I pull the hood of my jacket up and over my head before digging my hands deep into the pockets and hunching my shoulders. I glance nervously at the small clump of scrub not far from the truck stop. I catch the impression of something moving in the bushes and head around the buildings towards the toilets. Fear rides me as I duck into the ladies amenities and hide. It's Hank out there. I know it is.

He has hunted me mercilessly since Drew was shot and killed nearly two weeks ago. I go into one of the two cubicles and shut the door behind myself before I sit on the toilet, bury my face in my hands and start crying. I am exhausted physically and worn out emotionally from trying to evade Hank, trying to loose him. But somehow he manages to trail me from small village or town to wherever I stop next. Even civilisation has trouble keeping him at bay now. Little or nothing to eat along with winter's cold, wet weather has stolen what little energy I had. My pregnancy draws on my strength and endurance and I don't need to look in a mirror to know how sickly and unkept I look.

Finally I dry my tears and wipe my nose with the back of one hand. Enough feeling sorry for myself! I take several deep breaths as I stare at the back of the door and all of the graffiti on it. It takes me several minutes before I realise I am staring at one piece of graffiti and reading it over and over again.

"My family!" I mutter to myself. "Surely they'll take me in,"

I make use of the toilet before leaving the cubicle and standing at the small hand basin to wash my hands. I stare at the image reflected back in the polished metal over the sink and settle my short hair into some semblance of order. I am sad Drew was killed but each day the sorry fades a bit more and I seem to be missing the company more than him himself. My drive to survive is strong, the drive to protect the life growing within me stronger.

"Celeste Stephanie Willoughby, Celeste Willoughby, Celeste." I say aloud as I look at my reflection. "I need to find the Willoughby, Inness or McIntosh clan. No, not clan, family,"

Night has fallen and it is dark when I step out of the toilet doorway. I glance around but there is no one around this side of the building and I take several deep breaths as I steel myself to set out and find these people I really don't want to meet. If they were willing to turn their backs on me because I was with Drew how can I be sure they will want me around now? I take several deep breaths, surely they will take me in even though I carry his kitt. I glance down my body where there is slight evidence of my pregnancy and place a hand on the small bulge. I feel the baby roll over beneath my hand and I can't help the smile that comes to my lips.

"You're the last little bit I have left of Drew aren't you," I murmur softly. "Hey Little Bit, what do you think of that as a name?" The sound of my voice almost drowns out the faint scuff on the gravel behind me as a large hand is clamped over my mouth and an arm wraps around my waist.

I scream behind the hand as I jerk my head back. The stench of dingo surrounds me and when the edge of the hand slips into my open mouth I don't hesitate to bite down hard. I hear Hank grunt behind me and I jerk my head back even as I keep biting down on his hand. I feel the back of my head smash into his face and we both end up on the ground. I turn so I am facing him, I can see his face contorted in rage and I kick out with my legs. I draw my knees up against my body before lashing out with all my strength.

"Fire! Fire! Fire!" I hear someone screaming before I realise it is me. In my mind I can see the women's self defence special that was run on tv. Scream fire, shouts of fire will get more reaction than screams of rape or help. Women's strength

is in their thighs rather than their arms and they are better suited to kicking than punching or pushing. I manage to get both feet against his chest as he tries to pin me to the ground and cover my mouth. One foot skids off the side of his ribs but the other is planted in the centre of his chest and I manage to push him away as he slams several punches at my face. There is the sound of running feet and Hank is quick to run off into the surrounding darkness. I am climbing to my feet sobbing with reaction when three burly truck drivers come running around the side of the building. One is carrying a fire extinguisher and they slow to a stop as they look around.

"Are you alright miss?" The oldest of the three asks as they look at me. I wipe a hand across my face where my nose is running and nod and sniff back tears. Part of me is stunned what I saw on tv had actually helped. At least it slowed Hank up and he was unable to drag me away into the darkness and out of sight.

"Yes I'm okay now," I answer quietly.

"That was right smart yelling fire like that," one of the others remarks as he peers into the darkness where Hank disappeared. "Why don't you go wash up your face a bit? My partner and I will wait outside so that lout doesn't come back. Boyfriend by any chance?"

"No, ex-boyfriend," I mutter. Humans wouldn't understand the whole were dingo friend of my dead husband thing.

In the ladies restroom I take in my reflection in the polished metal. My nose is bloody and by morning I will have an impressive bruise across my left cheekbone. I splash my face with water several times before reach for some paper towel and patting it dry. When I head outside I glance around uneasily. There are two of the three truck drivers there and no sign of Hank.

