Page 19 of Wolf Forsaken

“I'm with Cole. He's hurt bad.”I nuzzled his neck, inhaling the scent I hadn't realized I'd grown to love."Dante's gone for now. I injured him.”

“We’re in the treehouse. Cole was supposed to meet us here. We'll come find you.”

“No. I'll come to you. I'm not sure I know what direction you're in though."Getting to my feet, I looked around at the trees obscured by snow and the darkness of night. My night vision was excellent, but it wasn’t like I could see through fast falling snow.

“You shouldn't be that far away. Focus on my voice and it'll lead you in the right direction.”

“I’ll try. Tell me a story so I can figure out how to."

“Once upon a time..."I snorted and concentrated on his voice.

I could feel which direction his voice was coming from, relief washing over me. It wasn't the time to think about how cool it was to be pulled in a direction just from someone's voice. I needed to get Cole somewhere safe.

The cold hit my body like I was submerged in an ice bath as I shifted. I scooped up Cole as carefully as possible and began trudging through the snow, my feet not as cold as I thought they would be.

Cole wasn't as heavy as I expected, but then again, I was stronger than I had been before. I continued walking for what felt like forever, listening to Eli retellLittle Red Riding Hood. I didn't like the story now that I was a wolf myself.

His voice was getting stronger and stronger in my mind the longer I walked."I'm close, I think."

"We opened the hatch and put down the ladder. I can't smell you though. The snow covers scents pretty well."

"I smelled what direction you'd run in when I got to the house."

"Our scent is strong there. You probably just picked it up going into the woods. We took the same path we normally do. Or you just have super wolf scenting abilities."

"Is that a thing?"I laughed out loud, the sound deafening in the silent forest.

"I have no clue, but I think anything is possible with you."

I adjusted my hold on Cole and looked up at the trees, spotting the treehouse not far away. I practically ran to the base of the tree where the ladder was waiting for me. Eli's head popped over the side of the opening. It was still dark and snowing at a slant, but I could make out his worried expression.

"I'll come down there and carry him."

Before Eli could climb down, I heaved Cole onto my shoulders, wrapping my arm around him. Hopefully, I wouldn't drop him, but if I did, there was snow on the ground to cushion the fall.

I started climbing, panting with the exertion of carrying nearly two hundred pounds of wolf up the ladder. Not too long ago, I'd squatted just shy of that, and this was kind of the same, wasn't it?

Or maybe it was just my new wolf abilities and my adrenaline carrying me up the ladder.

I got near the top, where Eli and Xander reached out and grabbed onto Cole, pulling him to safety. I climbed into the treehouse right behind them, and Eli secured the ladder where it couldn't be seen and shut the hatch.

I collapsed onto my back with a groan. My entire body felt frozen, but I'd made it. I waved Eli and Xander off as they made a move for me. "Take care of him first. I'm fine."

"Where have you been?" Eli wrapped a blanket around Cole, and Xander sat near my feet and rubbed them. They prickled as sensation returned to them.

"Dante threw me in the river." I blew on my hands, trying to warm them up. "And then the West Arbor Pack found me."

"Did they hurt you?" Eli sounded angry, which was an odd emotion coming from him. I'd only known him for about a week, but he didn't seem like he angered easily.

I propped myself up on my forearms. "They didn't hurt me. I guess you could say they helped me. But I ran over Silas's motorcycle if that makes you feel better." Sitting up, I took the blanket that Xander was holding out to me, wrapping it around myself. "Are you two okay?"

Xander shrugged. "Cole took the brunt of their anger. Eli got a little roughed up, but he's healed." Xander took my feet again and began massaging the arch. I nearly rolled my eyes into the back of my head; it felt so good. "We shouldn't have left Cole alone, but he separated from us before we could stop him. Even injured he's fast."

"He wouldn’t have had it any other way. He's stubborn." Eli sat next to me and wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back and my arms. "You said you hurt Dante?"

"He and two other wolves were about to attack Cole, so I went for his throat. I got a few good bites in, enough to make him run with his tail between his legs. The other two didn't seem like they really wanted to fight us." I put my head on his shoulder, his soothing voice making me sleepy. "We need to get out of here sooner rather than later. I parked my car off the highway, just to the side of the main road."

"That's about three miles away. In this weather we might not make it there without being detected or freezing to death in our human forms. I guess we could take turns carrying Cole while the other two are wolves."

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