Chapter Fifteen
Sebastian
Naked? Alrick wanted me naked again? My heart sped up for a fraction of a second before my brain caught up. To shift. Right. We needed to be naked to shift. The good-natured smirk on Vlad's face assured me that my reaction had given me away. I shrugged. The Alpha was a God in bed. Lusting after him was nothing I was going to be embarrassed about.
In under a minute, I was dwarfed by Alrick's massive platinum wolf.
"You're ready?"
When Alrick nodded his head, Jackal slid the window open and pulled the screen inside. Behind the motel, the streets were nearly empty in the moonless night air, the path to the forest clear. Jackal bent his head toward Alrick in submission, and the Alpha accepted the gesture, nudging the Beta's human cheek with his furry one.
"Be safe," Vlad murmured, taking Jackal's hand as they walked through the door.
Alrick and I stood quietly, watching out the window as we waited for our signal. The exhaust pipes on Jackal's Harley roared to life, drowning everything out for the few seconds before it pulled away. Then it dropped to an idle and was drowned out by shouting. Alrick nudged me with his shoulder, and then, in one magnificent bound, he was through the window, the huge wolf making only the tiniest of sounds as he landed gently in the grass outside. Without the Alpha's size, it took more effort for me to pull myself up to the window sill and then drop to the ground beside him. With a final look around, Alrick led me along the edge of the building, sticking to the shadows, as we inched away from the street lights.
"Go," Alrick's voice ghosted through my mind. "You'll be invisible in the dark. Get as much distance as you can. I'm going to wait until I hear Jackal pull away and then I'll catch up."
"Yes, Alpha," I agreed without question. I paused long enough to lick under his chin and then I dropped to my belly and began to crawl into the night.
When I reached the edge of the trees, I eased myself up and, with one final look behind me at the Alpha watching me go, I ran as though the devil himself was riding after me. The darkness was no challenge as I bounded through the forest, dodging brush and clearing fallen logs. I paused once when a path came into sight, the packed dirt would be faster, with fewer obstacles to slow me down, but it was also the obvious place for a hunter to have set up an ambush, so I leaped over it, continuing on without disturbing more than the occasional dry leaf.
I'd covered several miles when I caught the slightest sound of pursuit coming from a mile or so behind me. It was probably Alrick, but I couldn't be sure. I slowed to a stop and weighed my options. If it was a wolf following me, it would be on me in moments. If it was a human, I had more time. I ran ahead, stopping to claw at a downed log and upturn several rocks before rubbing against a tree hard enough to leave a clump of my fur fluttering in the faint breeze – in other words, I left a trail that no hunter could miss. Then, I circled back to where I'd heard my approaching company and eased back into the brush, secreting myself behind a small copse of saplings where my eyes couldn't give me away, and I waited.
I'm a patient being in either form – probably because of my Omega nature – but patience wasn't required. I'd only just settled in when a human strode up the path I had laid, gesturing excitedly to those behind him who rushed to catch up. Six humans in all passed by my hiding place, whispering among themselves. Once I was sure that I was again alone, I slipped back out to my false path and raised my leg on the base of a tree. Then, I returned to my hiding place, marking several more spots as I went. The minuscule amounts of scent that I'd left would never be enough for a human to notice, but they would lead my Alpha right to me. So, once again, I settled in to wait.
Somewhere in front of me a dry leaf rustled. I remained still, knowing that against the trees, my black fur was invisible to anyone who didn't know I was there. Silence followed the tiny sound but I knew I was no longer alone, Alrick's scent had given him away as soon as the breeze caught it. Still, I stayed motionless as he sniffed me, checking for injuries before easing down beside me, his muzzle resting on my back.
"You're okay?"
"Yes."
"The hunters have circled back to the path." Alrick sighed quietly. "I heard the tracker say they were going to get the dogs."
That caught my attention as he'd known it would.
"Can you keep going?"
Instead of answering, I pushed to my feet, dislodging his head, and bent down in a stretch before standing up straight.
"I guess so," Alrick's voice laughed in my mind. "Let's go." He rose and turned back to the East. We stopped at the small river for a drink, then I fell into my place at my Alphas side and we loped on into the night.
Much sooner than I'd expected, we arrived at the edge of a town, a much larger one than we were running from. We picked our way slowly into the center of town, following the familiar scent trail with ease until we found Jackal and Vlad relaxing on a bench in the early dawn, another familiar face at their side.
"Harry!" His name came out as a wolf yelp, but he grinned at me and opened his arms, catching me as I jumped into them, drawing comfort from the Alpha that had become a close friend.
"Hey, there, Sebastian," his low voice teased me, immediately setting me at ease. "You sure make a cute little puppy."
I rolled my eyes at my best friend’s mate – a feat in my wolf form – and was about to jump down when a savage growl rose from behind me. I turned my head, expecting an attack, only to see a familiar snarling beast advancing on us with his jaws wide, fangs dripping blood from their sudden eruption and claw-tip fingers flexed in a death grip. Alrick was one pissed off werewolf.