Lucky didn't wake up until the sun was high in the sky. It was hot, but not hot enough to be unpleasant. Traven and Flappy were not in the tent, but she could hear them outside. "Good fetch!" She heard Traven praise the dog. She stretched and worked her way out of her sleeping bag, ready to head outside to see what her soul mate and his dog were up to. She pinched herself a couple of times to make sure it was all real, something she seemed doomed to make a habit of.
What if this was a dream? It had to be. She started to panic. Surely she would soon wake up to the sound of the door to her room creaking open, signaling the beginning of her next torment. It wasn't possible, she couldn't have escaped, a weak little girl like her. She fought the panic and the bile that rose in her throat and stepped out of the tent. She closed her eyes and when she opened them again, the pure joy she felt seeing the cloudless blue sky and the endless stretch of desert almost brought her to her knees.
In the daylight, the desert didn't seem nearly as scary. She wondered how far she had run. No matter which direction she turned, only desert was visible. Was she still in Nevada? They would have to figure out how to get to a town, she needed a cell phone, some clothes, and a steak dinner. She wasn't sure how much money was in the bag, but she was sure it would be enough for them to live comfortably for a while.
The bag! She darted over to where she had stashed it in between the rocks. It was still there, of course. There was no one around to steal it.
"You're awake!" Traven exclaimed, just before he was nearly knocked over by the enthusiastic lab returning the ball he had so dutifully fetched. Apparently insulted by Traven's slow response to his excellent fetch accomplishment, Flappy brought the ball to Lucky and dropped it at her feet. He stood there, tongue hanging out, with a big doggy grin on his face that told Lucky how excited he was for her to play with him.
She giggled at his antics, picked up the ball, yelled "FETCH!" and threw it as far as she could. Flappy took off like a rocket, she never would have guessed the pleasantly plump lab would be so quick on his feet. He grabbed the ball with his mouth and dashed back her way, dropping it at her feet again and looking up at her expectantly.
"Hold on, Flappy, I have to talk to your dad about some things. We will play again in a little bit here." He seemed to understand, and contentedly chewed on the ball. "Your dog has stolen my heart," she joked.
"He does that, that's for sure. I've had him since he was 8 weeks old. I fell in love with him the first time I held him." Traven smiled, but something sad also flashed in his eyes at the memory. She wondered about it, but not wanting to push, Lucky decided instead to let her mate in on the contents of the burlap bag.
She wondered if he stayed in a tent because he liked it or out of necessity. When she asked, he simply said "maybe a little of both," but she got the sense he had been living off the land, paw to mouth, for a long time. That was about to change.
"Where is the nearest town?" She asked him.
"We aren't far from Albuquerque, but I haven't been to a town in a long time. I used to have a lot of money. Now I don't." He sighed. "When my pack wrongfully accused me of killing the Alpha's daughter, who was like a sister to me, I escaped rather than allow them to throw me in the dungeon and execute me for something I didn't do." There, he said it. He could only hope she wouldn't reject him on the spot, that she would give him a chance to prove that he would do anything to make her happy.
"What? They did what?" Lucky was shocked. There was no way this guy killed someone in cold blood. He was too nice, too gentle. "Why did they blame you? How could they blame you?" She had just met him and knew without a doubt he was telling the truth.
"They had weak circumstantial evidence, if that. I was the last one seen with her while she was alive, and I had blood on my hand and some on my clothes when I saw the crowd gathering around, after someone found her body. I went over to see what was happening. They saw the blood, and someone yelled out that he saw us together at the cafe and she looked upset. Several others from the cafe confirmed that. Hell, I could have told them that, I noticed it too! Her parents bought right in to it. Alpha Liam was clearly out of his mind with grief, but her mother, Luna Gina, she started yelling that the blood and our "fight at the diner," which never happened, proved my guilt. After that everyone just started believing it."
"They just started believing it? That is just crazy." Lucky grabbed his hand, hoping the gesture let him know he could trust her with his truth.
"They were wrong! I had damn near chopped my finger off cutting some plywood. She and I had lunch at the cafe earlier that day, then she left, and I left shortly after and went to go help build a shed with my dad. She did seem to be upset about something, I even asked her about it, but she wouldn't tell me anything." His eyes reflected the sadness of his story. "The trial was a joke. They convicted me within half an hour of finding her body."