"How about we walk you to your vehicle just in case that bastard is still around," One of them suggests.

"I was going to get something to eat," I mumble as I slip my hands into the front pockets of my jacket. I am aware of the two men studying me and I shift from foot to foot nervously.

"How about I stake you to a decent feed and you promise to keep clear of that jerk?" The one holding the fire extinguisher offers. I bite my bottom lip as I glance his way breathing deeply. He smells of stale cigarette smoke, sweat and pity. There is none of the lust I half expect.

"Okay," I say after a few moments hesitation.

Inside the truck stop I look at the magazines while my rescuers buy food from the café section. When they seat themselves at a table and chairs I sit in the seat where they motion and accept the bottle of fruit juice.

"I didn't know if you drank tea or coffee and figured juice was a safe bet," The one who'd had the fire extinguisher says. He'd slipped the extinguisher into place on a large semi on our way to the front entrance.

"My way's Jim and that's Clarry," He says with a nod towards his friend.

"Clarry?" I repeat the name.

"Clarence," Clarry says with a grin. "But me mates call me Clarry. You weren't hitch hiking by any chance were you? Aint a smart thing to do, you never know what creep is going to offer you a lift."

"My car ran out of petrol a week ago and I didn't have money to fill it up," I say defensively. "I'm just trying to get back to my family,"

"What town do they live in?" Jim asks. "We might know someone headed their way."

I stare at my drink for a few moments my mind a total blank. I have no clue to where they live, only the place Drew and I saw my brother. Maybe someone around there knows him!

"Inverell," I say confidently. "My brother Andy Willoughby lives there."

"Do you have a name or will we just refer to you as the girl with the arse of an ex?" Jim asks with a shrewd glance my way.

"I'm Harley," I answer as I meet his eyes. He watches me a moment as if assessing my words before he gives a nod.

"I'll ask Mandy behind the counter in the café, she might know of someone heading east," Jim says getting to his feet and heads towards the woman serving a customer. A woman comes out with a tray containing three plates and places them on the table. My stomach rumbles noisily as I eye the large plate containing roast chicken, roast vegies, chips, peas and corn all smothered in gravy. A knife and fork rolled up in a paper napkin is placed beside the plate and I glance at Clarry but he is already eating his food. He glances up as if he can feel my gaze and motions at the plate in front of me with his knife.

"Go on," He says around a mouthful of food. "Eat up."

I need no further invitation and pick up the napkin containing the cutlery. I start with the roast and vegies, coating them in gravy and chewing quickly. The left side of my jaw is painful and I realise several of my teeth are slightly loose. I frown as I figure out Hank must have hit me way harder than I realised. I keep a cautious eye out as I eat, I wouldn't put it past him to swagger into the shop and buy food while I am in here. My plate is empty before I am full and I carefully scrape up every last scrape of food to eat before putting the knife and fork side by side on the plate. I glance at Clarry who is also finished his meal, he is sipping a steaming cup of coffee and watching me with an amused expression.

"I like to see a woman who knows how to put away her food," Clarry says smoothly. I don't say anything as I reach for the half empty bottle of juice and take several mouthfuls.

"Mandy said there is a courier van that goes through Inverell due through here at ... in about ten, fifteen minutes. You could try talking to the driver, they might give you a lift." Jim says as he pushes his plate away from him.

"I think we should give all the tyres a good going over before we head out," Jim says as he glances at Clarry. "Only take us ten, fifteen minutes at the longest."

"I need to let my food settle," Clarry says putting his empty cup aside. "And I could do with another cup of tea. They make a decent cup here,"

I make no attempt to leave as the men continue to sit at the table, some how I understand they are giving me the protection of their presence even though they don't know me. Clarry goes to get himself another cup of tea taking the now empty plates with him. I can't help noticing the way Jim keeps glancing around the shop without being overly obvious about it.

"You remind me of my sister's kid," Jim says as if we had been having a conversation. "She married a drunken sod who used to beat her up every payday. When she first left him I don't think she could be anywhere without keeping a watch out for him. Mind you, I'm not saying your boyfriend used to beat you up or anything."

I feel tears burn at the back of my eyes and I lower my chin as I look down at the tabletop. I feel the long hair of my fringe fall across my face partially hiding my expression. I am aware of Clarry returning with his cup of tea and I am startled when he places a plastic shopping bag on the table where my plate had been. I can see through the plastic well enough to make out several lots of pre-packaged sandwiches, some packets of crisps and two bottles of drink.

