Chapter 9 Roland
ROLAND
We needed to get out of this town, and we needed to do it fast.
It hadn’t clicked for me that the phone could be tracked, and now that the possibility was staring me in the face, I knew that we were lucky not to have been found already. Someone in the herd would mention it to my father to get his favor and he’d act on it.
My father had too much on the line with the mating to ignore my departure. And mating aside, he refused to lose face… ever. He’d make an example of me, and my mate would be sucked into that, or worse, once he was discovered to be rogue.
Bryden was looking better, a lot better, but still not great. We could hitchhike again, but standing out there waiting for someone to both stop and agree to take us wasn’t much better than staying exactly where we were.
I went back to the library’s front desk and asked if there were any trains or buses. The train didn’t run through here, the closest station was an hour away, but he gave me a bus schedule. For the middle of seemingly nowhere, there were quite a few options.
The station was close, and the tickets were cheap.
If there had been a place I could safely attempt to shift and heal him again, I would’ve, but there wasn’t. Pretty soon, my healing powers wouldn’t be effective at all for him, not that I was sure I could do much in my current state. I hated feeling helpless.
Bryden agreed with me about the bus, and after grabbing some gas station egg sandwiches, we walked the mile and a half to the station.
“This is intense,” I said, and my mate took my hand.
The bus station smelled like everything, and by everything, I meant everything.
There were people, some shifters, thankfully, no bears or horses that I could discern.
There was body odor, animal droppings, human waste, chemicals, food from many cuisines, grease, smoke—all of it slamming into me all at once.
There were too many people.
Too many scents.
I hated it, and had we not needed to be there, I’d have retreated. My mate, holding my hand, gave me the grounding I needed.
I went to the window and got our tickets to the city, paying with cash, grateful that the ticket machine was down because I didn’t have a card to use.
We stuck together and kept our heads down, watching everyone who got on the bus, making sure we weren’t getting trapped with the exact people we were trying to avoid.
We didn’t speak, just took it all in. If they showed up here after we left, they’d lose us. The bus was going so many places and stopping so often that they wouldn’t be able to figure out where we landed, not easily anyway. It would break the scent trail, and they’d have to find a new lead.
Despite that, the plan wasn’t perfect. We lived in an era where everything was being recorded at the bus stations and on the bus. And while it wasn’t public access, there were people who’d be able to get to the tapes, and my father did have a ton of connections.
Another concern were other shifters who might get on or off.
So far, the people boarding were all human, but that could and probably would change as our journey continued.
Just as the bus driver called his thirty-second warning, we got on and grabbed a seat about halfway down the bus, two of the few remaining left.
We stayed on the bus through multiple stops, not getting off, just watching and waiting.
The scents were just as bad on the bus as in the station, as the air wasn’t circulating enough.
The bathroom on board was filled with more chemicals than I was used to as someone who regularly cleaned up the herdlands.
Finally, we arrived at the city, our immediate destination.
We got off, and the noise hit me first, followed by the scents. I was not a city animal.
“What do you think? Should we find a hotel?” Bryden asked.
I thought about it, but the only places in a city that would accept cash were seedier than we could handle. It was best to head toward our end game than to stay put.
“I say we get out of here.”
“Yeah, me too.” He didn’t hesitate to agree.
We took one of the local buses to the end of the line and got off at a gas station.
I looked for out-of-state plates, ones that might be heading where we were going.
There were a couple of college kids who looked like they were heading back from school, both of them wearing pajamas and complaining loudly about some big test and needing their moms to do their laundry.
“Let’s ask them,” Bryden said, and I agreed. They were safer than other options. Probably.
“Hey, are you guys heading back from school?”
They looked at each other and then looked at us.
“No, nothing sketch,” I tried to assure them. “Our car was impounded, and we need to get back home. I thought maybe we could give you some gas money and we could join you.”
“Brah, did you leave it out overnight on the wrong side of the road?” the one in blue said.
“Worse. I was too close to a fire hydrant.”
“Damn. You’re not getting that back for under a grand here.” He looked to his buddy who gave him a small nod. We were so close to being accepted… at least that was the direction it felt like it was heading.
“Really? Crap.” I tried to reflect their vibe, and it must’ve worked.
“Really. Come with us. Where’s your final destination?” he asked.
“Not too far from Stoney River. You know where that is?” Bryden said.
“We aren’t going that far, but we’ll get you as far as we can. And what you call gas money, we call beer money, so we’re happy to have you.”
