Chapter Eight

Dom

Finally. We were in Canada and driving our own ride. We had money—well, somewhat legal money—clothes, and the SUV. It was more cramped than the van, but it was better to drive with legal plates.

Driving through the provinces was invigorating, and being on the East Coast felt like home. We were going back. I could almost taste the air. Sink my teeth in the mountain elk. Look out over the water, depending on where I dared to run. A few days off the drugs combined with the prospects of returning to the mountains I loved was doing a lot to shake the worst symptoms off me, and from what I could tell, it was doing the same for the others.

I glanced in the mirror and swept over everyone in the car one more time. Jack and Carson were passed out. Aaron was waking up from his own rest, ready to take a turn at the wheel. Amelia was stubbornly staying awake and suppressing her obvious discomfort. Jerod was passed out, which I suppose meant he was getting some form of rest.

Then my eyes landed on June. She was watching quietly out the window, not speaking. She hadn't said much at all since I'd snapped at her, and that had been pretty much two days ago. I sighed to myself and turned my attention back to the road.

June was hard to read, but I could tell she cared about other people. And she was brave. Or stupid. Maybe both. You could be both; Jack was both. But June definitely had the brave part. She showed it when we first met. Plus, it seemed like she knew something or other about first aid, the way she tried to take care of Amelia back in Seattle. For all I thought I knew of her, I still didn't know enough. She was an unknown variable, something I didn't typically like. The fewer unknowns I had to deal with, the easier it was to do my job and keep us safe and on track. But we were almost to North Sydney, and we had a long-ass ferry ride ahead of us. The road curved, and it woke up anyone who wasn't already awake. It was only midday, so we had time to waste until the overnight ferry to Newfoundland.

"We at the ferry?" Jack asked, stretching.

"Just about," I answered. "We have downtime. Last call if you want anything from a store before we hit the wilderness."

"Exactly how much wilderness are we talking about?" June spoke up, stretching her arms out in front of her as much as the seats allowed.

Jack and Carson laughed. Aaron cleared his throat. "A lot of wilderness. I don't know what the village has access to right now, since we've been out of touch, but plan to get literally anything you'll want to have with you."

"Electricity?" June asked, panicked.

"They have that," Jack said. "But no internet."

"They may have figured that out by now," Carson added. "I hope they have."

"There were never any signal towers out there, and I highly doubt anyone has bothered adding them where we're going," I said. "Plan on not having it and be pleasantly surprised if they do."

"Dare I ask about running water?" June asked.

"Yes, there's water." Carson snorted. "You're thinking a little too primitive."

"You'll be fine," I said. "But if you need any personal items and spare clothes, let's stop now. There are places in Newfoundland we can get things later, if necessary, but for now we're going straight for Moonpeak."

"Okay," June said hesitantly. "I guess I could spare a little more of my savings."

"I want to find somewhere that sells fries," Jack said.

"Poutine!" Carson added, practically bouncing in his seat.

"All right, all right. I'll run us by a downtown store and we can wander around for a while. You can split up but be back a couple of hours before departure because we're going to have to sit in line a while to get the vehicle onboard," I said.

"I'll stay with the SUV," Aaron said. "I don't have any other business in town."

"All right," I said. "Amelia, Jerod, you two need some fresh air? I'm sure the boat ride is going to make your situation even more fun."

Amelia growled. Jerod groaned.

"I'll get them some fresh air," Aaron said.

"Thanks. Then I'll watch New Bite," I said. "Jack, Carson, you two can go off wherever you want but you get your asses back here on time or we're leaving you in Nova Scotia."

"Roger," Jack said.

"Sure," Carson added.

"Wait, I'm ‘New Bite' now?" June asked.

I smirked and met her eyes in the rearview mirror. "Get used to it. You're about to hear it a lot."

Her lips slid into a pout as she frowned and looked out the window again.

The traffic in town slowed our progress a bit, but it gave good views. The first opportunity I saw for a store that would carry clothes and things that June might need to pick up, I pulled in and we all got out. It was the first chance we'd had to stretch our legs in a while.

"Be sensible but get what you want. Come back to the car when you're done," I said.

"Got it," Carson said.

"Amelia, Jerod, you two need anything?" I asked.

"No," Amelia snapped.

"Sleeping pills," Jerod grunted. "Enough to knock me out completely."

