“Cara calls her a warrior.”
“She would know.” Kade’s comment shocked Zach. The Were turned and headed for the house.
“Point me to the couch,” Kade said. “It’s been a bloody long day.”
Zach did his best to stifle his resentment as he trailed along in his wake. “So am I a hotbed of werewolf activity?”
“Stop calling us werewolves,” Kade snarled at him. “I am not a wolf. And they were here, all right. Tracked them to the road a mile away. They had a vehicle waiting.”
The Were’s attitude pissed Zach off. “You could always sleep in the barn.”
“I could. But I won’t.”
Zach ground his teeth. Bloody werewolf. No, bloodyeffingwerewolf. “How long are you staying?”
Kade paused at the front door. “Until this is over.”
Zach’s gut twisted. Tomorrow marked five days until the full moon. Five days until they found out if Jessie lived, or died.
He pushed past Kade and opened the door.
* * *
In the morning, Kade insisted they stop and retrieve his truck before continuing on to Cara’s.
The vehicle was parked on a side street near Sarah’s apartment. Kade pulled up behind it in Neil’s vehicle.
“Do you have the keys?” Zach asked, extending a hand.
“No one drives my truck but me,” Kade growled and got out. “Follow me.”
“If you give me the address—”
“You can’t drive directly there.” Kade cut him off. “Just follow me.”
Zach rolled his eyes and exchanged places with Kade. He then followed the big Were’s in his own truck until he pulled into a parking lot off Archibald.
“Why are we stopping here?” Zach asked, walking over to Kade’s driver’s door. “Aren’t we going to Cara’s?”
“Can’t get there from here,” Kade rumbled. “She’ll guide us in.”
“Even you can’t find her?”
Kade shook his head. “She can’t make exceptions for friends. Her protections have to work for everyone. If we’d brought the cat, she’d have guided us in. But then, we’d have the cat.”
When Zach raised his brows, Kade added, “They stare, cats. Judgemental as hell. I got enough issues without dealing with that.”
When the Were said nothing more, but rather became occupied with scrolling through his phone, Zach returned to Neil’s truck. At least Buffy would have provided some company. She’d be a better conversationalist than Kade.
A few moments later, Cara’s distinctive Jeep pulled in next to them. Kade fired up his truck, and they followed her.
This time, Zach was more aware of the blurring of their route, as though he needed strong prescription glasses. No matter how he peered at the street signs, he couldn’t read them. And it seemed like they passed the same houses at least twice.
But eventually they pulled up at the familiar two story with the ornate wooden fence and its rampant vines. Cara parked the Jeep in line with the two trucks. Kade emerged from his vehicle with a folded map clenched in his fist. They followed Cara through the gate.
Jessie was sitting at the kitchen table with Neil. The Were’s ashen face still sported a bruise on one side, but the wound at his temple was scabbed over and mostly healed.
They were consuming muffins, a full plate of which sat in front of them. The place smelled of chocolate chips.
