He gritted his teeth. “Is there a point to this?”

  “I’m not going to peer over my shoulder all day,” I said, staring at my reflection in the side mirror. “Or for the rest of this road trip to the seventh layer of Hell. I want a gun, Chaser. Specifically, my gun. I want to be Thelma.”

  “No.”

  “Why not?” I was on the verge of pouting and stamping my foot, but I’d already promised to stop the ‘too stupid to live through stubbornness’ routine. Besides, it wasn’t appropriate to give a firearm to a child.

  “I don’t need to explain myself to you.”

  “Don’t you like me challenging your masculinity?” I asked. “Or is it a vampire thing? Are werewolves the bane of your immortal—”

  “Sloane.” He sighed and tightened his grip on the wheel. “I told you already. I care about you, I do, but it’s my job to protect you. Mine alone. You’re not making it easy for me.”

  “Ditto.”

  I could go on all day and night about how he was wearing a mask. About how he was hiding some big secret about me, Fortitude, and the supernaturals who were hunting us. I could go on about a lot of things, but when it came to me having a gun…? It should be a no-brainer.

  “I’m not going to shoot you,” I told him.

  Chaser cursed and straightened up in his seat.

  “What?”

  “Fuel light is on.”

  “We need to stop for petrol?” I glanced out the window, not liking the uneasy feeling the vast nothingness of the Nullarbor gave me. “Out here?”

  “I was hoping it would last a little longer,” Chaser said. “There’s no cover out here.”

  “Don’t you mean, there’s zero witnesses?”

  He glared at me and continued down the highway. There were roadhouses at regular intervals, so we just had to make it to the next one.

  The one we found turned out to be rather modern, and luckily for us, it was mostly empty. Only one other car sat at the bowsers as we stopped, belonging to a woman who was just walking in to pay.

  I supposed it boded well for us. Less people meant less chance of being spotted by the elusive enemy. I still had no idea who they were, and the farther we drove, the more it bothered me.

  Chaser cut the engine.

  “Can I get out?” I asked. “I’m a little hungry, and my backside is numb.”

  “Stay in the car and get down,” Chaser ordered.

  Sliding down in the front seat, I grimaced and peered over the top of the dash at the garage beyond. The automatic doors swished open as the woman exited and walked over to her car. A dark-coloured sedan pulled in off the road and turned into a spot by the windows.

  Glancing at Chaser, I wondered how he knew what to look for. The notion of detecting a threat through body language was a foreign concept to me, and so was spotting a tail. I’d watched a lot of movies with those kinds of things, but who knew if they were real or not? I always thought a silencer on a gun made the shot go pew-pew, thanks to spy shows and James Bond movies. But in reality, it still went boom when someone pulled the trigger, silencer or not.

  Chaser shoved the nozzle back into the bowser and closed the tank on the side of the car. Tapping the window, he walked across the concrete towards the roadhouse. A moment later, he disappeared through the automatic doors.

  Watching the second car, I narrowed my eyes as two men got out. The one nearest was tall and thin with a pointed nose. The other was more robust with a mean look about him.

  Both men were wearing tidy jeans and sports jackets with open collar shirts—hardly criminal material. Their car was rather nice, which was why I didn’t pay much attention to them at first.

  Then, as their gaze turned towards me, I remembered what Chaser had told me the night before. They could be anyone.

  How did someone tell a werewolf from a vampire? Was there a way? They all looked human, until they weren’t. I hadn’t even seen a set of fangs…yet.

  When the men began walking towards the car, I realised I was borderline screwed.

  A chill shuddered through my body, and I checked the mirrors. I couldn’t be sure they’d seen me, but if I stayed put, they’d find me for sure.

  I had to get out of here. Now.

  I opened the door a crack, just enough for me to slide out, and crouched down on the ground. The sound of approaching footsteps echoed on the concrete, making my stomach roll. I closed the car door softly so the latch caught, then made a break for it.

