Page 22 of Wolf Bitten

“Don’t you hear the wolves?” the dark-skinned man asked. “They’re close.”

“And so are we. We still have time to find them and leave.”

Slade gritted his teeth and lifted a hand. Suddenly, a portion of the stream next to us hovered in the air and slammed into Warin. The water splashed down, obscuring our path.

Warin flew backward several feet as Slade and I climbed to our feet and ran away from the trail that led to the bunker.

Adrenaline had to be rushing through Slade because he kept up with me despite his injuries. Still, he was moving slower than normal, just keeping pace with a human.

Trees blurred past as we ran, but I could hear the pants of the vampires gaining on us. I shuddered, feeling very much like prey again. It reminded me of the first time a vampire attacked me.

Slade’s feet dragged against the ground, helping the vampires track us. We had to hide before they were on us. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed thick brush and snagged Slade’s hand, leading him toward it.

He nodded, and we dropped to our knees and shuffled under the brush. I went in as deep as I could, the limbs digging into my back. Slade’s front half stuck out. I grabbed his waist and yanked him as hard as I could, the brush limbs rustling.

The vampires’ footsteps slowed.

“Did you hear that?” The shortest male vampire stepped into view, scanning the area.

A breeze picked up, rustling the branches and causing some needles to fall to the forest floor.

“It’s the wind, Mylo.” The woman vampire rolled her eyes and sniffed. “But where the fuck did they go? I can’t smell them, and I don’t hear them running anymore.”

I breathed slowly, doing my best not to make any noise. I pulled up Raffe’s face in my mind, picturing his strong jawline and full lips. As usual, my blood calmed, which was exactly what I needed so the vampires wouldn’t sense me.

Warin stepped into view, his nostrils flaring. “How can we not smell them? That’s impossible unless the warlock is using magic. But he’s injured. Even fully healed, I doubt he could handle that much magic without his coven working with him.”

My lungs seized. Of course the covens could perform spells together; I’d seen it in movies and read about it in books, though I’d yet to see the coven members I knew do it. When I’d watched them practice in the woods outside the apartments, they’d always used their magic separately. What sort of power did the covens have when they joined forces?

“So wherearethey, sire?” the dark-skinned man asked.

“I don’t know, Demetris.” Warin’s nostrils flared as his cold eyes glanced everywhere. “You and Tatiana search the area behind us. Maybe they hid and circled back to the bunker. Mylo and I will focus our efforts on this side.”

“But the wolves—” Mylo started.

“We have time,” Warin snapped. “If they get close, meet at the vehicles. You know the emergency route. Glinda is already heading that way, preparing for our return.”

I flinched.Emergency route.I shouldn’t have been surprised. They were a secret society trying to take down the wolf shifters, so of course they’d have a backup plan. Their mission wouldn’t go up in flames if this site was compromised. Our escape had only prevented them from using me against Raffe … unless they found me again. Though I wasn’t certain Warin wouldn’t just kill me.

The two groups split, and my arms and legs started itching. The mud was drying. Not only was I turning into an icicle, but an itchy one at that. My wounds were the worst. They’d gone from feeling as if they were on fire to me wanting to claw my skin off.

I dug my hands into the ground underneath me, grasping anything I could so I wouldn’t scratch.

I don’t know how long Slade and I lay under the brush, but my eyelids became heavy, and my blood chilled. It could’ve been minutes or hours, yet I kept waiting for someone to grab us and pull us from our spot.

A howl sounded close by, but for all I knew, it was my imagination.

I snuggled into the ground, thankful I wasn’t cold anymore. In fact, I was rather warm.

“Sky, we’ve got to go,” Slade said.

I started, but my body didn’t move. I didn’t have the energy to jump. “Nuh-uh,” I slurred and closed my eyes. “Nap.”

“Listen, the wolves are close, and Warin and the other guy aren’t coming back.” Slade shimmied out from under the brush. “The wolves will know something’s off if they smell mud here, and some of my mud is flaking off. We need to climb a tree or something to get off the ground so they can’t find us as easily.”

“Raffe,” I rasped. If the wolves found us, Raffe would know where I was. Even if he’d acted questionably, he was my fated mate. He’d protect me, surely.

Slade grabbed my hands and tugged me out of the brush. “These wolves may not be loyal to Raffe. There are a handful of shifters out here searching for you that are part of Warin and Glinda’s society. If they find us, we won’t be safe.”

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