about what their wolves thought of the situation.
"Why don't you lay down on the other bed while I go wash my hands," Kellen said, not looking at her.
Even though it wasn’t necessary, Samara slipped off the sweatshirt she'd put on earlier, so she hadn’t boiled the boys by turning up the heater in the van.
Underneath was a brand new army green tank top Kellen had given her before they had left, just tight enough to keep things interesting.
If nothing else, it gave Kellen plenty of room to examine her stitches before removing them.
Chills slithered across her skin. She convinced herself that was because the weather was colder up here near the Canadian border.
Kellen returned and slipped two surgical gloves over his hands.
Then he gestured for her to lie down. She did as instructed and turned her head to the side so he could have a clear view of her neck.
The feathery touch of his fingers tickled a bit, forcing her to swallow hard and ignore the heat building from inside.
The heat died a hard death when the cold touch of alcohol hit her skin, the scent powerful enough to make her scrunch her nose in distaste.
She waited while he rubbed the wet gauze over her wound.
More than anything she wished she could watch what he was doing, but she forced herself to remain still. She felt the sharp tip of the scissors clip the stitches and the tweezers pull them free. There was no pain, though. When he was done, Kellen placed a band-aid on the area.
"Keep the band aid on for the next twenty-four hours and don't wash the area. There will be a small scar, but that should fade soon." She remained on the bed as he put the first aid kit back together. After he finished, he stood. "I'll be next door if you need anything."
"Stay with me." It sounded more like a command than a request, so she tried again. "I don't care how much you love your brothers. You belong here. You want me, and I want you. My attraction to you is powerful. You feel the same. I can see it in your eyes every time you look away from me."
"I can't."
She sat up, but that only put her face in line with his fly, so to avoid temptation again, she stood. "Is it because of your mother?"
He stepped back, all color draining from his face.
"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about. I recognized the face in the picture on the wall. Your mother is part of the Riverstone Pack and there is a good chance I might have killed her when I escaped."
Kellen turned away, taking the first aid kit with him.
"Answer me. Please." She'd added the please so it wouldn't quite sound as if she were barking orders at him.
He turned back to her and tossed the first aid kit on the bed with her backpack.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets, his head hung low.
"My mother made her choice. After the three of us decided to walk away from pack life, I took a few days to travel back here to talk to her. I managed to get her alone, near one of the barns. I offered her everything...my love, her freedom, a real home. None of it mattered.” He let out a little growl that would have sounded sexy if it weren’t for the situation.
As he spoke, Kellen's whole face changed.
He looked nothing like the man who'd watched over her.
When he took a long pause, she almost reached out to him. But the breath that shuddered from his chest stopped her.
He went on. “There was nothing in her eyes that had any care or concern for me anymore.
Josiah had managed to bring her into his devoted cult, even though she got nothing out of it.
I didn't understand then, and I still don't understand now.
If she truly is dead then...yes, it hurts and it will always hurt because I want to remember the woman who raised me with my father before he died.
The woman who chose a self-centered narcissistic alpha asshole over her own kin, her child.
..that woman is not my mother and I need to accept that. "
All of his warmth, kindness and quiet strength now carried the weight of exhaustion, something she could relate to.
Deep lines carved into his forehead and his eyes were dull with grief.
His jaw clenched as if restraining words he didn't want her to hear, private words that a man would never share except with those who he trusted, and maybe not even then.
He acted as if he’d lost her and didn't believe he'd ever get her back. The harshness of it, the unfairness, hit Samara in the gut. Her parents had raised her with love. Her grandfather tried his best to love her in the only way he knew—by teaching her how to protect herself.
She couldn't stand the look of devastation she saw in Kellen.
Standing on her tiptoes, she pulled him down so she could kiss him.
This kiss had nothing to do with desire, but everything to do with comfort.
She wanted nothing more than to banish the sadness of his past and bring him back to the present.
Yes, he had his brotherhood, and they were perfectly happy with each other's company, but there was a love beyond brotherhood that he clearly needed—and wanted.
He'd fallen in love and committed himself to those other women until their deaths. That meant he could fall in love again.
Only to lose you too? If your wolf is dead then you'll die long before he does. Is that what you want?
