Chapter 912 Chapter 912
They left after breakfast but not before Ena had handed out ninety percent of the supplies he had left in the van. She wanted to make sure they had enough until a truck and Walker arrived. He got it. She understood doing without and wanted to make sure Ezra’s clan didn’t. She was just so happy doing it; he probably would have let her give the van away, too, if that was something she wanted to do. He’d tell Zain later that he needed a total refill.
They’d been driving for two hours, and it felt like an eternity. He hadn’t slept at all. His coyote was riding so close to the surface that every few minutes, Foster took a deep breath, and he was almost positive it was his animal forcing it to happen to bring Ena’s scent into his system. His back was killing him from laying in one position the entire night. Once she’d fallen asleep, he’d planned to move away carefully, but then he was afraid if he did, he would wake her, so he’d stayed in that position like he was frozen while she slept. She smelled freaking amazing, and it drove his mind through so many scenarios that he also had a headache from that.
“Foster?”
He jerked his head and looked at her.
“I asked if there was somewhere you think we could go for a run today.”
“Sorry, the mind is all over today.” That was a lie. His mind was only focused on one thing. Her. His animal was only focused on one thing. Her. “Ah, I think there’s a picnic pull off area on this route. There shouldn’t be anyone picnicking in this season, so we’ll check it out.” She smiled at him, and his coyote moved through him. It was going to be a very long drive.
“I was thinking that I should clean up my parent’s house and fix it inside.”
He nodded but didn’t dare look at her again.
“Hazel said they have a lot of dinners and meetings at their house, so maybe I should have a house to do that with.”
“My alpha has a smaller house, but she has a big building beside it she uses.”
“There is enough to fix on the lands, and Jesse said another building was going to be built, but I’d still like to have a place the others can come to.”
“It’s a good idea.” He might make it if she kept talking. The silence was when his animal and his brain went to other places.
“Do you think we could stop at a store?”
He looked at her before he remembered he shouldn’t. “You need something?”
“I don’t know. I just want to look around. I never did before. I got what I went for and got out again.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. We go by several places. We can stop at one.” They didn’t have a strict timeline to follow right now. It was starting to feel like his coyote was sitting on his shoulders again. Driving straight back was beginning to sound like what he needed to do. He couldn’t do another night in the van with her. If one night messed him up this bad, he’d be a zombie with any more.
By the time they reached the picnic area, he was unable to hold a single thought that wasn’t about her. He was going to have to talk to her about it, because if his animal didn’t back off soon, he was going to be walking around with furry pointed ears and a fuzzy tail hanging out the back of his jeans.
When he stopped the van, she sighed.
“I didn’t think we’d make it in.” She looked behind them. “Are we going to make it out?”
Foster had pushed it to get them away from the road so they wouldn’t have curious drivers stopping to see if everything was all right. He’d managed it, but the mud was bad. The trip out might be full of regrets. “We’ll manage.” He opened his door and almost fell out just to put some space between them. His phone rang. Reaching in, he grabbed it.
“Yeah.”
“Are you in a mood?” It was Zain.
“What? No. A little tired. We just found a place to go for a quick run.” He hoped his animal would settle a bit after that and also that he wouldn’t have to fight him to shift back, or he would be sitting in the back of the van, and Ena would have to drive. The windows would allow anyone they went by to see a woman driving with a coyote in the back seat. That wouldn’t be considered staying under the radar. He walked around to the other side. Ena was setting her jacket on the seat.
“We just purchased a huge chunk of land, so visiting shifters can go for a run whenever they want.”
Foster reached down and undid his boots. “In Chicago? Where is there land in the middle of the city?”
Zain laughed. “This isn’t. It’s a fifteen-minute shuttle to this land, but worth it. It’s fenced and protected land.”
“You and Oaklyn already check it out.”
“Well, we had to, right?” Zain laughed. “I was just calling with an update because you were a little busy yesterday for one.”
“Update?” Ena was taking off her clothes right in front of him. He turned his whole body so he wasn’t gawking at her, even though that’s all he wanted to do. Well, not all he wanted, but it was a good start. He blew out a breath.
“Two more locations are now shut down, fifteen rescued. Shepard is buying up all the locations that I didn’t know.”
Foster wanted to look over his shoulder but didn’t. “More housing is good, if anyone will go in them again.”
“Oh, those houses are sold off, never to be entered by one of us again.”
Foster nodded. “Good.” He needed to keep this conversation going. It was saving him from doing something he shouldn’t. “Whatever happened to the water clan that jumped out of Konner’s chopper?”
“He never found her. I mean, he hasn’t yet. I’m sure he and the sea clan are looking.”
He hadn’t heard any snapping of bones to tell him she had shifted, so he continued to look at the ground in front of him. What was she doing? “All of our team accounted for?”
“Yes. Everyone is good and on task, except Webb, who may be sent out shortly. I’m just waiting on details.”
“Oh? I thought he was staying at the Factory.”
“He is, but more and more rogue groups have been contacting the one in charge of the rogues by the factory—they have their own communication network set up, which was a shock.”
“People do what they have to.” He shrugged.
“True. So, Webb might be going out to get some.”
“On his own?”
“I think they’ll send someone they know from the rogue groups to keep them in line, or Webb could just shift and smack them with a paw.”
Foster grinned. “Webb doesn’t have a violent bone in his large bear body.”
“He might surprise us.”
Foster knew that was true after the things he’d done since finding Ena.
“Foster.” She put her hand on his shoulder.
He turned and then froze. She was standing there completely naked, looking at him.
“Wait until I tell you what Amari did yesterday…”
She stepped closer. “I have been thinking.” She whispered and stepped closer. She ran her hand up his chest to his neck.
His animal told him not to move, so he didn’t. He had the phone against his ear and knew Zain was still talking, but not a word he spoke was registering. She smiled at him, stretched up against him, put her hand in his hair, and tugged his head to the side.
“... Tripp almost lost his mind, they said…”
Her breath felt like it singed his neck, and her lips branded him. He wasn’t even sure if he was breathing until her teeth pierced his skin, and he hissed out a breath. Before he could process, she released his neck and then moved away from him. He watched her shift and take off into the trees. He dropped the phone. “I have to go.” He pulled his jacket off. One hand got tangled in the cuff, and he heard fabric ripping and didn’t care. His coyote was going completely nuts inside him and wanted him to hurry.
Foster kicked off his boots and undid his jeans. Could he shift and still keep the mark? He had no idea but wasn’t going to stand here and think about it any longer. He yanked his shirt over his head and then pulled his jeans down. He tripped, trying to get his foot out, and fell to his hands and knees. His coyote took the position as a go, and in a few breaths, he had fur.
He knew he dragged the jeans along on his leg, but his animal wasn’t planning to pause to shake them off. By the time they found her trail, they were gone. He’d be hunting those down later.
He put on a burst of speed, and then his coyote put on the brakes ten feet later. His paws slid in the mud. Ena stood beside a tree, in two-legged form, naked. He didn’t understand why she’d bit him and run, only to shift back. His animal growled, snapping him out of his thoughts. Before he was ready, he forced him to shift back and then Foster was on his hands and knees in the cold mud. He got to his feet.