The Heart Has Chosen

checking on you 14

Chapter 14

Sammy POV

I had been driving for hours. My eyes burned from lack of sleep, and my hands were stiff from gripping the steering wheel too long, but I refused to stop. Every time I thought about pulling over, I pictured Sam finding me. That was enough to keep driving. The Charger handled the road smoothly, the engine powerful beneath me. Berry wasn’t lying when he said it was better than my old car.

Sal had finally calmed down, though she still stayed alert in the back of my mind. Something feels off, she warned softly.

“Everything feels off,” I muttered.

I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and groaned. Nearly four in the morning. I needed gas. The fuel light blinked at me like it was mocking me. I cursed under my breath before spotting an old gas station coming up near the highway exit. The place looked half dead. One flickering light. One rusty ice machine. One old pickup truck parked near the side. Perfect.

I pulled up to the pump and stepped out carefully, scanning the area while I filled the tank. My muscles ached from sitting so long.

The cold night air hit my skin, making me shiver. A scent suddenly drifted toward me. Wolf. Not rogue. Pack. Sal instantly growled.

I slowly turned my head and spotted a man leaning against the side of the building near the entrance. Tall. Dark hair. Arms crossed over his chest. Watching me. Great. I kept my expression blank while screwing the gas cap back on.

“Relax,” the stranger said calmly. “If I wanted to hurt you, I would’ve already tried.”

“Funny,” I replied. “That usually means someone plans to hurt me eventually.”

One corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “I’m not here for Sam.”

That got my attention. I stayed silent. He pushed away from the wall and walked closer, stopping several feet away. Smart. He knew better than to invade a lone wolf’s space.

“You’re hard to track,” he admitted.

My body tensed instantly.

His eyes flickered downward briefly before meeting mine again.

“But not impossible.”

Sal snarled loudly in my head. “Who are you?” I demanded.

“My name’s Ezra.”

That meant absolutely nothing to me. “I don’t care who you are.”

“I know.” His voice stayed calm. “But someone asked me to check on you.”

I nearly laughed. “Nobody checks on me.”

“They do.”

I narrowed my eyes, trying to figure him out. He didn’t smell aggressive. Didn’t smell scared either. Honestly, he smelled tired.

“You working for Blaze?” I asked suddenly.

Something flashed across his face. Interesting.

“Why would you ask that?”

“Because only Blaze’s people have managed to find me without trying to drag me back to Sam.”

Ezra stared at me for a long moment before sighing.

“You should leave before sunrise.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“No,” he agreed quietly. “It’s not.”

Before I could question him again, another vehicle pulled into the gas station. Ezra’s head snapped toward it instantly.

His entire posture changed. Danger. Sal felt it too.

“Get in your car,” Ezra ordered sharply.

I didn’t move. A black SUV rolled to a stop near the building. Three men climbed out slowly. The second I caught their scent, my stomach dropped. Rogues. One of them smiled when he saw me.

“Well, look what we found.”

Sal snarled viciously inside my head. Ezra stepped slightly in front of me.

“She’s not yours.”

The rogue laughed. “And who’s gonna stop us?”

Ezra’s eyes darkened. “I will.”

The rogues exchanged amused looks before the largest one cracked his neck. “You pack wolves always think you’re tougher than everybody else.”

Ezra didn’t answer. The air suddenly shifted around him. Power rolled off him so fast even Sal went still. Oh hell. He wasn’t just pack. He was Alpha blood. The rogues noticed too because their confidence disappeared almost instantly. Ezra took one slow step forward.

“Last chance,” he warned coldly. “Leave.”

For half a second, nobody moved. Then the biggest rogue lunged.

Everything exploded into chaos. Ezra moved so fast I barely saw him. One second the rogue was charging, the next he was slammed into the side of the SUV hard enough to dent the metal. The other two attacked immediately. Sal pushed against me, begging to shift.

Not here. Not now. I grabbed the first thing I could find from the backseat of the Charger, a tire iron.

One rogue rushed toward me with glowing eyes. Bad choice. The second he reached me, I swung hard. The tire iron cracked against the side of his head, dropping him instantly.

“Damn,” Ezra muttered somewhere nearby.

The last rogue looked between us nervously now. Smart wolf. Ezra grabbed him by the throat before he could run.

“If Sam sent you,” Ezra growled, “tell him he’s running out of time.”

The rogue clawed at Ezra’s arm desperately. “You have no idea who you’re threatening.”

Ezra’s expression turned deadly calm. “No,” he said quietly. “You don’t know who you’re threatening.”

He threw the rogue hard across the pavement. The man scrambled up before all three rogues ran for their SUV and sped out of the station. Silence filled the air afterward. My heart was pounding.

Ezra looked completely unaffected. I tightened my grip on the tire iron.

“Who the hell are you?” I asked again.

He glanced at me before looking down the empty highway.

“Someone your enemies should pray never joins your side.”