He was whole. He was alive. Deep wounds cut through Mac’s head and chest. There was so much blood, I didn’t know how he was still upright. But, even as I ran my hands over the hard muscles of his battered chest, I could see the jagged ends of Joel’s bite marks begin to heal.

Mac put a protective arm around me, pulling me close. I’d cut the ties Joel had used to bind me on the sharp edge of the van’s bumper. They’d only left a scratch, but Mac brought my hands up; his eyes flashed silver. His concern was almost comical in the face of the deep gashes he bore all over his body.

“No time to stand around!” April shouted. She came from the van with Jasmine and Kat. Girls ran in a panic all over the quad.

“You have to get them out of here,” Trey said, his eyes wide with terror. I didn’t know how to feel about him. He’d just saved Mac. But, he was part of the Pack. With Joel and Chris dead, he was free, but for how long?

Mac stiffened behind me. “I know a place.”

“No!” April shouted, defiant. “I’m done with shifters for good.”

Lena came toward us, shuffling like the walking dead. She shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun.

Mac had the presence of mind to grab his pants off the ground before going to her. In the excitement, it hadn’t even registered that he was still naked from the shift. So was Trey. He dropped his eyes and retrieved his own pants before turning to face Lena.

Before Trey could get anywhere near her, Mac went to her. He was careful; gingerly he put one hand on her arm, then crooked a finger beneath her chin. He brought her face up slowly to meet his eyes.

Lena’s body wracked with one great sob and her shoulders quaked. “What took you so long?”

Mac broke. He pulled his sister to him. He was so strong, so tall he could rest his chin on the top of her head. “You’re safe,” he whispered. “They’ll never touch you again.”

“We’re not safe,” Jasmine stepped forward. “Not here.”

“She’s right,” Trey said. “You don’t have to trust me. But you need to get your people out of here.” He turned to April. The girls of Birch Haven seemed drawn to her as if she’d become a de facto pack leader for them.

“Take the buses,” Trey said, pointing to the south end of campus. “The Pack won’t follow. Not yet. Not while the Alpha’s on the run.”

The Alpha. In the distance, we could still hear the howls. Mac let go of Lena and stiffened beside me. Pain came into his face. His friends were out there. God help them. I tightened my grip on him. I was selfish. Those men had risked their lives for mine. I knew Mac would feel he owed them. But still, I couldn’t bear to lose him to the battle raging in the distance.

“You’ll die,” Lena said through another sob. She felt what I did. If Mac left, it would be suicide.

We found an unlikely ally in Trey again. “He knows who you are,” he said. “The Alpha knows who Eve and Lena are to you now. I don’t want to scare either of you any more than you are. God, I’m sorry for what the Pack has put you through. But, their best chance is if you get them out of here.”

Lena ran a hand over her face. “I can’t fight off a shifter. I’ve tried.”

“You don’t have to fight anymore,” Mac said. He held me in one arm and Lena in the other. “I’m getting you out of here. Now.”

“Fine,” April said. “You do you.”

“April,” I said. “Mac has friends. We can hide you.” It might not have been my place to offer it, but April had done so much for me. For Lena too.

April smiled but shook her head. “Thanks. But, I told you. Wherever I go, I want it to be far away from shifters.”

“Thank you,” Mac said. He stepped forward and shook her hand. April was tentative, but she smiled. “Get these girls across the border. Any border. I can connect you with help. I’ve got plenty of non-shifter contacts that have just as much reason as you to fight against what’s happening here in Kentucky.”

“They should be safe enough if they go fast,” Trey said. “But Mac’s right. Just get across the border.”

“Come on,” Jasmine said. “Please!”

She pulled on April’s arm. Kat had started directing traffic. The panic in the quad became an organized evacuation as dozens of women headed for the three yellow buses parked on the other side of the physical plant. I hoped Nikki was among them. Joel was dead. I wished I had enough time to find her.

“Go,” I said, stepping out of Mac’s arm. I took April’s hand in mine, then pulled her into a hug. “Stay safe, you.”

She looked Mac up and down. “Same to you. You sure I can’t convince you and Lena to come with us? Haven’t you had enough of shifters?”

Smiling, I took Mac’s hand again. I wanted to tell her I hadn’t really started. But, Mac’s wolf eyes glinted. He was getting antsy, sensing something in the distance. We were running out of time. My heart tore in two knowing it likely meant his friends had also.

“What about you?” he said to Trey. “I can’t take you with me today. There may be a place for you with my people. But, there’s a process. You’ve been under Pack control for a long time.”

Trey nodded. “I know. I understand.” Trey’s face fell. He seemed resigned to his fate. I didn’t know how to feel. Just an hour ago, he seemed willing to turn me over to Chris. Then, he saved Mac’s life.

“Get yourself to a little town outside of Lexington. River Run. There’s a laundromat downtown. Only one. Tell the manager Mac Morris sent you. We’ll take it from there.”

A tear fell from Trey’s eye. He shook Mac’s hand. We watched as April and the others fired up the buses and tore out of the parking lot hellbent on freedom. As wolves howled in the distance, the first driver barreled through the front gates of Birch Haven, knocking down the town’s welcome sign. Again, I said a silent prayer for Nikki. God, let her be on one of those buses.

“Time to go,” Mac said. Lena smiled up at him.

I let go of Mac’s hand and went to Trey. “Thank you,” I said. “Good luck. I hope you make it.”

His clenched as he took my hand. “I’m so sorry. For all of this.” Then, he took two steps back, turned, and ran at top speed away from the howling woods.

It was time for me to leave Birch Haven behind. Mac turned us toward the south. We passed through the park, stepping over the very spot where I first met him. We took to the banks; Rough River churned at our feet. With each step, my heart felt lighter. As if with every mile, the chains of that awful place and the memories it held fell away.

It happened that way for Lena as well. Her posture changed, becoming straighter as she ran beside her brother. I don’t know how long we ran. It should have taken something out of me. I wasn’t a shifter like Mac, after all. But, I drew strength from the steady beat of his heart, his pulse becoming my own.

We emerged in a clearing beside the highway. Mac had his own SUV tucked in a ditch. We climbed inside. As Mac put the car in gear and peeled out, I let hope fill my heart as we headed for a new kind of freedom.