It almost caused her physical pain to watch her car disappear into the darkness. Knowing that her laptop was following it down hurt worse.
"We'll get you a new one," Green said, putting his arm around her.
"Yeah," Vanessa said and took a step back when the ball of fire from the exploded cars reached them. "I still don't understand why she couldn't explode the White Wolf encampment instead."
"We've been over this," came Letitia's voice from her phone. "It's bad mojo to kill someone using magic, even crazy people, unless it's self-defense and even then..."
"But it's not bad mojo to explode someone's car?"
"Not when it's a shitty car and you're saving that person's life."
"And the other car full of bodies?" Vanessa asked.
"I said a prayer first. Cremation is a very old and respectable funeral rite."
"Mm."
"And we agreed we couldn't let them find and read your computer," Letitia continued.
"Mm."
"Stop sulking! You both need to get going," Letitia said. "Do you remember your instructions?"
"Go wolf, head east until we reach a lake, swim across lake, head north until we reach a yellow, wooden house where we'll be safe," Green and Vanessa intoned.
"Precisely and then you'll call me first thing tomorrow so I'll know you're okay."
"Why? I thought you were psychic now?" Vanessa snapped.
"I am. Which is how I know I shouldn't be tuning into you until tomorrow afternoon."
"Why not?" Green asked, but Letitia didn't answer.
"Bye for now, you're welcome for having your lives saved, talk tomorrow and I look forward to seeing you at my engagement party."
"Bye," Vanessa muttered to the dial tone.
"That's your best friend?" Green asked.
"Yeah."
"I see."
"What?" Vanessa asked, eager to vent her frustration for losing most of her worldly possessions on someone who wouldn't hex the hair from her head for complaining.
"It's interesting that you would choose to hang out with someone as dominating as that. Not that I'm not grateful for her saving our lives, but I'd have thought you'd have friends who are less... managing."
"Yes," Vanessa agreed. "Sometimes I'm not sure I did choose her, to be honest. Letitia's hard to shake."
Green laughed. "Like anyone could force you to spend time with them."
"You did."
"Keep telling yourself that."
Vanessa straightened up. She didn't want to talk about her choice to let Green tag along. In fact, there were a whole lot of things she didn't want to discuss right now. Her past and the car following them being two of them.
"Letitia is right," she said and stripped out of her jeans for the second time that night. This time she was going to carry her clothes in her mouth with her cellphone. "We need to go."
"You're going to have to talk to me at some point," Green muttered as he stripped next to her.
"Not if we get killed, I don't," Vanessa muttered back.
That was the one upside of being hunted by people intent on killing her and she concentrated on that as she pulled off the rest of her clothes and tied them around her phone. Hopefully it would keep her from panicking.
"There we go," she said when she was done and looked up to find Green watching her.
She shivered under his gaze and it had nothing to do with the chilly night air.
"Vanessa," he said and moved closer.
It was frustrating to admit how much he affected her. Especially when he wasn't wearing clothes and he was close enough to touch. It would be so easy to reach out and... no, this was neither the time or the place and it would mean something completely different to him. Wouldn't it?
"Vanessa," he said again and now he was the one who reached out and ran his hand down her arm. She felt it on her skin like a brand of fire. "Are you okay?"
The question woke her from her trance and she pulled back from him. She didn't want to answer that question, any questions. In fact she didn't want to talk at all.
"I will be," she said and transformed.
Green looked at her wolf for a moment before coming to the conclusion that he wouldn't get any answers from her now. Then he sighed and next moment a large and dark wolf was standing next to her.
She rubbed her cheek against his. It was easier to be close to him in this form and absolutely impossible to keep her distance from him. He licked her nose and bent to pick up his own clothes.
Vanessa did the same and with a last look over their shoulders at the darkness they knew hid the ravine. Then they set off into the forest, moving as quickly and carefully as possible.
She knew the pack would send out scouts to search for the missing wolves and then they would search for her and Green. It would be better for them to be far away when that happened. In the yellow house where Lettie had said they'd be safe.
Ahead of her Green whined a little and she looked down in time to avoid putting her foot in a snare. She looked over at him and sniffed the trap. It was a large snare to set for a rabbit and if she'd stepped into it she might have broken a leg.
She met Green's gaze and he nodded. They'd have to move with greater care. While she was grateful that Letitia's new gift had set in in time to save them from heading straight into the arms of the people she'd been running from for ten years, it was becoming evident that she couldn't see everything.
They continued through the dark wood and she was grateful for her wolf self's superior sense of smell and hearing. Sometimes they heard something move in the distance, but nothing and no one came close to them and they reached the lake without much difficulty.
