Declining to take the phone, I watched him as I gathered my things and put my hoodie back on.  In the distance, I heard the rumble of a car starting up.  Slowly, I turned away from him and climbed back up to the road.  I reached the top.  He didn’t stop me.  I didn’t look back but remained focused forward.

Gravel crunched underfoot as I walked back into town.  His steps echoed quietly behind me.  I hoped it was well behind me.  The car turned onto our road.  I didn’t change my step, my breathing, nothing.  No physical signs to give me away.  The car increased its speed.

At the last moment, I stepped into the road waving the car down.  My pulse jumped and my hands shook.  Kill me or stop.  Please stop.  I didn’t want to die; I just wanted a ride. A fast getaway.  It was a risk not just for me, but also for the driver of the car if Luke reached the car before I got in.

The two guys in the car didn’t hesitate.  The car pulled to the side, and I quickly slid into the backseat slamming the door closed with a breathless, “Thanks.”

The car didn’t move.  I glanced at the driver, but he wasn’t focused on me.  I followed his gaze and met Luke’s eyes through the window.  My stomach plunged to my toes.  He stood on the shoulder of the road, less than a step away, looking down at the car—at me—through the glass.  Though his stance was relaxed, he didn’t look very happy.  I fought not to give into complete panic as his eyes narrowed on the boys in the front seat.  Luke looked back at me, studied me for a moment, and arched a brow.

“Is your friend getting in, too?” the driver asked.

I held Luke’s gaze and shook my head.  Luke’s lips twitched again as if he fought not to smile.

“A’right.”  The kid put the car in drive and slowly pulled away.

I kept my eyes on Luke.  I’d seen his kind do incredible things and didn’t trust him for a moment.  From the front, the driver asked where I was headed.

“Doesn’t matter.  Next town if you’re going that far.”

Luke faded into the distance along with his last censoring gaze.

*    *    *    *

Though I firmly believed there was nothing worse than facing a werewolf, the two boys in the front seat tested me.  They suggestively asked about compensation for the ride they provided.  Then, when I feigned ignorance of their innuendos, they flat out asked for head.

“Pull over,” I said through clenched teeth.

“Oh, come on,” the driver said with a laugh.  “We’re just messing with you.”

The warmth of the car and the soft vibrations weren’t enough to keep me lucid, so I rolled down the window.  With their current line of conversation, I couldn’t afford to fall asleep.

“I’ve been messed with enough.  Just get me to the next town or as far as you can take me.”

The conversation silenced for almost a minute, and I let out a slow breath.  As if it were a signal, the passenger turned in his seat to watch me.

“So do you have a boyfriend?”

Are you freaking kidding me?  I’m on the run from sadistic beasts that actually wear fur and run on all fours, and he wanted to know if I had a boyfriend?

“No.”  I met his gaze.  After a few long moments, his smile faded, and he turned forward once more.

The respite from their inane conversation gave me a moment to consider my meeting with Luke.  He was the first one ever to offer his name.  Sure, I’d learned a few names over my lifetimes but always by listening to the conversation flowing around me.  Not only had he offered his name, but he’d also let me go.  I had no illusions.  He could have stopped me easily by reaching through the glass and pulling me out forcibly.  Why hadn’t he?

“Can you roll that window up?” The driver reached over and turned up the heat.

I needed the ride.  Though it wasn’t a good idea, I rolled up the window.  Within a minute, the temperature in the car jumped from cool to goodnight.  My eyes blinked closed.  In my dreams, I could no longer separate my past self from my present self.  It was just me...

Several of them gathered where I lay broken at the bottom of a ravine.  I’d tried jumping over the gap and misjudged the distance. For once, I had not purposely flung myself over the edge of something.  My right leg throbbed painfully; and when I tried touching it, my fingers came away wet before I even got to the spot that really hurt.  I shook all over.  Definitely shock.

Lying on my back, looking up at the overcast sky and the scrub-dotted crumbling edge of the ravine, their faces danced in and out of my line of sight as each of them inspected me.  Finally, the leader came close.

“We remember through stories passed down from each generation which of you is most likely to fight or run.  Which has succumbed in the past.  Who is born first.  Who dies too easily.  We remember.”  He reached down and smoothed back a hank of hair that covered part of my face.  “You, my wise little girl, have given us plenty of trouble because you remember, too.  Let us create some new memories, shall we?”

Their hands tugged at my clothes and grasped my arms.  Hurt and bleeding, I fought them as they...

...lifted me.

“Never again,” a voice said near my head.  “She’s crazy!”

A hand fumbled for hold on my flailing arm.  I stopped fighting and pried my eyes open.  The driver had my legs while the passenger struggled with my feet.

“I’m awake,” I said.  “Stop!”

The driver dropped me when I met his shocked gaze.  The passenger was slower to catch on, and I had to yank my arms from his hold.  They both stared at me for a second while I quickly looked around.  We were still on a straight stretch of country road.  I couldn’t have slept more than fifteen minutes.  We hadn’t put enough distance between us and that thing, Luke.

“I have bad dreams,” I said as I brought my gaze back to the driver.  “Night terrors.  The car got too warm, and I fell asleep.  It won’t happen again.  Please, I just need a ride to the next town.”

Chapter Four

The banter suggesting favors changed to worried, darting glances as the driver sped up.  I struggled to stay awake—despite my promise—as we drove another twenty minutes in silence.  With a sudden jerk of the steering wheel, the driver pulled over to drop me off near a department store.  The door had barely closed before the car pulled away.  I watched the car shrink in the distance.  They were idiots but idiots who may have saved my life.  I should be harder to track in a town this size.

Walking a short distance to a sub shop, I ordered food and sat down to plan my next move.  I hadn’t been eating much since running, so I wolfed the sub down in seconds.  People paused in their own eating and stared.  Focused on picking the pieces of lettuce off the paper, I stopped paying attention to everyone around me.  So, I jumped a little when someone slid into the booth and nudged another sub toward me.

Looking up, I froze with a piece of lettuce still pinched between my fingers.  My stomach flipped in a sickeningly pleasant way, and my heart gave an excited beat before I could suppress my reaction.

Luke sat across from me. His hair was windblown, and he had a thread of worry in his eyes.

“Did they take your money?” he asked with a slight growl.

I flicked my eyes around the small seating area.  No other men.  Well, a few men sat with their families, but they didn’t count.  He’d come alone again.

“What are you talking about?” I asked quietly, narrowing my eyes. This cat and mouse game made me edgy.  When would the others appear?

“The car pulled over halfway here, and you all stood on the side of the road.  Why?”  He paused and his jaw clenched briefly before he leaned forward slightly.  In a quiet, low voice he asked, “Did they hurt you?”