Chapter 79

Art POV

Interstate Rest Stop

We had covered a third of the distance to Moonglow Pack territory when we reached the most isolated rest stop I had been able to scout out on our route.

"Stop at this rest area. Pull into a parking space. Don't get out."

I knew the men following us worked for John Wright. I wasn't sure what their purpose was other than to annoy me and give me a grating headache as I tried to track them while also keeping up with our itinerary into enemy territory. They didn't appear to be much of a threat, but I was all too aware appearances could be deceiving.

After all, it hadn't been a bulky Alpha who had cursed me and brought me low.

I'd landed in my current circumstances courtesy of a tiny woman.

Magic came in all shapes and sizes. Who knew what the pair behind us were capable of in a match? Plenty of animals fought back the most fiercely when they were cornered which was exactly what I was doing with them.

They wouldn't be able to get away from me in an abandoned roadside stop. I would use everything in my arsenal to keep them right where I'd lured them until I got the answers I wanted. I wasn't too interested in how I got those answers either so they'd better do their best to keep me happy or I was going to give them a taste of what made me the best of the Alpha Council's Inspectors.

"Again: stay in the car. Do not get out no matter what you think is happening. You have to protect Rachel."

I knew Lewis would stay put as soon as I dragged his attention back to the female in the rear seat. His beast might want him to fight, but he was a slave to his heart and his heart only wanted the Flores female. He'd stay inside the vehicle to ensure her safety over the chance to fight for her honor.

Her honor wasn't even on the list of reasons I was going to tear into these lugs.

Our followers tried to casually coast down the exit and back up in a circle, but I was having none of that. I reached out with my mind to latch onto the small car. Using telekinesis, I pulled the compact all the way into the parking lot until it was idling in front of me.

The driver had tried to stop the car's movement by using the brakes. All he'd managed to do was burn rubber trails from the exit ramp to where I'd parked him.

I used a little finesse to open the doors with the same mental power I'd used to drag the car.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I rocked back on my heels while waiting on the men to exit their car. I decided to prod them along because I hated wasting time as much as I hated being kept waiting.

"Well? You've been following us for over fifty miles. What do you want? I know John Wright sent you. Are you just tracker dogs? Speak up! I can't hear you."

The driver audibly swallowed before saying, "We're just meant to watch the woman. No talking. No touching. No crossing into Moonglow territory. He just wants to make sure she's safe."

"I'm Alpha Inspector Art Windsor. The Alpha Council considers me their best. She's safe."

The driver exchanged a look with his passenger and I gave a low growl in warning. I wasn't anywhere close to setting my wolf free, but I found the threat motivated men better than most others. They assumed -rightly- if I was such a big man, my beast would be of indomitable size.

"Relax, big fella," the passenger said, holding his hands up in front of him as if he needed to show he was no threat to me, "We just have orders to follow, right? You can't blame us for trying to do what we're told, can you? You got bosses too, ain't ya?"

Everything about him made me feel dirty. There was an oily quality to the way he spoke and moved and tried to wheedle me. I wanted a shower almost as bad as I wanted to break his neck.

"I serve the Alpha Council. They're everyone's bosses."

I wasn't admitting shit in common with Oily. He could kiss my ass.

"Right, right, I get you. How about you just let us hang back the way we been doing until you get to Moonglow? I swear we won't get no closer than we done before. Can you just let us do that much?"

I could. I just didn't want to and I had an obstinate streak a mile wide which said I wasn't going to compromise with these idiots.

"No. Go back to Wright with a message from me. That's what you can do---or I can send you back to Wright with the message carved into you if you don't feel like talking?"

I had no problem with writing on flesh. My claws were sharp and my fangs were always at the ready. Goddess knew I could use a snack for the road. Who knew? Oily might taste a bit like fried chicken.

Oily held his hands out even more plaintively as he stammered, "No, no, n-n-no, that's okay with us. You got to get on your way. We understand. You just tell us the message. We'll get it to Mister Wright for you."

I let them stand there long enough to shift feet. They deserved to wait on me a little since they'd made me wait on them. Here I had actually worried I would have a real fight on my hands, too.

Annoyed with myself as much as them, I snapped, "Tell Wright next time? I send his trackers back in pieces."

I didn't wait on them to process what I'd said before I went back to the rental. I unlocked it with my mind though I used my hand to open the door.

Sliding into my seat on the passenger side, I grumbled in Lewis's direction, "Get back on the road. They're worthless. No threat at all."

Lewis didn't waste time arguing with me which I did appreciate. I deliberately waited until we were coasting again before checking out the female in the backseat.

I'd felt her eyes on me. I quirked a brow to dare her into saying something. She had fire in her blood, sure, but I was used to women who ran much hotter than her. I wasn't going to give her an inch when it seemed as if every Alpha around her let her take miles off them.

"How did you do that?"

"Do what?"

Not. One. Inch.

If she wanted answers out of me, she'd have to ask for them directly and even then? I wasn't sure I'd give them to her.

I didn't owe her any answers. She was just a temporary diversion from my regular job of tracking down traitors to the Council. If she had any idea the kind of work I did during my average assignment, I had no doubt she'd be silent the whole ride.

"You moved their car with magic."

"No. I moved their car with my mind. Telekinesis. It's not the same thing as magic. Believe me: you know magic when you see magic."

I had scars from the last sorcerer which would last me until my dying day. I wasn't in any hurry to go drum up a fight with anyone using real magic.

"Wolves don't have telekinesis."

"I never said they did."

"Telekinesis isn't real," Lewis piped up out of nowhere, surprising me enough to have me staring at him in sheer shock, "Well, it isn't! That's something in comic books. It doesn't exist in real life."

"Werewolves exist in real life. Witches exist in real life. You don't believe in telekinesis? Wait. Are you one of those guys who doesn't believe in extraordinary abilities but does believe in ghosts?"

I absolutely believed Lewis was the type to believe in ghosts. I would bet money he had a story in his head about poltergeists or a haunting somewhere. He was the kind to buy into snake oil if it was sold by a guy with an 'honest face.'

"Ghosts are real," Rachel countered, "You don't believe in ghosts, but you think you have superhuman powers?"

"I'm a werewolf. We're all werewolves. We all have superhuman powers. I just also happen to be telekinetic."

I was not discussing whether or not I believed in ghosts with this dynamic duo. They didn't need to hear my history with the afterlife. I had already given them enough entertainment for a week back at the rest stop.

"How are you telekinetic?"

"How are you the equivalent of Helen of Troy to every Alpha who meets you? We've all got something that's ours. You're irresistible. I'm telekinetic. Lewis here is charming. We're a regular motley crew. Just sit back and enjoy the drive. We've not got long now."

I couldn't wait for this job to be over. I had a feeling I would have a harder time keeping myself from killing Flores than keeping others from capturing her.

"And here I thought being cursed was bad."

"Cursed? You're cursed?"