"I gathered that," he said, but his hold didn't slacken.
"They'll be combing the river, and it won't take long before they get here." Actually, I had no clue where I was. "If you release me, I'll go without causing you any more issues."
His arm loosened slightly. "Are we good now?"
"Yeah." I dropped the knife, letting him know I had no intention of using it.
"Thank God." He let go of me and stood. "Who the hell is chasing you?"
That was a question I had myself. "No clue."
I picked up my knife, making him tense.
"I thought you said we were good." His eyes glowed faintly, his wolf peeking through.
I locked eyes with him as I bent down and placed the knife back in my sheath. "We are, but I'm not going to leave this behind." I placed a hand on a tree trunk, letting it brace my weight as I stood. When I felt steady enough on my feet, I strolled farther into the woods.
The sooner I moved out of the area, the faster my scent would dissipate, which would make finding me harder.
"Hey, wait up," Killian called as I heard him run back to the river.
There was no way I was waiting. Considering how slow I was moving, he'd be able to catch up to me in no time.
No matter how much I pushed myself, my speed never increased. I bet a freaking turtle could have beaten me.
"Of course she didn't wait for me," he grumbled. "She's too damn headstrong, like Olive." He trudged in my direction.
In a matter of seconds, he caught up to me, his fishing pole slung over his shoulder. He bit his bottom lip. "So, where are you heading?"
"I shouldn't tell you." If somehow they figured out he’d run into me, they'd torture him for information. "The less you know, the safer you'll be."
"Okay, so, if you don’t know who, do you knowwhythey’re after you?" He slowed his pace to walk beside me.
"Once again, best if you don't know." What was with all the questions? "So, where exactly am I?"
"You don't know?" He pursed his lips. "How long were you out?"
I couldn't keep the venom out of my words. "If I knew that, I wouldn't be asking where I was now, would I?" I grimaced, immediately regretting biting his head off. I blew a raspberry. "Look, I'm sorry."
A smile flitted on his face. "For what exactly? Punching me in the gut, breaking my nose, trying to stab me, or being rude?"
Ouch. "In fairness, I thought you were an attacker. So, in this instance, I'm purely talking about biting your head off."
He chuckled. "Fair enough."
"Is withholding information my punishment?" I felt comfortable around him, which was odd. Normally, when I was around other wolf shifters, I got nervous and anxious, afraid I'd slip up and give them a hint of what I was.
"Maybe." He waggled his eyebrows. "But in all seriousness, you've landed in Shadow Ridge."
My shoulders sagged with relief. No way. Could I actually have gotten this lucky? Granted, after a day like today, I deserved some kind of break. "The bordering wolf shifter town to Shadow City?"
"The very one." He tilted his head. "You seem relieved."
"I am." I guessed there was no point in not telling him now. Maybe he could help me. "I was instructed to come to Shadow City, so all I need to do is get there."
"You do realize you can't go into the city without permission, right?" He wrung the hem of his shirt as if getting the excess water out would improve his situation.
"Atticus Bodle will see me." That had to be why Dad had mentioned the alpha's name. He'd be my ticket inside.