Page 16 of Sanctuary
He was surprised when Ori kissed him, and even more surprised when it went on longer than a simple thank you peck. Then, Ori disappeared into the night, and Patton went looking for the power grid.
It was a simple enough sabotage. He’d scraped some wires until they looked like they'd been chewed by rodents. All he needed to do was have them spark and the dry wood around them would go up like a full moon bonfire. The building was isolated, it wouldn't spread about the enclave. But it would knock out the power to the sensors on top of the walls, and that was all they needed. He'd start the fire and then make sure it looked like they'd gone out through one of the grates. No one would expect they'd gone over the wall, heading directly east.
Directly for Mercy Hills.
Carefully, he brought the wires together, wincing as they spit and crackled. He added a few splinters of wood and bent them until they were right next to a board, then watched as the wood started to heat and smolder. As soon as he saw flame take hold on the wall, he snuck out of the building and made his way to the north-east, to where the creek flowed in through the base of the wall. He got his feet wet pulling it open, but he was pretty pleased with his work when he was done. It looked just like someone had tried to close it unsuccessfully behind them on their way out, and so was worth the wet feet. They’d dry fast enough when the sun came up anyway.
He found Ori hiding at the top of one of the apple trees. Ori gasped when Patton started to climb it, then let out a sigh. "I thought for a second they'd found me."
"Just me." He settled himself on a branch near Ori. "It shouldn't be long. We'll see when the fire gets going from here and they should lose the lights in this quarter of the enclave."
"How do you know it'll burn long enough for that to happen?" Ori shivered and wrapped his arms around himself, but Patton didn't think it was the chilly night air.
"I made sure that the water right next to it was shut off for repairs. Don't mess with your plumber," Patton told him with a grin. "But there's water a little farther out--they'll be able to stop it before it gets too big to stop."
"Good," Ori sighed. "I just want to get away, I don't want to destroy anyone's life."
Patton didn't bother mentioning that Ori's family had been ready to destroy his--Ori wasn't the type to see it that way.
They waited and watched and Patton did his best to ignore the sweet seduction of Ori's scent as the breeze tossed it this way and that. He must have been well into heat, because even the pine and moss and lemon balm he was wearing wasn't enough to hide it from Patton's nose. And then a hint of woodsmoke danced their way, and a wavering light grew in the distance from a spark to a steady glow. Shouts drifted to them on the breeze and then the lights went out.
"Come on," Patton said, and scrambled down out of the tree. Ori tumbled down in his wake and they raced for the wall with their sacks of supplies.
Patton shook out the rope, one end tied in a large loop. He wound up and tossed it neatly at the top of the wall, hoping to catch one of the spikes that dotted its length. He missed on the first throw, and the second. The third, it caught on the top of one and then fell to his feet after an agonizing moment of waiting.
With his fourth throw, though, he'd gotten the range, and the loop settled neatly down over one of the spikes. He pulled it tight, took the blanket back from Ori and hung their sacks over his shoulders. "Follow me up, but don't climb on top until I tell you. I won't leave you hanging for long." He waited for Ori's nod, then scaled the wall, hand over hand as he walked up the side. He could feel the tension on the rope as Ori followed him, the heavy sisal braid shaking in his grip.
At the top, he draped the blanket over the silver bars next to the upright the rope was caught on, spreading it out carefully so there was no chance of Ori touching it. Then he leaned back over the wall to see Ori right below him. "Come on. Don't touch the silver, just the blanket." He gripped the rope tightly and held out his other hand to Ori.
Ori took it in a firm grasp and Patton pulled his love up, cautious of where he let Ori put his hands. Once he had Ori standing on the other side of the silver, his hands wrapped around the blanket covered bars and the rope swinging free, he loosened the knot and looped it around the base of the upright. They would take it with them, if only to confuse pursuit. But he couldn't predict what they'd need on this journey and so he was loathe to leave behind any sort of potentially useful tool.
The two tails of the rope hung down the side of the wall, swaying gently. He glanced at Ori, who was staring wide-eyed at the brightening fire. "Ori," He hissed. "Tie this around your waist, I'll let you down." He'd use his own weight to balance Ori's and let his friend down to the ground first.
Ori jumped to obey Patton's orders, and soon they were inching their way down the outer wall, Patton slowing paying out the rope, keeping them side-by-side as they descended. And then their feet were on the ground, Ori safe, or as safe as they could be this close to the enclave, and Patton was rolling up the rope as Ori untied the knots around his waist.
"What now, boss?" Ori whispered cheerily. He handed his end of the rope over, his hands shaking in the light of the quarter moon.
"We head east. You ready for a long hike?"
"I can walk," Ori said. He straightened his shoulders and reached for his pack. "Let's get out of here."
Patton nodded, and they struck off into the darkness.
C H A P T E R F I F T E E N
T hey walked the entire night, heading southeast to further confuse the packmembers that would soon be on their trail. Let them think Patton was taking Ori to Mexico if the pack did somehow stumble onto their trail--that would complicate their search. But despite knowing the pack was locked behind walls by the nightly curfew he still strained his ears with every step, his skin twitching with every unfamiliar sound, waiting for pursuit.
A couple of hours past dawn, when the sky had gone a clear sharp blue, they came upon an abandoned house and took refuge in it. Patton put Ori in one of the bedrooms once he’d checked it to be sure the floor was solid, and closed the door on the sultry scent Ori gave off every time he moved.
Patton slept in the living room, his back against the front door in case someone tried to get in. He could give Ori enough warning from there, he thought, to get out of the house and run or hide. Not that there was much to hide behind out here, but Ori was smart.
He woke sometime in the middle of the afternoon to the smell of Ori curled up against him. In a panic, he rolled away, or tried to, but he was trapped between the door and Ori's body, warm and smelling of everything he'd ever wanted and couldn't have. Ori muttered in his sleep and chased Patton, a small frown creasing the skin between his eyebrows. Patton froze, his attention trapped suddenly by the sparks of gold the sun caught in Ori's hair, the small bump on the bridge of his nose from that time he'd broken it as a child. The way his lips parted as his eyes fluttered open, wide and surprised and beautifully dark with desire.
"You should be upstairs. This isn't fair, Ori." But no matter the words he said, Patton couldn't help himself reaching out to run his fingers through Ori's hair. The memory of last night’s kiss ghosted over his lips and his heart leaped with sudden hope.
"What isn't fair?" Ori tilted his head so that the palm of Patton's hand brushed over his cheek. "That I'm barred from mating the man I was meant for? That you being a beta means we can't ever be together? I didn't come down here to tease you with promises I wasn't planning to keep." He kiss the heel of Patton's hand and then turned eyes burning with desire and determination on him. "I came downstairs to keep a promise to myself, that if we escaped, I wouldn't let this chance pass me by. I don't care if I spend the rest of my life in disgrace." And then he raised his lips to Patton's and kissed him in sweet, awkward invitation.
Patton froze for an instant and then the meaning behind Ori's words hit him. He broke the kiss and pressed Ori flat on the floor. "You can't mean that. I can't support you. A beta never makes the pack credits an alpha does."
