June
The campsite was in chaos when Dom and I got back to it. Aaron was barking orders and getting things shoved in the van. Jack and Carson had gotten Amelia and Jerod into the back seats again and Carson was back there trying to get them to drink something without making too much of a mess. Jack was making sure the fire was put out and eating a bag of BBQ chips at the same time.
As soon as we left the trees and came into the actual campsite, Aaron backed up from the door of the van where he was throwing our stuff inside and shut the door. "Ready to go, Dom."
"Good, I'll drive," Dom said, and we all piled into the van.
Sitting next to Aaron was different. I had gotten used to Dom's quiet but solid presence in the middle row of seats, but I was at least somewhat comfortable next to Aaron since we came to a silent agreement back at the gas station.
Once everyone was settled, Dom drove us out of the campground and back onto the highway. We went a little faster than I would have liked, but not so fast that we'd get pulled over. I hope. With sunset approaching, we'd have some cover of darkness on our side, so I guess that would help too.
As we cruised down the highway, I watched the distant trees as they glided by us. I wished I had my earbuds but Dom had taken my phone back, and they were wrapped around it.
I sighed and turned away from the window to sturdy Aaron. He seemed very militant. He reminded me of a cousin I had. Very straight-laced and ready to watch over the group. Like... like a guard dog. Yeah. If Carson was a puppy, he was probably a golden retriever. So if Aaron was a guard dog, he was a Doberman.
I made an ugly laugh that I covered up fast, turning it into a cough.
"What's going on back there?" Dom asked.
I looked up to see his eyes meet mine in the rearview mirror.
And I wasn't about to tell a car full of werewolves I was assigning them dog breeds in my head.
"Nothing," I said. "Um, how far to where we cross the border?"
"A few hours. We're going to have to ditch the car eventually," Dom said, sliding his gaze back to the road ahead. "Then we walk across the border. We've got better transportation, money, and resources once we get into Saskatchewan."
"And, sorry I don't know much about Canada, Newfoundland is where?" I asked, keeping up the conversation and hoping to learn as much as I could.
"East coast," Aaron chimed in. "We'll be on the road for about forty-five hours straight, then the overnight ferry to Newfoundland, then drive a while, park the car, and it's on foot til the patrols pick us up."
"I hope we don't have to fight a moose," Carson complained. "I definitely don't miss the moose."
"Wait, stop, forty-five hours?" I clarified. "As in, like two days on the road? And another day on a boat and more travel? We're still three days out?"
"That puts these two at... yeah about four more days of this, whatever is wrong with them after we arrive," Dom said.
Amelia snarled from the seat behind me, and I leaned way forward, not wanting to be anywhere near her.
"I have work, oh god. Kat and I can't both be out of a job." I started to panic. "My boss is going to fire me if I no call no show all week. Dom, I have to have my phone back!"
Dom sighed, then our eyes met in the mirror again. "I still don't think you understand the position you are in or that you're putting us in. A leak about werewolves to the humans can be devastating. There are people out there who hunt things for sport, and I'm not talking about deer season."
"I'm not going to say anything," I said calmly. "I'm just going to use my vacation time. I've been saving it up, three weeks should be enough to get past the full moon and get home, right?"
The car suddenly took on an uncomfortable quiet. All eyes were on me.
"Right?" I asked again, less sure this time.
Dom sighed and pulled my phone from his pocket. "Get your vacation time settled and we can see where we're at in three weeks."
He handed the phone back to Carson, who passed it to me.
"Yes!" I grabbed my phone and immediately pulled open my texts. My thumbs ran over the screen furiously as I gave my boss the same family excuse I gave Kat, and then I emailed the leave request form to her right after. She'd get it in the morning and hopefully, there would be no problems.
"Enjoy this while you can," Jack added. "There's no service in the Long Range Mountains."
"There's no anything in the Long Range Mountains," Carson laughed.
"That's not true," Aaron said. "I've missed the mountains. The trees, the wildlife."
"The bakeapple jam on my morning toast," Carson added.
"Jiggs dinner," Jack added. "Chasing ducks through the woods, diving in the first giant snow of the year."
"Taking down a moose with your own claws," Dom added.
Carson snorted. "Not all of us are capable of that, Dom."
Dom grunted. "Aaron, phone."
Aaron reached over and plucked my phone from my hands before I knew what was coming.
"Hey!" I protested.
"Sorry, June. Can't risk it. Besides, you can't have that much battery left. Do you even have a charger?" Dom asked.
"I... no." My shoulders sank. I hated that he took my phone. I hated it so much. But... I can't say I wouldn't do the same in his shoes. So I also hated that I sort of understood it. Werewolves. I still couldn't fully believe it and I saw it with my own eyes.
I decided to shift my anger away, it wasn't going to do me any good anyway. Maybe I could learn a little more about this place instead since I'd be there for a few weeks.
"Isn't... um, isn't a moose like a big elk? Are they that tough?" I asked.
Jack snorted a laugh. "Americans always underestimate how big and mean a moose can be."
"You'll see when we get there," Aaron said. "It's a slice of heaven on earth for a wolf."
Amelia growled from the back seat.
"Amelia, you said we'd go back when we were stronger, and we are," Dom snapped from the driver's seat. "We're stronger, you're stronger, and it's about damn time you put Evander in his place."
