Chapter Thirteen – I'm After You

Hey everyone. Sorry about the wait – uni started up and I've been doing a different kind of reading and writing. Much less fun.

But everyone seemed pretty pleased to see Scarlet last chapter, so hopefully you'll enjoy this one.

By all rights, Ze'ev should've hated girl who sat next to him on the train.

She wasn't just human, but an Earthen human, long-lost grandfather notwithstanding. Just a stupid girl who might have been unfortunate enough to know something important enough that Jael would rather take the long way around rather than risk her lying under torture.

Which she probably would. She was as tough as anyone Ze'ev had ever met, and smart enough that her lie would be believable whatever the pain.

He forced himself not to dwell on the type of things Jael might – would – put her through, although a small part of his mind insisted that Scarlet deserved better.

He started as she grabbed his wrist.

Wolf – no, Ze'ev – stared at the small hand. It was far from dainty, hardened by years of farm work, but it was human and small and had never been bloodied by her victims.

"What's this scar from?" Scarlet asked, fingers caressing the long mark from wrist to elbow. "One of the fights?"

It was from Alpha Brock, the day that Ran had first joined the pack. Ze'ev had gotten that scar trying to protect his brother. "Stupidity," he told her quietly.

Scarlet bit her lip. The two were only a breath apart, and still she moved closer. Gently, she brushed her hand over his forehead, following the scar that Orbit had given him when she'd wanted to try out her newly sharpened nails. "How about this one?"

"That was a bad one." Ze'ev pulled away from her touch.

Scarlet frowned. She reached her hand up to his face again, gently touching his lip. "What about-"

"Please stop." Ze'ev grabbed her hand out of the air, pulling it down to her lap. He was careful not to hurt her.

Scarlet looked at him.

He lowered his eyes, instead focusing on her lips as she licked them. Wolf had the sudden realisation he wanted to kiss them and drew back.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

Wolf – no, he was Ze'ev, Alpha Ze'ev Kesley – didn't answer her.

"Wolf?"

Ze'ev nearly asked her not to call him that, but the words died on his tongue. He had to be Wolf to her, as long as he didn't forget that he wasn't Wolf, he wasn't the streetfighter who escaped the Order of the Pack, he wasn't the ordinary Earthen who was helping her rescue her grandmother.

He wondered what would happen if he told her who he was, what he was.

After a moment he realised he was still holding her wrist. Scarlet reached over with her free hand to run her thumb along his knuckles. Ze'ev swallowed.

Scarlet's hand moved up along his arm, lightly skipping over the bandage she'd applied. Her fingers paused on every scar.

"They're just… they're what I'm used to," Ze'ev told her.

"What do you mean?" Scarlet asked. Capable and strong, but naïve when it came to him. Or not naïve, but misinformed. He didn't have a reply.

Her fingers touched his face. Ze'ev wanted to pull away, wanted to push her off him.

Wolf leaned into the caress.

"It came from a fight," he whispered. "Just another pointless fight. All of them."

That was more truth then he should have told her, but still the surgical scars stung.

Wolf looked up, staring at her face and letting his eyes be drawn back to her lips.

Scarlet pulled back slightly, and then came back. Softly, her lips met his, before she withdrew again.

It was a mistake. Scarlet was his target, his mark. They were going to Paris so he could give her to Jael.

Scarlet didn't deserve any of this.

Ze'ev let out a breath. And then Wolf reached for the girl in front of him, wrapping his arms around her. She didn't resist, moving into his embrace. Wolf's fingers wrapped into her curly red hair and he pulled her into a kiss.

The city was familiar.

Ze'ev could already pick up scents of the pack. Beta Huang Liu had walked past the Gare de Lyon only a few hours earlier, and Beta Eclipse Garson was currently somewhere nearby.

"How far are we?" Scarlet asked him, her eyes darting around the area as if pure determination would let her recognise a pack member.

"Not far." I'm sorry. "We can walk." I'm so sorry.

