Page 62 of Fractured Mates
“Don’t be difficult, princess,” I say, hoping to kill her mood enough that she’ll finally tell me what the hell she’s cooked up.
Except the nickname seems to backfire on me. She turns her gaze on me briefly and blows me a kiss. “Get used to it.”
Son of a bitch.
The car creeps up in speed, and all I can do is hold on and hope nobody stupidly pulls out in front of us and that we don’t get pulled over.
Minutes and miles pass before we’re nearly back in the pack territory. I’ve opened my mouth a dozen times to figure out what the hell this crazy mate of mine is thinking but decided better of it each time. Wasting my breath would only encourage her to keep her secrets.
It isn’t until we’re back at the trailhead from that first night that I finally break. “What the fuck, Sophie? You said you would give River time before we moved in.”
She shakes her head at me. “We are. I’m just making sure we’re in a position to attack quickly once we have the all-clear.”
“By camping out in their back yard?” I say with a growl I can no longer hold back.
While I know Sophie’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself, this feels more than risky. Being so close without the proper gear is suicidal.
She shuts the car off and turns to me. “I have a plan.”
“One you don’t want to share with me.”
“Not entirely true.” She smirks and reaches for my hand, squeezing it. “I trust you, and I had every intention of sharing said plan with you. I just needed to wait for the right time. You know, in case it didn’t work.”
Not pleased with her words, my face falls flat. “Are you saying whatever you set out to do already worked, and now you’ll finally tell me what we’re doing here?”
“Sorta.” She glances out the windshield before looking back at me. “Astor is a cocky bastard. He thinks he has us on the run, which means he expects us to go farther away from the pack. Assuming I was right about that, I figured his wolves would have taken the other highways to try to head us off. I took a direct path back to the pack. It was a gamble, but I was right. We didn’t pass any other supernaturals, and we’ve made it here safe and sound.”
“But?” I say because this can’t be all she’s got going through her head.
“But the second part of my plan hangs on the hope that nobody searched that cabin you tried to hide us in the first night,” she admits, almost sheepishly. “If they took all your supplies, my plan is fucked and we’ll be back on the road in the next ten minutes.”
While I don’t like that she refused to tell me what she was doing, I can understand why. I wouldn’t have taken the same risk. Not because I would have thought she was wrong, but because the mere thought of risking her life isn’t something I’m okay with.
But I know while looking at the determination in her eyes, listening to the steady beat of her heart, and from what I’ve already witnessed, Sophie doesn’t hesitate. She takes chances. I’m going to have to get used to that if I don’t want to be left behind.
“Then let’s go see what’s still in that cabin,” I say with a smile I hope she takes as confirmation that I trust her and won’t tear down her plan. Even if the place was raided and none of my supplies are still there, she had the right idea.
“All right, then.” There’s a hint of shock on her face, but she moves to get out of the car. At least until she tenses. “Wait.”
She reaches back toward me. Well, that’s what I think she’s doing until I realize she’s actually going for the glove box. “I need a snack.”
Those four words have me laughing and shaking my head. “Of course you do.”
Without a care in the world, she grabs a handful of chocolate and a granola bar. The former is in her mouth before she’s even exited the vehicle, and by the time we’re both standing at the front of the car, she’s inhaled half the bar.
“We’ll shift and run for the cabin, find the potions, and conceal the place,” I say, checking our surroundings. I can hear wolves in the distance, but I can’t scent any of them, which means they’re still several miles away and can’t smell us, either.
“We’ll need to be quiet and quick,” I add, mostly as a reminder for her.
She winks at me and starts walking toward the trees. “I’ve done this a time or two before.”
“Snuck onto enemy territory and taken over a human’s cabin?” I ask with slight amusement as I catch up to her.
“Something like that,” she muses.
This woman has stories, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of our days hearing about them. Today isn’t that day, though. With the sun shining above us, there isn’t much besides the trees to conceal our movements. That paired with being so close to the pack has me on high alert as we enter the forest before preparing to shift.
My coffee-colored wolf appears just a split second before her honey-colored one. They lock eyes, and just like before, there’s a tightening of the connection between. A flare from the bond that draws us together.