Page 19 of Sanctuary
"I do, remember? I don't know how far it'll go, though. What do things cost out here?"
"I haven't been outside walls either." He'd done research, but it was mostly looking at pictures on the Internet, studying maps, trying to find out how to get to Mercy Hills. He had the number for the pack's office saved in his phone and he'd nearly called it a couple of times, but what if the Alpha sent them home? What if they wanted to do this the proper way and have them apply to transfer? What if the rumors weren't true? He couldn't take the risk. The farther they were from Perseguir before they let anyone know where they were, the better. "We'll figure it out. How much did you get?"
Ori dug in the pocket of his jeans and came up with a crumpled handful of bills. "Some from Dad, some from Maw. Grandpaw too. And some of it was an early mating present, so I could buy things you can't get in the enclave. For the mating." He offered the bills over to Patton. "Here, you might as well carry it." His smile was sunny, and Patton accepted the money and the kiss that accompanied it, because Ori trusted him.
He counted the bills as they walked. "One hundred and eighty-nine dollars." Would that be enough? Mercy Hills sat an hour north of Memphis, cradled in the curve of the river. Could they get a bus that went straight there? He stared down at the money in his hand, then jammed it into his pocket. Once they got to Sierra Vista, they could look into bus tickets and see if they could afford to take one. It would sure be a lot easier than walking the entire way. So that was the plan—get to Sierra Vista, grab a bus, ride in comfort all the way to Mercy Hills. Or wherever was closest.
They walked until the moon rose, then stopped and took a break. There was still enough food left in their bags for another day or two, but water was going to be a problem. Patton started keeping his eye open for a creek or a pond or something--a tap on the outside of a house, a barrel of rainwater--something to fill their bottles so they were free to change their plans quickly in case they were found.
And of course, Ori was still in heat, and instead of resting they lost that hour’s travel to sating their bodies with each other. Patton felt a little guilty about it, but not much. Not when faced with the contented expression on Ori’s face, and the way Ori’s body melded to his as they explored each other’s wants and desires. And the last little bit of guilt died sputtering in the darkness when Ori put his lips close to Patton’s ear and whispered softly, “I love you, mate.”
Despite the temptation of Ori lying beside him, naked beneath the stars, Patton eventually roused them both to keep walking. To put more distance between them and any potential pursuit by their pack. Ori being Ori, he jumped to his feet and dressed quickly, though not without a few stolen kisses in between articles of clothing. And then they began their journey again.
Patton checked the map he’d saved on his phone, taking a guess at where they were. The night was well on, and the exercise was beginning to weigh on his muscles. Ori had begun leaning more heavily on Patton's arm about an hour earlier and his easy conversation had dried up an hour before that. The moon rested on the horizon like it was leading them on, just waiting for them to arrive wherever it was they were supposed to be before it slipped beneath the hills and went to its own rest. "You want to stop for a bit?" he asked, slowing his pace and turning a little toward Ori.
Ori shook his head. "How much farther is it?"
"I don't know." He checked his phone and breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the bars at the top of the screen. It took him a few minutes to figure out what settings he needed to change to make it pick up where they were, then a few more to get it to tell him how much farther they had to go. But even that little time was enough that Ori had sagged against a nearby tree. He looked done. "It's not far," Patton told him. "Let's rest a bit, and catch our breath."
Ori straightened, though it pained Patton to see how much effort it cost him. "No, I can go on if you want to. Is it really not far?"
Patton drew him down to sit beside him on the other side of the tree from the road. "Really, not far now. And you're not used to walking. Not anymore."
Ori sighed and let his head fall against Patton's shoulder. "I thought I did a lot of work, keeping up with the house and the local pups."
"Not the same as walking all night carrying a heavy pack."
"No, I guess not." Ori slumped a little heavier against Patton's side. "Pat?"
"Uh huh?" Patton said, his body suddenly coming alert. Ori's scent seemed stronger again, alluring the way it had been the times he'd come to Patton and they'd... "Again?" The beta boys knew nothing when it came to omega heats. He hid a grin and pretended he wasn't feeling entirely triumphant.
Ori hunched his shoulders. "Yes. Maybe. No, I'm okay. It'll pass, I think. It's fading already."
Patton pulled him in with an arm around his shoulder. "It's not that I don't want to." Boy, did he want to, now that he was paying more attention to Ori's scent than to his worry about pursuit. "But you're tired, and we still have a ways to go."
"I know." Ori smiled up at him and if he squirmed a little and made fists of his hands, he didn't seem to be suffering. Much. "I've been dealing with this since I was twelve. It goes away eventually." He relaxed against Patton's shoulder again. "I really enjoyed having help dealing with it this time." He smiled up at Patton, his eyes dancing.
Patton met his gaze for a moment, then checked the moon and the time on his phone. "Well, it's not like anything will be open in the town this early anyway, right?" He pulled out the blanket he'd packed in his bag. "Help me lay this out, would ya?" Yeah, he was tired, but he was pretty sure he could summon up the energy for Ori.
C H A P T E R E I G H T E E N
T hey found the edge of the town shortly after dawn. Patton had been right--there wasn't much open. He led them to a gas station, the bright white and green sign lighting the sky like a spotlight. He recognized it only because he'd seen them in movies. Even the vehicles in the enclave were fueled using a big tank and a hand pump--these, with their motors and the numbers spinning on their faces were a thing of wonder. There'd be a bathroom inside the building if the movies had told the truth, someplace for him and Ori to wash up. Maybe they could ask about a bus. At the very least, they could fill their water bottles.
"It looks like the movies," Ori said cheerfully, echoing Patton's thoughts. He moved more easily now, as if seeing the sun and the next stage of their journey had given him renewed energy. Or maybe it was the tumble in the wood while they waited for the night to end. Patton almost missed the sweet sultriness of Ori's scent as it faded back to its usual clover-like delicacy, but it was for the best. He couldn't afford to be distracted here, among humans, without their tabs or permits to travel. He thought he could fake human behavior, and Ori had good manners, but there were always stories in the enclave about shifters who'd made the mistake of thinking that things people did in the movies were what humans did in real life. Still, how much different could it be from going into the depot at the enclave and trading pack credits? He'd start from there and see how it went.
The door jangled as they went through and they were met by a cacophony of smells and colors and lights that brought both of them to a sudden halt just inside it. Ori looked around with wide eyes and Patton fought the urge to put his arm around him and pull him close. They weren't in any danger here--this was a store, like the depot back home. He leaned over and whispered, "There'll be a bathroom around here somewhere. I'm going to ask the guy behind the counter about the bus."
Ori nodded and moved warily off into the space. Patton saw him look longingly at a rack of chocolate bars, then walk past them as if he knew where he was going. Good. Patton looked over at the young man behind the counter, watching them intently, like he expected they were going to steal something. Surely he hadn't guessed that they weren't humans? He held his breath and walked up to the counter. "Can you tell me where the bus goes from?" All of a sudden, he couldn't remember what the place was called, only that buses left from it.
The human relaxed, though he still kept one wary eye on Ori, wandering wide-eyed around the building. "Not here. Closest bus station is Benson, ‘bout an hour north of here. Or Tucson. Where you going?"
"Memphis. Well, just outside of town."
"You already got your ticket?"
"I was gonna buy it there."
The human nodded. "You'll wanna book it online if you haven't already. Sometimes the buses are full." He looked up as Ori came back to Patton's side.
