“You can’t think like that,” Wyatt said sharply.
“I know, but after getting kicked out of our clan, losing our families, and ten years of hell with the MacPherson clan…I don’t know. When we found Bel, I started to hope that maybe we’d found a home. A real life. And it’s all falling apart again. I’m just so fucking tired.”
“You can’t give up, River. You can’t. You don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Maybe…” Wyatt paused and licked his lips. He hated to even put this out there, but River was hanging on by the slimmest thread. “Maybe we’ll be able to come back to Bel again, when things are quiet, and he’s away from Albert’s pack. We don’t know what’s around the next bend. We never expected life with Bel to be like this. We don’t know what we’ll find when we head west.”
River nodded and pushed a smile on his lips that didn’t even come close to touching his eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to dump all that self-pity on you. We’ll be fine.”
Wyatt pulled River into his arms. “Don’t apologize. You’re tired. I’m tired too, but we will get through this, and Bel will be safe.”
This was a terrible plan. They were both so fucking tired of running. They had zero money, no safe way to get out west, and no idea of how they were going to survive even if they got to a safe location, but getting away from Bel and Albert’s pack was the only thing that mattered at this point. Once they put some distance between themselves and Bel, he’d be able to make a better strategy that would protect River.
But even as he clutched that flimsy idea to his chest, his heart ached worse than any wound he’d sustained in his fight the previous night. Bel had come to mean as much to him as River. Leaving Connecticut meant leaving one-third of himself behind.
Crawling out of Bel’s bed was the hardest thing River had ever done in his life. He’d always thought it would be the day he came out to his family and pack, but he’d declared his love for Wyatt in front of his entire world at the same time. A bittersweet moment. He’d always believed he was walking toward something better. Or at the very least, he was no longer pretending to be someone he wasn’t.
But leaving Bel wasn’t carrying them to a better life. There was no way life would ever be better without Bel in it. Yes, he still had Wyatt, and he was forever grateful that the man was at his side. Wyatt was the only thing keeping River moving now. If he lost both of them, he was pretty sure he’d just curl up in a ball somewhere and completely give up.
This was for the best. It would keep Bel safe. It would remove one of the threats on his life.
That night, dinner had been a quiet affair. Over the past month, Bel had actually started eating a little bit. It was clear that he was only in there to spend time with them and didn’t have any interest in food. But tonight, he didn’t bother to even pick at his food, and none of them talked.
They retired well before sunrise, cuddled as close as physically possible in the bed. What started as slow, gentle lovemaking became something more frantic and desperate. They turned to each other again and again throughout the night. No matter how exhausted their bodies were, they still craved just one more kiss, one more touch. It was only at sunrise that they managed to fall into restless sleep.
And all too soon, Wyatt was shaking River awake. They each packed a backpack of clothes and some basics. It felt weird taking the clothes Bel had given them, but the vampire would have pointed out that the clothes were theirs and they would need them where they were going. They each had a few hundred dollars Bel had given them for emergencies, but the new phones were left on the dresser in their old room. It was better if he couldn’t find them. Safer.
“Did you leave a note?” River asked when they were crossing through the living for the front door.
Wyatt nodded. “A short one. In the lab.”
“What’s it say?”
“We’re sorry. Stay safe.”
River grunted. It was probably better to keep it short. If River tried to write down all the things in his heart, he’d probably be trapped in the house for another few months composing that tome.
Wyatt stopped at the front door and glared at it for several seconds. River looked around his wide body and frowned. Why the hell was he stopping? Second thoughts? River hated the spark of hope that flared in his chest. They were doing the right thing. They couldn’t stop now.
“What’s wrong?” River demanded in a sharp whisper.
“It’s daylight.”
Yeah, they’d slept later than they’d planned, but they were still getting on the road before noon. “So?”
“The metal shutters are in place, sealing the house.”
“Oh.”
River stared at the door, then turned to look at the windows. They were all covered in thick shades, but he knew from earlier inspection that there was a thick metal plate that descended over all the windows on the outside. The door also had a metal plate running through the center and additional locks that slid into place during the day.
He’d never thought about trying to get around the special locks because he’d never wanted to be away from Bel during the day. The best way to protect him had never been outside of the house. But now they needed to get out.
“Isn’t there some kind of release switch? Or some panel by the door for a code?”
Wyatt looked over his shoulder at River and lifted both eyebrows. “Even if there was a keypad, I can’t even guess at what the code would be. And there’s no release switch that I can see.”
“How are we supposed to get out? It’s not like we can go wake up Bel and ask him to let us outside.”
Well, now this was starting to feel fucking ridiculous. Of all the things that had run through his head to worry about and plan for, actually getting out of the house had never been one of them. And judging by the low growl coming from Wyatt, he hadn’t given it much thought either.
“The code is one-eight-four-three, but it won’t do you much good without my hand.”
Both River and Wyatt jumped at Bel’s low, irritated voice. They turned to find him standing in the hallway, wearing only a pair of sleep pants. His black hair was wild about his head, and his arms were folded across his chest.
“Bel…” River started, but he didn’t know what to say to the anger blazing in the man’s eyes. Anger and betrayal.
“All the locks and security measures in the house are set to biometric controls. I had planned to add you both to the systems so your hands would unlock the doors, but something in me kept holding back. It was as if I knew you’d try to sneak out one day. If you wanted away from me, I thought you’d at least have the decency to say it to my face.”
“Bel, if we stay, we put you in danger,” Wyatt said in a low, calm voice. “We got lucky with the first attack, but Albert isn’t going to walk away from this. He’s going to come at us with the entire pack if he has to. River and I can’t protect you from numbers like that. W-we can’t lose you.”
“It’s best, safer, if we leave now,” River added.
“Bullshit,” Bel snapped. He paced away from them, head shaking, before turning again. “Do you think I’m a complete idiot? Did you forget that I can feel what you’re feeling? Can guess the stupid shit you’re planning?”