heart. Dread worried him, drown out mostly by the alcohol, about what would happen once he told them they were breaking off contact completely from the Opeth pack.
They'd get over it eventually.
Right?
* * *
S eventeen hours later , the sun had set in Houston, Texas. From the forecast, they learned that snow had been falling for two days straight, blanketing the city in a light coat.
Picking up a rental was easy but shuffling a tired Ilona and Lukina remained difficult. In truth they'd all had a hectic past few days and this would mark roughly almost ninety-six hours of time they'd spent together, thirty-six of which were spent on a plane for him and Lukina. More for her, considering she probably hopped the first flight out of Budapest once her situation became dire.
Blazing down I-10, Józsi kept vigilant watch for anything suspect, the feeling they were being watched since Paris still hadn't vanished.
The staggering number of cars on the road at this hour puzzled Ilona when they connected to I-45 and began heading downtown toward Clear Lake. At this hour in Hungary, depending on what went on in the city, traffic could be light or heavy but with the pack being remote from Budapest, only Lukina would have known about the cultural differences since the other wolves didn't leave the lands much, if at all.
For him, it was only ten PM. Ilona had never left the country and Lukina's internal clock adjusted quickly thanks to her frequent travel. Yes, they'd talked about her trip back to the States to retrieve Marco and how she, more than anyone else, wanted his return until Selene, the pack witch, fell in love with the bastard.
Yes, his youth would someday let him lead this ragtag band of wolves to greatness.
Józsi had no hope for anything, especially if he was supposed to be Alpha, not Marco. How would that work?
He didn't care. Now, back in America, he was free of the drama, at least until they'd dealt with whomever was following them.
Bright lights lit the streets, illuminated the tall buildings. Sitting in the passenger seat, Ilona kept her hand firmly in Józsi's while Lukina stretched out in the back seat and tried to sleep.
Ilona nuzzled his shoulder. “Where do you live from here?”
“I’m about an hour away, drága. It’s a nice place, I think.” He'd used a term familiar to her to indicate their closeness but even that fell short.
Ilona tried to reassure Józsi with a frail smile but her scent betrayed her.
"Relax. You'll be okay. I won't let any harm come to you or Lukina. You're on safe land now."
She didn't ask any further questions. He'd made sure she slept on the plane ride and regained the strength she'd lost in healing him earlier. Lukina of course had stronger control over a larger amount of power thanks to plenty of practice.
But if Ilona was trying to change her name and imitate Józsi's behavior, she had a lot to learn in the process. Of course dragging her back here and refusing to call her by said American name hadn't been a sticking point, either.
He could be bothered with extra baggage right now.
Of course the only thing he kept his mind on right now were the people he'd kept an eye on since changing planes in France.
The pursuers following them had no scent he could place. The Opeth pack had enemies primarily because it was supposedly the promised pack, the first group of wolves who would open the gates to Paradise and let the others in. Sort of like a version of modern religion for wolves, only this was rooted more in mystery than anything else.
As far as Józsi was concerned, it was rooted in bullshit myth.
The mysterious people didn't smell like wolf, honestly. That part bothered Józsi the most. Wolves' behavior was pretty predictable. Mate, feed, kill, repeat until death.
Humans also had a certain predictability.
Put the two together in one body and all that shit went out the door but this enemy was an unknown, other than the car Józsi spotted when their following him
They'd get over it eventually.
Right?
* * *
S eventeen hours later , the sun had set in Houston, Texas. From the forecast, they learned that snow had been falling for two days straight, blanketing the city in a light coat.
Picking up a rental was easy but shuffling a tired Ilona and Lukina remained difficult. In truth they'd all had a hectic past few days and this would mark roughly almost ninety-six hours of time they'd spent together, thirty-six of which were spent on a plane for him and Lukina. More for her, considering she probably hopped the first flight out of Budapest once her situation became dire.
Blazing down I-10, Józsi kept vigilant watch for anything suspect, the feeling they were being watched since Paris still hadn't vanished.
The staggering number of cars on the road at this hour puzzled Ilona when they connected to I-45 and began heading downtown toward Clear Lake. At this hour in Hungary, depending on what went on in the city, traffic could be light or heavy but with the pack being remote from Budapest, only Lukina would have known about the cultural differences since the other wolves didn't leave the lands much, if at all.
For him, it was only ten PM. Ilona had never left the country and Lukina's internal clock adjusted quickly thanks to her frequent travel. Yes, they'd talked about her trip back to the States to retrieve Marco and how she, more than anyone else, wanted his return until Selene, the pack witch, fell in love with the bastard.
Yes, his youth would someday let him lead this ragtag band of wolves to greatness.
Józsi had no hope for anything, especially if he was supposed to be Alpha, not Marco. How would that work?
He didn't care. Now, back in America, he was free of the drama, at least until they'd dealt with whomever was following them.
Bright lights lit the streets, illuminated the tall buildings. Sitting in the passenger seat, Ilona kept her hand firmly in Józsi's while Lukina stretched out in the back seat and tried to sleep.
Ilona nuzzled his shoulder. “Where do you live from here?”
“I’m about an hour away, drága. It’s a nice place, I think.” He'd used a term familiar to her to indicate their closeness but even that fell short.
Ilona tried to reassure Józsi with a frail smile but her scent betrayed her.
"Relax. You'll be okay. I won't let any harm come to you or Lukina. You're on safe land now."
She didn't ask any further questions. He'd made sure she slept on the plane ride and regained the strength she'd lost in healing him earlier. Lukina of course had stronger control over a larger amount of power thanks to plenty of practice.
But if Ilona was trying to change her name and imitate Józsi's behavior, she had a lot to learn in the process. Of course dragging her back here and refusing to call her by said American name hadn't been a sticking point, either.
He could be bothered with extra baggage right now.
Of course the only thing he kept his mind on right now were the people he'd kept an eye on since changing planes in France.
The pursuers following them had no scent he could place. The Opeth pack had enemies primarily because it was supposedly the promised pack, the first group of wolves who would open the gates to Paradise and let the others in. Sort of like a version of modern religion for wolves, only this was rooted more in mystery than anything else.
As far as Józsi was concerned, it was rooted in bullshit myth.
The mysterious people didn't smell like wolf, honestly. That part bothered Józsi the most. Wolves' behavior was pretty predictable. Mate, feed, kill, repeat until death.
Humans also had a certain predictability.
Put the two together in one body and all that shit went out the door but this enemy was an unknown, other than the car Józsi spotted when their following him
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