Elizabeth let her grandmother dominate the calls with David because her grandmother loved them, and it always gave her something to look forward to for the next week. David enjoyed talking with her too. He’d loved his own grandparents, but they were gone now, and Elizabeth’s grandmother had adopted him, whether he ended up mated to Elizabeth or not. He loved Ada just as much as Elizabeth did.
David continued going over their plans. “And flights are around twenty-two hours, depending on layovers. Some are longer. Layovers are two hours in Calgary and seven hours in Edmonton.”
“I don’t like that plan. While I want the two of you out of Canada as soon as possible, Kintail and his men will be watching Elizabeth after I’m gone, and they’ll be watching the airport to see if you turn up.”
Elizabeth’s grandmother had never liked the idea of them escaping by plane, but David didn’t want to discount it either. Driving would mean a delay in reaching Yellowknife to pull Elizabeth out after Ada’s funeral. It was risky to wait.
“True. But I was thinking I could solicit Amelia—Gavin Summerfield’s mate—to help us,” David said. “He’s another PI partner and long-time friend, and she’s a pilot. Then we wouldn’t have long layovers because we can take a more direct flight instead of having to fly their scheduled routes.”
“Oh, yes, that sounds much better. Also, I don’t want a funeral,” Ada said. “I’m being cremated, and Elizabeth has instructions to scatter my ashes over the roses in the backyard. Well, if the yard isn’t covered in snow. I’ll try not to leave when it’s snowing out.” She always said “leave,” like she was just planning on taking a trip—which, in a way, was exactly how she thought of it. “Oh, and I’ll try to leave when it isn’t the full-moon phase.”
The phase of the full moon could be an issue for David. Not for Elizabeth. She and her family were royals, having very few purely human roots in their genetic makeup. But David had been turned by one of her pack members, so he’d been born as a human and dealing with a full moon was harder for him. It tugged on his need to shift, though he was better at controlling it than he used to be. He still couldn’t entertain the thought of flying during that phase, though, unless either Amelia or her brother, Slade, piloted him. Their father, Henry, flew planes too, but, David figured, as a royal like Elizabeth, Henry would be holding down the fort while either Amelia or Slade helped David and Elizabeth get out.
“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?