Lucky reached over and hugged him, it seemed that she was not the only one who had been screwed over by life. She hated to see the hurt in his eyes as he spoke about it. She had heard about mob mentality, and she realized he had experienced it firsthand. "Sounds like you deserve better than that pack," she told him.
"They needed someone to blame. I can almost forgive them, because she was so well loved. To have her suddenly just gone like that was an unbearable tragedy."
"So they decided to fix the problem by killing you, too?"
"It was horrible, they looked at me with such hatred, people I had known my whole life. When they let go of me to open the doors to the cells I ran. I could outrun anyone in the pack. I was the record holder for every race, human form or wolf form. I left hoping that some day they would figure out who really did kill her and clear my name." Tears shone in his bright blue eyes by the time he finished. "I've been living in the desert ever since. I can't go back to my pack. No other pack will take me in because they have probably been told I am a murderer and a fugitive. I ran out of money a long time ago, but sometimes I catch a break and get a day or two of work in a human town and stock up on what supplies I can get. I got this tent at a garage sale for almost nothing." He shrugged. "Your mate may not be rich but he is resourceful." A hint of a smile crept to the corners of his mouth.
"That's so heartbreaking, Traven. What was her name?" Lucky's eyes were fillling with tears, realizing how hurt he must have been to lose someone he loved, which would have been bad enough, but to be blamed for her death? To be wrongfully convicted and sentenced to die?
"Neveah," he whispered her name, as though speaking it too loudly would put him back in that nightmare. "Her name was Neveah and she was so smart, and kind, and funny. She was the one who gave me Flappy. The Alpha's dog had three puppies. She said that he was supposed to be mine, because he took to me right away. I visited a lot after the puppies came. I loved playing with them. Flappy was so tiny, he could sit on my hand," he smiled at the memory "I still miss her. She had blonde hair like her mother, but green eyes, like you. Some thought we had a romance but it was never like that."
"I'm sorry you went through all of that. Seems like we have both been dealt some shitty hands." She motioned for him to follow her to where she had left the bag. "However, Traven, it looks like your luck is about to change." She opened the bag, laughing as his eyes widened and he shook his head in disbelief.
"Lucky, do you have any idea how much money that is? There's got to be a million dollars there. Did you rob a bank?" He asked suspiciously, and she laughed even harder for a moment. Then her eyes fell to the ground, knowing she had to tell him the truth.
"No, I robbed the sick bastards who sold my body and made themselves filthy rich while I suffered." Lucky took a deep breath, she was so afraid he wouldn't want her after he found out about her past. "I earned every dime of that money and more. I could only carry the one bag. I knew it would help me start a new life." She sighed and sat down on the ground, waiting for his reaction.
"They did WHAT to you?" There was danger in Traven's voice, but it was not a danger to Lucky. It was his rage at the thought of his mate being mistreated in such a vile way.
She told him all of it. About her parents abandoning her, the Lancasters, and the Smiths at the orphanage. About the men who had kidnapped her as she walked down the street, drugging her with chloroform and throwing her in a van. About what they had done to her. By the time she got to the story of her escape, Traven was struggling to keep his wolf under control. His wolf wanted to destroy the sick bastards that hurt his mate, but she had already taken care of that.
Seeing his distress, she tried to lighten the crushing heaviness of her story. "Can you imagine? A giant black wolf covered in blood running through the Vegas strip while people screamed and ran for their lives, total chaos, and then this wolf of mine decides to have herself a little bath in the fountain." Traven started to laugh. "I'm sure it made the news. I'm not worried, though. There is no way to link me to any of it, anyone who saw me in human form that night is dead. I killed them all. Well, Nyah and I did."
Traven reached out, pulling Lucky close as they leaned against the rocks which provided a bit of shade from the sun. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, watching Flappy run around in the sand having the time of his life. The more she got to know these two, the happier she felt. They felt more like family than anyone she had ever known.
"How will we get to Albuquerque?" She asked him.
"I think we should go as far as we can in our wolf forms, traveling at night. We are not even a whole day away."
