SWNOVELS Chapter 94
Chapter Ninety-Four
ASHLEY
I look out the window at the snow-capped that dot the coastline below me and my stomach lurches. The inside of my body feels as choppy as the steel-blue waves that crash against the shore.
Normally, I don't get airsick on planes, but nothing about this trip is normal.
This trip determines whether my daughter lives or dies.
"We're almost there," Eric says. "Are you ready?"
The sound of my mate's voice sends my stomach for another loop. He's not just my mate and my husband-he's also my greatest enemy.
I do my best to ignore the pull of his voice. He doesn't need to be here with me. I would have found a way to do this on my own. But he's as stubborn as I am.
In another life, that might have excited me.
A lot of things about Eric might have excited me in different circumstances. It's hard to miss a man that size when we're the only two people on the whole jet. Every time he shifts his weight or clears his throat, notice him.
I notice his dark hair and darker eyes. The serious set of his mouth. The tension across his massive shoulders. The overwhelming power that surrounds him. Most of all, I notice him trying not to notice me. It's a pointless exercise.
We haven't talked about it—but I know he feels our mate bond. Even when I don't think about it, it's there, tying me to him whether either of us wants it or not.
And I don't want it.
Not when he's given me an impossible choice: he'll help me save my daughter, but only if I give up my brother in exchange.
My daughter, Marilee, is the most important person in my world. She is my heart and my soul and there is nothing I wouldn't do to save her. I'm the reason she's so sick, and I will give anything to make her well. That's why we're back on Eric's plane so soon after we landed in his territory.
But at the same time, I have no intention of handing over my brother, Philipe. Eric will kill him without a second thought if he gets the chance.
I have to make sure he never gets that opportunity.
That's a tall order considering the Seers severed me from my wolf, I've pissed off every wolf pack west of the Mississippi, and oh yeah, an ancient vampire is after me. There's a lot going on for me right now.
I rest my head against the window and take a deep breath to calm my nerves. I need to focus on the task ahead of me.
We stopped in Eric's territory in California long enough to refuel, and for his pack to bring us basic supplies.
His Beta is preparing a jumbo jet of his warriors and a stockpile of weapons and survival gear to meet us in Alaska. I've never seen a pack with so much weaponry before.
I suppose it's my pack now too, but thinking about that sends cold sweat down my back.
At any rate, we've left his territory far behind. Where we're heading now is far more familiar to me, and every bit as dangerous.
Eric is taking me home.
We're flying to Anchorage, Alaska. From there, we've got to take a smaller plane north to Fairbanks. That's only about halfway to my old pack's territory, but it's as far as we can go via plane. The rest of the journey we have to take by road.
In our true form, the journey is easy. Running in the snow through hundreds of miles of pristine wilderness is one of the purest forms of pleasure for a wolf.
Without my wolf...
"Ashley. Put on your coat, or I'll put it on you," Eric demands. "We're landing. You need it on."
Without my wolf, it's going to be a cold, dangerous journey.
He holds the coat out, even though I didn't answer him.
In the brief time we've been mated, he's reminded me twice already that our fates are linked. His insistence on the coat isn't coming from any kind of affection for me. No. If I die, so does he.
My stomach lurches a third time, this time because the plane is headed down to the runway. We're landing.
I shove my arms into the thin parka. It's a good coat-if you live in California and you're a healthy wolf. Not ideal for Alaska, but I'll make do until we get the rest of the supplies.
The plane lands on the runway of a private airstrip just outside the city. Eric and I wait silently while the pilot gets the smaller aircraft ready for us to leave again. I know the moment the doors open because a burst of pine-scented air floods the cabin.
The second the air hits my face, my stomach unclenches.
After years in another pack's territory, there's nothing so good as the feeling of coming home. With that first breath of Alaska air, I'm transported back to the carefree young girl I once was in this territory. The feeling only lasts a few seconds, because Eric stands up. That's all he has to do to break the spell and remind me that he's here.
He walks confidently toward the plane's exit. He stops at the threshold when he notices I haven't followed him.
"Are you coming, Mia?"
He turns in time to see me wince. His whole body stiffens and he turns away again, heading down the stairs at a rapid clip.
He couldn't have picked a more painful name to call me if he'd tried.
Mia's my sister.
Her mate, Cam-my former husband-is Merilee's father. And up until about ten minutes before our wedding, Eric thought Mia was his mate. Like I said, there's a lot going on for me.
All of it fucked up-and most of that is my fault.
I know that.
But we make the decisions we need to at the time...and then we deal with the consequences.
I zip my jacket up and head for the door. The last thing I want to do is sit less than a foot from Eric in another tiny tin can of an airplane.
I could run.
We're on my home turf now. I know this city.
My brother has allies who would take me in and help me save my daughter.
There are places I could hide.
Eric's back is to me. He's distracted.
This is my chance. If I don't take it, I might never get away from him.