Page 98 of Shadow City: Silver Wolf

"What about the other three?" another man asked, bullets jangling as he loaded his gun.

"They don't matter," the first man responded. "Our mission is to get the girl."

Follow me.At some point, we would need to split up—but right now, I needed to get us far enough away that we all could talk. The first priority was getting past the crow.

I took off running deeper into the woods. A small cave sat about four hundred yards away that we should be able to use for shelter for at least a little while.

The three of them ran after me. I zigzagged, hoping to confuse the crow. Its wings flapped overhead, confirming what I already knew…it was tracking us to alert the idiots.

We were going to have to split up. We couldn't shake the crow.

Coming to a stop, I faced the other three and spoke quietly. We’d gained enough distance from our pursuers that if we talked softly enough, they wouldn't be able to hear. "We need to split up. That damn crow is following us. I'd hoped to hide out in a nearby cave for a little while until their group split up to look for us, but that won't work."

"So, what do we do?" Sierra asked with trepidation.

I took a deep breath so I wouldn’t snap at her. It was clear that the only one besides myself with any sort of training was Killian. But Sierra was here, trying to help, and I had to remember that. She was definitely proving her loyalty. "First off, what weapons do we have?" I bent and pulled my knife from my ankle sheath.

"Even though I didn't want to, I did bring something when you went missing." Killian lifted his shirt, revealing a gun.

If I wasn’t mated to Griffin and didn't consider Killian a brother, I would've kissed him right then. I'd expected to be the only one with a weapon. "Anyone else?"

"Believe it or not, me too." Griffin pulled out a gun from his waistband. "I'm learning that, when it comes to you, we all need to be prepared."

"What?" I couldn't believe my eyes. "How the hell did I not know you had that on you?" We'd had sex the night before, and he hadn’t had it then. It was like it appeared out of thin air.

"It was in the Navigator," he said with pride. "That's why I opened the door in the first place."

We actually had a better chance with two guns. The men tracking us wouldn't expect that, based on the last several fights they’d had with us. We’d never had guns in the pack before; only the handful of our guards that they’d taken out had carried them.

"Do you know how to shoot?" I didn't mean to come off condescending. Griffin was a strong wolf and a good fighter in animal form…the problem was when he was in human form. He didn't have strong skills then—although, that one punch he’d given Carter had shown good form.

"Yes…believe it or not, I do." Griffin sighed. "I didn't grow up training for battle, only politics, but the Shadow City leaders are all about target practice for leisure."

I'd take any wins we could get. "Okay, then let's split into two groups." I'd initially thought we'd all four separate, but that would be too risky—especially with Sierra weaponless. Killian was a trained fighter, so it made sense for her to go with him. "Griffin and I will stay together. You two head off that way." I pointed in the direction we'd been heading. "If you stay straight, it'll take you to a cave that you can use for cover. If you go to the side where the opening backs up to a wall, there's a section that's covered all around except for in front of you. You can use it to keep these guys at bay."

"What about you two?" Killian frowned. "We could all go there together."

"The cave isn't large enough for all four of us." We didn't have time to debate everything. "And if they stay grouped together, they can strategize more. If they split up, they can't make asmuch of a coordinated effort. You’ve gotta assume they have tranquilizer guns and can mind link. We can't."

"She knows the area and is a fucking silver wolf. She was born for this kind of thing." Sierra took a step in the direction I'd indicated. "And the longer we stay here, the faster they'll find us."

"Fine, but text us if you get in trouble." Killian hugged me tightly. "And please don't get captured." His body was rigid with tension and concern.

"Same to you two." I returned the embrace.

The sound of footsteps broke the moment. The enemy was coming, and faster than I'd given them credit for. Not willing to speak again, I gestured toward the cave.

Killian nodded and patted Griffin on the back before taking off. He and Sierra kept in step with each other as they ran in the direction I'd told them to.

Any ideas for us?Griffin held the gun at his side with his finger on the trigger.

I moved southward, away from Killian and Sierra, making sure our enemies would hear us and split. Even though I was their end goal, they’d have to keep an eye on the other two. No fighter would ignore two people who could be threats.Unfortunately, there isn't a spot like that for us. We're going to have to run so they’ll at least split up, and then fight.

As if they’d figured out our plan, their footsteps paused, and the leader spoke quietly, "They split up. It's clear the silver wolf went that way, so let's separate. This half goes with me, and the rest of you follow Bo's lead."

They were speaking out loud, which made me think that maybe they weren’t pack, either. At least this put us on more equal grounds.

"Got it," a guy responded, and half the group moved in the opposite direction from us.

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