"Good idea. It's probably a bad time to debut in Albuquerque as large black wolves. Just two normal humans with a labrador. We can find a place to stay for a few days and go shopping and get steaks." Lucky was excited for the steaks, and the shopping.
At nightfall, they shifted into their wolves. Nyah worried that Flappy might be scared. Miles assured her that the dog was used to playing with a wolf five times his size, and sure enough he didn't seem to be scared at all. He even kept up a pretty good pace, once he stopped trying to sneak up and steal Miles' tail. Watching the dog play with the huge wolf was the funniest thing Lucky had seen in ages.
Soon, they could see a faint glow on the horizon, which was the city of Albuquerque, though they were still several hours away. They would make it in time to approach the town as humans in the morning.
They decided they should get a hotel as quickly as possible, and figure out how to better store and carry the money. Then they could look for something more long term, a rental house perhaps. If they decided to stay there. They weren't quite sure yet what the future held for them, but it was looking far better than the past.
As they approached the city, the sun was just beginning to peek above the mountains in the distance, and they stood at the top of a hill where the whole city could be seen. They stopped at the first hotel they found, making sure they knew that Flappy would be a guest as well. It was far from a fancy suite, but it was nice, and they were close enough to a shopping mall that they could walk to get the clothes and toiletries they badly needed.
Traven went to get Lucky some shoes and clothes that would fit her, then came back so she could change before they went shopping. He even grabbed a purse so she had a place to put some of the money.
She had so much cash! She would figure out later what to do with it. They headed to the mall, where she got them each a new cell phone. They needed basic toiletries, and Lucky bought a bunch of new clothes. She made Traven pick out some nice things for himself, including a PS5, which she caught him gazing at longingly. They got a new harness and leash for Flappy. Dog bowls. Dog treats. Food for the hotel fridge in their room. By the time they were done, they were both ready to collapse, utterly exhausted. They stood in the parking lot, trying to muster up the energy to keep going. The walk back to the hotel looked a lot longer than it did before they had all the bags to carry.
Lucky noticed a car in the parking lot with a for sale sign and a phone number. It was a newer black Chevy Impala, and the owner met with them 15 minutes after Lucky called. She paid $5000 cash for the car, which was a pretty good deal for a car with only 50,000 miles on it. She had never owned a car, but she had learned to drive years ago with Mr. Smith. As they loaded up their purchases and drove back to their hotel, she understood why having a car was so important. It made things so much easier.
After ordering room service and enjoying steak dinners, they decided to call it a night. Traven enjoyed the hot shower, after washing Flappy with baby shampoo. He came out wearing a pair of pajama pants, and Lucky blushed as she found herself staring at his toned muscles, his perfectly chiseled features, dark hair falling across his forehead. He was a looker, that was for sure. Even more so now that she could see beneath the layers of dirt that had covered his skin. "I feel so much better," he told her. "Thank you. For all of this."
Lucky headed to the bathroom and made good use of her new products, enjoying the feeling of pampering herself for her own well being, rather than to look good for some jerk that would hurt her later. She regretted that thought a moment later. The fear came crashing back like a tsunami, pushing relentlessly on to peaceful shores. Once again the panic threatened to squeeze her heart from her chest. She didn't know how long she stood there under the hot water but it was long enough that Traven grew concerned. He knocked, startling her out of the bad memories she had gotten lost in.
He didn't pry, he just led her to the bed, helped her into her new pajamas, determined to hold her until she stopped shaking.
He turned on the TV, and discovered that Lucky's escape had made the National News. This network was reporting that the incident in Las Vegas was probably an illegal exotic animal trade gone horribly wrong.
While many people believed the animal was rabid, experts pointed out that no one outside that room had been attacked, and a rabid or enraged beast would have continued killing indiscriminately. The animal had figured out how to get out of the building, which suggested a level of intelligence. Conspiracy theorists were having a field day with the story. He flipped through all the news channels, and it was the top story on every single one of them. Rumors were circulating wildly, but overall the consensus was that the animal had been abused, and unfortunately for the abusers, it had managed to break through its restraints. Public sympathy for the animal, rather than the dead men, was notably more common.
She hadn't realized it would be this big of a story, realizing now how naive that had been. This time, what happened in Vegas did not stay in Vegas, it had escaped just like she had. She had a feeling it would be following her for a long time.