Pack

Chapter Ten

The pack just left.

I know I'd promised, that I wouldn't leave the cabin, but I had to go. I believed Jonathan when he said that for the safety of my family I needed to stay with the pack, and a part of me didn't want to leave. I had a weird urge to obey Jonathan. It was as if his will had imprinted on me, and now for some stupid reason, I wanted to make him happy.

But I knew the other part of me would never feel satisfied until I'd said good-bye to my family and Carly. If I had to live the rest of my life as a wolf, I needed to return to Pennsylvania and put them at ease. They would never stop searching for me, and I didn't want them to waste their lives and money on a wild goose chase. Plus, I needed answers. Everything Jonathan told me in some strange way made sense, and I couldn't deny the family resemblance, but I had to hear it from Mom's mouth. I needed to hear her say that she'd bought me, or found me or taken me from another woman. I needed her to tell me she never gave birth to me and I had to see her face when she said it.

I really didn't have an escape plan. The pack never gave a definite timeframe on how long they would be gone, so I had to leave tonight. At least I was heading in the opposite direction, so that gave me a slight head start, because no doubt once they figured out I'd left, they would come after me. I planned to take Jonathan's car since they'd taken the cargo van.

Well, that was assuming I could find his keys.

My other big problem—I had to figure out how to get away from Scout. It wouldn't be easy. Ever since the pack left, he'd stayed practically attached to me. Even now, he sat curled up on the couch beside me, holding my hand.

"I'm going to the bathroom." I tapped Scout's hand. Without taking his eyes off the TV, he shifted in his seat, releasing me.

I slipped off the couch and headed into the bathroom. I grabbed my toothbrush, toothpaste and hairbrush before checking around for anything else I might need. Deciding less was more, I flushed the toilet, before turning on the taps. Opening the bathroom door, I peeked out at Scout.

He had his back to me, as he watched an action movie. Tip-toeing down the hallway, I creeped into my room and shut the door. Throwing my bathroom items on the bed, I grabbed some underwear, socks, t-shirts, sweatshirt and jogging pants. I didn't have a backpack, so I'd have to transport my clothes in the large department store bags. After emptying out one of the bags, I tossed the few belongings I'd decided to bring on my road trip into it.

"You're leaving aren't you?"

I jumped, suppressing a yelp as I spun around. Scout stood in my doorway, arms crossed over his chest, as he leaned against the doorframe. His gray eyes turned dark and stormy, as they narrowed in on me.

"I'll come back, Scout. I promise. I just have to say good-bye to my family. I'll never see them again, and I don't want them to worry."

A muscle in his jaw flexed. "Father said we weren't to leave the cabin."

"I'll only be gone three, four days, tops." I grabbed the plastic bag and took a couple steps toward him. "They won't even know."

"Father told me to protect you." His voice was devoid of emotion, as if controlled by orders, not feelings.

"Come with me." I tried to throw in as much power and influence as I could into that statement. I wasn't sure exactly how Jonathan controlled the pack with his words. I assumed it had something to do with his golden irises, and I had no idea how he'd acquired those. As selfish as it was, I really did want Scout to come. I didn't want to be alone.

He tensed, as if my words caused him pain. "Okay," he finally agreed, the word coming out slow and unsure.

Huh, apparently, golden irises were not the key component needed for pressing your will onto others. "Are you sure, Scout? I don't want you to get in trouble."