MATED TO SERIES COLLECTION

24. ARIANA: THUNDER STORMS

"Yes," I whispered.

"Doll, why does Oliver want to kill you?"

My stomach churned again as another wave of nausea hit me. I could feel panic clawing up my throat. The mention of his name was enough to make me remember everything he'd done to me.

Lucas's hand slid to the back of my neck as he moved closer. He closed the space between us and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

"Tell me," he whispered. "Let me help you."

I reached up with shaky hands to grip his shoulders. My eyes darted over his face. There were so many questions I still had to ask him. I wanted to trust him, I truly did, but what if I trusted him and he was like Connor?

"Ariana..."

I closed my eyes and pressed my forehead against his. Lucas had saved me from Oliver and he was doing everything possible to make sure that I was safe.

Why?

"Let me help you," he whispered against my lips.

"Why do you want to help me?" I asked him.

He was silent for a few minutes before he answered me. What he said was something I never expected to hear.

"Because for some reason I have this need to protect you. No matter how hard I try, I just can't get myself to hand you over to your family and let them protect you." He sucked in a breath. "I need you to be at my side so I know that you're okay."

"I-I think I know w-why," I whispered.

"Why?" he asked.

I pulled away and opened my eyes but movement over Lucas's shoulder caught my attention.

Ethan was staring down at his phone as he walked in our direction.

Noticing my distraction, Lucas turned to follow my gaze. His body tensed when he spotted the ex-alpha.

I sat back and watched Lucas as he stood and turned to face Ethan. The movement made Ethan's head snap up. "Are you back so soon?" he asked.

"Have you made the calls?" Lucas questioned instead of answering him.

"Yeah." Ethan pushed his phone into his pocket and walked over to the counter where he grabbed a paper and held it out towards Lucas. "The last shop can deliver it tomorrow but as you can see, it will cost you twice as much."

Lucas stared at the paper for a few seconds, glanced over at me and then looked at Ethan. "Will you have the car fixed by tomorrow?"

"Of course." Ethan smiled. "Now that you gave me the go ahead I'll start stripping it now."

"Make the call."

As Ethan called the shop, Lucas packed everything we had purchased into the bag but not before eating some more chips. Zipping the bag closed, he placed it down at my feet and then took a seat next to me. I smiled when he reached for my hand.

"Where are we going to sleep tonight?" I asked him softly. "I didn't see any motels."

Lucas pressed a kiss to my hair. "Don't worry about it, doll," he muttered. "I'll find us a place to stay."

***

That had to be sooner than either of us expected. We were hit with a sudden thunder storm—by thunder storm I meant a heavy sheet of rain and booming thunder. The sky was so dark that it looked like it was in the middle of the night instead of only two o'clock in the afternoon.

Ethan was forced to close the garage door and stop working on the car when the power was cut off.

We were basically stranded in the middle of nowhere with a stranger who just so happened to be a Lycan. He was the least of our worries though, because we still had no place to sleep.