replied. “I put it in a black plastic sleeve that fits into the cap itself so it would be protected from the fluid.”
Alex used to key to open the cap and found the little black circle of plastic directly underneath. He pulled it out.
“I just want you to be safe,” Trent said.
“I’ll be safe,” Alex replied. “You don’t have to worry about me so much.”
“Someone does,” Trent told him.
Alex was about to toss the chip to the ground, yet he hesitated.
“I want to throw this away,” he said into the headset.
“I know,” Trent replied, his voice resigned.
Alex spoke his thoughts aloud. “If I don’t, I’m still going for a ride. I might be gone for a while.”
“Be gone as long as you want,” Trent said. The relief in his voice that Alex might not actually get rid of the chip Jaze had trusted him to place was palpable.
Alex let out a breath of resignation and put the plastic back in the gas cap. He climbed onto the motorcycle again and started it. “Tell them not to look for me unless I call them first,” he said, his tone firm.
“I’ll tell them,” Trent replied quickly, as if worried Alex would change his mind. “Uh, Alex?”
“Yeah?” Alex asked. He ran a hand over the smooth gas tank, his emotions at war.
“Will you be back today?”
The concern in Trent’s voice brought a small smile to Alex’s face. “I’ll be back tonight, I promise.”
“Good,” Trent said with so much relief Alex could practically hear him smile. “I won’t bug you anymore. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Thanks,” Alex told him. He paused, then said, “And you never bug me.”
Trent gave a little huff of laughter. “You’d be the first,” the small werewolf replied. “I’ll talk to you when you get back.”
The receiver clicked off. Alex started the engine and continued down the road. The thought that his ride was being monitored bothered him, but the fact that he could take out the chip at any time gave him at least some sense of control. He knew the motorcycle was probably far beyond the protection Jaze felt he needed. The fact that he rode by himself at all said something about the dean’s trust in him. Alex didn’t want to abuse that. He needed to ride the motorcycle. He wouldn’t press Jaze’s trust and lose his freedom.
Chapter Nine
ALEX FOLLOWED THE HORIZON to a city whose buildings reached the sky. He slowed as he entered the outskirts. Though he had been to big cities several times on missions with Jaze’s pack, entering by himself had a completely different feeling. He had a sense of being small and insignificant as he drove between the buildings. Vehicles rushed by, honking at him if he drove too slowly. He had to concentrate on stopping at the red lights and starting again without killing the motorcycle. It was more difficult with drivers waiting impatiently behind him.
An overwhelming sense of claustrophobia filled Alex as he wound his way down the busy streets, waiting for crowds that hustled across the walkways as soon as the lights changed, and sometimes before. Instead of conspicuous as a werewolf, he felt completely ignored, just another light post or parking sign that meant nothing to the droves of people that massed along the sidewalks intent on unknown destinations.
Alex felt a slight longing to be one of them, to have a place to go amid the rush of traffic and pedestrians. He wondered at the families who lived in the huge apartment buildings and got distracted watching children playing along gutters where water rushed to drains beneath the roads.
For the first time in his life, Alex lost all sense of direction. Smell couldn’t tell him which way was home. He had taken so many turns and detours trying not to get killed in traffic that he found himself in the middle of the city without any idea of how to get back to the Academy. He knew he could call Trent, but he balked at the idea. He didn’t want to admit defeat, to let those at the Academy know he