Luke continued to smirk at me. I could feel his hilarity over the unmentioned tail.
Gabby walked behind Luke and smacked him hard on the back of the head.
“Meaning, you should stop trying to annoy him.”
I grinned. Maybe this conversation wouldn’t be so bad.
She walked around Luke and came toward my chair. She then gingerly perched on one of my knees. She’d picked me. In front of him. He didn’t look so smug anymore.
I wrapped my hands around her waist and pulled her back into my lap, turning her until I could see Luke, too. She settled against me.
“Luke, what happened when I touched you? What did you feel?”
“One hell of a shock. Listen, did you bring me here for a reason, or was it just to rub your relationship with him in my face?”
“It’s for a reason.”
She tried to lean forward, but I kept her on my lap with an arm around her waist. She didn’t fight it.
“How long have I been sleeping?”
“Two days, love. Everyone’s been pretty worried, and the Elders are waiting to talk to you.”
“I bet.”
I felt her attention drift and watched her study the apartment door. When she winced and held her head, I knew what she’d done. She’d tried to look at the lights in her head.
“Crap.”
I made an annoyed sound at the same time I rubbed her back. She needed to stop trying to use her abilities.
“Listen,” Luke said, sounding hesitant, “I think you should still be in bed, Little One. No disrespect intended, but you don’t look well.”
He was right. I mean, she was beautiful; but she did look sick and like she needed more sleep.
“I know you’re right, but I can’t go back to sleep yet. I need you to tell me what happened.”
“I don’t know what happened, love. You shocked me, told me not to leave, then fainted. After that, Clay picked you up and ran inside with you. He hasn’t let anyone near you for two days. We only knew you were still alive because he didn’t take off into the woods.”
“And after Clay left, what about you? What did you do?”
Luke began to look uncomfortable.
“Uh, I went out for a bit then came back here.”
“The constant attention probably went to your head,” she said under her breath.
I understood then that she’d done to Luke what she’d done to Nicole. Yet, his cocky attitude in the common room probably meant it’d been women he’d pulled in.
Luke looked up at Gabby, seemingly surprised that she knew what had happened. He had no idea just how special Gabby was.
“Did you meet anyone special while I was out?” she asked, glancing at the door again.
I wondered if she knew who waited in the hall. The soft movements told me more than one person waited, but not who. My guess was Sam and perhaps another Elder.
Luke shook his head, answering her question.
“Luke, there is so much I don’t understand, and I really need your help.” She nodded toward the door. “I need some time to myself to understand what I’m feeling.”
Luke and I both stared at Gabby. Her nod toward the door was the only thing that stopped me from being upset by the words. She wasn’t talking about her feelings for Luke. But I wasn’t sure what she was trying to tell him, either.
Luke looked from her to me then back again. He opened his mouth to ask a question, hesitated, and then glanced at the door once more. Finally, he stood.
“I’ll be around,” he said.
The door had barely closed behind him when a knock sounded.
She turned in my lap, met my gaze, and shook her head. I slid an arm under her legs, and standing with her in my arms, I glanced at the door. I knew she didn’t want to talk to whoever waited, but I doubted the Elders would be put off for long. She’d fainted during the Introduction and had been out for two days. And when she woke, the first thing she’d done was talk to Luke. They would want to know why.
I turned and carried her to the bedroom. There I set her on the bed, covered her, and closed her in her room.
With no choice, I went to answer the apartment door. Sam stood on the other side as I’d expected. There were several other wolves with him. Most likely spectators drawn by my removal of Luke from the common room. No other Elders, though.
I stepped aside to let him in.
“Where’s Gabby?” Sam asked, eyeing the closed bedroom door.
“Bed,” I said softly. “She’s still sick.”
Sam took a step toward her room, and I stepped in front of him. It was dangerous to challenge an Elder. If he really wanted to, he could physically force me aside or simply command me to move. Instead, he sighed and looked at me.
“Is she getting better?”
“She woke up. That’s something.”
“Clay, I know you’re upset with how we handled the Introduction, but this is better for her.”
“Did it look better?”
He sighed again and ran his hand through his hair. “Let me know when she wakes up again. I want to talk to her.” Then he turned and left.
I went back to the bedroom and found Gabby already asleep. Lying on my side, I pulled her close and closed my eyes, ready to sleep for the first time in days.
Instead, her conversation with Luke replayed in my head. Her comment, “I need some time to myself,” took on new meaning. The key was her look at the door. She’d known the Elders were out there listening. The way she’d held Luke’s gaze afterward...she’d been trying to get him to understand something.
We needed help leaving the Compound without the Elders catching us.
A noise woke me. Gabby’s stomach. It growled again, and she shifted in her sleep. I smiled and waited for her to open her eyes. The lamp was on, illuminating her features. She looked better. Less pale.
Her breathing changed, a sign she was awake, but she didn’t open her eyes. She was thinking. I’d seen her do that many times. Gabby wasn’t the type to just shoot out of bed. She liked to take a minute. I figured she used that time to make a plan for her day. She seemed to like making plans and sticking to them.
I gently brushed her hair from her face. She opened her eyes and turned her head to look at me, and my heart swelled at the emotion I saw there.
“Do I say good morning or is it close to good night again?”
Smiling, I reached for her hand and brought it to my mouth. A noise from the apartment stopped me from pulling her into my arms. Frowning, I turned my head and focused. The sound of the apartment door closing barely reached me.
Sam hadn’t returned since our last talk. Could it be him? I tensed as the bedroom door opened.
Luke poked his head in.
“Better hurry. You carry her, and I’ll grab her things,” he said, looking at me.
I didn’t hesitate. I leapt off the bed and scooped Gabby into my arms, covers and all. I couldn’t believe Luke had understood Gabby. I’d barely understood her.
She squeaked as I lifted her. Blankets covered her face, and she shook her head to dislodge them since her arms were pinned. Her scowl made me grin.
Luke already had Gabby’s bag and was cramming her things into it. I turned and left the room, Luke trailing behind me. Moving quickly, we quietly raced through the halls and made it out the main entrance without being seen. I was sure we’d been heard, though.
In the dark yard, the car faced the gate. Luke must have moved it. With a burst of speed, I reached the car and shifted Gabby’s weight to pull the handle. The door’s loud groan made me cringe and move faster.
I settled Gabby inside and buckled her in. As I moved away, Luke took my place to hand her bag in. She took it as I jogged around the hood, but she motioned for him to wait. She grabbed a scrap of paper from her bag and quickly wrote something. She handed it to Luke with a wave, keeping silent.
Luke quickly closed the door. As he scanned the note, I started the car and slammed it into gear. When I looked back at him, Luke was already on a motorcycle. I took off in a spray of gravel. As I’d expected, the noise brought someone to the door.