Page 64 of Into the Night

“Thank you.”

Ben’s muzzle lowers, before he lets out a growl, telling me to get a move on.

Gathering Kali into my arms, I run as fast and as hard as I can. We’re leaving a bloody trail behind us that will be easy to follow if Ben can’t hold them off on his own. I can’t do anything about that.

“Griffin?” Kali murmurs, her fingers clinging to my neck and tangling in the ends of my hair. Her scent is a balm to my frantic soul, but the smell of her blood has my beast pushing for control once more. If Kali wasn’t too weak to walk on her own, he’d force the shift.

“Shh, baby. I’ve got you,” I whisper as I hold her tightly, thanking the gods that Ben appeared in the nick of time. We’re going to owe him one after this. More than one. Hopefully, he’s clever enough to get the hell out of there when things get dicey. He won’t be able to take them all.

My beast’s memory is better than mine, and he steers us straight to the exact place we want to go: the spot on the map that Ben showed me. We’ve been there before. I don’t remember, but he does. It’s less than ideal, but it’s the only option we have right now that’s close and provides some shelter.

Twisting Kali around so she’s at my front, legs locked around my waist, I scramble down the sheer slope, praying the surface under my feet holds. With one last leap, holding my precious cargo tight, I make it to the rock ledge and sigh in relief.

Inside, I’m relieved to see the same small stash of supplies that were here the last time. A sleeping bag, a blanket, and an oil lamp. It’s not exactly luxurious, but it’s something.

As I set Kali down gently, her fingers dig into my skin, nails biting, and she whimpers, not wanting to be away from me. Stroking her hair, I whisper against her cheek as I tug a blanket loose and wrap it around her shoulders.

“It’s okay, Kali. They won’t get you. Do you hear me? I’m not going to leave you.”

36

KALI

Cracking my eyes open, I groan. The pain wracking my body is unfortunately all too familiar, but this time, thankfully, without the slash wounds.

My freshly healed wounds scream where they’ve been stretched and pulled. Newly knitted back together bones throb, and my weak muscles ache. I haven’t moved outside the cabin in weeks. Even this morning, I found walking at anything faster than a slow shuffle difficult. So, a mad dash across the mountainside, fuelled by nothing more than fear, has sapped whatever tiny reserves I had.

I can barely turn my neck and groan out loud as I roll onto my side to face the wall. Hopefully, when I wake up next, my beast will have healed me some more.

No, not a wall. Rock. Smooth, grey rock.

Narrowing my eyes, I move my gaze to the ceiling. It’s the same uneven surface. My thoughts are sluggish, slow to piece together what about this isn’t right. The sheets are rough and smell damp. Not like mine, or even the ones in the hunting cabin.

Shifting to get a better look around the room, the mattress I’m on slides a few inches on the floor with me. Because it’s not a mattress. It’s a pile of blankets. On a floor that’s nothing more than a flat slab of stone. Sitting up, my sluggish brain struggles to comprehend what I’m seeing.

My eyes move to the entrance where bright sunlight streams in. I gasp in disbelief. It’s not a door, it’s the mouth of a cave. All I can see is the sky. It would be beautiful if it weren’t for the fact that I can’t see anything else at all. No land. No trees. No mountains. We’re that high up.

Where the hell are we?

“Griffin?” I croak, squeezing my eyes shut, when flashbacks of the attack earlier come flooding back. I killed someone in self-defence.

Tentatively, I peer down at my hands in the gloom, expecting them to still be dripping with blood. I can still feel the sensation of the blade slicing through his flesh. My heart pounds, and I start to sweat, the urge to throw up getting stronger the longer I think about it.

I’m going to jail. They’re going to charge me with murder.

“Shh. Kali, it’s okay.” Griffin slides in beside me, wrapping an arm protectively around my shoulder and pulling me tightly against him.

Resting my cheek on his chest, I let the tears slide silently down my cheek.

Without saying a word, Griffin lifts his hand to my face and brushes my tears away with his thumb before tilting my face up and placing the lightest of kisses to my lips. His presence staves off the panic that was threatening to overwhelm me.

“Thank you,” I whisper, pulling his hand into mine and tracing the numerous scrapes and cuts covering his bruised arm. His muscles twitch under my touch, goosebumps rising as my fingertips trail over his skin.

“Where’s Ben? Is he safe?”

Griffin’s grip on my tightens, and I snuggle into him, resting my hand on his chest to calm the beast I can feel raging inside of him. Mentioning another male beast, even one related to me by blood, has him on edge, but I need to know if Ben’s okay. After a few deep breaths, his possessive anger subsides, and he relaxes enough to speak.

“He’s fine. He lost them in the river and circled back to pick up our trail, but he can’t find any signs that someone has followed us. Looks like they’ve gone home to lick their wounds.”

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