Going Nowhere

"You're half-werewolf," Luke said calmly. His face didn't change at all when he said that. In contrast to Luke, Willow was stunned. She hoped she had misheard, but she wasn't deaf, and Luke had said it quite loudly.

"This is a bad joke." Willow threw her back against the backrest and covered her face with both palms. "I swear it's not funny."

"It's nothing to laugh about. This is a serious matter. You may not believe it now, but you'll see the proof later."

"I don't want to see people turn into wolves!"

Luke just shrugged and didn't reply.

"Please take me back home. Right now."

Luke turned his head briefly. "Which house?" he asked. "You should forget about the house you left there, Willow. Lowell will be back there at any moment to arrest you again."

"Why does he want to arrest me?"

"Didn't he have time to tell you why?"

Willow recalled. "He wanted me to be his partner to become the alpha and attract my father's followers. I didn't understand what he was saying. What's an alpha?"

"An alpha is what the leader of a wolf pack is called."

Willow shook her head. "He said my dad used to be the alpha of the pack."

Luke nodded. "That's right. Your father used to be the leader of a werewolf pack, before he went into hiding and stayed away from the pack. The pack is now leaderless, so Lowell wants to take over."

"Why is my father in hiding? Did he commit a crime and is wanted by the police?

"He has his reasons, you'll have to ask him yourself," Luke said. "Right now my job is just to get you to him."

"Where is he hiding?"

"Deep in the wilderness near the border."

"You expect me to come with you to some place in the wilderness where my father is hiding? While I've never been to the jungle. Why doesn't he just come meet me at my grandparents' house? He knows the place. He left my mom and me there."

"He has his reasons, Willow. I can't answer your question. Only he knows the answer. Your father only gave me the task of picking you up. After a long absence, he contacted me a month ago, told me his hiding place and gave me this assignment. Because apparently he knew about Lowell's plan to find you and take you as a mate."

"And you want to?"

"Why would I not want to?" Luke looked at her. "Your father wants to protect you from the bad guys, and I owe him a favor. So I did what he asked."

Willow paused and turned to stare out the window. She tried to consider her decision to go with Luke. Luke was her chance to meet her father, who had left her and her mother behind, without a trace. The problem was, she didn't know Luke. What if Luke turned out to be as evil as Lowell.

Willow glanced at the man next to her who had returned his focus to driving. His profile from the side was handsome with a perfect aquiline nose, brown eyes shaded by long, lustrous lashes, and full lips that were more often than not tightly pursed. Luke's shoulders were sturdy supporting his broad chest and his arms looked strong although his muscles were not overly muscular. Was Luke really a werewolf? He looked more like the cool guy on campus, and even the cool guys on Willow's campus were nowhere near as handsome as Luke.

"What are you thinking about?" asked Luke suddenly, as if he realized he was being watched.

"I want to meet my dad and ask him the questions I've been meaning to ask him. But if I go with you, I don't know you. I don't know if you're good, or if you're as bad as Lowell. The thing is, if I don't come with you, I have nowhere to go. I have no family other than my grandparents. And, I take you at your word that Lowell will try to find me again."

"I'm not as good as you think," Luke said. "But you don't have a choice, do you? I'm really going to take you to your father, believe me."

"You're right. I have no choice but to come with you. But did my father ever tell you why he left his wife and children?"

"He said that he had to leave to keep you both safe," Luke said. "Ask him when you meet. Don't be afraid of him, he loves you, Willow. He's been watching you from afar."

***

Someone shook her gently. Willow opened her eyes slowly and saw who had woken her. Luke was staring at her with his expressionless face. He gestured behind his back, and when Willow's gaze flicked over his shoulder, they were at a small gas station in the middle of nowhere. Luke had let her sleep the entire trip and was now parking the Audi after refueling.

Her cell phone buzzed in the small sling bag that hadn't left her body since she last went home. He picked it up and checked it. It was a text message from Kelly, asking if Willow wanted to go to the movie tomorrow night. Willow was eager to call her and tell her what had happened, but she decided against it. Kelly wouldn't believe her, not if she mentioned werewolves. She would be immediately dismissed as crazy.

Luke had left her to check the car machine. Willow couldn't see him because of the open hood. Through the window, she could see all around the gas station were trees and hills. There wasn't a single house.

Then, her stomach rumbled.

I'm hungry, she was surprised. The tension had numbed her, unable to feel anything but fear. Now that the situation had calmed down somewhat, her stomach demanded content. She hadn't eaten anything since lunch yesterday. Her grandparents' wedding anniversary dinner was a distant memory, and now she was starving. When she looked outside again, she saw that there was a convenience store at the gas station.

