His eyes narrowed. “I can take care of myself.”
“I know, but I—”
“I did the entire time you were gone. So don’t think you can tell me what to do. Not now. Not about this. Not when it comes to pack.”
“I think they’re about to fight,” Rico whispered into the phone. “I gotta go. Yes, I’ll call you back later. Jesus, woman, would you get off my—and she hung up on me. I deserved it.”
“It’s not about that,” I snapped, suddenly and unnecessarily angry. It was weirdly vicious, this need to impress upon him that he could break, that he could break so easily, and we wouldn’t be able to save him. If he got hurt, the bite wouldn’t work. Not with what Livingstone had done to him. “I’m just trying to keep you safe.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel until his knuckles were bloodless. “I don’t need you to keep me safe, Robbie. Everyone helps everyone else. That’s how a pack works. Just because I’m human doesn’t mean I’m going to stand on the sidelines.”
“He’s got a point,” Rico said, and I turned in my seat to glare at him. He held up his hands to placate me. It didn’t work. “Take it from one of the dwindling members of Team Human. We can hold our own. And I’ve trained your boy. He knows what he’s doing. Give us some credit, huh? We may be human, but we’re still part of this pack. We’ve made it this far.”
That didn’t help as much as he seemed to think it did. “There’s more to life than just surviving.”
Kelly looked grim. “Not for us. Not now. Maybe one day, but right now, survival is all we know.”
The motel on the outskirts of Green Creek looked better than I expected. It’d had a recent coat of paint, and the doors had electronic locks. The sign sitting above the motel promised FREE WI-FI AND SOME BAGELS.
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I recognized the man in the office as having been in the diner when I first escaped from the Bennett house. His eyes were wide as he walked toward the vehicles pulling up in the gravel lot.
“Is it happening again?” he asked as Ox climbed out of the truck. “Are we under attack? Let me go get my gun, and I’ll—”
“No, Will,” Ox said. “I want you to stay inside until we come back.”
The man—Will—frowned as he looked out at the rest of us. His gaze settled on me for a few seconds before he turned back to Ox. “You sure about that, Alpha? There’s strength in numbers. You said so yourself.”
I wondered what Ox had done to inspire such devotion, but I didn’t have to think too hard. I thought he’d done so by simply existing. This town held a great secret and kept it hidden away from the rest of the world, all while turning to the wolves and offering what amounted to their lives.
It only took me a moment to realize I was doing the same.
I watched as Ox settled his hands on Will’s shoulders. “I know. But we don’t know what’s happened. It might be nothing.”
“Or it might be more of those hunters,” Will said. “Or Omegas. Or some other manner of shape-shifters. Or vampires.”
“Christ,” Rico muttered. “I told you there’s no such thing as vampires. That’s ridiculous.”
Will rolled his eyes. “Says you. You belong to people who turn into wolves the size of horses, and you want to lecture me on what’s ridiculous?”
Rico opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Then, “I’ve never thought about it that way. Oh my god, what if there are vampires?” He yelped when Gordo smacked him upside the head. “Asshole.”
“Go back inside,” Ox told him. “Close the security gates. Don’t leave until you hear from one of us.”
Will nodded as he took a step back. “You call me if you need me. I may not be as young as I once was, but I know how to take care of things. I’ve got your back, Alpha. All of us do. Don’t forget that.”
He left Ox staring after him as he went back to the office. He locked the door behind him and then reached up to slide a metal grate over the door. He did the same to all the windows.
Kelly saw my nose twitching. “The motel rooms have the same safeguards. We made the changes after… well. Long story. Let’s just say Will knows firsthand what wolves can do. I’ll tell you about it later.”
Before I could respond, wolves came out of the tree line beyond the motel.
Mark was first, coming at a run, eyes violet, chest rising and falling rapidly. He skidded in front of Gordo, kicking up dust and gravel. He pressed his muzzle against Gordo’s chest, breathing him in.
Gordo put his hand between his ears. “We’re okay,” he said quietly.
Mark growled, lips pulling back.