Bailey Bradford - Southwestern Shifters 07 - Revolution by Bailey Bradford

conversation was stilted by the violent bumps along the road. Jamie and Norbert both had hands pressed to the roof of the car in attempts to protect their heads. Luuk wasn’t so lucky, and the seat belts were useless, stretched out as they were. Luuk couldn’t do anything but creep along at a snail’s pace, and even then, he’d give himself a knot or two.
“It is a deterrent,” Father Norbert explained. “Not many will drive this road, and it is the only access to where we are going.”
“It wouldn’t have to be driven to be accessible,” Luuk pointed out. “This is nothing for us in our wolf form.”
“Mmm. But a wolf, or wolves, would not need to follow a man-made road, so the point is moot. This is as safe as it can be, considering what you and Jameson are, what the others are.”
The priest had a point, and Luuk knew there were only so many precautions anyone could take.
“We’ll be okay, Luuk. I feel it. Things are going to change. We aren’t going to have to run anymore.”
“I shouldn’t have run in the first place.” He should have fought, but Jamie would have stayed and fought with him, and while Luuk would sacrifice himself, he wouldn’t sacrifice Jamie.
“Stop. We did what was right for us,” Jamie scolded him out loud, and Luuk nodded.
One tight turn after another, the switchbacks up the mountain were scary enough to make the hair stand up on the back of Luuk’s neck. The road smoothed out some, but he couldn’t go any faster or else he’d risk running off the side of the mountain. They hadn’t come this far to die such a stupid death.
“I’d prefer us not to die at all, not for a long time, love.” Jamie squeezed Luuk’s thigh, and Luuk smiled slightly at the comfort. After another particularly sharp turn, Jamie sucked in a breath and pointed. “Look! I see a roof!”
Luuk saw it too. Norbert leant forward, putting his head right between them. “Yes, that is cousin Mem’s home, where the remaining shifters reside. There used to be more in this area, but the fighting has depleted their numbers. Many are battling Luther’s followers. Some have been trying to find you, Luuk, and Jamie. Mem and the others will want to let them know that both of you are safe.”
“After we leave here,” Luuk told him. “Perhaps we will have some plan in place then.” He wanted to find out if there were truly others sent by Alpha Anaxes abroad, and if so, who they were, whether he could trust them. “Is there any Internet connection up here?”
Father Norbert chuckled and patted his shoulder again. “Oh yes, yes there is. Few places cannot be connected via satellite or with ever-changing technology. Mem would go crazy without her Internet.”
“Good.” He’d been careless before, and it had cost him dearly, but Luuk wasn’t being careless by contacting his brother, nor was Jamie putting them at risk by attempting to reach his friend. They both needed support, either physically, as in bodies to help them fight, or morally, emotionally. Luuk thought that contacting Adam might help Jamie through some of the depression he’d been trying to keep at bay. Luuk wasn’t educated about mental illness, but he would be. He’d not let Jamie deal with it alone, and if, through their bond, he could carry some of that dark weight of depression, he would, gladly.
The closer they got to the large home, the more tense Luuk became. Jamie stroked his leg, his side, but Luuk couldn’t help it. Trusting others was difficult even if it was necessary.
“My ancestors built this themselves, from native rock,” Father Norbert said, and somehow, between his voice and Jamie’s soothing touch and thoughts, Luuk felt slightly less close to cracking. “It took my great-grandfather more than ten years to complete. He kept adding on, and so it is now a hodge-podge of rooms and, in many places, unlevel. Watch your heads at the doorways once we are into the interior. That is where the problems lie—a step up or down into