"Maybe some day you can pay it forward," Jim says quietly. "Help someone else who needs a hand. There's your ride over at the counter with Mandy now," I glance up to see a middle aged woman this side of the counter looking our way, she smiles as she looks at me and I get to my feet.

"I don't ..." I swallow my words and give both men a grateful smile. "Thanks. I really appreciate your help." I almost forget the bag of food on the table as I turn to head for the ride that will get me that bit closer to finding my family.

Four days later:

I walk up hill along the footpath, the shops beside me are closing for the day but I barely glance at them as I go by. I pause outside a take-away shop and breathe in deeply only to immediately break into a fit of coughing. The weather over the last few days has been constant drizzle leaving me damp and cold. I turn away miserably, I am hungry but don't feel up to eating, even if I did have money to buy some food - which I don't. I glance at the name of a shop as I go by, Kyogle Bakery. It's a small shop in a small town I moved on to when I was unable to find anyone who knew my brother in Inverell.

The only requirement I had when choosing where to head to has been to follow the burning need in me to head east, always to the East. Daily the urge grew stronger and I often wonder why Drew had never came this way. The area seems busier and there are a few part time jobs I have heard of. The misting rain catches me in the face making me squint as I walk out wide around a group of teenagers laughing in front of a music store. One look up along the street at the groups of teenagers walking along the side walk, occasionally pushing each other and I decide to cross the street.

I am cold and flip the hood of my jacket up, zipping the front up as high as it will go. Hands in pockets and shoulder hunched against the growing cold I hurry across the road, between parked vehicles and onto the side walk there. As I turn to head up hill once again a guy who is closing the back of his Rodeo wagon slams the door. He is fishing something out of his pocket as he steps back nearly knocking me off my feet as we collide unexpectedly. Only his quick reflexes and the strong grasp he manages to get on my upper arm prevents me hitting the footpath heavily.

I look up at him startled as I manage to keep my footing thanks to his help. Sun bleached orangey coloured hair and freckles scattered across his face that are almost lost in his tan. The hair stands on end all over my body as I suck in a deep breath. His hazel eyes widen in shock and the thick, rich scent of a male werecat washes over me in the instant before I begin coughing once again.

"Sorry," I manage to splutter between coughs. Finally I manage to stop coughing and glance up at his face when I realise he hasn't released my arm.

"Fu ... I don't believe this! We were told you were dead!" He exclaims with rising excitement and a touch of anger as he begins to look around on the ground. Another coughing fit hits me and when it stops I glance at him to see him picking up his mobile phone from near his feet. He glances at the parts in his hands and looks at me with a rueful smile.

"Guess I will have to wait to spread the good news," He says. I place a hand on his vehicle and lean against it tiredly, he takes in my damp, cold state and turns away to unlock and open the passenger door.

"Here, sit down. You look just about dead on your feet," He says kindly.

"You know me?" I ask suddenly scared he will say no. "You can help me find my family?"

I sit in the vehicle out of the light rain, push my jacket hood off and finger comb my fringe when it sticks out messily. I glance at him to find him staring at me with a stunned look, slowly he reaches out to stroke the scar that runs from the outer corner of my left eye up into my hairline above my temple. I watch his eyes darken as if with pain as his thumb skims down the crooked side of my face.

"So you were hit by a truck," He says quietly. "That bastard Dorrington wasn't lying when he said that."

"Yeah, I was in a car accident," I say and give a nervous grin. He is starting to scare me. "I don't remember much of anything from before that. Drew said it was a miracle I survived."

"Is Drew here?" He asks glancing around with a closed look on his face. He glances down at me when I don't answer and I guess he can tell he is starting to spook me because he smiles gently.

"My name is Justin and I'll take you home to your family." Justin says gently.

"I'm Celeste but you already know that," I say and I feel Justin glance my way, but I am reaching for the bottle of water I spot in the drinks holder. "Drew nicknamed me Harley and I prefer that name,"

"Well sit in the seat properly and buckle up," Justin says as he heads around to the other side of the vehicle.

I do as he says and pull the door closed while he gets behind the wheel and buckles up. He hesitates a moment before reaching into the back seat, he drops a warm paper bag on my lap and laughs as I grab it to stop it falling off onto the floor of the car.

"Might as well share my cinnamon donuts with you," He tells me with a smile as I look at him in surprise. He watches me a moment or two before he reaches out and squeezes one of my hands gently.

"I'm really glad you're alive," he says, his voice thickening. I smile at him around the mouthful of donut I have and he laughs as he turns the vehicle on and pulls out of the parking space.