Green made his way to the edge of the lake along a grassy strip where they wouldn't leave any footprints. He slipped silently into the water and Vanessa followed him. She dipped her paw into the water and felt the cold travel through her body. Typical. She didn't like swimming at the best of times. This was several degrees below best of times. Plus the water stank as if something had died in there. Considering the size of the lake, she'd say several things. Large things.
She looked out the lake where Green had turned around to look at what she was doing. He looked ridiculous with the bundle of clothes in his snout, but it didn't detract from the impatient glare of his eyes.
Vanessa took a deep breath and forced her body into the water. Fur or not, the cold made her shake. She still managed to hold her clothes' bundle in her mouth as her four legs paddled for dear life. Green waited for her to get level with him before he began moving forward again.
There was no cover in the water, but she couldn't see anything move in the trees and hoped that Letitia had been right to make them go this way. Then something moved against her legs and she nearly yelped and dropped her things.
Was there fish in this lake? Or something worse? If fauns and lindorms were real, what other sorts of monsters were out there? Thoughts of gigantic jaws with fangs and tentacles reaching to grasp her made her increase her speed to a previously unimaginable level and she crawled up the north side of the lake a few minutes later.
She collapsed on the beach, exhausted. Green joined her moments later, sniffing her to search for an injury.
Vanessa forced herself back to her feet and had to hold back a howl of triumph. She'd made it across the lake and no sea monster had gotten hold of her. Neither would her enemies be able to follow her scent trail on the water and the strong smell of the lake water should cover most of their scent when they got moving again.
Since drawing attention to herself by howling was a bad idea she contented herself with licking Green's face and nibbling at his furry ears. It felt almost as nice as a proper howl.
When he growled at her for her rough treatment of his ears she gave him one last nip and set off into the woods again.
He chased her and Vanessa almost forgot to look for traps as she hurried through the trees, Green hot on her heels. She headed straight north and when they made it out from the trees and continued across fields she kept her eyes peeled for a yellow house, but saw nothing.
They scared up a rabbit just as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Green dropped his bundle and killed it with one bite. He picked it up and pranced over to her with it, dropping it in front of her feet. Vanessa looked from the dead rabbit to his smug expression. Her stomach rumbled and she decided to accept the gift.
She munched down half of it and pushed the rest of it to Green who had been watching her eat with a pleased expression. He ate the rest of the rabbit in two minutes and they continued with only some fur and bones left behind.
Half an hour later Green yipped and Vanessa turned to find him motioning with his head to a great, big, yellow building a few yards to their left. The yellow house.
They raced each other to the door of what a big sign informed them was a bed and breakfast. They glanced at each other and slipped away to a small copse of trees behind the house to turn back into humans and put their clothes on.
"I can't believe she was right," Green said.
"Lettie is very gifted."
"I'll say," Green agreed and rang the doorbell.
Half an hour later, a sleepy bed and breakfast owner had showed them to a room. Green locked the door behind them while Vanessa surveyed her surroundings. A king size bed took up most of the room.
For once she hadn't argued when Green asked for a double. She should be exhausted. They'd been awake for nearly twenty four hours and during those hours she'd been attacked several times, lost most of her things, had her worst nightmares come true, trekked miles and swam across a lake full of monsters.
She should be exhausted, but she didn't even feel tired. Instead, pure elation at being alive filled her. She could feel excitement hum through every inch of her body. She was alive and well and free.
"So," Green said, leaning against the door. "I think we should probably talk about what happened tonight."
Talk, Vanessa thought. That was the last thing she wanted to do. Especially about the things she knew he'd ask her about.
"Those wolves chasing us, they didn't just live near you, did they?"
Vanessa huffed. Perceptive. He was always so damned perceptive. She met his questioning gaze and decided that she didn't want to have this talk.
"No, they didn't," she said and moved up to him.
"They were your pack," Green said and it wasn't a question, but Vanessa nodded anyway. "And you ran away."
"That's right."
It was. A whole lot of other things had happened as well, but she wasn't going to think about that. Actually, she wasn't going to think about anything.
"And now they've followed you here."
"Probably," Vanessa agreed and wrapped her arms around him. He smelled of that awful lake water, but underneath all of that she could pick up his scent. She kissed his neck while her hands traveled from his arms to his jeans.
"We need to figure out a plan to deal... deal... with them," Green said, his breath catching when she went from kissing to nibbling.
"Mm. Do we need to figure it out right this minute?" she asked and unbuttoned his jeans.
"Perhaps not right this minute," Green acquiesced and Vanessa smiled when his mouth found hers.