Escape

                                    

                                          
He wasn't being childish.  Something was wrong.  He couldn't remember what or why but his instincts were telling him that his mate - and she was his mate, of that he was certain - was in danger.  If he had to ride in a cage to be close to her, he'd ride in a cage.  What he wasn't going to do was ride away from her.  
                          


                          
As soon as the truck started moving, he turned his attention to the latches.  He'd heard three slide into place after Doc had shut the door and he could smell the scent of the doctor's hands on the metal wire in front of his nose.  It turned out to be amazingly easy to open them.  All he had to do was swipe at each one with a nail until it lifted, then swipe it sideways to shift it over.  The only thing preventing the cage door from swinging open by the time the truck stopped and the  passenger door opened, was the nail he had hooked over one of the wires.  
                          


                          
He could tell by the scent and through the bond that connected them that his mate was walking back to say goodbye to him.  He nearly gave himself away by trying to reach her through the bars with the wrong paw, but he caught himself just in time and offered her the paw that wasn't holding the door shut.  
                          


                          
"I'll see you later.  If Doc doesn't bring you back to the hospital, I'll ride out to the farm, but I can't stay tonight.  I have an early class tomorrow morning."
                          


                          
That's what she thought.  He licked the fingers reaching through the metal to cover his paw and they disappeared.
                          


                          
"You have got to stop doing that."
                          


                          
He whimpered.  If  he could kiss her like a human, he would, but a wolf kiss was all he could do right now.
                          


                          
As soon as the truck started moving, he let the gate swing open.  It went about six inches and stopped.  No!  How could he have forgotten about the tailgate?  The wires in the gate felt thin - maybe he could bend the door enough to escape.  He pushed on the top of the door panel and felt a thrill at how easily it gave way.  It should be easy to bend it a little and squeeze through the top.  
                          


                          
The wire rubbed painfully against sore thigh as he passed through, but he was free!  He hit the ground harder than he expected and stumbled.  A loud, blaring sound went off close to his ear.  He jumped, nearly took off in panic, then remembered what it was - a horn.  He must be in the road.  He should get to the side, but which side?  He'd been paying so much attention to the cage door he hadn't paid attention to the turns.  Horns were blaring all around him now.  That was good - nobody would hit him.  He paused for a moment and felt for his mate.  That way.  
                          


                          
"Nate!  Get back here."
                          


                          
He ignored the doctor and loped toward what he guessed was the edge of the road.  There was a curb, but the slight change in sound caused by the soft surface of grass instead of pavement alerted him in time. After two steps the surface under his feet changed again, but it was harder and smoother than the asphalt.  He sniffed.  Cement.  He must be on a sidewalk.  Yes, he could feel the cracks between the sections, and there was the smell he'd noticed just after they drove away.  Someone was doing their laundry.  What else?  Dandelions, freshly mowed grass, clouds laden with rain, her.  He turned toward the smell.  Steps, a threshold where smells and sounds changed, a hallway with a voice yelling at him.  He ignored the voice and followed her scent.  More steps - a staircase with a landing in the middle.  He wished the male behind him would stop yelling - the echos made it hard to think.  A carpeted floor.  Her scent was strong here.  She had to be close.  A few more feet.  He could smell her under the crack of what must be a door.  He scratched the door and whined.  The hard surface beneath his paw disappeared.