  Crawling across the concrete, I ignored the scraping on my knees and moved between the opposite pair of bowsers. I rose slowly and glanced between the hoses, getting a good look at the men. The taller one cupped his hands against the window and peered inside the car.

  “It’s empty,” he said.

  The other guy nodded towards the automatic doors, solidifying my fear.

  Chaser.

  The men followed him into the roadhouse, and my heart twisted. He was smart, so he’d know something was up, wouldn’t he? He had all that vampire super hearing and strength. He’d know they were there with their wooden bullets, right?

  Bloody hell, I didn’t know. Chaser was an enigma. Who knew what game he played behind those iridescent eyes?

  I cursed under my breath and darted across the concrete and through the doors.

  That’s right, you idiot, I thought. Run headfirst into danger, cause that’s a smart plan.

  Inside, there were two aisles. One with junk food and magazines, while the other held various bits and pieces of hardware and motor oils. A bank of refrigerators sat along the far wall, full of brightly coloured drinks. The dull sounds of some pop song wailed out of speakers set into the ceiling, but no gunshots or sounds of men fighting greeted me.

  At first, I couldn’t see anyone else other than an attendant behind the counter.

  Sliding down the aisle in front of me, I padded past a row of motor oil, transmission fluid, and other assorted tools and puncture repair kits.

  “Where is she?” a man hissed.

  Peering around the corner, I stifled a gasp when I saw a knife at Chaser’s throat. One of the men had him boxed in, the blade pressed against a very sensitive vein. He was unable to move without causing one hell of a scene with his blood as the main character.

  There were two of them… They both came in here together, so where was the other guy?

  If Chaser had just given me the gun when I’d asked him…

  “There’s my girl,” a slimy male voice purred behind me. He’d moved so silently, I hadn’t stood a chance. I was a werewolf, apparently, but I was still human.

  I only had a split-second to react. Grabbing a bottle of transmission fluid off the shelf, I heaved it over my shoulder. The man behind me let out an oomph as the heavy container smacked him right in the face. I spun on my heel, grabbed another bottle of something, and swung it with all the strength I could muster.

  Five litres of motor oil collided with the man’s face, and he stumbled to the side, smashing into the shelving. Bottles flew everywhere as I glanced over my shoulder, checking for Chaser.

  The commotion had caused the other man to falter, giving Chaser enough time to disarm him. He twisted and grasped the knife, moving so fast his entire body became a blur, and before I could take a breath, he slammed it home. The blade sank into the man’s chest, and he dropped.

  Chaser’s gaze met mine and he shouted, “Down!”

  Like we were in some kind of coordinated stunt in an action movie, I ducked as he reached behind his back and pulled out a gun. One shot rang out, echoing loudly in the small space, but one shot was all it took.

  Twisting my head, my mouth fell open as I saw the man I’d smashed with the bottle of oil fall onto his back as blood erupted from his chest. Then he began to turn a shade of sickly grey, his veins bulging as his flesh sank inwards.

  Gasping, I looked up at Chaser, not quite believing what’d just happened.

  He stared back at me for a moment, then his lip curled. Striding across the store, he moved behind the counter and grasped the attendant’s shirt. I scrambled after him, wanting to get as far away from the dead bodies as possible.

  “Mister,” the attendant wailed, holding his hands in the air, “take what you want. Take whatever, just don’t hurt me.”

  “I don’t want to hurt you,” Chaser said with a snarl. He focused on the man. “You saw nothing. Heard nothing. Some customers came in and paid for fuel and left. The shelf broke and you’re going to clean it up. Understand?”

  I emerged from behind the shelf, my hair falling into my face. The attendant was staring slack-jawed at Chaser and nodded.

  “Where’s the security footage?” he asked.

  “O-out back.”

  “Take me.” To me, he said, “Stay there.”

