?"Do we really have to stop every time you smell a witch or something? Those were a bunch of hippies."

  ?"Yeah, with an actual spell book!" Sarah exclaimed incredulously. "Need I explain to you again what I am?"

  ?Thomas knew what was going on. He needed to find a way to talk about it before the little wolf bit off more than either of them could chew.

  ?"I know what you are," he said softly. "I never doubted that."

  ?Sarah looked at him suspiciously. "And?"

  ?He looked at her. "And I wish your parents understood you're still a teenager." He regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth.

  ?"What is that supposed to mean!"

  ?"Sarah, I love you, sweetheart. I do. But we are driving across North America to your friend who needs us. We can't stop every time you smell something supernatural. Or we could be putting Kim in danger!"

  ?"I asked about your comment about my parents! Not about your desire to let the undead run wild! Unless you want me to tell them."

  ?"I plan to tell them, Sarah. I don't want you keeping secrets for me. I just don't know how to have a conversation with you. And you need to have one. You may be a wolf. But you're a girl too. And you're hurting."

  ?He sighed and just said it. "You hurt because of what you did to your friend. Now you're trying to see her, but you're trying to avoid her also. And you're one werewolf and I'm one Knight and we're kicking every bees nest from here to Colorado! And if you get killed—which you may be trying to do—your father will tear the country apart to get revenge! And I don't know how to explain that to you!"

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  ?"What do bees have to do with anything?"

  ?Thomas banged his head on the steering wheel. "Please, Sarah. If you care about me at all. Please stop hunting every little thing. If not for me, then for Kim's sake!"

  ?"Fine!" she huffed, crossing her arms and slumping back hard in her seat. "But I'm telling my Dad."

  ?"Please do. Maybe he will send me to my wife!" he muttered as he started the car.

  ?"You had a wife?"

  ?"Yes. A long time ago."

  ?"Were you alive a long time ago?"

  ?He corrected himself. "A long time ago for a human."

  ?"Oh. Did she die?"

  ?"In a manner of speaking, I guess." The memory shook him.

  ?"I'm trying not to get frustrated, Thomas. But I don't understand."

  ?Thomas was tired and frustrated too. But if she was going to stop dragging him down every rat hole in America, he would have to tell the stories.

  ?"We were Knights. When we were kids anyway. We took vows, but married secretly."

  ?"I'm sorry, Thomas." It did Thomas well to see his young friend's sympathy.

  ?"People get cancer, sweetheart. That would've been sad. But she didn't want to go." His eyes darkened.

  ?Thomas looked over to see Sarah resting her head against the window, eyes closed. He just kept driving.

  ?"What did she do?" Sarah asked, keeping her eyes closed.

  ?Thomas forced the words out. "Well, she asked your mother to turn her. In fact, we both did. Mary said she didn't have it in her. And she didn't want to have a human's blood on her hands."

  ?"Yeah..." Sarah sighed.

  ?Thomas put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Kim is alive."

  ?Sarah didn't debate. "What about your wife?"

  ?"She disappeared one night on a mission in Eastern Europe. When I saw her again... well, she found a way."

  ?Sarah looked at him expectantly.

  ?"I'm not trying to be evasive. It's just hard to talk about."

  ?"I'll be good," Sarah promised.

  ?"Thank you, sweetheart."

  ?She rested her head on his shoulder and he wrapped his arm around her. She finally fell asleep after two days of constant hunting. Hopefully, she would sleep long enough for them to pull into Alden, Colorado.