After Glow

Chapter 2

Amaris sat in the RV by herself. She had not been able to function for the last two days. She had not been able to think of anything else. She had thought that they were all safe. Now they were.. well, she just couldn't think of that now. Lyle, her mate, had said that he was going out hunting to get them some meat, but she knew that he was just giving her some space. Honestly, she also thought that he just wanted to get out of the RV and away from the air of sorrow that hung over the RV.

She had gotten the news not long after they had gotten on the road for the day. She and Lyle had been on the run for a couple months now. At first they were driving in an old truck and camping in the woods or staying at the occasional hotel they would come across so that they could sleep in a bed and get a hot shower. The food rations that they had taken with them had only taken them so far, and then they had to start buying food. Lyle was not sure that their money would last, so he began hunting. Finally, out of concern for Amaris' well being, Lyle made a deal with a local farmer that had an RV out at the front of his property for sale. Lyle stayed and worked for the farmer for two weeks. The farmer was human, and older. He had no one to help, and could no longer do many of the things that needed to be done around the farm. Lyle made a deal that if he got several of the larger projects done around the farm that the farmer would pay him with the RV. It had been the longest that they stayed in any one place, and Amaris had helped too. Gran had taught her how to can and make bread and jelly. She worked in the farmer's kitchen while Lyle was out bailing and stacking the hay in the barn. He repaired machinery and a few of the buildings. He also repaired the old farm house roof for the man after Amaris told him that it was beginning to leak in places. Between the two of them, they were able to accomplish all the chores that the farmer needed done and more. He was so grateful that he gave them the RV and some of the stores that he had saved up for the coming winter months. He was sad to see the couple go, but both Amaris and Lyle knew that they had stayed in one place for too long. With a fond farewell and promises to come back and visit some day, that they both knew would probably not be able to happen, they left with their new RV.

A few weeks later, Amaris and Lyle sat at the table in the RV which had now become their home. They had settled into their life together on the run. They drove through the European countryside acting like all the rest of the tourists. They stayed away from areas that were known concentrated werewolf areas. They fell into their day-to-day routine, and Lyle had even taught Amaris how to drive the RV. Amaris was starting to show now, and Lyle was concerned that she did not have the proper doctor's care for her pregnancy. More than once he had tried to see if he could find a pack doctor that was willing to see her that was not loyal to the crown. However, they were in Europe, where the werewolves were most loyal to the King or Queen, since they were geographically so close to them. He had not had any luck. They had not had any contact with anyone that they knew, as they had planned. Lyle had bought a burner phone in case of an emergency, but had not even turned it on yet so that there was no way to trace them.

To further disguise themselves, Amaris had cut her beautiful long dark hair short and bleached it blonde with Lyle's help. Lyle had decided that since his hair was already getting long, and he was halfway to a beard and he, might as well grow it out, and now he looked like a mountain man. He played up that look by wearing flannel shirts and suspenders. Amaris found it amusing.

The map book had become well-worn from continual use. Lyle was slowly weaving his way back and forth across the continent, heading south. Neither had really mentioned their old lives, but they had talked about the future quite a bit. They both wanted all this to be done so that they would be able to settle down and give their children a proper home. There had been no word yet from any of the groups. Amaris missed them all, but especially Gran and Anna. She hoped that it would be over soon, so they would be safe and all together.

"I think that we should keep heading south. We could head to southern Austria, and down through Croatia and Serbia, and back into Greece. I know we would be able to hide better there, and we would have more people who would support you." Lyle had made this argument many times. "Lyle, I still think that it is too dangerous to ask for help from anyone we don't know." Amaris too gave the same side of the argument that she had held onto. It had gone on like this for a month. Lyle thought that they would be safe in an area that had wolves that were loyal to the Oracle. They would be less likely to betray them to the Queen. Amaris did not want to trust anyone at this point. She also did not want to endanger anyone else either. Too many lives had been lost along the way by people that tried to help her. It had made her wary. "We can head south. That is okay. We will not try to get anyone else involved." she replied.

"Croatia it is then," says Lyle. He folded up the map and put it back in the pocket next to the driver's seat. "Let's hit the road." Amaris walked around making sure everything was secured and then moved into the navigator's seat. "Let's get some road behind us." She said. Lyle pulled the RV out of the parking space and out onto the highway. They had planned where their stops for gas and lunch would be and their final stop for the night. They were lucky, the RV got decent gas mileage for a big vehicle. Amaris had taken to reading some of the brochures for tourists about the areas that they had visited while Lyle was driving, just to pass the time. While he had taught her how to drive the RV in case of emergencies, technically, she did not have a driver's license, so she could not drive.

"Mari? Mari please tell me that you are safe." A voice came into Amaris' head. She would know that voice anywhere. It was her best friend Anna. She sounded scared. "Anna? Im here. We are okay. What is going on? Gran said not to contact each other unless it was an emergency. Are you guys in danger?" Amaris answered back in her head. She turned to Lyle "Lyle it's Anna. She is mind linking me. It sounds like something is wrong." Lyle put his blinker on and pulled off the highway on the exit. He pulled into the parking lot of a gas station. "What is going on? She is not supposed to contact us unless it's a dire emergency." Lyle said turning to face Amaris. "I don't know yet. She has not answered me back."

"Amaris thank the goddess. I know I should not be contacting you, but I thought you should know Sveta is coming after all of us. She hit the other group a few days ago. We just found out today. Jason reached out to Taji. It seems he and Persia were not with the rest of the group because she went into heat. When they came back they found that many of them were dead, or missing. Alexis, Christos and Giorgos are all dead. Nicholas and Marco are missing. We don't know if they have been captured or are in hiding, but we have not been able to contact them." Anna was speaking fast as if she had to get the words out quickly. There was a hesitation before she spoke again. "Mari, Gran is dead. I'm so sorry. Jason and Persia buried them all. I'm sorry Mari." Anna sounded like she was crying. "I wanted you to know. You also need to know that she has an idea where you are and that you two are in an RV driving around Europe. She tortured some of the soldiers until one broke and told her where you were. She also knows that you are pregnant. I am not sure how the soldier knew, but she now knows. She attacked us this morning. She was asking for more information, but she told us that she already knew that. We were able to get away, because Taji had his helicopter here. Mari we have gone to ground, and I suggest you do too. She says that she wants your children. I don't know why, but she said she won't stop hunting you. She is obsessed. She knows you are in Austria. Get out now. I have to go. I love you." and then Anna was gone. Lyle sat looking expectantly at Amaris. "What did she say?" Amaris turned frightened eyes to him. "She is coming for our children. Sveta. She knows where we are and that we are using the RV. Its time to change tactics. We need to hit the woods."