  He dragged the poor attendant from behind the counter, and a moment later, the sound of breaking glass and plastic echoed through the open door. I cringed, my gaze turning to the vampire with the knife in his chest. He was dead, but he hadn’t shrivelled up like the other had.

  “Sloane.” Chaser was beside me, his hand curling around mine.

  “Why did he go like that?” I asked, nodding towards the dead vampire.

  “That’s what happens when a vampire dies. They desiccate.”

  “Are you going to have to kill the other one?”

  He nodded. “He’ll heal if I don’t.”

  “But—”

  “Sloane,” he interrupted, “go wait in the car. I’ll handle this.”

  He didn’t have to ask me twice. I glanced at the pooling blood and hightailed it outside and slid into the car.

  I could see him moving through the windows as he tidied up the mess, then as he carried out the first body. He held the heavyset vampire like he weighed nothing at all, and that’s when I realised just how strong he was.

  I was weak. Useless. I’d gotten lucky in there.

  The car rocked as he stuffed the body into the boot, and I curled my nose. He retrieved the second and dumped it in as well.

  Maybe I could’ve helped if I were a full werewolf. Maybe that’s why he wouldn’t give me a gun? I was still human until I turned.

  Chaser got into the driver’s seat. “That was a really stupid thing to do.”

  I blinked. “Saving you was stupid?”

  “You didn’t save me,” he replied. “I had it under control.”

  “No, you didn’t,” I shot back. “You told me to stay in the car. You know where they checked first?”

  He said nothing as he turned over the engine.

  “A thank you would be nice,” I exclaimed. “Thanks for being smart and getting out of the car, Sloane. Thanks for beating that guy’s face in, Sloane. You were a real help, Sloane. Man, you were right when you said you can take care of yourself, Sloane.”

  “Shut up!” Chaser exclaimed as the car shot out onto the highway. “You’re so infuriating.”

  “I’m infuriating? Look in the mirror!”

  “You’ve got the biggest attitude problem of anyone I’ve ever met. And I’ve met some nasty people.”

  “You bet I’ve got an attitude. It’s a man’s world out there, Chaser. You don’t know a thing about trying to live in it as a woman, let alone a woman hunted by bloody vampires! Oh, and let’s not forget rival werewolf packs!”

  “You shouldn’t have gone into that roadhouse.”

  “Pfft. Like hell I was going to stay in the car and get kidnapped by another set of vampires. You think you know everything.”

  “What I know is that we’re going to have to stop in the middle of the outback and burn two dead vampires,” he raged. “We should already be in Melbourne, but now we have to stop and have a barbecue!”

  “Good,” I said. “I don’t want an audience for my first transformation.”

  Chaser’s entire expression changed. He went from enraged to shocked in under a second.

  “Excuse me?” he asked.

  “You heard me. I know you’ve got super hearing, so don’t pretend you didn’t get that.”

  He shook his head, his gaze resting on the highway. “I’m not entertaining this.”

  “You were right. I don’t stand a chance…but I can.”

  “You shouldn’t have to.”

  “I want this, Chaser. It’s my choice.”

  His jaw tensed. “You don’t understand what you’re getting yourself into.”

  “You’ve been around werewolves.” I twisted in the passenger seat. “So tell me.”

  His face twisted into the painful expression he’d had the other night when he’d told me the truth about him and me. He was wrestling with something unknown, but after a moment, he sighed.

  “I’ll tell you,” he said. “I’ll tell you what I know, but after I take care of the bodies.”

  “Promise?”

  Chaser nodded. “I promise.”

  Chapter 15

  Sloane

  Chaser turned the car off the highway onto a dirt track that led towards the ocean.

  The land dipped a little, but it was mostly flat, the sandy earth covered with low-lying shrubs and trees that’d been battered down by gale force winds.

  The coastline along the edge of the Nullarbor was called the Great Australian Bight—it was the bit that looked like someone had taken a bite out of the continent—and the land’s edge was kilometres and kilometres of sheer cliffs.

