Page 24 of Sanctuary
Now that he'd had that thought, there was no way he was getting back to sleep. With a reluctant sigh, he untangled himself from Ori's body, tucked the blanket in around him to keep him warm, then changed back to his wolf shape. He'd see movement better in this form, smell things more intensely. If there were any pack hunting around their hiding place, he'd notice them faster.
Patton eased out the open door into the dim moonlight, raised his muzzle, and tested the air around him. Plants and dirt and cattle, the sweet doughy scent of the grain from the feed and the smell of water from the troughs in the pens. A hint of some small mammals, mostly mice or rats, blew past him on the pre-dawn breeze.
But nothing wolfish. Or pack-like.
Still, he trotted off to the perimeter and made a quick circuit, scenting as he went. It was tempting to hunt a little, but that sense of unease he'd caught from Ori was still hanging around and it spooked him enough that he made the quickest trip around the circuit he could and then came back to curl up with his furry back against Ori's, sharing his body warmth at the same time as he kept his own body between Ori and the door. He couldn't say why he did it, but sometimes the wolf's instincts were better than the human's, so he let the wolf guide his choices. Tomorrow they'd be back in the human world and he could pay attention to that side of himself again.
The rising sun woke him, creeping with silent feet across the floor of the shed until it had driven the night away and the walls were painted with a warm golden-salmon glow. As silent as the moon, he rose and shook out his fur, then ran quickly outside to watch for any humans coming around. The sound of engines roared by in the distance, but none of them were turning into the driveway that led to the cattle pens yet. Patton assumed that someone would have to come feed the cattle at some point, or at least check on them, but it looked right now like they’d have a couple of minutes to eat and get out of sight of the building.
Back inside, he nosed Ori awake, licking at his ear and his mouth until Ori groaned and opened his eyes. “I’m up,” he muttered and pushed Patton away so he could sit up. “Do I need to pack?” His body stayed tense until Patton shook his head and started to change back. “I’ll make some breakfast then?” Ori asked brightly as soon as Patton had his human ears again.
“Sure, thank you,” Patton said. “What can I do?”
Ori started pulling things out of his sack. “Nothing, unless we can make a fire?” He said the words hopefully, but he just sighed and nodded when Patton replied, “I don’t know if we have time for water to boil.”
“Maybe we should just go, then, and we can stop later to make some oatmeal,” Ori suggested. “We can cut straight across to—where are we going?”
“Bowie,” Patton said, rolling his blanket up and shoving it in his backpack. “Sure, if you want to.”
“Yeah.” Ori stared at him for a moment, as if he was trying to make a decision, then pulled Patton toward him with a hand cupped behind his neck. “And you have nothing to be sorry for. Next time we run away, we’ll know better and I’ll make sure you know to steal a car first.”
In typical Ori fashion, he’d poked Patton’s inflated worry right where it would deflate and reminded him that they were both doing their best. Patton grinned, still feeling a little sheepish, and turned his head to kiss the pulse beating in Ori's wrist. “Okay, but don’t expect anything fancy. No Lamborghinis or Corvettes, they’re too expensive to fix, and I’m just a plumber.”
Ori laughed and let go of his neck to punch him in the shoulder. “What a shallow omega you must think I am,” he said, and laughed again when Patton protested. “No, never mind, it was a joke. Go fold your blanket, would you?”
They packed everything quickly and headed out. Just in time too, as they had barely gotten to the other side of the highway when they saw an old blue pickup turn into the driveway of the cattle yard. Ori handed him an apple and took one for himself and, without a word between them, they turned in the direction of the next stop on their quest for Ori’s freedom.
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T H R E E
B y the time they reached the outskirts of Bowie it was late in the afternoon, almost early evening. The sunlight slanted low across the ground, but the sky hadn’t started to change color yet, except perhaps for the blue to have become even a little more blue in that funny way the sky had just before dusk. Ori had begun to slow down by mid-afternoon, and rather than push him harder, Patton slowed his own steps to keep pace with him.
Patton squinted into the sunset, wondering if it was too late to find a store to refill their water bottles in.
“I need a drink,” Ori said suddenly, and sat down on the ground at the side of the road. “And a rest. Just a few minutes.”
“Yeah, all right,” Patton told him and sat himself near enough that he could check out Ori’s scent. “You feeling okay?” he asked, and handed over his bottle of water.
“Just tired.” Ori drank, but only a mouthful before he capped the bottle again and let it rest on the ground beside him.
He’s not ready for this kind of walking. “Do you want to take a day or two to rest?”
“No.” But Ori’s response sounded almost surly.
Patton tried again. “It’s a month and a half to get there. What’s one more day?” He put an arm around Ori’s shoulders and rubbed his hand up and down Ori’s upper arm in an attempt to provide some comfort. “Look, I’m used to walking all over and digging and pushing and dragging heavy things around. You’re not. You’ve been cooking and cleaning and doing omega things. I don’t blame you for being tired.” He thought back to something his Da had once said. “Da told me that if you work your muscles too hard, they don’t get used to it. They just stop working. We’ll take a break here, then go looking for someplace to spend the day tomorrow.”
Ori shook his head. “Maybe when we're farther away.”
“We won’t get farther away if you push yourself too hard. You still worried about whatever it was yesterday?”
“Maybe. I guess…” Ori shook his head. “Don’t mind me. I’m just being a worry-wart.”
Patton grinned. “One of us should be. But nothing’s happened, which means it’s probably nerves.” He lifted his face into the wind and scented through his mouth, but all he could smell was dust and trees. No pack smell, at least not upwind. “We’re probably fine, and if they find us, we’ll figure something out.” He tucked his nose in behind Ori’s ear and sniffed. “You smell good.”
“I stink,” Ori complained, but he smiled and his eyelids drooped a little in something that Patton didn’t think was fatigue.
“You smell like you. My favorite smell,” Patton told him and nipped at the skin on the side of Ori’s neck. “Come on, let’s see if we can find someplace to hole up for a day.”
“Someplace with water,” Ori said, letting Patton pull him to his feet. He still looked tired, though. His shoulders drooped in a way Patton had never seen before. “I want to wash our shirts.”
