Looking serious Penny nodded again. She let go of her hand and popped her left thumb into her mouth.
"Get some sleep, baby. I'll drive for a bit to put some distance between us and the house. Then we'll stop for a snack somewhere and I'll put you in your car seat, okay?"
Penny nodded again.
Radek, Athan, Dax, Marco, Levi... you better be okay.
CHAPTER TWO
Colton leaned against the SUV and sighed. He looked down the long, dark dirt road that circled the outskirts of Lycaonia. There was still no sign of their unexpected visitor. When Aiden had knocked on his door the night before to ask him to take this early morning lookout, he jumped at the chance. He'd do anything to avoid another sleepless night. Looking out at the pre-dawn sky, he had to admit even if only to himself, that the odds that this was his mate on her way to him was slim, but waiting out here in the frigid temperatures was preferable to watching his mate be killed in his dreams.
In the distance he could see a faint glow. As it moved closer he realized that it was a car coming towards him. He pushed away from his SUV and walked until he was in the middle of the road. The sun was just coming up, providing enough light for him not to worry about being run over. Slowly the car rolled to a stop a good distance away, seconds later the driver's side door opened and a small figure got out.
"Hello there!" he called. "My name is Colton Albright; I'm your escort into Lycaonia."
"How do I know that?" a female voice yelled.
Huh?
"Do you have any ID?" she asked.
He scowled. "Do you mean the official Lycaonia ID that states I'm a wolf-shifter from a secret paranormal city? No, I left that in my other pair of pants."
"You don't have to be snarky about it," she admonished.
He squinted, trying to see if she was kidding. He could see the outline of her body, but not much else. "You're going to have to trust me. I'm going to get in my car and drive to the Alpha estate where you'll meet with the Unit Commander. He's in charge of placing you in a safe house. I suggest you pay attention, the turn off is well hidden." Without waiting for a reply, he turned and got into the car. Grumbling he fastened his seatbelt. "Pain in the ass woman."
When he began to pull away, he noticed that she stayed right on his ass. He thought about tapping his brakes but didn't feel like explaining to Aiden why the SUV needed repair work, not when Aiden's own car was still being rebuilt after his mate torched it. Smiling at that particular memory, he cranked up his iPod. His compilation of songs from Supernatural blared inside the SUV. As soon as they got to the estate, he would drop the crazy woman in Aiden's lap and go watch reruns until he passed out. He was always surprised at how much they got right.
When they arrived at the estate, he couldn't help himself, he slammed on the brakes, bringing the SUV to a screeching halt. Sure enough, the car behind him hit the back of his car. Since they weren't going very fast by then, there wasn't a lot of damage.
Shouldn't have been following so closely.
Smirking he grabbed his iPod and got out of the car. He was making his way to the front door when he heard an angry woman's voice behind him.
"What in the hell was that?" she demanded.
Turning he watched as the woman fought with her seatbelt that was still wrapped around one arm. In a fit of anger, she threw it to one side and slammed the car door. She marched towards him, and as she got closer, Colton felt his stomach drop. He knew her. She had the same heart shaped face framed by sun kissed light brown hair as the woman in his dreams. Her eyes were a perfect mixture of blue and grey. He had only ever seen those eyes anxious, sympathetic or afraid, but never pissed. She was just as beautiful in life as she had been in his dreams.
She stomped up the porch stairs and began poking him in the chest.
"What kind of immature stunt was that? I have had one of the worst nights of my life and you pull this shit? You're lucky my brothers aren't here they would ..."
He watched as she stopped and realized what she said. Tears filled her eyes, at the mention of her family, though her expression remained defiant. With a shaking hand, he reached out and cupped her face.
"Thank the Gods," he whispered. He couldn't keep the tremor out of his voice.
She looked puzzled at first and then her eyes widened.
"You're the voice from my dream, aren't you? They said that the voice might belong to my mate," she whispered, and stood stock-still.
He nodded before pulling her close, he simply held her against him.
She pushed against his chest with both hands and stepped back. "You weren't an asshole in my dreams," she said bluntly.
He grinned. She was spunky. "And you weren't a prickly bitch in my dreams either."
Her mouth dropped and she just stared at him. Seconds went by before she began to smile. "I can't believe you said that. Aren't you going to try to woo me or sweep me off my feet?"
He shrugged. "Something tells me you're not the type of woman that wants to be swept off her feet. In fact, I'm willing to put money on the fact you're the type of woman that likes to be in charge."
She winced. "Actually, yeah." She squinted up at him. "And you're okay with that? Most men like meek women."
He gave her his most wolfish grin. He was pleased, when he saw her eyes widen at his expression. "I don't have to be in charge, but that doesn't mean I'm not dominant." He leaned in and buried his nose where her neck and shoulder met. He inhaled deeply, shuddering at her scent. He bit down lightly and heard her gasp. Almost instantly, he could smell her arousal. "Just because I'm not always in charge, doesn't mean I'm not an Alpha," he whispered, letting his lips dance on her skin.