Redeeming Rue AP4 by R. E. Butler Read Free Book Online Page B

move into the woods even if he’d been utterly blind.  His senses were leading him to something, he was certain.  His footsteps never faltered as he gave himself over to his beast, who was clawing inside him to move faster toward their goal.  Whatever that was.
     
     

 
     
     
     
    Chapter 6
     
    Late Saturday afternoon, Rue showered and washed her hair, using natural products that smelled like flowers.  After drying off, she covered her skin with scented lotion and then dressed in black yoga pants and a long-sleeved black shirt.  Dom came to stand next to her as she pinned up her hair before donning the wig.
    “Someday, Ma, we’ll be able to show our hair without worrying about being killed.”
    “I know, honey.  After tonight, we can head back to Michigan, pack our stuff, and move on to our new lives.”
    After tugging on the wig, she gave it a few passes with the brush and looked at herself critically in the mirror.
    “What?” Dom asked.
    “I look like my mom. I try not to think about that a lot, because it makes me sad, but it’s true.  I wish that she could have stood up for me back then.”
     “Why didn’t she?  I still don’t understand why being albino is such a horrible thing.  We’re unique.”
    She shrugged and began to pack her supplies.  “Most clans are old fashioned.  Some are more progressive, but most, like my former one, believe that only pure panthers should mate.  Differences are not tolerated, even if it’s something that is out of a person’s control like the color of her fur.”
    He gave her a long look and then he asked her the question she had been dreading.  “If you hadn’t had me, you would have been able to just go on with your life.  You wouldn’t have had to change your last name or constantly look over your shoulder.  It’s because of me, isn’t it?”
    She had never lied to Dom and she didn’t plan to start now.  Pulling him over to the bed, she pushed him down until he sat.  She stood before him.  “The marks on my back are a brand from the clan.  If any panthers were to see the brands, they would know that I’m banished and not welcome to join any clans.  A clan that accepts a banished panther can be considered an enemy of the other clans, and war could ensue.  But more than that, I was told that if I ever bore children that I, and my children, would be killed.  When I had you, the first thing I did was change my identity.  I knew that if any clans found out that a banished panther had birthed a child, we would be hunted down.”
    Unease flitted through her.  She was not being smart by spying on the bonding ceremony.  If she were found, she was putting them both at risk.
    “Hey, I can see that you’re rethinking going to the party.  Don’t.  I think it’s important for you to be able to see what’s going on with your family.  And so what if they do find you, there’s no way they could know that you had me.  I’m not going with you to the woods.  I’m going to sit here and watch TV and eat the junk food you let me pick out at the grocery this morning.”
    Her eyes flitted to the grocery sack on the dresser that was stuffed full of all his favorite snacks.
    “Are you sure?  We could just go home and pack.”
    He shook his head as he stood and pointed toward the door.  “Go on, Ma.  I’ll be here when you’re done closing the chapter on this part of your life.”
    “How did you get so smart?”
    He chuckled.  “I’ve got a smart mom.”
    She turned and picked up her car keys, the room key, and her wallet.  “I’ll be back in no more than three hours.  I’ll have my phone on vibrate so if you need me, you can call.”
    He followed her to the door and held it open.
    She hugged him tightly.  “I’ll call when I’m on my way back.  Thanks for being here with me, honey.”
    “Be careful,” he told her and she promised she would.  She pulled the door shut and listened to him lock the deadbolt and secure the