Page 10 of Wolf Marked

Erec’s attention snapped up, glancing back and forth between the trunks, but no one emerged past the tree line. The mother shushed and rocked the child, tears streaming down her cheeks, but it couldn’t be consoled. The sound of footsteps crunching their way echoed through the forest, north of where they were.

“Go!” Henrick barked, his eyes wide with panic. “Now! Go!”

Astrid was by Erec’s side in the next second. “What do we do? We can’t leave them.”

He didn’t want to, but it looked like they didn’t have any other choice. If they were caught, there would be no one to warn Boden about Jerrick’s pack closing in. Astrid’s packmates could be thrown in the same cage or chained with those collars around their necks. Or worse—tortured and slaughtered.

Erec thrust his arm in between the metal bars to pass Henrick his blade. “Protect the others,” he said. “I’ll come back. I’ll get you all out. I promise.” He wouldn’t abandon them. Not again.

The man gave him a stiff nod, took the knife, and tucked it into the waistband of his trousers to hide it. “I will.”

Beside him and with glistening eyes, the mother stuck her baby through the metal bars. Its small size hinted that it was only a few months old.

“Please,” she sobbed, “take him. They’ll kill him if he stays.”

Astrid took the child and cradled it in her arms. She wrapped her coat around its trembling body, and immediately its shrieks turned into soft whines. As the footfalls grewlouder, panic shot through Erec’s limbs. His gaze whipped to Astrid. “We have to go. Now.”

Not wasting another second, they spun around and sprinted into the woods.

Chapter Four

Erec forced himself not to think about all the people he was leaving behind as he and Astrid trudged through the forest, but he couldn’t shake the stones of regret tumbling inside him. He had glanced over his shoulder again, only to find no men or wolves following them, yet the prickling sense of impending danger still clung. They had narrowly escaped coming face to face with Jerrick’s guards. At least for now.

He peeked over at Astrid. She had managed to keep up with his frantic pace, her legs moving at a blurring speed. Her cheeks were flushed, and small wheezes came with every gulp of frigid air she took, but she showed no signs of slowing. Erec couldn’t see the baby, but he was still tucked under her coat, safe from the nipping winds. Erec admired her determination. He didn’t know of many people who would risk their lives to save strangers, especially ones from other packs.

What would happen once Jerrick’s men found the baby gone? Would they care enough to come looking for it? Fear started to churn in his head, poisoning his thoughts. His and Astrid’s prints must have covered miles of the forest they’d trekked. He doubted the continuing snowfall was heavy enough to cover all of them and fully mask their scents. They were easily traceable. What if they were leading the enemy right to the west-side pack? It would be another massacre.

Erec thought about changing direction and leading any followers the wrong way. He couldn’t live with more deaths on his conscience. But right before he was about to swing left, the stripped tent posts and loaded sleds of Boden’s campsite came into view through the trees ahead.

“We’ll be safer with the pack,” Astrid said, as if she had somehow read his concern.

As much as they could be safer with greater numbers, it didn’t grant him any relief.

“We’ll find my brother,” she said. “He’ll know what to do.”

Reluctantly, Erec continued straight, running toward the commotion ahead. The oncecongested clearing was now mostly vacant and bare except for a few remaining house frames, clothing lines, and low-burning fires. Women and children were gathered around their belongings, either chatting to one another or watching their mates pull down the rest of the little town they had built. Erec couldn’t believe they had deconstructed their homes so quickly, but then he remembered Astrid saying that their pack had just settled here. Maybe they were used to uprooting themselves and searching for a place to call home. Like him.

As they rushed on, Astrid pulled back her fur coat a bit. The infant’s face popped out, now pink with warmth. Blue swirls were tattooed across his forehead, and a heavy sadness crept into Erec’s chest. Like him and every other wolf shifter born, this baby was marked by the curse at birth. He was destined to die if he didn’t find his true mate by his twenty-fifth Blue Moon, and he’d done nothing to deserve it. He didn’t even know about Maurus, the wolf spirit, and how his jealousy led to the death of an innocent woman. Why was he being punished for someone else’s mistake?

“What are we going to do with the little one?” he asked her.

“I don’t know…” Astrid covered the baby from view, and when she looked up again, she pointed to a group of men who were loading the back of a sled and tying down the growing pile with rope. “There’s Filip.”

She rushed toward them. “Filip!” A young man with black hair tossed one more canvas sack on the load before turning around. Erec noticed the similarities to his face instantly. The wide, flat nose and boxy shape of his jaw mimicked Boden’s, but youth clung to his features, like Astrid.

Filip’s gaze shifted from her to Erec, and his mouth twisted into a grimace. “So that’s where you disappeared to. To bring the rogue back.”

“He’s going to help us with…” Astrid paused, glancing at the other men still fiddling with the sled and then back at Filip.

Seeming to sense her hesitance, he called over to the helpers, “Search for anyone else with things still to load and offer a hand. It’s almost dawn. If we can’t carry everything, we’ll just have to leave it.”

They nodded in unison and walked off.

When they were alone, Astrid leaned in close to her brother and raised a brow. “Now Filip…keep your voice down. I’m going to show you something.” She pulled back her coat, revealing the baby snuggled close to her breast underneath.

“That’s a—” His tone spiked.

She winced. “Shh!”

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