Revolting

"There is one more thing we have to do," I said quietly from the back seat. I pulled out my cellphone. We were already miles from the pack territory, and yet the phone was quiet. No calls, no texts. No one was missing me. I rolled down the car window and tossed the phone out. Daisy and William followed my example. William kissed the screen before he tossed it out, and Daisy pulled out a memory chip before she threw hers into the bushes beside the road.

"We're littering" Daisy said mournfully, as if that was the worst thing we had done that night.

We drove along in silence for awhile. I felt a bit numb and dull. After a long time I roused myself enough to ask, "How did you know I was leaving?"

Daisy ducked her head, and William chuckled. "It was Daisy."

Daisy picked at her pants with a guilty expression. "First you asked for my backpack. Then your picture frame was empty and your jewelry box was gone. And then I got nosy, I found the envelope in your drawer. I'm really sorry, Nina. It wasn't sealed, so I opened it up and I read it!" She sounded so upset I thought she was going to cry.

I reached forward between the seats and rubbed her shoulder. "Its okay Daisy."

"So we packed our bags and just kept watching and waiting for you to make your move," William said easily. "And since my room is right next to Nolan's room... I heard everything."

I sighed and leaned my head against the window glass. "You heard everything. So tell me, what does it mean when your mate refuses your rejection?"

William shrugged. "I have no idea. I don't think it works that way. I mean the whole idea is that you can't force someone to be your mate if they don't want to. What do you think?"

I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly and completely drained. Thank God William had come with the car. I'm sure I wouldn't have made it very far on foot. "I think it worked, whether he wanted it to or not. It hurt, Will. It hurt me right to my soul." I slept on and off and we drove on through the night. At some point William stopped to fill the gas tank, and Daisy and I went into the service station to pee. "William," I warned him before I went in, "Don't use your family debit card. They will use it to trace us."

"Huh." He flipped the card against his thigh. "Well, let them trace us just this far." He went to the ATM, and withdrew all the cash the machine would allow, he gassed up the vehicle, and then he took a lighter and melted the chip on the card. When the whole card was warped and unreadable, he tossed it in the trash can. "We are going to have to get jobs," He said doubtfully, as he counted the cash from the ATM. "This money won't hold us for long."

"I have some money too," Daisy volunteered. "I went out two days ago and withdrew all my savings."

"I have some cards and cash left over from the wedding," I admitted. "But you are right. We will have to look for work and create a sustainable income." I rubbed at my stomach and felt a little guilty. With a Were pregnancy, I wouldn't be able to work for very long before I was forced onto maternity leave. But we would work something out. We left the service station and got back on the road. Daisy took a turn driving so that William could have a nap. But when we got near Troy, William took the wheel again, so that he could navigate us to his friends house.

"You know if I had my phone... I could have just used the GPS." He muttered a little grumpily, as he strained his neck to read the street signs. Finally he turned on to Meadow Street, and followed it for three blocks. With each consecutive block the houses got bigger, and older, until we pulled up to a stop in front of a huge, three story Victorian that seemed to be crumbling on its foundations. The paint was peeling, some of the windows were boarded over, the grass was overgrown and the sagged. But there were lights on inside to welcome us, and I was ready to collapse.

"Hey! You guys made it!"

"Gabe!" William jumped out of the SUV and gave his friend a quick, manly hug. Gabe was a small Mexican American man, with curling black hair and light brown skin. "Gabe, these are my friends, Nina, and Daisy."

"Hi," I said, trying to be as friendly as my exhausted body would allow. "Thanks so much for letting us stay with you."

Daisy had stopped dead in her tracks. Her big blue eyes were as big as saucers, and she was trembling.

"Daisy? You okay?" I limped over to her and put an arm around her slender shoulders.

"He's... he's human." Daisy mumbled.

"Yeah, William did tell us that in the car."

Daisy clutched at me a little desperately and whispered. "Luna... I think he's my mate."