The two of them talked nonstop to each other, almost forgetting we were there, which was perfect because I wasn’t ready to keep up the lies or make small talk.
They left us at a crossroads where they were turning off to their own town.
It was basically the middle of nowhere, but I didn’t complain.
There were plenty of trees to take shelter under, and we were closer to where we needed to be, but Bryden wasn’t doing well.
I found he had a cycle of feeling better when he woke, and then looking horrible once he overdid it.
“Hey, let’s get you someplace to rest.” Instead of hitchhiking again, I led us into the woods and tried to stay parallel to the road.
At this time of night, we’d be more likely to get hit than we would to be picked up.
If I could find some place with enough brush or maybe another cave, we could sleep there for the night.
But I found something better, what looked to be an old hunting cabin, and the closer we got, the more confident I was that it was abandoned.
“Let’s stay here for the night.” Bryden nodded, nothing more. He was dead on his feet. The journey today had been too much for him. We walked up the steps, the porch groaning.
Inside, it was dusty, with no scent of anyone being there recently, except for a mouse. It was safe enough for now. I sat him on the couch. It was musty and gross, but it was in a safe place and would have to do.
I took out more antibiotics and gave him double what I normally did. He took them, and I checked his wound. I tried to pull my unicorn forward, but he’d fallen way back. The scents had overwhelmed him to the point of retreat. He wouldn’t be able to heal him now, not like this.
My mate fell asleep, and I found an old broom and swept up. When he woke, he was doing so much better.
“Hey, you look good.” Better was a closer description, but he needed the reassurance.
“Yeah, I feel good. Maybe I needed that extra dosing.”
“I think we can stay here for a few days, get you fully healed if we need to.” As I said it, the words tasted bitter. I’d reassess the plan later. For now, he needed rest.
“Okay, that sounds good. I’m not sure how far Stoney River is from here. Going into the city added extra miles and time, so I’m not exactly sure how far we’ve come.”
“We’ll get there.”
“Yeah, I think so too.”
We had some granola bars and climbed onto the bed. There were some sheets in a tote that were not fresh but not mildewy smelling, and I had put them on. Something was better than nothing. Then we fell asleep, Bryden leaning against my shoulder.
When I woke up, his hand was on my chest underneath my shirt and his lips were on my cheek. It startled me, and I pulled back a little too quickly. A look of rejection crossed his face. Suck.
“Sorry,” I said. I was startled is all.
“No, I’m sorry. I just... I woke up and I thought I was dreaming, and if I was dreaming, might as well…” He looked down between us, and I followed his gaze. He was rock solid.
“You were having a dream about me?” I teased.
“Yeah,” he said, giving me a quick kiss, no sign of embarrassment.
“You need to conserve your energy,” I reminded him.
“I know, I’m sorry.”
“I said you need to conserve your energy, not that I did.” I worked the button on his jeans and pulled his pants down until his cock was released. “Is this what you were dreaming about?”
He swallowed.
“I can’t hear you. Is this what you were dreaming about?”
“No,” he whispered. “This is better.”
“I thought so.” He was in no condition to be having sex or even making out with me, but that didn’t mean he didn’t need some release, and I was happy to give it to him. “Well, then I’m gonna have a little snack then.”
I licked my lips. His head fell back, his eyes closed, and I slowly lowered myself, pulling him into my mouth.
I worked quickly—sucking, licking, nibbling, bobbing my head up and down, not wanting him to move too forcefully and not wanting him to squirm for too long.
I just wanted to give him this release that his body called for in his sleep.
I took him in deeply, all the way until I hit the back of my throat, and then I swallowed. He placed his hand on the back of my head, encouraging me. I intensified my pace, his balls hitting my chin.
Three more swallows later and his cum hit the back of my throat. I swallowed it all down, licking him clean before drawing away. I pulled up and buttoned his pants and settled next to him with a kiss on his cheek.
“Think you can sleep better now?” I teased.
“I think you just about killed me.”
“Please don’t say that. I’m doing everything I can to keep you alive.” I was dead serious. Talk about being a mood killer.
“I know, omega. And don’t worry, you’ll get your reward.”
Omega. For the first time in my life, I liked the sound of that.
We woke to the early morning light, Bryden looking better than he had yet. Still not great, but I’d take every step closer as a victory.
“Do you think you’re ready to keep going? Or should we stay another day?”
“I want to get there.”
“Same.” Because until we found people on our side, we were never going to be safe. Even then, it was only 50/50.