What she wanted was to stop his pain. Kellen was convinced her wolf still lived. And for the first time since she'd been turned, Samara thought about what she had to do to bring her wolf back from wherever her shadow had drifted off to.
She had no idea where to start, so she focused on Kellen instead, pouring herself into his emotions, letting him feel her give more than just body.
He got the message and pulled her into a fierce hug before releasing her to kiss her back.
Her body was lifted off the ground and molded to his perfectly.
They kissed until they were breathless. Gasping, she slid back to the bed and pulled him down on top of her when she lay back.
Not even the squeak of the springs, the lumps of the mattress, or the scratchiness of the blanket, could distract her from Kellen's weight pressing against her as he kept his mouth sealed to hers.
Breaking the kiss, Kellen stared at her with a heated gaze as she caught her breath. He rolled to the side and pulled off his shirt and jeans. She did as well but had to waste time unclipping her knife and slipping off her bra.
They gravitated back together. Every nerve in her body came alive under his touch, and she let her hands roam over the uneven hills and valleys of his muscled back.
Odd, that he had only a fine dusting of dark hair over his tan chest, given he could grow fur so thick water would roll off his wolf instead of soaking him.
She couldn't hold back her moan when he reached down, parted her legs, and touched her in her most sensitive place.
Oh, heavens.
All her fear, anger, and resentment over what the Riverstone Pack had done had overwhelmed any other need she might have had.
But in only moments, Kellen had melted all that away.
The friction he created arched her back as she pressed into him, wanting to get closer.
She closed her eyes, letting him take her away from the dank motel and drift on the brisk waves of desire.
He kept her there, his finger starting and stopping in a precise rhythm, keeping her on the edge for so long she thought she might die of wanting him inside her. Then his finger disappeared.
Okay, you rat. Two can play at that game.
Instead of letting him plunge inside her, she shimmied down his body to take him in her mouth, running her tongue along the underside, stroking his tip, giving as good as she almost got, then taking it away just like he had.
Oh, the look on his face. His sadness disappeared completely with only ecstasy remaining, his eyes closed.
She continued teasing him until he hauled her back up his body and plunged his finger back where it belonged. At this rate she wouldn't last much longer. It must have been obvious because he pulled away again, positioned himself between her knees, then entered her with a fierce thrust.
It still didn't touch her core and allow her to finish what he’d started. She pushed her heels down and raised her hips, giving him greater access. Now he touched her where she needed him. Together they rocked in rhythm together until they spilled over, both crying out at the same time.
He pulled her close and held her in a tight embrace. She curled into it, snug against his chest. It took time for their breathing to return to normal, for her to remember where they were and what brought them to this point.
"Are you okay with this?" she whispered in his ear, not ready to let him go.
He pulled out of her and rolled to the side. His hand pushed back her hair that had tangled and spilled down her face and over her breasts.
"I almost can't even see you under there."
She smiled. He was okay now. If there was anything she could do to keep all his pain away she would do it. That smile was worth everything.
"I must look like a mess."
"That would apply to both of us."
They just stared at each other for a moment, not saying anything. "We should wash up and eat dinner," he said.
"Oh my God."
"What?"
"Leo. The snacks. The coffee." Another horrible thought intruded. "Do you think they heard us?"
Kellen tilted his head as if listening for something.
"I don't hear the TV next door, so they probably ate then went out for a run in the woods.
That's usually what we do after dinner. Don't worry and don't get embarrassed.
I'll shower first, then get our coffee next door. I'll warm it up while you shower."
"Okay. What about after that?" Might as well find out now if this meant more to him than just a roll in the hay.
He shrugged. "We can sleep in the other bed, so we'll have clean sheets."
Knowing he at least wanted to spend the night with her heartened her and gave her all the gooey feelings that she only thought existed in novels or movies.
It was all she could do not to smile like a fool.
She waited until he'd closed the door to the shower to sweep her clothes and her knife off the floor.
The knife reminded her that this was just a reprieve from the danger they were about to walk into.
She'd worry about that tomorrow. Tonight, all she wanted to think about was herself with Kellen in bed wrapped in happiness.