“If it’s winter, you could sneak in at a rendezvous point and snowmobile out of here,” Ada mused.
That was the thing of it. They had so many things to take into consideration—time of year, the moon phases, getting to and out of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories, whether extra help was needed or not.
His three partners wanted to help him, not to mention their mates too. They all knew Elizabeth from Maine, whether personally or through stories of her bravery, and were ready to jump in whenever David needed them.
“You can’t get your partners and their mates involved in all this,” Ada said, seemingly reading his mind. “We don’t want a pack war up here. You’ll never beat them, and they’ll bury the lot of you. So don’t even think of it. Come alone… Well, except for Amelia or her brother, if they can fly you here all right. When Elizabeth is finally safe back home with you, your pack members can help, if Kintail and his men are foolish enough to follow you.”
“I like that idea,” Elizabeth said. “If Amelia or Slade fly in, it won’t matter if the full moon is an issue for you. And if I could reach the airport without Kintail being aware of it, we would fly off into the sunset and be gone before they could do anything about it. Hopefully we wouldn’t have to involve your pack at all.”
David didn’t want a pack war either. The thought of putting his packmates at risk ate at him. But he would—for her.
He couldn’t understand why Kintail was so adamant about not losing a pack member. If a wolf was unhappy with the pack, let him go. Once her grandmother was gone, Elizabeth had no kin left there, and most of Elizabeth’s friends had turned their backs on her.
But letting Elizabeth go wasn’t in Kintail’s plans. He couldn’t have anyone “mutinying” and that’s exactly what he would consider it. Mutiny. What if more of his pack members saw that as a sign to leave too?
Kintail would do anything in his power to stop Elizabeth from leaving. Anything.
Just as David would do anything to help her break free.
Ada sighed. “I know she will be in good hands with you and your packmates. I’m going to rest my eyes a bit and let you talk in private with my Elizabeth, but no talking over trip plans without me.”
He smiled. “I love you, Grandma.” And he meant it.
“Oh, how I wish I was younger.” Grandma smiled in return and blew him a kiss.
Elizabeth kissed her grandmother’s cheek. “I’ll come check on you in a little bit.” Then she took her laptop out of the bedroom, closed the door, and went into the living room, settling into her recliner. “She loves making plans to get us together. She says when these calls end, she thinks for hours about how to help us. About the life we could have. She remembers the time when she was a young woman and went with her mate, my grandfather, to see the States. If her memories of my grandfather weren’t so tied to this pack, she would leave with me to join you.”
“I would welcome her into my home gladly,” David said.
“I know. And she does too. You’ve done her a world of good. Thanks for including her in our chats.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way. I miss you though. I can’t say that enough.” He longed to be with Elizabeth, sharing kisses with her, and more. There was so much he wanted to experience with her. She was truly the light of his life.
“I miss you too,” Elizabeth said.
Despite the closeness he felt with his own pack, it wasn’t the same as being with a mate. He thought about her constantly. About running with her as wolves and playing chase and tag. About making love with her and having little wolf pups of their own. About being a family, when he’d never thought he would be interested in such a thing. Not until he’d met Elizabeth—and lost her.
They just had to get her out of Yellowknife and out of her pack’s reach. Until then, nothing else mattered.
Chapter 2
Elizabeth loved her grandmother and was grateful she’d had her in her life for so long. She hated her pack leader for vowing to kill David, and any of his pack members, if they dared set foot in their territory.
Her bond with David went deeper than any bond with her pack, with the exception of her grandmother. Her feelings for him transcended place and time. In the beginning, she’d worried about their relationship. What if he had only really needed her for the comfort he’d craved when he was turned, going from an ordinary human to an extraordinary lupus garou? What if he wasn’t as into her as it seemed? That the newness of being together, or the fact she’d helped him and Owen escape, was the reason he’d been attracted to her?
If it hadn’t been for Kintail, David could have made the trip to see Elizabeth and her grandmother from time to time. But she knew spies in the pack were always watching, waiting, making sure David didn’t show up. And she was certain they would ensure Elizabeth didn’t slip away from the pack once her grandmother died.
Only two places offered funeral services in Yellowknife, so it would be hard to keep her grandmother’s death quiet when the time came. The pack would eventually find out; they always did. But Elizabeth promised her grandma she would keep it a secret as long as she could. The longer the pack was in the dark, the better chance Elizabeth had of escaping.
Her best friend, Sheri Whitmore, had said she would take care of the cremation when the time came and would spread Ada’s ashes in her rose garden, just as she wanted. Elizabeth hadn’t wanted to tell either David or her grandmother of Sheri’s offer because no one in the pack was supposed to be in on their plans. But Elizabeth loved Sheri like a sister, and she was her best shot at buying some time.
Still. Involving Sheri came with risks, not in the least to Sheri herself. If the pack ever found out Sheri had helped her, she would end up in the same position Elizabeth was in now. Friendless. Her family under suspicion. Watched.
Elizabeth shook off her dark thoughts and refocused on her call with David. She couldn’t believe he had waited for her all this time, though she’d been doing the same for him. If he’d had a chance to find a mate, she had wanted him to take it. To find love.
And at the same time, she hated the very thought of that.
“Still no she-wolves on the horizon?” she asked David. She always asked.
“You’re the only one for me. To think I’ve waited this long and then I would just give you up? No way. You need me and I need you.”
She smiled. He had never wavered once about waiting for her. Even when his other PI partners had all found mates, he continued to wait for her. She couldn’t help but appreciate him for it. She so longed to be with him.
“How is it out there today?” She pictured all the forested land they had around his pack members’ homes. He’d taken her and her grandmother on a video tour of the house and shown them the views of the lake and forest, just so Elizabeth could see the area, could envision herself there when she moved to the Minnesota pack to be with him. And Elizabeth loved every bit of it. Her grandmother had been glad to know how beautiful everything was in the area too. She told them she saw it when she worked on their plans after their calls, adding it to the details in her mind, imagining Elizabeth there with him, happy in the woods and by the lake and in the home he’d built.