My lips began to tremble. The more I attempted to stem the motion, the faster it spread. My hands shook as wind whipped by, lifting the flaps of my jacket. The trees zoomed by, blurring as the bikes picked up speed. We were already on the road that would take us into town. Then the ferry, then who knew where.
I was wondering how I would hide my pregnant belly from the other passengers when I spotted the stop sign up ahead.
A thrill went up my spine, though I didn't understand why.
Escape. The voice whispered seductively. Pull their energy and escape. Find Wyatt. Save him. You can do this.
I wanted to attribute the inner voice to paranoia, but finally, I couldn't. That wasn't paranoia. It wasn't the imbalances in my body telling me to do strange things. It was me. My thoughts. My desire.
The bikes began rolling to a stop: first Mongoose, then Badger. When Camel slowed us down, I waited, loosening my hands around him. He noticed my movement and looked curiously over his shoulder. Our eyes met.
I didn't know what he saw, but his mouth opened. And then it closed. Along with his eyes. I slid off the other side, wincing at the crunch when Camel and his bike slid to the pavement.
"I'm sorry," I whispered.
Mongoose and Badger were down too, their individual balls of energy floated like orbs over their bodies. This wasn't like before, when I'd pulled just a sliver of Alpha Walker's energy. This was enough to have knocked each of the nomads out, though they still breathed steadily. Holding it without allowing the energy to flow either direction was no simple task. My mind grew weary, like those moments before sleep when your body began shutting down seconds before your consciousness. I didn't bother with tasting their power; I ran. Borrowing a bike would've made more sense, but I didn't think I'd be able to figure out how to operate one while holding the nomads' energy suspended. I'd hurt myself less on my two legs anyway.
I pumped my legs as fast as I could go, holding my belly steady. I'd gone back and forth from the house to the pack enough to know how to find the road to pack lands, but walking in that way would take forever, so I headed for the forest. I held onto the nomads' energy for as long as I could. The connection I felt was like an elastic band growing taut before snapping under the pressure. Their energies whipped out of my control, returning to their owners—hopefully. If it didn't, they'd still be alive. But I didn't know where unclaimed energy went. Hopefully, it didn't bounce around in the universe, causing destruction in its wake.
Already, I heard the river. I trudged through, not caring that my pants got wet. I'd made better time than I'd expected. Adrenaline had my muscles moving so that the jog from the bikes to pack lands hadn't been nearly as exhausting as the walk from the house to the bikes. I wasn't done, though. Wyatt was somewhere ahead of me, and I was going to save him.
***
The scout patrolling the boundary found me in seconds.
"Stop and identify yourself." The shifter crouched low, looking at me like I was a threat.
I gotta say, it felt nice.
Our eyes met, both of us frozen. I didn't know this man or what he was capable of any more than he did me. Until his eyes dropped finally to my pregnant stomach, and his stance relaxed.
I scowled, yanking energy from him like I was pulling a tooth tied to a string from a child's mouth. He dropped. His energy wavered over his head, a faint green glow coming from the swirling waves. Huh. Energies had colors. I hadn't noticed. Before, I'd been too busy consuming, drawing the power into me too quickly to do much more but feel the effects.
Instantly, I wondered what Wyatt's color would be. I had to find him to figure it out.
I dropped three more shifters on watch before making it to the Alpha's mansion. There were more cars outside than usual. Most shifters, if they weren't doing a task that required hauling heavy items, walked on pack lands. Many of them preferred to run in their wolf forms. But there were six cars parked out front. The shifter council must have come earlier than anyone expected.
That only meant I needed to hurry.
I'd been to the Alpha's Mansion, inside and out, during our weeks of working on pack lands, but I hadn't been noting secret entrances into the building during that time. I didn't need a secret entrance anyway.
I cracked my knuckles and opened the front door.
The entrance was dark as was the hallway in front of me that led to the rooms on the first floor. I inhaled, not really sure why, but surprised when I noticed scents I hadn't before. Wood that had been cut and treated with something that smelled like oranges. Polish.
I shut the front door, only to have it open immediately after.
"I knew I smelled you!" Paul hissed, grabbing my arm. "Come on. We have to—"
"Paul!" Delia said sharply.
I whirled around, taking Paul with me since he wouldn't let go of my arm. Hatred, thick and suffocating, welled up inside me. This woman was a mother too, and yet she was more like my uncle than Nana. My anger messed with my ability. Wyatt was probably here, in this house. I needed to calm down before I could—
"Found you."
His voice, exactly as I remembered it, wasn't angry or emotional. My uncle never was. He seemed calm, even. I always looked so much more unreasonable when compared against him that no one would ever believe me when I attempted telling them the truth. He managed to sound pleased, as if we'd been playing a game of hide and seek that had come to its natural conclusion.
"How did you… ?"
Paul still had me by the arm, attempting, despite my frozen feet, to drag me out. I stumbled, losing all the confidence that I'd shored up to get me this far. I'd made a mistake, ignored my own signs, and now I was going to pay for it.
My uncle's eyes traveled down my body. He paused, staring at my stomach for a long moment. "This is what you were talking about? The unnatural growth?"
Delia nodded.
"Where's Wyatt?" I tried to snarl, but it came out more like a whisper.
The door slammed shut as several representatives stormed the small space. Paul pushed close against me. "Delia, you can't do this. Kansas is blessed. His child is—"
Delia backhanded Paul. His head whipped to the side as he grabbed his cheek, but he didn't cower. He didn't back down.
"No. This is wrong."
"Will someone please remove Paul from my home?" Delia ordered softly.
None of the representatives cared that she'd called the Alpha's mansion her home. They rushed forward, quickly overpowering Paul and shoving him out the door spitting and kicking.
Delia's butler reached for me next, and I dropped him, letting his energy flow into me. Before, that amount should've caused an overload, but this time, I only felt more alert. Stronger.
"You'll need to blindfold him. He can't pinpoint it if he can't see," my uncle said.
I fought through the shifters around me, the butler's energy allowing me to break free. It tasted off, like Alpha Walker had tasted, but I didn't have time to sit and ponder why. "Wyatt!" I screamed, knowing if he could hear me, he would get to me. "Wyatt!"
A dark hood descended over my face, and I clawed at it. Whoever stood behind me had a tight hold on the fabric, and my attempts transformed from ones of anger to panic. I couldn't breathe, it was too dark, and I had no idea where I was. I tripped, landing on the ground and hitting my hip.