Page 6 of Wolf Forsaken

About halfway to the door, it slammed open, and a scary-looking old man walked in. I came to a halt as our eyes met. His widened, and I made a split-second decision to go for the nearest door.

"Stop!" The man's voice cut off as I slammed the door and turned the lock behind me. His fists pounded on the door as I leaned against it.

He shouted, and then other voices joined him. Shit. I needed to think fast.

I was in a storage room that had boxes stacked practically to the ceiling. There was a window on the far side of the room, and that was my only shot at getting out. The banging on the door had stopped, and it was only a matter of time before the man found the key or got the door open.

The window was high up, but there was a desk underneath that would give me just enough boost to pull myself up. I hadn't done pullups in a while and was still feeling the effects of what Dante had done, but there was no other choice.

Passing the towers of unmarked boxes, I wondered what was inside them, but my curiosity would have to do without the satisfaction of finding out. I climbed onto the desk, lifted the wooden dowel wedged in the track, and slid the window open.

Hooking my arms around the windowsill, I grunted in an unladylike way as I hauled myself up. It was a tight squeeze, and I was left with no other choice but to fall headfirst.

Somehow, I landed on my hands and knees, the sting of the fall quickly fading. It had to be a wolf thing.

It was midday, and the sun felt glorious against my face as I tilted it toward the sky. There was no time to enjoy it though because I heard yelling from around the corner.

Without knowing where the hell I was going, my feet took me away from the voices to the corner of the building. It was surrounded on three sides by forest, but to one side was a large gravel parking lot, and on the other side of that was a highway.

Not wasting any time, I darted across the parking lot and was out the gate before I braved a glance back. A few women and men had just come out of the front door and one pointed at me.

I started walking as fast as I could down the side of the highway, cars zooming past in a blur. I had never hitchhiked before and didn't know if it even worked, but it was my only chance.

They didn't seem to be chasing me, though. There were enough cars passing on the highway that seeing a woman running from a pack of people would warrant a nine-one-one call, and I doubted they wanted that.

I slowed to a brisk walk and put my thumb out, hoping someone would take pity. My appearance wasn't too horrible, although my clothes were baggy, and the boots looked like clown shoes.

A few minutes into my hike, a Highway Patrol car pulled off to the shoulder. It was the best luck in the world, or the worst. I didn't have identification or even a phone.

As I approached the car, the officer got out and pushed his aviators onto the top of his head. "Everything okay, ma'am?"

"Yeah, my boyfriend kicked me out of the car. Well, ex-boyfriend." It seemed completely plausible and would explain why I had nothing with me. "Can I get a ride into Arbor Falls?"

I had no clue where the hell I was, but if I was in Silas's territory, I couldn't be that far from town.

He looked me up and down. "Did he hurt you?"

"Just my pride." I laughed and then stopped when the officer's frown deepened. "I'm fine. Just... need a ride since I don't have my phone. I live in Arbor Falls."

He assessed me for another few moments and then lowered his glasses back over his eyes. "Climb on in." If he hadn't pulled over, I might have been walking for a while.

Once my seatbelt was on, he pulled back onto the highway and turned in the opposite direction of the way I was walking. That would have been a fun walk going nowhere.

"I can take you to the clinic or the shelter if you need an exam or a safe place." He didn't take his eyes off the road as we wound our way along the highway.

"Really, I'm fine. We just got in a bad argument, and he broke it off." I gave him my address, and we rode the rest of the way in silence.

Before I got out of the car, he handed me his business card. "If you change your mind, please don't hesitate to call."

I appreciated his concern, even though it was unwarranted. "Thank you."

He waited until I was safely inside my house—thank God for hidden keys—before he pulled away. I leaned back against the door and let out a shaky breath, holding in the tears that threatened to fall.

I was home.

* * *

I paced my bedroom,keeping an eye on the window that looked out to the front. I had changed into an old pair of jeans and a sweater I hadn't packed and was considering my options.

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