Page 23 of Sanctuary
Meanwhile, Ori found himself wandering in Patton’s footsteps, never more than a few feet away, with some instinct he’d never felt before driving him to keep his mate close, to keep what was his.
Finally, Patton turned to him, his expression apologetic. “I didn't think it would worry you so much. I’m sorry, I should have gotten us farther away before we stopped.”
Ori stared at Patton, astonished and a little insulted. “Why do you think it’s all on you? I seem to remember starting it." He shook his head and took a deep breath. "I know it's silly. Everything was fine last night, and there's no reason to think they're looking in this direction. And I thought we were making decisions here together? You don't need to do all the thinking for me.” He bit back the rest of his response, which ran along the lines that if Patton was going to go all alpha on him and try making all their decisions, Ori was going to smack him. Or strike out on his own.
Patton’s eyes widened. “I.. It’s just… I mean—” he stuttered, then he must have noticed Ori’s expression, because he stopped talking and looked up at the sky for a moment.
Ori waited, sort of patiently, to see if he had anything else to say, wondering if the stress of their adventure was going to ruin their friendship and their future together. Lysoonka, he hoped not. But if Patton made some boneheaded remark about sheltered omegas, Ori was going to punch him, right in the nose. Patton knew better.
Finally, Patton looked back down at him, his expression solemn. Ori braced himself to be disappointed, and started his mantra of ‘better than Keith’, but then Patton said, “So, Captain Ori the scourge of piratedom is back, huh?” Ori gaped at him, and Patton laughed. “I can live with that. Just remember, pirates don’t take orders all that well.”
Ori started to laugh and moved in to hug Patton. “I remember pirates being very good about taking orders when the right reward was offered. Aren’t you guys all mad for treasure?”
Patton’s arms closed around him. “Yeah, but I’ve already got my treasure.” He kissed Ori’s temple and laid his cheek on the top of Ori’s head.
Happiness flooded Ori’s body. “You mean it?” he said into the side of Patton’s neck.
“Yeah. Always.” Patton hugged him a little longer, which Ori was grateful for, because it seemed that his knees had gone all rubbery and he wasn’t a hundred percent sure he could stand. For a moment, he wondered if they could afford to take another morning off, the magic of being able to have all the sex he wanted a lure more enticing than the best cookies he’d ever had. After all, if the damage had been done, it had already happened, right? How could another morning make it worse? But then his common sense and that other one that was still convinced they were being watched reasserted themselves and he reluctantly pushed on Patton’s chest until his mate—he loved that word, though he was still too shy to say it out loud—let go of him. “We should get moving. But tonight, Pirate Patton, I’m going to hunt you down and make you my prisoner.”
Patton laughed and grinned. “Oh, the torture!”
“Damn right,” Ori retorted, very off-color. Patton’s eyes widened at the swear-word, but then he just laughed again.
“I’ll check to see what direction we should go in, if you want to finish the packing.”
“Almost done anyway.” Ori popped another kiss onto Patton’s lips, and turned to gather all their bags up and set them down beside Patton, who was frowning intently at his phone. “Problem?” Ori asked lightly.
Patton looked up at him, but his frown didn’t fade. “Just trying to memorize the route. The phone only has so much power left in it.”
“Oh.” Not having the phone hadn’t occurred to Ori. “I brought some paper. Do you want to copy the map down?” He dug into one of the little pockets of his backpack and pulled out the ragged-edged notebook and stub of a pencil he’d crammed in there at the last minute.
“No, I think I can remember it. I’m sure we can find someplace to charge it on the way.” Patton turned the phone off and put it away. “Ready to go?”
“Yes.” Ori’s eyes flicked about their surroundings. “I don’t know. I’m feeling…off. Still. Like there’s something in the bushes watching us.” He spun in a circle, then picked up his bags and motioned for Patton to lead the way. “Like something’s changed since last night.” He adjusted the waist of his jeans and a line of worry grew between his eyebrows. “I wish now we’d kept going. And no, that absolutely wasn’t your fault.” He tucked a hand into Patton’s arm, and gently encouraged him to walk just a leeetle bit faster. “I don’t know, everything was fine last night.” He sighed. “It’s probably nothing.”
“I wouldn’t mind making up the time,” Patton assured him. “But I can’t say I didn’t enjoy why we lost it in the first place.” He met Ori’s satisfied grin with one of his own. “We can eat lunch on the move if that makes you feel better.”
Ori made a face, all his careful meal planning going straight to the Barrenlands, and then nodded slowly. “I wanted to save the jerky for later on, but if you don’t mind?” he asked in a tentative voice.
“Naw,” Patton drawled and pressed Ori’s hand against his side with his arm. “I want to get you to Mercy Hills as fast as possible. Maybe we should have bought more jerky.”
“Thanks, no,” Ori said dryly. “It’s not exactly my favorite.”
Patton grinned and lengthened his stride a little.
They made it to Wilcox at the end of a long, long day that left both of them feeling worn thin. Ori's body was stiff and every step felt risky, as if his body might at any time decide it wasn't going an inch farther. He forced himself to keep up and hoped Patton wouldn't notice.
They stopped at a store to fill their water bottles and replenish the jerky they’d eaten, and to wash up quickly in one of the bathrooms, but they camped outside town, hiding in some buildings filled with a smell that reminded Ori a little of the beef they got at the enclave. After some exploration, they discovered that a few pens at the far side of the complex still had cattle in them. He recognized them from schoolbooks, though he’d never seen one before in real life. Not a living one, anyway.
Patton hung out in the door, watching the cattle with a hungry look that seemed more alpha than beta, but he didn't show any inclination to chase after them, which Ori would have expected an alpha to do. Ori was only marginally interested in the cattle himself, giving them a tired glance before he laid out their blankets and dug out another can of tuna and some of the dried bread for their evening meal. The heel of his right foot had begun to hurt around the middle of the afternoon but he’d been afraid to stop and look. He was still afraid to look, but he’d put on an extra sock tomorrow and hope that would be enough.
Ori called to Patton to come eat, and his mate left off staring at the cows to join him on their blankets for their meager meal. He also ended up cleaning up after both of them, because as soon as Ori’s belly was full his head started nodding and he was mostly asleep before he and Patton could get arranged comfortably in their little den.
The last thing he heard, when he was so far gone his body refused to obey his commands, was Patton’s voice saying, “I’m sorry.” And then he was asleep.
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y - T W O
A t some point during the night, Patton jerked awake and lay there, listening hard for whatever it was that had disturbed him. He listened until his head started to ache, but all he heard was the sound of the wind outside the building, the noises of nighttime insects, and the quiet lowing of the cattle on the far side of the property. Beside him, Ori jerked in his sleep, his arms moving in patterns that Patton recognized from his little brothers and sisters. Chasing rabbits in their sleep, but Ori's movements were sharper, more agitated. It made the hair stand up on the back of Patton's neck, especially after Ori's odd feelings all day. He didn't think the pack would be looking in this direction yet, but maybe Ori's subconscious was picking something up, finding some pattern in the personalities back home that made him believe they would come this way sooner than later.