There was food there. She reached into her small bag again, but couldn't find her wallet. Oh shit, she thought. It probably fell out when she was struggling in Boris' grip, or when she ran with Luke to the car. Her stomach growling, she began to think about asking Luke for help, for the first time.

Willow got out of the car and approached the front of the car Luke was tinkering with. He was bent over checking the engine. He turned his head when he felt Willow's presence. "Uhmm, Luke?"

"Yes?"

"I'm starving. There's a convenience store over there that sells food."

Luke looked at her as if waiting for Willow to say something more. However, Willow, who was already feeling awkward, said nothing. In her entire life, she had never borrowed or asked anyone for money, except her grandparents. She was never short of money and always had money in her wallet, as well as two credit cards from her grandfather.

Since Willow didn't say anything else, it made Luke think and realize. "You didn't bring any money?"

Willow nodded in embarrassment. "Apparently I dropped my wallet."

Luke said no more. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out two bills and handed them to Willow. It was twenty dollars.

Willow stared at the money in his hand. It was the first twenty dollars that made her want to cry. She was used to buying things for amounts she never thought about, so when her world came crashing down like it did now, holding twenty dollars was like holding a priceless treasure.

"Thank you," she said. "Are you... hungry or thirsty? Want me to buy you something?"

Luke shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm fine."

Willow frowned. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Just think of yourself. Buy something for yourself."

"Okay then." Willow turned around and walked towards the convenience store.

The cashier by the door was a middle-aged man with curly gray hair. He seemed unremarkable to see a young woman come in on a dark morning, as if it was something he was used to. "Welcome," he greeted lazily, barely looking up. The man was reading a book.

Willow walked over to the food shelf and started looking for something to suit her taste. There were some of her usual cookies and chips. She also picked up some candy and canned coffee. She was going to buy some hot coffee from the machine, but decided against it because she was sure it wouldn't be good. It occurred to her to buy Luke some water. Werewolves still need a drink, she thought. Then laughed at herself silently, because she still didn't believe werewolves existed. She gathered everything and walked to the cashier.

In the aisle, she almost collided with someone else - an overweight trucker with greasy hair and a scruffy beard.

"Sorry," Willow said and slipped past him.

She glanced over her shoulder as she walked away and saw the trucker staring at her with a look that gave her chills. She quickened her pace to the other end of the hallway, but another trucker cut her off. The man was no less creepy despite being thinner than his friend. His gaze was equally creepy. He smiled at Willow, revealing two crooked teeth browned by nicotine.

"Excuse me," Willow said. Her heart was beating fast, but she tried to remain calm and not show her fear. "Excuse me," she said again. But the truck driver didn't move.

Willow was about to turn around and walk back the way she came, but the fat trucker was blocking the end of the aisle, pretending to look at a nearby shelf while peering at her from the end of the shelf. Willow felt like cursing. However, she reminded herself to stay calm. On a dare, she pushed past the thinner trucker, running past him towards the exit.

"Hey, you haven't paid yet!" The cashier called out behind her.

Willow realized that she still had the groceries in her hand. "Oh, sorry," she said. Then she put everything on the counter. The cashier started counting, and Willow heard footsteps behind her. Over her shoulder she saw what she feared. The two truckers were standing right behind her. One of them was carrying a two-pack of beer. Both smiled at her, and Willow knew it was far from friendly.

"That's nine dollars and twenty cents," the cashier said as she put her purchases in a bag.

Willow handed him the bill Luke had given her earlier. "Keep the change," she said, then grabbed her shopping bag from the counter and hurried out of the convenience store. Her pace quickened, hoping she wouldn't be followed.

She didn't find Luke in the car. The hood was closed again, but the car was unlocked. How careless, Willow cursed silently. This is my car. What if it was stolen. She thought Luke might have gone to the toilet, so she put all her groceries in the back seat. She just grabbed her canned coffee and as she closed the car door again, she looked around, searching for Luke. It was strange that she felt insecure without him, even though he was a complete stranger to her.

Willow sat on the hood, opened her coffee can and took a sip. Cold coffee didn't go down well in the morning, but at least the caffeine helped keep her refreshed. Taking another sip of coffee, Willow climbed down from the hood and started for the passenger side door. But she stopped when she heard steps approaching.

She turned around expecting to see Luke, but her heart sank when she saw the two truckers walking toward her. Both men were grinning at her. Fear swelled in Willow's stomach.

***