Amelia snarled, lashing forward and Aaron caught her hand just as it swept past my head, reaching forward to where Dom sat way in the front.
"Enough!" Dom roared, and the strangest sensation swept over me as I bowed my head involuntarily. I wasn't the only one either, Aaron, Jack, and Carson around me also seemed to submit to Dom's booming voice.
I gasped as I was able to lift my head again, my heart racing as I stared wide-eyed at Dom.
"Apollo is dead, we are homeless again, we aren't kids anymore, and it's time to go back and do what you swore to us you'd do!"
"I swear it!" Amelia snarled.
"Good!" Dom snapped. "Now start acting like an Alpha and sit your ass in that seat until we get out."
Amelia growled low, but she did in fact sit back. "I can't... fight anyone... with this warlock stuck to me."
"She's got a point, Dom," Aaron said. "We figured out pretty quick they can't be far from each other or it makes it worse."
"That better wear off when the nine days are done," Dom grumbled. "What a shit show."
"Whatever happened back in Seattle, it's pretty clear that the warlock is powerful. Maybe he can help with Evander," Jack said.
"Leave pack business to wolves," Dom said. "As soon as these two can be separated, he's on his own."
I wasn't following everything they said, but I got the gist of it. I looked back at Jerod who was sweating and holding his stomach. But he was also watching and listening. Whatever had happened between him and Amelia sounded complicated.
Then my eyes slid over to Amelia. They called her an alpha wolf. It sounded like she would have to fight someone. Were all wolves this violent? Would I ever have to fight someone? Hopefully not. Hopefully, I could just sort this werewolf mess out on the full moon and then get back to my life.
Hopefully, there would be no long lasting problems I couldn't deal with.
I glanced up at Dom, driving. He was the leader right now, for sure, and it was clear he cared about the other wolves. Then soft-hearted Carson in front of me who sat by the passionate Jack. Sturdy Aaron next to me seemed reliable.
Dangerously enough, I was starting to feel a place between them that I couldn't explain.
Hopefully, it wouldn't stick when I left.
Hopefully, I didn't get attached.
One last glance in the mirror let me meet Dom's strong gaze. I shivered and looked away out the window.
Hopefully.
We sat like that in relative silence for at least a couple hours. I watched the sky darken and fade into full-blown evening. The van crossed into North Dakota and kept going. It didn't take long for Dom to move off the main roads and start turning north. Silently, I kept my gaze glued to the scenery we passed. It was almost completely farmland. And the further north we went, the worse the roads got. We went from pavement to gravel, and from gravel to dirt at one point.
The wolves even started to perk up. They kept their eyes trained out the windows in all directions. Dom even rolled a window down and Aaron stuck his head out and seemed to... sniff around? I just kept quiet and observed.
The van pulled into a very worn down barn. It was probably abandoned, honestly. There were more missing boards than boards at this point.
"Should we be here?" I asked softly. "It feels kind of... wrong."
"It's fine," Jack said. "We leave stuff here sometimes. No one uses it."
"Gather what you can carry and leave the rest. We're on foot for a few miles," Dom said.
"Are we shifting?" Carson asked.
Dom shook his head. "Three of us can't shift right now, so we all walk."
I did what he said and gathered my few items. It was pretty easy to tie my jacket and soap and shampoo in the towel I had bought. I even had room for one of Jack's leftover bags of chips and a couple of bottles of water. I stuck a granola bar in my pocket and I was ready to go.
The guys got ready in a very different way. Aaron had lit a fire from... well I don't actually know how he started one so quickly while I was packing my few possessions but he did and he was heating up the cans of soup he had gotten at the last gas station. I watched in a mix of awe and horror as he grew a nasty set of fangs and popped the cans open, as though his mouth was some kind of swiss army knife. Well, that was one way to get a cup of hot soup, I guess.
Jack and Carson were happy to devour whatever other food they could get their hands on, making quite a mess of crumbs and scraps around them as they did so. Dom had his arms full of blankets and clothes, the only non-food items we seemed to have. Amelia and Jerod were slowly and painfully climbing out of the van. I went over to give them a hand out. I still felt really bad about whatever they were going through.
"We're done here, move out. Carson and Jack, take the warlock," Dom ordered. "Aaron, take this."
Dom handed over his armful of blankets and things, then went over to Amelia who was stubbornly trying to stand, leaning against the barn while Jerod nearby was on all fours, dry heaving.
"No," she grunted, seeming to know whatever it was that Dom was about to do.
"Yup," he said. "You can cooperate and get on my back, or I can scoop you up princess style. Your choice."
"Fuck... you," she snapped.
"Princess it is." Dom shrugged and scooped Amelia up, who immediately began to struggle and claw at him.
"Cave-man style? Well, I wasn't going to, but if you insist." Dom grunted as Amelia's fist connected with his jaw, but then he lifted her easily and tossed her over his shoulder as she hung over his back spewing curses.
"Fuck you, Dom! I can walk," she hissed out.
"Not fast enough. I booked our night ferry online already and if we're not there in time I don't know how long we'll have to wait for this many seats again. Come on, we're moving out." Dom began walking out of the barn and through the field in the starlight. Aaron followed with his armful of things, and Jack had Jerod on his back first while Carson followed, eating a bag of chips.
"Here goes nothing," I muttered as I fell in line.
And that bizarre procession is how I crossed the border into Canada.