"A-Anyways...now that I think back on it, it was probably his bad idea of a joke—worse one yet in fact—and he probably was going come back for me after an hour or so, but I don't know...woodlands like he does! I probably should have stayed in his tent until his return, but idiot me had to go out and try to find my way back to town. I ended up getting lost and tripped over a root or something. I blacked out then."
"Well it's a good thing we saw you dear," Barbara told her sweetly, "We're heading toward the nearest hospital back in Jackson, and—"
"Oh no," Jessica said a little too quickly, faster than she should have, and that earned her both surprised and slightly suspicious glances.
It didn't help that it was paired with silence either.
"I'm sorry," She said, thinking quickly, "I just don't want to stay in Wyoming any longer than I have. Plus, I really want to see some familiar faces in Cali."
The tension in the air slowly started recede, allowing Jessica to breathe again as she let out an internal sigh.
"...W-well," Barbara spoke out a little puzzled, "M-maybe you can accompany us? We're going to see my aunt-in-law in Kansas. Maybe we can drop you off in Cheyenne?"
"No thank you," Jessica shook her head, sensing that Barbara was giving off an excuse that doesn't make any sense. Plus, she needed to head southwest, not back east.
"Could you drop me off at the next Truck Stop?" Jessica asked.
"Are you sure? Dressed like that?" Barbara asked, concern and confusion sown in her words.
"Yes please," Jessica told her, "I'll be fine."
"....Even I'm not so sure about that one," Kenneth sounded just as apprehensive as his wife.
Jessica looked at him, her eyes locking with his in the rear view mirror, "I'll be fine, thank you. Please let me off."
Her voice came out in a plea, and she worried that it would break her character.
Kenneth went silence as he kept contact with her eyes a little while longer before he slowly looked back on the road.
"...Alright, Miss," He told her as he then found a point on the road to turn around.
Jessica was thankful that their eye contact didn't last any longer; she would have averted her eyes otherwise, and she knew that to humans, averting eye contact meant they were lying.
Barbara sharply turned and looked at him in alarm, "Kenneth!"
"It's what she wants, Barbara," He told her in an unexpectedly peaceful manner as he drove.
Her eyes shifted confused on her husband before Barbara looked back at Jessica, "Are you sure, dear?"
Jessica glanced up at her, "Yes, Madam. I've done things like this before."
Barbara had a look and scent that reeked of displeasure in Jessica's choice, but after staring at Jessica, she looked toward Chris, "Chris can you be a dear and hand mommy's Duffy please?"
Chris, being silent and watchful the entire time, grinned at her and did as he was told, handing her the red duffle bag with her name on it.
"Thank you, honey. Can you also get mommy's blue coat too, please?" She smiled at him as she started to look through the bag, her attention then shifted to Jessica, "What size shoe do you wear, dear?"
"Oh! Um, 8 ½-9," Jessica quickly told her.
"Well...I'm a size 8, so these might be a bit tight, but don't worry, I've worn them out a bit so they should be a tad looser," Barbara handed her brown, well-worn sneakers.
"Thanks so much," Jessica grinned as she put them on. True to her word, they were a tight fit on her toes, but they would have to for now.
When they finally neared a Truck Stop with a gas station, mini mart, and a small motel, Jessica unbuckled her belt and put the jacket on.
"....Now again, are you really sure about this?" Barbara feebly tried once again.
"I'm sure," Jessica smiled as she got out the car, "Thanks Mrs. Barbara, Mr. Kenneth, and thank you for keeping me company in the back seat Chris."
Chris gave her a kool-aid grin, and it melted her heart, "You're welcome."
Kenneth smiled at her, and Barbara gave her a weak smile.
"...Take care now," Kenneth told her, to which Jessica nodded, closed the door smoothly, and waved as they drove back onto the semi-busy road.
Once they were out of sight, Jessica let out a large sigh. That was a relief. She wouldn't have to worry about them getting involved anymore. She then faced the Stop, and headed for the mini-mart.
~/~/~/~
Erick let out a pissed of growl as Jessica blocked him off from her end of the bond. Why the hell was she doing this?! Why was she fighting so hard against this?! Inside of him, his wolf whined in both hurt and anger. Frankly, Erick himself didn't enjoy feeling this himself, and end every bit of hurt and pain kept fueling his anger.
"Sir," Emmanuel asked hesitantly in the car as he drove.
Erick's eyes shot to him, his mouth didn't even need to move for Emmanuel to get the point.
However, he continued even more humbly, "Alpha...if I may, wouldn't it be wise to scent her out? She might still be in the forest."
Erick's fingers tapped rapidly on the arm of the seat, the silence of the drive only added to the ever-building tension. Erick did here him, however, but is thoughts were elsewhere. He had scented her blood on the gates edge. How did she get over something that tall in the first place? He has one of the best security systems imaginable, wolves were up and alert, and they had formed a bond, so he should have been able to sense her intentions to start with. Hell! He should have even sensed when she woke up, but he didn't!
He felt a sense of weakness at this. He couldn't have better control of his mate, and she fled. He wasn't there to be with her, and she fled. His wolf whined in agreement at his thoughts—their thoughts.
He stopped tapping his fingers momentarily, "She is not. Just now, I heard what she heard and saw what she saw. Too much condensed noise to be in the forest, and I saw that she was in a car...no....van I believe. Gray interior, bickering in the front of her, the smell of panic, and the touch of a small child's hand; She's on the road."
"Do you think that they might be taking her to a human hospital?" Emmanuel asked.
"Perhaps. Humans are known to panic when seeing people get hurt," Erick regretted those words the moment they left his lips.
He hated to admit it, but he was panicking. She had been hurt and rather than him being there to comfort, protect, and prevent it from happening, humans were in his place. And from the sound of it, they were doing a poor piss job!
He let the thought roll over before he shook his head, "But from what I can tell from what I know about my mate, she hates to be helped, and she hates being forced to go places she doesn't want to."
"Which way is the nearest hospital then, Alpha?" Emmanuel asked glancing at him slightly.
"In Jackson, but she's not going to go back there, not when she knows that Jackson is a part and surrounded by our pack lands. She'd head the other way," Erick responded, shutting his eyes.
"...Which way Alpha?" Emmanuel continued to drive.
Erick stared on into the open window, trying to take in whatever scent he could grasp for which led him to her. He then let a growl rumble in his chest, "I don't know."
Emmanuel's hands clenched and unclenched the steering wheel several times, "...Maybe South?
East?
To the west perhaps?"
"Shut up and drive, Emmanuel," Erick growled at him, seeing that when he said he didn't know, he didn't quite get it.
As Emmanuel fell silent once more, Erick tried their bond again, but he was met with a dark wall he couldn't get around, and every time he tried, it worsened on his nerves.