trying to fix our rental right now.”
“Very good thing, but they can break in. Those old human legends about doors and crosses aren’t true.”
“I don’t have all the answers,” I snapped. “I’m trying.”
“No, you this much remembering is great. It gives us something to work with, at least. If anything, we stay in these forms and hold out. If one attacks, we’re able to fight.” I watched him sigh, looking around the room we were in. “You know, if it is a vampire or a few of them, that means those humans, or at least one of them, is helping them.”
“Yeah…because they’re the only answer we have when it comes to who cut the fuel line on the ATV.” I figured that much. There was no other option if there were vampires roaming the night on these mountains. “Which one do you think it is?”
“You know.”
“Haley.”
His big wolf head nodded.
I laid down, and he walked closer.
“Get some sleep,” he ordered in that Alpha way he tried on me sometimes.
“Bite me.”
Gentle teeth nipped my shoulder, and I growled.
“You asked. Get some sleep, Jacky. I’ll keep watch.”
I yawned and tried to sleep, hoping we were wrong. Vampires were out of my depth, and these were smart enough to catch two, maybe three, older and stronger werecats off their guard. I almost didn’t want to go to sleep. If Gaia and Titan couldn’t protect themselves, if Jabari went missing, and four werewolves vanished into thin air, what chance did Heath and I have?
Too bad my own exhaustion caught up with me, and the rain starting up was like a lullaby. Sleep hit quickly.
18
Chapter Eighteen
I woke up to the sound of a branch snap. I wasn’t normally a light sleeper, but it seemed so loud, my eyes flew open, staring into the darkness I could see perfectly well in. Heath sat patiently on the couch, his head up, watching me. When he tilted his head, I knew he realized I was awake.
“Did you hear that?” I asked softly.
“No. I’ve only heard the rain. It’s too quiet out there.”
“A branch snapped,” I explained, standing up to stretch out. If I were human at the time, I would have winced at the creak from the floor. It was even louder than the branch, and Heath was right. The rain was the only sound from outside, way too quiet for a world that should have felt alive. I didn’t take a step, standing perfectly still as I listened to the world outside. When I heard nothing else except the soft rain, I laid back down.
“I hate this.”
“I do, too, but do you really want to roam the woods at night trying to get back to a possibly broken car?”
“No. That sounds like the stupid shit a human would do in a horror movie.” He huffed, which could have meant anything—exasperation, laughter, or just play annoyance. He could have been agreeing for all I knew.
“Want to sit quietly and play more questions?”
“Do you have any more questions?” The wolf practically knew my life story. I mean, not really, but there wasn’t anything that came to mind he could go after that might matter to him.
“I’ve thought of a few while you’ve been asleep. Did you know that you have a somewhat naïve sense of morality?”
“I guess.” I gave my best feline shrug. “I know the world isn’t black and white, but…I think doing the right thing is more important than doing the proper thing. It doesn’t matter if it gets me hurt or killed. I’ll go down, knowing I tried, and maybe someone else out there is happier for it.”
“Was that how you approached being an EMT?”
“No. As an EMT, I had strict rules I had to follow, and I did because screwing up in those situations could kill someone who needed my help. No, my attitude got me in more trouble in high school and college.” I snorted as I remembered some of the downright dumb things I did with the idea I was helping other people because they needed me, and I could be there for them.
“What got you in the most trouble?”
I grumbled. “Getting kicked out of college. I caught some mother fucker doing a procedure completely wrong on a real fucking patient. I took everything away from him, called him out, and started to do the procedure myself. We both got kicked out. He tried to shove me away to let him finish the way he wanted to do it. I punched him, and