Something isn’t right. Eli and I made it out of the house in under ten minutes, only encountering five wolves. There should have been more. It’s an insult knowing they have so few of them guarding us. We still haven’t seen the wolf who gave me the key and that makes me nervous. Part of me has been wondering if this is a trap but why would they free us? Surely they know we’re strong enough to take them on, especially when we are almost healed.
The house is in the middle of the forest. It’s nothing fancy, more like it has been built out here for keeping wolves contained.
We shift and bolt away from the house. We run until I can no longer smell the surrounding forest and smell the fresh turn of dirt as we run. I look over at Eli’s wolf, marvelling at how beautiful it is. He’s pure white, the only other color being his black tail. After a minute of running, we hear the howl of wolves following us. I’m definitely guessing trap now. It’s too convenient for it not to be.
My wolf pushes us faster, Eli at my side. I smell fresh water and veer off to the right. If we run through the stream, some of our scent will dissipate making it hard for them to track us. Eli follows my moves, rolling around in the stream before bolting off again, me following him this time.
As we run, a shot rings out followed by a howl of pain that halts my movement. I look behind me to see Eli sprawled on the forest floor. He shifts back to human, clutching his chest as blood pours from the wound.
Sonja waltzes from the trees, gun in hand, raised to shoot and something inside me snaps. I push Eli away as she fires, and run straight for her. She fires again getting pissed off when I dodge her. I land on her, knocking the gun from her grasp.
We struggle together, her trying to get away from me, but something dark is in control of me. I exert my will, making her go limp, gripping her head in my hands and pulling. Her head goes flying clean off, spraying me with blood. I look down at her headless body, feeling nothing. “I told you I’d make you pay,” I tell her corpse before walking back to Eli.
I drop to his side, rolling him on his back. He has one wound in his stomach, the other just to the left of his heart. “Eli? Can you hear me?” I ask, tears in my eyes. We may not know each other too well but he’s my mate.
He gasps looking up at me, “You need to leave, Dani.”
“Oh hell no! You aren’t going to turn my life upside down, just to die!” My wolf is furious! She pushes her energy through me, my body exploding with light to encase Eli.
I feel his heart, picking up speed. The whole world feels supercharged, full of light and energy. I hear the crinkle of each leaf brushing in the wind. The soft chirps of the crickets in the underbrush.
I hear the moment wolves get close to me and somehow send out a wave of energy, disintegrating them.
The power within me begins to die down and I look at Eli’s form, completely healed. I try not to let my eyes linger on just how far the tattoos travel down his chest, but it’s impossible.
“If you’re done staring, we should go,” Eli interrupts me to climb to his feet. He looks down at his body, marvelling at how quickly he healed.
I shift, stopping any talking and start running again. Eli follows, before catching up enough to lead me where he wants. I follow, blindly trusting him to get us to safety.
After hours of running, he pulls us to a stop near a natural spring, complete with little rock pools and waterfalls. It’s beautiful.
I don’t waste time shifting before lowering myself into one, watching as the water turns pink from the blood still coating my skin. I feel the water move as Eli steps up behind me, drawing me into his body. I sink into the comforting feel of my mate’s arms, feeling guilty that I enjoy his touch.
I twist in his arms, looking up into his eyes, feeling his concern for me. My wolf purrs, triggering the beginning of my heat. This time I don’t stop it.
“I was so scared. I thought you were going to die, and I’d never get to know you,” I admit, pulling his head closer, slowly kissing along his jaw. He moans, grabbing my arms and gently pushing me away. His eyes have turned amber, his wolf feeling my need. “Dani, what are you doing? We have to leave soon. I need to get you to your mates and if they knew we were here, alone, they’d kill me so, I need you to try extremely hard to cut your heat cycle off,” he murmurs, stroking the tops on my shoulders with his thumbs.
“We don’t have to leave yet,” I purr, pushing myself closer, running my hands up his bare chest, enjoying the feel of softness under my fingers.
He groans, his eyes rolling back, “Dani, please be sure about this. I don’t want to take things further if it’s just your heat taking over,” he pleads.
I sigh, closing my eyes, trying to let logic take over but it is so hard right now. “I’m sorry,” I tell him, pushing his body away. “I want you, I really do, but I shouldn’t do this until we have made an agreement with my mates. I don’t want to betray them like that. It’s best if you stay away from me for a bit while I calm down,” I say, gritting my teeth, the force of need from my cycle so strong.
He nods, submersing himself in water. I stare for a moment before pulling myself out and walking over straight through the waterfall.
On the other side is a small cave area, with moss covered rocks. It feels like a little getaway.
I take deep breaths in and out, feeling my wolf pull back now that Eli is away from me. I close my eyes and block out all sound from the world, delving deep into my thoughts.