They turned left at a traffic circle. Scarlet let him lead, her eyes flicking around as if scanning for threats. She was clearly ready for a fight; it wasn't her fault that she didn't know what the fight would be.

Ze'ev tried not to look at her as they walked. It wasn't hard when the sight of Beta Eclipse Garson caught his focus.

Eclipse was standing at a magrail station, holding himself unnaturally stiff as he watched Scarlet. He looked just as uncomfortable about the situation as Ze'ev was.

When Scarlet glanced in his direction, Eclipse looked away.

Ze'ev picked up the pace, and Scarlet immediately caught up. Part of him wanted to drag out the journey forever, but Eclipse's presence was a reminder that he couldn't. He'd made his choice when he hadn't convinced her that Michelle Benoit was dead.

After another minute, they approached a closed café. Beta José Lobo sat in the balcony, leaning his chair back with his feet on the table.

José caught Ze'ev's eye and smiled. Ze'ev glowered, causing his smile to drip off.

Ze'ev startled when Scarlet grabbed his arm. His first instinct was that she was scared and looking for comfort, but when he looked around there was cold fire in her eyes.

"I can't let you do this,' she said sharply. "Just tell me where it is and I'll go on by myself. Just tell me what to do. Give me some indication of what I'm dealing with and I'll figure something out, but I can't let you go with me."

Wolf – no, Ze'ev! – felt something twist in his stomach. Scarlet was worried about him. She was trying to spare him from the trap to which he was leading her.

He pulled his arm away roughly.

"Do you see the man sitting in front of the closed café on the other side of the street?"

Scarlet turned her head towards Beta Lobo, who wasn't even trying to be subtle. At her gaze, José winked.

"Pack member," Ze'ev told her. He ignored José tilting his head to the side, all the better to hear him with. "We passed another at the magrail station two blocks back. And if the stench is any indication, we're about to cross paths with another when we turn this corner." Beta Rille Becke, specifically.

Her eyes widened. "How did they know we were here?" she asked quietly. Her fingers twitched, as if she was tempted to draw her gun.

"I suspect they've been waiting for us," Ze'ev answered. He hadn't even known he had a theory until he said it. "They've probably been tracking your ID."

Scarlet rubbed her wrist. "Or yours," she suggested. "If they do have access to an ID tracker, then maybe they've been following you."

"Maybe," Ze'ev agreed. It was more likely they were watching her, but it didn't honestly matter. Jael had known exactly where he was for the past ten years. "We might as well go find out what they want."

He turned around and continued walking so abruptly it took Scarlet a moment to catch up.

"But there's only three of them," she said. "You can fight three of them, can't you? You said you could take—" she trailed off, her conviction faltering.

If it came to it, Ze'ev might have been able to take José, Eclipse, and Rille. It was possible that Eclipse wouldn't even put up a fight. But fleeing wasn't an actual option.

"You could still get away," Scarlet said. "There's still a chance."

She still wanted to protect him.

"I said I would protect you, and that's what I'm going to do," Ze'ev snapped more violently then he'd intended. He wasn't protecting her, he wasn't, he was leading her to torture and almost certain execution. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't keep Jael away from her; she was never going back to her farm. "It's pointless to discuss this any further."

"I don't need your protection," Scarlet growled back, a woman who was clearly not used to depending on anyone.

"Yes," Ze'ev retorted, "Yes, you do." But his protection would be non-existent; he would try but he would fail.

Scarlet darted in front of him, blocking his way. Ze'ev stopped.

"No," she said. "What I need to know is that I'm not responsible for whatever they'll do to you. You need to stop being stupid and get out of here. At least give yourself a chance!"

Ze'ev glanced over her head. Beta Baines was just barely visible around the corner, frowning at them. Beta Lobo was clearly amused by the argument, sharp teeth bared in a grin.

"What's stupid is not that I'm going to try and protect you," Ze'ev said finally, looking at her. "What's stupid is that I almost believe it will make a difference."

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