Chapter Forty-two

Glenna’s body ached. She lay in the dried grass, her body stopped in its mad rush down the slope by the vicious branches of a large pine. In the distance she heard people shouting and a car horn that never seemed to stop.

The world spun when she tried to open her eyes. She shut them again, but knew she had no choice. He’d be here soon. Her blood pulsed with the need to flee.

Staggering to her feet she made her slow painful way down the forested slope to the creek at the bottom of the ravine. Someone up on the road shouted. She risked a glance back. Way up the steep hill, much farther than she thought possible, a man in a black suit climbed over the guard rail.

She growled.

No way was she getting back into that car with that man. He’d have her locked up and be cutting into her soon after.

She plunged into the creek, swallowing a yipe at the icy water seeping into her shoes and numbing her calves. Slipping and sliding on rounded river rocks she moved as fast as she could to the other side and out. Bruised bones and muscles screaming, she climbed up the opposite slope of the ravine, using small trees and clumps of grass to pull her body up where she could. She desperately wanted to take a break at the top, but a quick glance down showed her the black suit was almost to the creek. She took off. Dodging and weaving among the trees and rocks, running until she couldn’t draw breath and a charley horse ripped into her side.

She took stock. She was over the rise of the hill, and the sound of the highway had been cut off by the curve of mountain. But she was still too close. Trauma induced or not, her adrenaline would wear off at some point, and she needed rest. She sniffed the air. The mouthwatering smell of cattle had her jaw dropping open so she could taste the scent in the back of her throat.

She headed for the odor of cows in the distance. Some human part of her knew where there was livestock, there would be water and shelter, and she needed both. The other part of her, the part that was growing stronger with every minute, just smelled food.

It didn’t take long to find the animals and their corrugated steel trough that filled from a spigot of fresh water. She turned on the pump and drank deep.

Her adrenaline spike was fading, and sheer exhaustion was quickly taking over. Her newly awakened wolf senses saw the cows as prey, but her drowning human logic still saw them as large, mooing farm animals. Meat came on plates.

Her brain whirled and she sank to the ground, leaning against the cool metal of the trough.

She desperately wanted to be home. To eat everything in her apartment refrigerator. Crawl into her own bed and sleep for an eternity. She was lost and alone and hurt. She should call someone.

She pulled out the cell phone that Sam had stuffed into her pocket. Who could she call?

Not Roger, who’d taken money for her and turned her over to the enemy. Not Sarah, she couldn’t put her little sister in danger. Her grandmother? No way.

Even if they weren’t watching her grandmother, and it was a sure thing they were, her grandmother would have no idea what to do with a back-from-the-dead sheep-in-wolf’s-clothing granddaughter.

She had no one. No one to call. Nowhere to go.

Except the pack. And Sam.

Her palms grew sweaty at the thought of hearing his voice, and a tremor went through her. She slid the cheap phone open and scrolled through the numbers he’d quickly programmed in. Sam. No last name, just Sam. She pushed the buttons. No service.

A sob built up in her throat.

The sun was almost gone and for the first time in her life she was truly alone. She was so tired she couldn’t think anymore, and her wolf instincts said she had to sleep. Somewhere in the back of her brain, her human side said the man was still looking for her, but between her exhaustion and the nearly total absorption of the wolf, she pushed it away. She’d think better if she was less tired. And she also could hunt.

She found an empty abandoned outbuilding, went inside, and curled up behind a rusty tractor. Sleep overtook her quickly and with it, the dreamscape.

She was in a forest filled with fog. She heard a sound. Looked up. Sam was in the distance moving into the fog. She could almost catch him. She ran, but just as she reached for him someone called her name.

“Glenna.” The white wolf came out of the mist and morphed into Serena. “Glenna, I need to talk to you.”

“Serena.” Glenna turned back, but Sam was gone. “Did you see him?”

“See who? Who did you see?”

“Sam. I need to find him.”

“Glenna, I need to know where you are. Can you tell me where your body is? Where are you sleeping? Are you safe?”

“Yes, I’m safe. I need Sam.” Glenna didn’t have time to waste. Sam was who she wanted, not Serena. She sniffed for Sam’s spicy scent and found a trace. “I’ll see you later.” She took off running.

“Wait!” Serena ran next to her. “I’ll help. I know Sam.”

Glenna stopped and really looked at Serena. “How do you know him?” she asked, inside a growl rose in her throat. She kept it down, smiled her best public smile at the other woman.

“We’re old friends.”

Glenna stepped up to Serena, pushed her nose into her neck and inhaled. The smell that was Serena in the dreamscape swirled into her nose, deep into her lungs. She stepped back. She tasted Serena’s evasion.

“You’re the one who nearly drove him into the wild. Well, he doesn’t want you now, he wants me.”

“It was a long time ago.”

Glenna growled. She lunged for Serena, fingers tensed. Her nails ripped into Serena’s arm, dragging down her skin in long, bleeding stripes.

“Glenna, no!” Serena jumped back.

“Leave us alone. He’s mine, not yours.” She circled Serena, looking for an opening.

“I’m mated to his brother. I don’t want Sam.” Serena held her hands wide, palms open. “I don’t want to fight.”

Glenna didn’t care. She lunged again. Her jaws opened wide and she went for the other woman’s slim, vulnerable throat.

Serena disappeared. Glenna sailed through the empty space and hit the ground hard. She whipped around sniffing on her hands and knees, looking for her rival.

Gone.

Glenna raised her head, and smooth howls of frustration rippled out into her dream.