A few moments later, a soft touch on my shoulder has me jumping into the air and swinging out wildly, only to be encased by a strong set of arms. “Hey, it’s just me.” Eli’s deep voice, says at my ear, his breath caressing me.
I stop struggling, relaxing into his arms. “Sorry, I guess I got too absorbed in my mind,” I say with a sigh, he releases me and I flop down onto the hard ground. “What should we do now? I have no idea where we are? Where my mates are? Or what to do next?”
Eli sits down beside me, wrapping me in his arms. “We’re going to lay down and get some sleep and then we’re going to go find your mates. I promise, we won’t stop until we find them,” he reassures me, laying us down, letting me use his chest as a pillow.
I let myself be lulled to sleep by the sound of his heart beat, knowing that I will get back to my mates.
***
My wolf wakes me having sensed something. I don’t know how long we were asleep for but it’s still dark outside. Eli is still softly snoring beside me so I reach up covering his mouth and waking him gently. His eyes fly open and relax when he sees me. I hold a finger to my lips and cock my head to the side, listening for whatever alerted my wolf.
A crack of a twig has Eli and I moving into position. We can’t quite scent anything behind the waterfall so there’s no real way of knowing who’s out there.
I hear murmuring, the voice familiar when someone raises their voice enough to be heard over the water. “Dani?”
As soon as I hear Jake’s voice, I vault through the wall of water, running straight into my best friend’s arms. He chuckles as I tackle him to the ground, “Jeez Dani, you have no idea how good it is to see you but… why are you naked?” he asks as hands grab us pulling us to our feet.
I look at the offender relieved to see Rick. He pulls me from his mate, to give me a bone crushing hug. “You are never allowed to go anywhere alone for the rest of your life!” he growls, squeezing me tight.
I tap him on the back in an exaggerated motion, “Can’t breathe,” I gasp out teasingly.
“I don’t care. You promise me right now, ‘I will never go anywhere without my enforcers.’ Say it!” he demands looking down at me with a serious expression in his face.
I sigh in defeat, “I promise I won’t go anywhere without you or Jake following me like a bad smell. Is that enough? Or would you like me to add in that it includes going to the bathroom, and when I’m having sex?”
A laugh from behind has me looking over to see Eli emerging from our hidden place behind the waterfall. I poke my tongue out, not caring how I sounded. It’s absurd, does Rick really expect me to stick to this promise?
Jake peruses my naked body looking for something and seeming to be relieved. Eli however notices and starts growling aggressively, the deep rumble of his wolf getting pissed at the attention he’s giving me, “Stop staring!” he snarls as Jake looks over at him, surprised by his reaction
“Calm down dude. I was just making sure she had no claim marks,” Jake says, holding his hands up in a peaceful gesture.
“Do either of you have spare clothes? It might help Eli’s wolf if I was covered.” Eli takes a step closer to me, his wolf still very much territorial. Rick watches him carefully as Jake rips off his backpack and pulls a pair of sweats and a t-shirt out, throwing them at me. Once I’m covered, Eli settles down enough for Jake to throw him a pair of sweats which he pulls on quickly, then wraps an arm around me, pulling me closer and breathing in deep.
Rick and Jake watch him, disapproving frowns in place. For a moment, I think they will keep their mouths shut but Rick has to butt in. “You really need to step away from Dani. If her mates knew you were touching her, they’d be pissed.”
Wow! He doesn’t hold back being as blunt as hell, sending my wolf into a rage. Who does he think he is?
“Apologize, now!” I demand, dominance seeping into my voice.
Rick turns his gaze on me surprised. “Dani, you know I’m right. He shouldn’t be touching you. You are taken.”
“And? My mates know that Eli is also my mate. Do you think they’d be angry that I wasn’t getting to know him? That they wouldn’t be grateful that he helped me escape? I’m getting sick and tired of everyone thinking they know better than me. If you don’t start showing him some respect, then I’m going to have to punish you, friend or not,” I warn, watching his face change from surprised to shocked.
Jake steps forward to defend him but I’m not in the mood for it “Dani…”
“No Jake. You will respect me and my decisions or you’ll no longer be my enforcers. I need people at my side who trust me, not people who will second guess my decisions about my mates.” Jake and Rick both nod their head in submission. “Good. Now how far away are my mates?”
They both straighten as Eli chuckles under his breath. I smirk at him, pleased to see he knows how much I value him, even if our connection isn’t as strong.
Jake zips up his bag, throwing it over his shoulder, “We’re gonna be walking a couple hours. We’re going to Lily’s pack. We’ve made a base camp there,” he explains when I raise an eyebrow at the mention of Lily.
“How the hell did we get here? I thought we were in Alaska?” I ask, becoming confused.
“You were. As soon as Adam turned the pack on us, we took off. Shit happened and Pete suggested his aunt might be the best place for us. Cam took over those of us who were loyal to you and have made a base of operations. We’ve been looking for you since they took you.”