Chapter 2

      Kane nearly grinned as Lilly closed her eyes and pretended sleep, as if by doing so she could shut him out. Whether she liked it or not, and she’d made it quite clear she did not, they were going to be spending a lot of time together.

      The first few miles were awkward, as Kane had suspected they’d be. He drove in silence, giving her the space he knew she needed, trying not to let her scent make him dizzy. Her breathing slowed and evened, and he realized she truly had dropped off to slumber. Oddly enough, he felt honored. The fact that she could do so meant she trusted him, even on a subconscious level.

      Either that or, in her years of captivity, she’d learned to take her rest when she could.

      Though he couldn’t get a read on her inner wolf, his own beast had gone into an adrenaline-fueled high alert. Kane couldn’t figure out why, unless it was reacting to Lilly’s unusual aura. The visible aura was the way all Shape-shifters identified their own kind. Most were a subtle glow of color, pleasing to the eye.

      Not Lilly’s. Hers pulsed a violent purple, so dark it appeared black. Such an unnatural color, the Pack doctors had said, could mean madness or even...death. None of them had seen anything like it.

      Naturally, this worried Lucas and Blythe. Now that Kane had seen it, he understood their concern. He hoped with time he could help Lilly regain her confidence and perhaps bring her fractured inner wolf some kind of healing.

      She dozed for a little over an hour, giving him time to work on relaxing, as well. It surprised him, this antsy restless feeling. In his work for the Protectors, he’d been in lots of dangerous situations. He and his wolf had always been in accord—none of the warring between the two halves of himself, as he’d heard happened with others.

      But now, when there was no apparent danger, at least at this exact moment, his inner beast couldn’t be calmed.

      Finally, Lilly stirred. Stretching, she smiled sleepily and opened her eyes. When she speared him with her bright blue gaze, the catch in his heart nearly made him recoil. What the hell?

      An instant later, when Lilly realized where she was and who she was with, her smile vanished. Turning away, she resumed staring straight ahead, her entire body stiff and tense.

      He put on a CD of old-school country music classics, believing that even the most die-hard introvert couldn’t sit quietly through Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton.

      Eventually, even though she never looked directly at him, she began tapping her foot, proving him right.

      Good. An outward sign she was finally relaxing.

      Again she glanced sideways at him, and then looked away without speaking. He didn’t ask her if she had a question or needed something. Not yet. Since it would be a long drive cross-country from Seattle to upstate New York, he had the luxury of taking things slow.

      Her stomach rumbled, causing her to flush red.

      “Are you hungry?” he asked quietly.

      “I could eat,” she admitted, careful to keep her eyes firmly fixed on the passing terrain. “What did you have in mind?”

      An image flashed before him. He saw himself, as vividly as if it were happening, slanting his lips over hers, plundering her mouth with his tongue.

      Swallowing hard, he blinked to dispel the picture. “How about a burger?” he managed. “I’m sure we can find a fast-food place.”

      She made a noncommittal sound that he chose to take as agreement. He stifled the urge to smile. After speaking to Lucas and agreeing to help, Kane hadn’t been sure what to expect. While he knew Lilly was emotionally and physically fragile, he hadn’t realized he’d have to continually fight the urge to pull her into his arms and swear to her he’d give his life to keep her safe.

      This was a given, even though she didn’t realize it yet. Maybe she never would. None of that mattered. She was his to protect, no matter the cost. As a Pack Protector, recruited at an early age, he always took his duties seriously. Even in his real job as a veterinarian, he considered himself dedicated. His clients and their pets—his patients—loved him for it. They’d even understood when he’d taken a leave of absence from the veterinary clinic to help Lucas protect Lilly.

      “How often do you shape-shift?” Though she asked the question casually, the intent way she fixed her sky-blue eyes on him told Kane it was important.

      Since he knew she wanted him to think it wasn’t, he lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “As often as I can. How about you?”

      “I’m the opposite. I’d be happiest if I could figure out a way to never shift again.”

      He’d expected this. Lucas had mentioned that Lilly had issues with shape-shifting. After what she’d been through, Kane could well imagine.

      “There.” She pointed at a sign for a well-known fast-food restaurant. Obliging her, he took the next exit and parked close to the entrance.

      Her question pleased him. It showed a bit of natural curiosity, a spark of life, a quality he’d feared he’d have to help Lilly completely rebuild.

      After they’d both eaten and freshened up, they got back on the road. Kane had barely driven thirty miles before Lilly fell asleep again. Eyeing her, he couldn’t resist a smile.

      She slept well for several hours. A good, clean rest, he thought. She didn’t appear to suffer from nightmares or even dreams. Apparently she had no bad associations from riding in a car.

      He drove until dusk, then a bit farther. His neck hurt, his hands were stiff from gripping the wheel and he needed to stretch his legs. In the passenger seat, Lilly had begun to stir, blinking sleepily and looking around her with the barely awake curiosity of the truly innocent.

      “Where are we?” she finally asked, her voice rusty.

      “Nearly to Billings, Montana. We’re going to stop in a little bit.”

      “Okay.”

      Relief flooded him, though he was careful not to show it. Driving so long with only his own thoughts had made him wonder how she would do in a hotel room alone with him. He’d calculated they’d need to stop three times and they’d have to share a room each time. No way was he letting her out of his sight, not even to sleep. While he’d make sure they’d have separate beds, she’d be spending the darkest part of the night with a virtual stranger. Apparently, she wasn’t concerned, which was much better than he’d expected. He nearly smiled at her. Only the notion that it would probably scare her kept his face expressionless.

      With classic country music wailing away in the background, they continued on. He pulled off I-90 in Billings, figuring ten hours on the road was enough for the first day. Truth be told, since Lilly had slept for several hours, he could have gone farther, but having recently made the trip from Texas to Seattle, all that driving had begun to catch up with him and he needed to rest.

      After stopping in the office and paying for one night, he returned to the car holding the plastic key card. They drove around to the back side of the building, looking for Room 149. Parking in front, he glanced again at Lilly and then killed the car engine. The exterior of the hotel appeared a bit shabby, but hopefully the rooms would be clean. He slid his key into the sensor and opened the door. Lilly drifted along behind him like a ghost.

      Kane turned on the lights, inhaling the slightly musty scent, and looked around. Two beds, check. Worn carpet that had seen better days. But a working window air conditioner. The bathroom was large and had obviously been redone. There were four white towels, a bit thin but clean and serviceable. Exactly what he expected to find for thirty-nine dollars a night.

      “After