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“I would’ve called, but my phone got water damage and finally gave up.”

“It’s okay. Dad took away my phone. I only just stole it back.”

Avery snorts. “So brave.”

“Oh my god, shut up. Itwasbrave. Celeste really had him pissed off, and he’s scary as fuck when he actually gets angry. Almost had me showing throat.”

Instead of laughing at the joke, Avery grimaces. “Celeste is coming after me,” he assumes correctly.

Sascha presses his lips in a grim line. “Fucking bitch doesn’t know when to quit.”

“Please tell me you have a plan.”

“I do, actually. Maybe for the first time in my life. I thinkit’s a good plan, too. Maybe. I hope it is.” He gives Avery the rundown of the first leg of their trip. “After we get to the island, we’ll hopefully have a chance to lie low. The hotels are expensive but manageable. Did you bring my credit card?”

Avery hooks his thumb toward the back. “In my wallet.”

“Good. I have a decent amount in my checking account, but I’d prefer to make that last as long as possible, and I don’t know how long we’ll…”

Be on the run.

Unlike Avery, Sascha can probably replace his documents, which he didn’t have a chance to grab. They’d be with Samuel’s records, in his study, along with the medical and legal documents for the rest of their immediate family. The documentation of Sascha’s entire medical history is what he doesn’t know how to replace. Without Petra, there’ll be no way to access shifter healing, and Sascha’s disability is a shifter illness that human hospitals wouldn’t be able to treat. Even most shifter healers wouldn’t know how to use Petra’s techniques, and it’s not like Sascha could describe them. His magic abilities are limited to flinging around his alpha magic like a middle schooler playing dodgeball.

Suddenly, the gravity of running away seems crushing, but Sascha doesn’t have a choice. This is what Avery has had to deal with for almost a year now. But they’ll be okay. Things will be better now that they’re together.

Sascha doesn’t let himself think about the challenges they’ll face as a werecreature-shifter couple. If he does, he might break down before they reach the Dairy Queen. Avery seems equally unwilling to examine the full implications of their situation, so they fall into an uneasy silence until the bright red sign appears along the road.

After parking the hatchback in the farthest corner of the lot, Sascha and Avery grab their backpacks. Sascha removes his car charger and a few bits of junk before dropping the key on the seat and slamming the door with it inside.

“It won’t lock,” he informs Avery. “Hey, do you think we could pay someone to drive the car, like, ten miles from here and abandon it?”

Avery grins. “Maybe. Let’s eat first.”

Watching how desperately Avery eats fills Sascha with guilt, even though he did his best to provide as many supplies as possible. He should have brought more rations. Still, as Avery mows through the obscene amount of food Sascha ordered, the hollow sensation that’s been aching in Sascha’s gut eases. Was their strange connection allowing Sascha to feel Avery’s hunger? It’s not the time to ask, so he waits until Avery has refueled enough to look up from his tray.

Sascha smiles, faint but genuine. “Had enough?”

“For now.”

“Okay. Take care of the trash? I’ll be right back.” Because he just saw a guy cruise into the parking lot on a bike, and Sascha’s not one to waste an opportunity. Avery only grins.

Even though they walk away from the Dairy Queen fifty dollars lighter, Sascha feels satisfied with his cobbled-together plan. Bike guy said he’d drive the hatchback out of Mackinac City and abandon it on the side of the highway near a wooded area. It occurred to him that the car would probably have a GPS tracker, which made it even more important to ditch it as far away as possible. While that’s on his mind, he flips location services off on his phone, just in case.

Sascha can’t resist taking Avery’s hand as they walk toward the ferry station. Avery bumps his hip against Sascha’s, though it hits more on his upper thigh due to their height difference. It makes him smile, and they continue silently until they reach the booth to buy their ferry tickets.

He’s relieved to hear that they made it just in time to geton the last ferry of the evening. If anyone he hasn’t noticed is following them, it’ll be much harder to tail them if they can’t hop on the next trip. Avery squeezes his hand when they board the boat and tuck themselves into a corner. When Avery’s curly mop of hair lands on Sascha’s shoulder, his narrow chest heaving with a sigh, Sascha finally allows himself to relax a tiny bit. For now, all they have to do is get away.

“We’ll stay the night on the island,” he murmurs, stroking Avery’s hair. “Then we’ll take a flight from the island to St. Ignace and go into the Upper Peninsula from there.”

“Are we gonna get a new car?” Avery sounds like he’s half asleep.

“Eventually. We’ll get a ride out of St. Ignace, somehow. Haven’t decided yet. Maybe I can get cash on the island, and we’ll find the nearest used car garage and buy a junker. Or look online for someone selling directly. I’ll figure it out,” he promises.

Avery nods, then yawns. Sascha doesn’t speak again until they reach the other side of the straits—too soon, judging by how groggy Avery seems when Sascha shakes him awake.

They deboard in a cloud of tourists, and when Sascha’s feet hit the dock, anxiety begins to build in his chest again. Avery is basically dead on his feet; he desperately needs to sleep.

As Sascha navigates to the cheapest place he can find, his eyes stray to the brightly colored shops dotting the street. He’s been to Mackinac Island before, and he wishes they had time for him to show Avery all the wonders of the little island. No cars, only bikes and horses. There’s fudge and taffy and everything from overpriced tourist food to overpriced fancy restaurants. He could take Avery to one, spend almost as much as they’re about to drop on the room, hold his hand across the table, and tell him how loved he is, again and again and?—