Alpha Blood Box Set(78)

“I don’t think he’s going to stop,” Steve commented.

“Keep sticking out your thumb,” Rick growled.

I had to agree with Steve’s assessment, and stepped in with my two cents and four paws. “Step aside, boys, and I’ll show you how you catch a ride in wolf country.” I pushed between them, turned tail to the road, lifted my rear and lowered my front, and waved my tail like a flag flapping in the wind.

The driver stomped on the brakes and screeched to a halt ten yards down the road from us. The truck backed up and the driver shifted across the seat to stick his head out the passenger window. He was a middle-aged man with the eyes and scent of a wolf, and the look of a roughly hewn but pretty stone. “You guys need a lift?” he asked us.

“Yep,” I told him.

The driver’s eyes glanced over the boys. “I can only fit one person in the cab, but you two fellas are welcomed to the bed.”

The tables were turned. I hopped eagerly into the cab in my wolf form while the two guys were forced into the hay-covered, rusty-nail infested bed. The driver started the truck up and I bumped down the road with a padded seat beneath my worn posterior. I reverted back to my human form and gladly plopped the portable munitions factory on the seat between me and the driver.

“The name’s Wilson,” the man introduced himself.

“Becky,” I replied.

“So where you guys headed?” Wilson asked me.

“Oh, just east,” I told him.

“You coming from the west? I heard there was a lot of trouble that way a few days ago,” he commented.

I shrugged. “I haven’t heard of anything like that.”

“Really? It’s been on the news all the time. They’ve been interrupted my music every few minutes with the alert.”

“I don’t have a radio,” I pointed out.

“Here, lemme show you.” He turned on the radio and country music played for a few minutes before an announcer broke in.

“We interrupt this broadcast to bring you an emergency alert. Arthur Mullen, lord of the region of Scientia, was found murdered in his home yesterday. A single silver-bullet was found lodged in his head, and fingerprints were found on the weapon that belong to Luke Laughton, lord of Wildlands. Laughton is also suspected in the kidnapping of Lord Stevens of Manutia and is considered very dangerous. Do not approach him and immediately contact the authorities. The last sighting of him was in the southern portion of Manutia. He was traveling with two male humans and a female werewolf. If you have any information of their whereabouts, contact your local authorities immediately. Thank you.”

The country music returned, but I was too filled with elation to notice. If they were still looking for Luke that means they hadn’t caught him yet, and that means he might still be alive! A smile brightened my face until I heard the radio click off. I turned to the driver who looked at me with a grin on his lips.

“That seems to have brightened your spirits,” he commented.

I blushed and glanced away. “O-oh, it’s nothing. I was just-um, just thinking of someone,” I replied.

“Well, I guess we’ll see if the authorities catch them bandits, but if ya ask me I don’t think they done it.”

I turned to him and blinked. “You don’t?”

He shook his head. “Nope. Too much strange things have been going on lately, and what with that vote at Sanctuary a while back it makes one think something’s not quite right here.” He leaned toward me and winked. “You get what I mean?”

“I-I think so,” I hesitantly agreed.

He glanced between the road and me. “Ya know, if I happened to come across a few of that group I might think about helping them along to the border of Wildlands. You know, just to give them a sporting chance against Connor and his ilk.”

“Sir-”

“Wilson, if you please,” he corrected me.

“Um, Wilson, I think I’ll just be blunt and ask you if you’re serious about helping us get away from Lance-Connor,” I wondered.

His face broke out in a wide grin. “Never thought you’d ask, but yep. Actually, I’ve been looking for you fellas for half a day now, ever since the radio announcements turned on. It told us where we were going to find you, and Burnbaum sent a whole bunch of us out here to see if we could pick you up before Connor did.”

“Burnbaum?” I gasped.

“Yep, and the rest of us Green Party members. Didn’t think you were the only ones fighting this war, did ya?” he mused with a chuckle.

I shrugged. “I was kind of getting that impression.”

“Well, yer not, but I was expecting one more in yer group. What happened to Laughton?” he asked me.

