“Would it be all right with you if Winifred and Bethi took your place in the car?  Just for a little while?”

“Why?”

He didn’t sound objectionable to the request, only curious.

“I have some questions.”  Questions that might result in me wanting to beat him again.  Or me blushing.  Either way, I didn’t want him around.

“All right.  When it gets to be too much, tell Winifred to let me know.  We can stop for a break.”

“Thanks,” I said, glancing at him.  The slightly pink mark on his cheek caused a pang of regret.  I was tired of hitting people.  Well, I wouldn’t mind hitting a few more of those Urbat.  Better yet, Blake.  But it wasn’t like Blake or his men would just hold still for me while I—

I grinned.

“You’re happy,” Carlos said, opening the door for me.

“I am.  I think I just had a brilliant idea.”

I didn’t tell him, though.  Instead, I stepped inside and smiled at Bethi who was watching for me.  I doubted Carlos would be onboard with what I had in mind.  But I had no doubt Bethi would be.  She didn’t seem the type to back down from anything.  And she knew I needed to realize my full potential in order to help them deal with the Urbat.

“I was wondering if you and Winifred would drive with me for a bit,” I said, moving toward Bethi.

“That’s fine with me.”  She patted Luke’s arm when he frowned at her.

I glanced at Winifred, and she nodded.  When I turned to look for Carlos, he was talking to the waitress.

“We’ve paid the bill and can leave if you’re ready,” Winifred said, reclaiming my attention.

“I’m ready.”

Thirteen

Bethi turned in her seat to look back at me.  We were in the car, waiting for Winifred and Carlos to come out of the restaurant.

“What’s up with the switch?”

“I have some questions about what you said this morning.  And I have an idea that I’ll need your help with.”

“Intriguing.”

The driver’s door opened, and Winifred got in.  I turned to see Carlos climb into the front of the SUV with Jim.  Our gazes met as he closed the door.  My stomach did its weird twist thing.

“This is for you,” Winifred said, breaking my focus.  She passed a to-go box back to me.  I took it but didn’t open it.  The portion of BLT still in my stomach was enough for now.  Winifred watched me in the mirror as she started the car.

“Carlos said you didn’t eat this morning and barely ate anything before you went outside.”

“Yeah.”  I set the box aside.  “Still, I think I’ll save this for later.”

A wave of annoyance rolled over me as Winifred mumbled something about Jim.  Then she shook her head and cut off the emotion.

“Sorry about that.  So, what questions do you have?”

Now that it was time to start asking, I was nervous.  Did I really want answers?  I settled back into my seat as I decided it didn’t matter what I wanted.  Ignorance would get me into trouble, not just with Carlos and the whole pull thing but with werewolves in general.

“Let’s start with what werewolves can do.  I’ve noticed some differences.  Obviously, you change forms, but when in your non-fuzzy form, you guys are hard to dent.  Do you have thicker bones or something?”

“I don’t believe so, but it might explain why we’re harder to injure.  We tend not to go to doctors for obvious reasons.  Besides additional strength, we have better hearing, better vision, and quicker reflexes than humans.  We generally heal faster, too.”

“Same with the Urbat?” I asked.

Winifred glanced at Bethi.

“Yeah,” Bethi said.  “From what I’ve seen, werewolves and Urbat are about the same body-wise.  Their differences seem to lie in their beliefs and values.”

I thought on that for a bit.  It would have been nice if the werewolves had an upper hand, physically.  Yet, it was better to be equals than the Urbat having the advantage.

Now to the harder questions.  I glanced at Winifred and caught her watching me in the mirror.  I heaved a sigh, hoping everything I said would stay with the two women in this car.

“When I said I’d help, I didn’t care who you all were or what was going on.  I just wanted to get rid of this thing I do, so I could be with Ethan.”

I glanced down at my hands and tried to swallow past the lump in my throat.  It took a few tries before I could speak again.

“But things changed.  Before Ethan...”  I cleared my throat, skirting around his death.  “He noticed that all of us girls seemed to be paired up with one of you.  Not long after he pointed that out, Michelle said something about a pull, and Bethi said something about biting.”

I lifted my eyes and met Winifred’s gaze.

“Am I supposed to be Carlos’ Mate?”

“Do you want to be?”

I shook my head in frustration.

“Don’t answer questions with questions.  It’s annoying.  According to your beliefs, does Carlos think he and I are supposed to be together?”

“Yes,” Bethi said when Winifred wouldn’t.

Winifred gave her a look.

“What?  He nearly tore down Ethan’s bar when that guy hit her.  What else could it be?”

“That’s why he came at the cage?” I asked.

Bethi, still turned in her seat, grinned at me.

“Werewolves are protective.”

“Okay.  Fine.  So I get that he wants me to bite him—not going to happen by the way—but why did he want me to run?”

Shock hit me.

“I beg your pardon?” Winifred said.

“Last night, after I blasted all you guys.  Carlos took me into the woods and told me to run.  I blame my agreement on the alcohol.”

“What happened?”  Bethi’s rabid curiosity coated my skin like lotion.

“I ended up on the ground with a growling fur-beast straddling me,” I said.

“Did he hurt you?” Winifred asked.

“He thanked me and helped me to my feet.  So, can you tell me why he wanted me to run?”

Winifred’s sudden need to watch the road had me curious.  That she took a moment to answer had me planning all the ways I’d make Carlos pay if he’d talked me into doing something bad.  Gradually, Winifred’s shock died down.

“It hasn’t been long since we shed our fur as daily wear and started to wear clothes.  At heart, we’re still animals,” she said.  “And a chase still gives us a thrill.”  She glanced at me in the mirror.

“Wait.  You’re saying he wanted me to run because it turned him on?”

“I’m totally going to get Luke to chase me,” Bethi said with a grin.

I ignored her.

“And the shaking?” I asked.

“Struggling for control over the change,” Winifred said.  “When we’re emotionally—”

“I get it.  Do I have a choice?  Am I going to be forced to pair up with Carlos?”

“No one will force you,” she said.  “You will always have a choice.”

“Good,” I said with a long exhale.  “I didn’t sign on to be a new candidate in this werewolf dating service you all seem to have going on.  Now, for some serious business,” I said, ready to change the subject.

“I thought that was serious,” Bethi said.

“When I tried to push out the sludge inside me just a little while ago, it didn’t work.  Carlos thinks it’s because I’m too worried about hurting the people around me.  He might be right.  But, I need to figure out how this thing works.”

Bethi was already nodding.

“Yep.  I agree.”

“Okay.  So, pushing with everyone around is out.  But I thought of something else.  Gabby said the Urbat are spread out.  I want to see if we can isolate one or two, so I can use them as practice.”

I could already see the rejection in Winifred’s gaze.  Bethi, on the other hand, thought it was a great idea by her excitement.

“Yes,” she said.  “That would be perfect.  We can hang back, and you can easily take on one or two.  As long as Gabby’s watching, they can’t really go anywhere with you if it doesn’t work.