After a few hours of their childish banter and constant one-upping each other on their brisk walk, Rayne had had enough for the night. She demanded that they get a room at one of the wolf lodges nearby so that she could recuperate from her obvious frustration and annoyance. Jarrah quickly tried to decline, insisting on moving forward, but she didn't wait for his answer when the next lodge came into view. She simply spun on her heal and marched over to the front door.

Rayne could briefly hear the angry muttering of Jarrah behind her, but she ignored him and swung the door open. The cool breeze of air-conditioned pinewood pushed through her nostrils, along with the familiar scent of other people like her. She could only see one other wolf in sight at the front desk, but she knew there were others lingering in bedrooms and banquet halls. And by the look of the parking lot out front, they might even be a full house for the night.

An older woman with red-rimmed glasses, onyx waterfalls of pretty hair, and almond-shaped eyes full of pretty walnuts was standing patiently behind the counter ahead of them. She caught sight of Rayne making her way towards her, and by the subtle sniff she did, she knew exactly who she was, as the neighboring pack's alpha's daughter. She bowed respectfully, a common custom among the wolves everywhere.

"Welcome," she greeted. Rayne didn't hide the relief she felt at seeing a friendly face and being talked to like a normal person for once, without an ounce of annoyance or hatred.

Rayne, as much as she hated to admit it, was desperately homesick. Now that she was staying at a hotel, she could call her parents and Ronan to give them a quick update and see what was happening at home. She missed Ronan's annoying jokes, her brother's hotheaded protection, her mother's meals, and her father's long hugs. She hadn't been without them for long, but Jarrah was making her want to go back home to it all more than anything.

How do you think Jarrah feels? After being kidnapped away from his family?

Rayne's stomach turned guilty at the thought. She forced a smile for the woman whose nametag read Monica and asked for two separate rooms of any size because there was no damn way she was going to sleep in the same room as that asshole. Not after the hell she had already endured with him.

Monica glanced over Rayne's shoulder and quickly took note of the silent brute standing somewhere behind her. "I see. Let me see what we have that's available. We have a lot of . . . displaced guests for the night, but I'm sure we can find something."

Refuges.

Rayne sighed softly at the thought. The war was getting closer and closer for not only her pack, but for the packs that were left. For the displaced members who were lucky enough to have fled with their lives. If her and Jarrah didn't get the elixir, they'd surely be done for.

And that was if the elixir even existed. They must call it 'The Lost Elixir' for a reason, right?

She didn't know. She was too drained to think and just needed a comfortable bed for a few hours before they returned to the forest. They've put a lot of distanced between themselves and her pack, but they still had some ways to go. And the lodge surely provided enough reserouces for them that they could spare a night.

That was, until, Monica opened her mouth and gave her the worst news she could have thought of. And then her entire mood soured.

"I'm so sorry, alpha," Monica said, guiltily. Rayne was too anxious to correct her mistaken title. "But we only have one bedroom left for the night and all that's available is one king size bed. We have many families here, and they've all taken up the rooms with two beds."

"Do you at least have a spare cot?" Rayne asked, not even bothering to hide the hopefulness in her tone.

Monica looked back at the empty room behind her, but Rayne already knew the answer. There was nothing they could do for the two of them unless they took the room with the king-size bed. And seeing as how she was too tired to argue or overthink about sharing a small space with Jarrah, she agreed to the room. Monica apologized again and was quick to hand over their room key and the instructions for dinner if they choose to dine in the lodge. Rayne nodded stiffly, thanked Monica, and walked right over to the elevator with Mr. Grump in tow.

She didn't turn to speak to him until they were both riding up to the third floor.

"I'm sure you already heard, but they only had one room and—"

"I heard," Jarrah interrupted lowly, his gaze trained on the old elevator doors that creaked and groaned with movement.

"And you don't mind?" Rayne pressed.

"No, we slept in the forest near each other. Why should being in a room matter?"

She shrugged. "I was just wondering if you'd be uncomfortable, is all. If anything, I'm disappointed that it's done no such thing."

Rayne swore she thought the corners of his lips twitched with amusement when the elevator creaked itself open. He waited for her to exit first and then the both of them searched for 314, which didn't take very long, thankfully. On their walk over, she had to tune out the cries she could hear from the other side of some of the rooms and cringed into her chest. It was no secret that she was an Empath, and hearing their tears only made her want to envelop herself into a comforting blanket and sleep off her exhaustion.

She couldn't protect the world; no matter how hard she wanted to.

Jarrah must have been able to hear it too, because when he was waiting for her to enter the keycard, he was anxiously shifting from foot to foot. His eyebrows were furrowed as he kept his gaze on the ground, jaw locked.

The room wasn't big, but it was comfortable enough that they wouldn't suffocate by their unfortunate proximity for the night. There was a clean bathroom, an older flat screen tv on a dresser, a window to look out of behind some outdated blue curtains, a table with a rolling chair, and a large king-size bed that'll put more than enough room between them. Rayne removed her backpack from her shoulder and pulled out a pair of sweats for the both of them, curtesy of the pack's hidden wear behind trees, and two t-shirts that would be comfortable enough to change in.

She didn't even ask if Jarrah wanted to shower first. She walked right over to the bathroom, closed the door behind her, and turned on the water as fast as she could. The thought of the hot water roaming down her tense muscles sounded all too pleasing to her, and much to her relief, she wasn't disappointed.

Rayne scrubbed at her skin with rose scented soap, soaked water into her curls, and used some of the cheap shampoo and conditioner for her hair. She left half of the substance in each bottle because she knew Jarrah had a lot of hair too if he wanted to wash it, then climbed out of the shower to put her fresh clothes on. She didn't need a lot of time; just enough to feel even remotely like herself again.

They still had to go to dinner downstairs together, but she didn't care that she'd be walking down in sweats and a simple t-shirt. It's not like they were at a beauty pageant, for crying out loud.

When Rayne finally stepped out of the steamed room, she noted a quiet Jarrah sitting in the rolling chair and staring up at the moonlight. Much to her confusion, a part of her wondered what he was thinking about staring up at the light so intently. Wolves loved the moon, did the Fae like it too?

Did it remind him of home just like it did her?

The guilt came again, much stronger than before. It came in a wave that pulled her out to sea on a tide that wasn't her fault . . . and yet, she still felt responsible for it.

Before she could ask about the moon, Jarrah simply stood up from his seat with his clothes bunched in his hand and barely spared her a passing glance when he went into the bathroom. The sound of the door closing pulled her out of her trance and she flopped onto her back, sighing out a breath of tired air. The warmth of the covers pulled her in like a warm hug, and temporarily comforted her enough to imagine that she was home, in her own bed, at her own little house instead of trying to prove herself in a place she'd never been. Instead of meeting her doom in a place full of vampires who wanted nothing more than to see her dead.

Rayne really needed to stop carrying so much of the world on her shoulders.

If only she knew how.