  The car wasn’t made for off-roading, but Chaser made it work, finding a spot concealed from both track and highway.

  I sat in the passenger seat, my bare toes digging into the rough sand while Chaser built a pyre. He flitted around like a hummingbird, moving faster than my eyes could follow.

  Then as the sun set, he set it alight, the flames flickering hungrily, sparking with flashes of green and blue from the salt as they caught the dried wood.

  The wind tore through my hair, blowing it in all directions and dispersing the smoke. It took the smell with it, and I was thankful. The last thing I wanted was to smell two roasting vampires.

  Emerging from the car, I sat on a rock, the stone still warm from the day. To my surprise, Chaser sat beside me, his shoulders hunched.

  “You could’ve gotten yourself killed today,” he said.

  Images of blood burst through my mind. “But I didn’t.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “I may not be whatever you are, but I’m capable. I’m not some wallflower who’ll wait around for a man to save her. I’m going to turn and be who I’m supposed to be.”

  “Being in this fight means you will have to kill, Sloane. You won’t be able to avoid it. Right now, I’m taking that burden for you.”

  I glanced at him, but he wasn’t looking at me. “So, you do have feelings in there.”

  “Don’t mistake my words for anything other than revealing a harsh reality,” he drawled.

  A wave of anger pulsed through me, and I scowled. Did vampires have any humanity? Did they remember what it was like to be alive before turning into one of the undead? Did he have a heart? Sometimes I thought he did, even though he was cold and abrasive most of the time.

  What a pair we made.

  “Liar.”

  “I have no reason to lie.”

  “Just admit it,” I said, fisting my hands into the front of his T-shirt.

  He stared at me and ground his teeth, his body tensing. “I won’t.”

  I knew what he was thinking. If he admitted I was right, it meant he’d dropped the ball. It meant he would’ve been responsible if I’d wound up dead back at that roadhouse. Chaser was obviously not used to losing.

  We stared at each other for a long time, the tension boiling right up to the flood marker of what I could bear.

  “The moon is full tonight,” I said, breaking free of his gaze. “I want to turn and you’re going to tell me how.”

  The tension bled from his cold body, and he turned back towards the flames. “I don’t know how. Wolves first turn during puberty. You’re past that.”

  “Puberty?” I exclaimed. “I’m a grown arse woman!”

  As I sat there, stewing in anger, I began to realise what all the fuss was about. My anger faded and the familiar threads of sickly understanding replaced it.

  “That’s it,” I whispered, “isn’t it? That’s why I’m so special.”

  Chaser was scowling, resigned that I’d just discovered one of the many truths he’d been trying to keep from me.

  “I have a choice.”

  He swore under his breath. “The moon doesn’t control you like the others.”

  “Why?”

  “No one knows,” he replied. “They say you can turn at will. Wolves are strongest leading up to the full moon and when they’ve transformed. They weaken with the waning of the lunar cycle.”

  “So, if I can change at will, then I’ll always be strong?”

  “Theoretically.”

  “Theoretically…” The wind turned, sending the stench of the charred vampires towards us and I pinched my nose.

  “Sloane, this is uncharted territory,” Chaser went on. “Until you were born, a werewolf like you was a myth. A story passed down through generations so many times, it’d almost become fiction. A werewolf free of the cursed moon. It could be a witch’s spell, a curse, nature trying to correct itself… It could be anything. You could be strong always, but you could also be tied to the moon in all but your transformations.”

  I wouldn’t know anything until I triggered my wolf side, and then it was all bets off, but first…

  “How does a human turn into a wolf?” I mused. “How…” I trembled as logic set in.

  “By breaking every bone in your body,” Chaser whispered.

  My stomach rolled. I couldn’t imagine the pain, let alone being forced to endure it every month for the rest of my life. No wonder it was called a curse.

  “The first time will be bad, but it gets better after that, right?” I waited for him to answer, but he was silent. “Doesn’t it?”

  “I don’t ask questions.”