"At best, I'll try to find some melatonin," I said, and shut the door.

Jack and Carson took off for the store with all the energy they had pent up during the long car ride. They'd need a run in their fur sooner rather than later, but I could probably say the same for all of us. I fell into step beside June.

"Keeping an eye on me?" she murmured, unamused.

"Yes," I said. "And making sure you get everything you need. There aren't a lot of places to pick up things when we get there."

She stopped, spinning to look at me wide-eyed.

"I'll get you what you need. Amelia bit you, and I'm dragging you across the continent to watch over your first shift, the least we can do is buy you clothes and things," I said.

"I'm not sure if I should thank you or not," she said. "But I appreciate the gesture. Do I have a budget?"

"Don't bother with that, we can afford it. Just worry about what you can carry, because it's going in your own bag and you're hauling it around. Let's start there."

"Got it," she said.

She picked a red backpack with a good amount of space in it, then made a beeline for the clothing. June grabbed exclusively athletic clothing. A pack of underwear and sports bras, and then everything else was fit for moving around in. I saw the tight jogging pants in the cart, imagining them on her figure. I ran my tongue over my teeth, my canines aching dully as I pictured it.

"Where are the toiletries?" she asked, looking around the store.

I snapped myself out of the image running through my head and cleared my throat. "Over this way, come on."

When it came to personal care items, she was as indifferent as she was with her clothes. I plucked a bottle of melatonin off the shelf while I watched her grab a dozen other things. She pulled bandages, ointments, and medicines off the shelves and threw them in.

"What are you doing?"

"Building a new first-aid kit, since mine is about four thousand miles west of here." She threw a roll of medical tape in the cart. "I feel naked without it."

"You carry a first-aid kit everywhere?" I asked.

"I'm a physical therapist assistant. I'm between semesters now, but I'm also going to school part-time to knock that assistant off my title someday. I've also had a number of first-aid, CPR, and EMT beginner classes. I like to be prepared," June said matter-of-factly.

Well, that explained the kind of person who jumped in to help Amelia, armed with pepper spray and nothing else.

"How noble of you," I said. "Grab what you want but don't forget you're carrying it."

"I know," she said, giving me a pointed look. "You keep reminding me." She turned, not leaving any room for more conversation, and grabbed herself a toothbrush and toothpaste. This wasn't how I wanted to learn more about my unknown variable.

"I didn't mean anything by it," I said, catching up behind her as we kept walking. "It really is a noble pursuit. I'm sure the pack physician would be glad to have a hand while you're there."

That caught a little more of her attention as she pushed our cart toward the entertainment section of the store. She turned her head slightly, and I could see the curiosity in her eyes. "You have a physician?"

"Of course, you can't be caught in the middle of nowhere without one," I joked. "It might be disconnected from the human world, but it's still a functioning society. Even we need doctors sometimes. Cooks, tailors, butchers, hunters."

She hummed and moved on. A pillow, a handful of books, and a flashlight later, she stopped.

"Food?" she asked.

"Don't worry about food," I said. "Anything else?"

She glanced over the cart, carefully taking a mental inventory. I watched the gears turning behind her eyes as she thought it out, then she looked up at me. "Just a phone charger for when you finally give it back."

"Okay." I laughed. "Those are near the front. Let's go."

Jack and Carson met us at the front and I paid for everything on my card, and we rolled the carts to the parking lot.

"Pile in," I said. "Let's get down to the port."

Once the car was loaded, I slid into the front seat next to Aaron, who volunteered to drive the rest of the way through town.

I sat back in my seat, pleased to have a little more of a picture of who Juniper Gunn was. The more I knew, the more I could account for keeping our group safe. That was the only reason I was taking any interest in her.

Right?

Anything else would be a dangerous distraction. I looked over my shoulder to where June was sitting in her seat, opening her medical supplies and packing them neatly into the front pockets of her backpack.

She looked up, our eyes meeting as though she sensed my gaze on her. I noted the curve of her lips, the way her hair brushed her forehead before she swept it back with her long, elegant fingers.

"How long until departure?" Jack asked.

"Three hours," I said. "You'll have an hour before you need to get back to the car."

"Hell, yeah, I'm going to Tim's," Carson said.

June dropped her head again, not saying anything as she went back to meticulously packing her bag. I shook off the odd feeling I got when watching her and laid back against my seat once more.

Interesting woman indeed.