Page 61 of Wolf Betrayed

Lincoln was still in the kitchen. He’d found a reusable grocery bag and had it stuffed full of food. A package of applesauce teetered on the edge like it might fall out.

I motioned to the sink where our dirty dish still was. The towels were still in the washroom, too. “What do we do about this? They’ll be able to tell someone has been here.”

Lincoln took my hand and laced our fingers together before grabbing the bag from the counter. “Yeah, it’s going to be obvious someone broke in. We can’t help that right now. We have to get going.”

He huffed and looked around the kitchen. “This house has been empty for some time. I don’t think someone is going to realize we were here for a while yet.”

I looked at the bowl in the sink and imagined what my mom would say about it. She was a real stickler for cleaning up after yourself. With five kids, she had to be, especially when she was running an entire pack.

Lincoln tugged on my arm, and I pushed off the counter, letting him pull me through the house. We went out through the back door, and he locked it and put the hide-a-key back where we found it.

The morning air was still cool. I hugged myself and wished that I’d grabbed a jacket instead. It was too late now. I wasn’t going to ask Lincoln to go back inside, and it didn’t feel right to keep taking things from people.

Lincoln pointed. “Let’s hop on the walking trail. Maybe we’ll be able to find a car or some sort of vehicle that we can get in.”

I bit my lip. “Won’t that draw more attention, though, if someone notices the car is stolen? They’ll call the police and be searching for it.”

Lincoln gave my hand a squeeze. “The police are already looking for us. Sawyer told us that, remember?”

He had told us that. Other than being able to move faster and having no scent for Mikey to follow, I wasn’t sure that stealing a car was a good idea, but Lincoln seemed to know what he was doing right now. I trusted him.

We found the trail and started walking along the path that ran almost perpendicular to the street. It was freshly paved. I could still smell the tar and asphalt. I couldn’t help but wonder whose bright idea it was to put this in the middle of nowhere in the wilderness. It should have been rocks or a dirt path. It would fit with nature better.

Lincoln swung our hands back and forth as we made our way down the trail. “We should try to act natural, like we belong.”

He nodded to where a couple of people were coming out of their house to put suitcases in their car.

They waved at us. Lincoln lifted his hand and hollered for them to have safe travels.

I cast him a sideways glance. “Do you think they’ll remember us?”

Lincoln continued to wave and had a smile plastered on his face. “Nah, they got three kids they’re trying to load up. They might remember a couple, but I doubt they could pick us out of a lineup.”

I supposed he was right. My mind wandered, imagining for a moment that this was our vacation, and we were taking a lazy stroll on the path. Sawyer would be on my other side, and we would just enjoy nature and maybe take a little run as our wolves.

Lincoln yanked me a little closer, bringing me back to reality. I stumbled over my feet.

He steadied me. “Sorry. I got excited. Do you see that?”

He nodded at a driveway a few houses down. A red Honda CR-V was idling in the driveway with no one in it.

I rubbed up my face with my free hand. “Is that a good idea? They’re going to come out sooner rather than later and will report it stolen.”

Lincoln narrowed his eyes like he was zeroing in on his target. “I think it will be okay. I know these roads well. There are a lot of back roads that even the police don’t know about. We can slip away undetected, and no one will find us.”

“And this will get us back to my house, to my pack?”

Lincoln turned toward me and placed both hands on my shoulders. “Absolutely. I would never do anything that would put you in danger, Sloane.”

I held his gaze and cursed myself for asking so many questions. The last thing I wanted was for him to think I didn’t believe in him. “I know. I trust you. I’m just new to this on-the-run thing.”

He leaned forward and gave me a quick peck. “It’s okay. If my dad wasn’t a paranoid maniac, I wouldn’t know what to do either. Stay right here. I’ll be back with the car in a second.”

He sprinted across the street, and I held my breath as I watched him.

He ran up the driveway like he owned the place, opened the car door, and slid inside without a second thought. I chewed on my thumbnail, watching as the white lights popped on in the back. I dropped my hand back to my side, realizing that my nerves would only draw attention to ourselves. I blew out a breath and glanced around. No one was paying us any mind. Thank goodness.

I darted my gaze back to the driveway. The car reversed down the drive and into the street. It lurched as it was thrust into drive. Lincoln hit the accelerator and pulled right up to the curb in front of me.

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