Chapter 48: Chapter 48

"So baby doll, what did you see in the river?" Jake asked as he stopped in front of me with a wide smile.

I felt myself grin back at him as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I saw my wolf and yours together, but then a shadow suddenly appeared between us as it tried to separate us. After that, we turned into human form and hugged each other as the shadow disappeared."

He nodded, still smiling as he replied, "Yes, that's exactly what I saw, and it makes me wonder what the shadow means."

I felt worried as I replied, "Yeah, me too, and why we turned into human form."

Jake let out a sigh as he unwrapped his arms from around me, "We will try to find out what we can from Tanner, but now, we need to go back home before it gets too late."

His statement made me glance up at the sky to see that the sun was going down. I didn't think that we will make it to town before mid night. We would have to find a motel or something to stay for the night. I looked back at Jake as I gave him a small smile, "Yeah, let's go."

He nodded and moved his face closer to mine. I watched with my breath hitching as he brushed his lips against my forehead. He moved back as his lips lifted up into a smile, and I smiled back before walking past him then around the car to the passenger's side. I realized that Shane, Sean and Jane have already climbed into the car with Leo squeezed between Shane and Jane.

Jake walked to the driver's door and opened it as I opened the door of the passenger's seat and climbed in. I pulled the door close as he climbed in and did same to his door. He started the car and rode onto the road as the car was filled with silence. Jane was looking out the window as she avoided Shane's gaze while he kept stealing glances at her.

If Shane was Jane's mate then who was Sean's mate? I looked back at him, behind Jake's seat as he looked out the window. He had been strangely quiet since he saw his mate at the river. It must have been someone that he did not expect. "Sean, who did you see as your mate?"

My voice seemed to jolt him from his thoughts and bring his gaze to me. He looked worried and nervous as he said, "It is someone so unexpected and not even close to our friend that I'm not sure if you guys want to know."

Jake glanced at him through the rear view mirror before moving his gaze to the door. "Of course, we want to know even if it turns out to be someone in Kane's gang or even Cassie."

Sean took in a deep breath and let it out, "Okay."

"But wait, it isn't Cassie, right?" Shane asked as he looked at him with wide eyes.

I shook my head, "No, it can't be, right, Sean?"

He nodded as a laugh left his lips, "It's not Cassie, but it's someone so much worse."

"God, don't tell me it's Stephanie. She and Cassie aren't even werewolves." Jane said as she turned her head from the window to him, and we all looked at him to hear his answer.

"No, it's Abbey." Sean said quietly as he grimaced.

"Just as worse." Jane groaned as she looked back at the window.

"No way." Shane said in surprise, and Sean nodded to show that it was a yes, way.

"But how? She isn't a werewolf either." I said as I felt confused about all this.

"Then that must mean that she'll turn into a werewolf." Jake said as he glanced at me before moving his gaze back to the road.

"Probably." I replied and glanced at Jake as he continued driving.

"She might be my mate, but I don't think that I can trust her, let alone have her in our pack." Sean said as he looked sad.

Jake looked uncomfortable as he said, "I'm sorry, Sean, but I have to say that I feel the same way."

I let out a breath as I looked over at Sean again, "Maybe she's going to change and that's why you saw her as your mate. I mean, she can't be your enemy if she's your mate, right?"

"Yeah, maybe." He replied in a quiet voice and looked out the window again.

I looked back to the front and realized that it was now very dark at night. I glanced at Jake as I said, "I think that we should check into a motel nearby since it's getting very dark and we can get belack on the road in the morning."

He glanced over at me as a smile touched his lips, "Yes, I was thinking the same thing." He looked at the rear view mirror for a second before moving his gaze back to the road, saying, "What do you guys think?"

"Yeah, that's what we should do." Shane said, as he glanced at us before he returned to stealing glances at Jane.

"Fine with me." Jane said, still looking out the window.

"Yeah, it's better than driving all night." Sean added as he glanced at us with a small smile.

"Okay, we'll be stopping at the next motel." Jake said as he pressed harder on the pedal and the car accelerated.

As we drove, he took one hand off of the steering wheel and placed it on top of mine on my lap. That brought my gaze to him and our gazes met. His lips tugged up into a smile as he intertwined our fingers. "What are you thinking about in that pretty little head of yours?"

I laughed, "My head maybe pretty, but it's not little."

Jake laughed this time, "Yes, it is huge in terms of ideas and intelligence."

I grinned at his statement just as I saw him pull up to the parking lot of a motel. It read, 'Crystal' at the top. It looked small and cozy unlike how a crystal was precious. Jake let go of my hand and killed the engine. I opened the car door together with Jane just as Jake and Sean did the same.