Page 4 of Wolf Forsaken

"No. They'll smell you for sure." His breathing was labored as we climbed the stairs to a door.

We entered the den, which was empty, with the only light coming from an open door across the room from us.

He stopped at a cabinet and pulled out two pairs of shorts, handing me a pair. "If it comes down to it, run. They want me, not you."

"I'm not leaving Eli and Ivy behind." I tilted my head to the side, examining him closely. "Or you."

"We can't help them if we're both locked in a cage. Do you have anyone you can call?" He sat on a folding metal chair and pulled the shorts on. There was no way he was going to be able to run in his condition.

"No." My stomach cramped at the thought of my pack. Gone. All of them.

And now, I might lose my new pack.

"The next nearest pack is two hundred miles to the southeast. In the Tahoe area. They should be able to help." He pushed to his feet and put a hand on my shoulder. "Thank you."

What was he thanking me for, and why was he talking like he wasn't going to make it?

The door we had just come through burst open and Cole met my wide eyes. I nodded, and we both bolted for the back door.

My hand was on the doorknob when something hit my back, delivering a pinch of pain. Numbness spread from the area and I fell to my knees, the tranquilizer rendering me helpless.

Fuck. We weren't going to make it.

Chapter Two

Ivy

Cold.I was trapped inside an ice cube, frozen solid and unable to breathe. I pushed and pushed at the solid walls of ice surrounding me, trying to break free. My entire body was both numb and on fire, like a million fire ants were biting my flesh, spreading their venom.

A figure appeared on the other side of the ice, not completely visible through the opaqueness. His dark shadow terrified me but excited my wolf.

My wolf.

She was fading, slinking back into the darkness, pawing to escape. I reached for her, but her paws slipped through my hands.

Clink. Clink. Clink.

The man was chiseling his way to me, but the cold was too much.

"Bunny."

I woke with a pounding heart, sitting straight up and looking for the sound of the voice. I was alone, naked in a bedroom that wasn't mine. A deep chill ran through my body, pulling a whimper from my cracked lips.

I pulled up the thick blanket that was over me to cover my chest and tried to come to terms with what had happened. I didn't remember much, but what I remembered made my blood turn to ice.

Or was that just the fact that Dante had thrown me into the icy river with water that was freezing from the melted snow runoff from the mountains?

I should have been dead. No one survives that long in cold water. I'd barely breathed with the muzzle keeping my mouth closed and the water often covering my head.

Taking a deep breath to calm myself, the masculine scent that infiltrated my nose was overwhelming.

Mate.

Whiskey and a faint hint of pine made my wolf stir from the corners of my mind. I thought I'd lost her. Was that even possible?

Silas.

I don't know how I knew the scent was him, but I did. Why was I in his room, and was I in danger? My wolf didn't like the idea of him being an enemy and curled back up, my body feeling the need to burrow in the bed.

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