Page 31 of His Mate

It made something tighten in my chest.

The wolves’ howls still echoed behind us, growing more distant with every stride, but I knew they wouldn’t give up. They’d come for us—again and again—until there was nothing left to take. I pushed that thought away, pushed past the fear, and kept running, kept moving, until the broken buildings began to thin and the cracked pavement gave way to patches of dirt and weeds.

Hours bled together as we ran, until the city fell away, fading into the darkness, and the towering ruins became nothing more than shadows on the horizon. The air grew colder, sharper, biting at our skin, and I felt Kendra’s grip around me weaken, her breath coming out in short, ragged bursts.

“We need to rest,” she murmured, her voice hoarse, barely more than a whisper. I slowed, glancing back at her, and saw the exhaustion etched into her features, the way her eyelids drooped, struggling to stay open. She was fighting it, but I could tell she was at her limit, her body trembling with the effort to stay awake.

“I’ll carry you,” I said, not giving her the chance to argue, and I shifted her in my arms, cradling her against my chest as I kept moving, never once stopping. She didn’t protest, didn’t try to fight me, just rested her head on my shoulder, her eyes fluttering shut as she finally let herself give in to the exhaustion.

I carried her through the night, my muscles burning, my legs aching with every step, but I refused to stop, refused to slow down until the first light of dawn began to creep over the horizon. The city had become a distant memory, and all that surrounded us now were the endless trees, their branches swaying gently in the wind, the scent of pine and earth filling the air.

The ground grew uneven as we moved deeper into the forest, the towering peaks of the Rockies rising up in the distance, their snow-covered tops glowing faintly in the early morning light.

I didn’t stop until the city was nothing but a blip on the horizon, until the forest had swallowed us whole, sheltering us from the world we’d left behind. But I knew that wouldn’t be enough. Not yet. The wolves that hunted us were relentless, their sense of smell sharper than any humans, and if I didn’t throw them off, they’d find us before we could catch our breath.

I shifted Kendra in my arms, her weight comforting and warm, and adjusted my path, veering toward the river I could hear rushing through the trees, its waters fast and unforgiving. Iwaded in without hesitation, the cold biting into my legs, and walked upstream, feeling the current tug at my ankles, my calves, trying to pull me under. The icy water rushed around us, soaking through my clothes, but it would wash away our scent and help hide our trail from those who hunted us.

Kendra stirred as the water splashed against her legs, her eyes fluttering open, confused, but I whispered softly, “Just a little longer,” and she nodded, trusting me, letting herself drift back into that half-asleep state that spoke of pure exhaustion.

I stayed in the river for as long as I could bear, moving through the water until the cold numbed my feet and my muscles ached from the effort. I climbed out onto the opposite bank, dripping and shivering, but the scent would be harder to track now, our trail mingling with the current, lost among the scents of the forest.

I carried her further, moving with purpose, scanning the trees for another way to stay hidden. We came across a patch of thick underbrush, and I knelt down, taking a handful of mud and smearing it over my clothes, over Kendra’s legs, her arms. It would mask our scent, blend us into the earth, the pine, and the damp leaves.

The wolves would catch only faint traces of us now, scattered and misleading. I was certain of it.

We moved deeper into the forest, and when I spotted a patch of loose moss on the side of a boulder, I pressed our bodies against it, letting the damp, musty scent cling to us. It wasn’t foolproof, but it was better than nothing.

Finally, after what felt like hours, I allowed myself to slow, to lower Kendra gently to the ground, brushing a stray lock of hairfrom her face as she stirred, blinking up at me with eyes that were still heavy with sleep.

“We’re safe,” I whispered, more to myself than to her, and I felt a weight lift from my shoulders, the tension that had coiled inside me finally starting to unwind. “For now, at least.”

She nodded, her eyes drifting closed again, and I took a moment to breathe, to listen to the silence of the forest around us, hoping that we’d done enough to stay hidden. But I knew, deep down, that this was only the beginning.

The wolves would keep coming for us.

And they’d never stop.

CHAPTER 11

Kendra

I woke to the sound of rushing water, a gentle roar that echoed through the trees, mingling with the crackling of a fire and the scent of something rich and savory cooking in the air.

My eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, I lay there, disoriented, staring up at a canopy of leaves that swayed gently in the breeze. I shifted, feeling the softness beneath me, and my fingers dug into a thick mattress of moss. It was cool and damp, cushioning my body in a way that felt almost luxurious compared to the hard, cold mattress back in the compound.

Slowly, I sat up, the remnants of sleep still clinging to my bones as I looked around, trying to piece together where we were. I saw that we were in a small clearing, surrounded by tall pines that stretched toward the sky, their branches swaying gently in the wind. To my left, I could see a waterfall, cascading over a rocky ledge and tumbling into a pool of crystal-clear water that steamed faintly in the morning light.

A hot spring!

I’d never seen one before.

The air smelled fresh, clean, and for the first time in days, I felt like I could breathe.

Rowan sat a few feet away, crouched over a small fire, turning a piece of meat skewered on a stick. His hair was still damp, droplets clinging to the ends and catching the light, and his shirt hung open, revealing the scars that cut across his chest, pale lines against tanned skin. He looked up as I shifted, his eyes meeting mine, and for a moment, the world seemed to slow, the sound of the waterfall fading to a distant murmur.

“You’re awake,” he said, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “I was starting to think you’d sleep the whole day away.”

I pushed myself up, brushing bits of moss from my clothes.

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