"I've lost my freaking mind," I mumbled, hurrying back down the road the way I'd come. The woman filling her gas tank yelled something after me, but my brain was too fried to listen.
It had taken me all night to walk to the werewolf town, but maybe I could get back to my dorm by the time the sun set. If I just kept walking, ignored my dry mouth and aching feet, I could make it.
What was the alternative; getting eaten by a damn werewolf or turning into one?
I'd take some foot pain and hunger over that any day.
The wolf realized my intentions and stepped between me and the forest before I got back on the dirt road. He gave a low, threatening growl.
"Get out of my way," I threatened back. My body swayed a bit, and I flung my arms out to try to keep my balance. I managed to remain standing, luckily.
Taking a step to the side, I tried to pass the wolf. He just jumped in my way again.
"Dammit, wolf, move!" I yelled.
Laughter erupted behind me.
I spun around, having no idea what to do with my hands if I was going to have to try to fight my way to freedom. Was I supposed to fist them? Or pull them up close to my chest, maybe?
There they were: the not-football-team. Of course those assholes were the source of the laughter.
That was just my freakin’ luck.
In the light of day, it was easier to separate the not-football-players from each other. Five men of various ethnicities, sizes, clothing styles, and hair-cuts. Separate from each other in every way I could see, but with one thing in common:
They were all werewolves.
"I wish I could order my wolf around like that." Seatbelt Guy grinned. Now that I wasn't panicking, I got a better look at him. His skin was dark, his hair cut close to his scalp on the sides of his face and head. Slim, artfully-styled locs fell to the middle of his forehead. He was the tallest of the group, but only by an inch or so. They were all tall, and all built like the damn football players I'd assumed they were.
"We all do," another guy agreed. He strode toward me, offering a hand. He was tan, with a mass amount of fluffy, dark brown hair and a smile that would've set most people at ease.
But it just made me more wary.
I didn't take his hand.
"You assholes kidnap me, leave me with a monster, and want me to shake your hands and trust you? Yeah, right." I glared at the lot of them. "Take me home."
"Sorry, we can't do that." Smiley Guy pulled his hand away and gestured to the wolf behind me. "You've got a better chance at surviving the mating bite if you spend the weeks leading up to it with Jesse, at his place. We'll keep you fed and safe, but being alive is more important than being home."
I laughed, and the sound came out sounding slightly maniacal. I needed sleep, and painkillers, and freedom. "Bullshit. All of this is bullshit."
Jesse stepped up next to me and growled fiercely at the guys. Their expressions faltered a bit.
He lowered his nose to my shoe, a wolf's way of gesturing, I guess.
"Is your foot injured?" one of the guys asked. I was pretty sure he had been the getaway driver, though that didn't help much because I didn't know any of their names.
"No," I lied, not wanting them to have an excuse to grab me again.
Jesse growled again, and it sounded like he was disagreeing with me.
Damn wolf.
"Grab her. Let's get her back to Jesse's place so she's got some time to rest," Smiley Guy instructed.
"No, don't—"
Seatbelt Guy tossed me over his shoulder once again.