My face fell and I turned away. “I-I’m not really sure. He stayed behind in the marsh woods to fight off some of the guys following us from the compound.”

“Well, by the radio I’d say they haven’t caught him yet, and they’re not going to catch you.” Wilson shifted the truck into a higher gear and the vehicle sped forward down the road. “I don’t like to see a woman crying, so I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll take you as far as the Wildlands border and search for your mate. How does that sound?”

“Really?” I asked him.

He smiled. “Really.”

“But why?”

“Because he’s the best asset we got. A good fighter and a lord, to boot. We can’t risk him falling into the clutches of that madman Connor, and I’ve sworn on my mom’s grave not to let that happen. ‘Course, my mom’s still alive, but it’s still an oath.”

I gave my best fangirl squeal and wrapped my arms around his neck. The truck veered across both lanes of the single-lane road and nearly careened into the ditch, but I didn’t care. “Thank you! Thank you!”

He laughed and pulled me off. “I haven’t found him yet, so don’t be thanking me.”

There was a knock behind us and I turned to see Rick’s angry face glaring at me. “Are you two trying to get us killed?” he growled.

I pulled open the window and smiled at him. Even his grumpiness couldn’t kill my good mood. “Wilson is part of the resistance and he’s going to take us to the border of Wildlands,” I told them.

Rick looked suspiciously at our driver. “If you were supposed to be looking for us why didn’t you stop when we were thumbing for a ride?”

“Well, there was only three of you when we were expecting four, and you were waving your hand so bad I thought you were a drunk, and nobody in their right mind would be drunk while on the run from Connor,” Wilson explained.

“Uh-huh, you got any proof to back up these claims?”

Wilson chuckled. “Well, I haven’t got any tattoos, but if you’ll look in that glove compartment you’ll find my credentials.”

I opened the glove compartment and smiled. Nestled amongst the worn leather gloves, dirty truck ownership papers, and dust was a clean slip of paper. On the paper was written the words “Find Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and present them with this paper for identification.”

I pulled out the paper with my hand and Rick read the short note over my shoulder. “What’s this mean?” he wondered.

“It’s the names Luke and I used when we signed in at Burnbaum’s inn,” I told him.

“That’s your proof?” Rick scoffed.

“Rick?” I asked him.

“Yeah?”

“Don’t make me eat you.”

“You wouldn’t-” I whipped my face to him and growled. His eyes widened and he backed away from the window. “Fine, fine, we’ll believe him,” he grudgingly agreed.

“We’ll be at the border in about eight hours, accounting for gas breaks and whatnot, so you may as well get some sleep,” Wilson advised us.

Rick slunk down against the cab and mumbled to Steve about our new and improved predicament. I nestled myself down on the seat cushions and dozed for most of the ride.





10





It was the first time in forever that I had a good sleep, and when Wilson stopped the truck I was a little disappointed. “We need to stop for gas,” he told me.

I raised my head and glanced around. We were in one of those small towns like the one with the old mother. “Are you sure it’s safe to be stopping anywhere?” Rick whispered through the cab window.

Wilson chuckled and opened his door. “I grew up around these parts and know most everybody who’s worth knowing in these towns from working as a mechanic. You won’t find a finer group of people.”

“Hey, Wilson!” shouted an elderly man on a bench outside the gas station convenience store.

Wilson leaned out the window and waved. “Hey, Tom, how’s the crops this year?” he yelled back.

The old man solemnly shook his head. “None too good, but what can ya expect with all them lords causing a tussle at Sanctuary?”

Rick scowled and pointed ahead of us. “It’s not the locals I’m worried about, it’s them!” he hissed.

I followed his finger and my eyes widened when they fell on a group of guards from the compound. The four men had long rifles slung over their shoulders and were outside a small grocery store. Anyone who came out of the store was stopped and the group had a short word with them before they allowed the citizen to pass. Every citizen they harassed looked daggers at the men and I detected a hint of revulsion in their features. The guys weren’t the popular kids in town.