Page 191 of Kingdoms of Night

And we had a good two-hundred-fifty-mile adventure ahead of us.

If we could find a car, that would be best.

Otherwise, we’d be making the trip on four paws.

If we went at a decent pace, we could make it there in five or six days. We’d have to find safe places to rest, though. And that would be the tricky part of this journey.

Well, and surviving the Infected coming toward us.

Hmm.

It would have been easier to use the weapons on the plane and just gun down a bunch of Infected, then run through the hole created by their deaths.

But Riley harbored a soft spot for the Infected. I supposed that instinct came with the territory of leading the research teams on finding a cure for the disease. One would have to be compassionate to be as dedicated as she was to the task.

That dedication was one of her more alluring traits.

I respected her need to fix the problem.

And something told me she’d never stop searching for a cure, even if it proved impossible. Riley wasn’t one to give up easily, yet another attribute I admired about her.

However, that dedication to her cause meant I needed to approach this strategically.

Because wounding the Infected unnecessarily would bother her, as evidenced by the way she’d locked up outside of the compound earlier. I’d practically had to drag her to the plane.

I wouldn’t be able to do that now—she was small, but not small enough to be carried around in my mouth like some pup.

Which meant not slaughtering the Infected with my jaws and claws.

Not exactly ideal, but I wanted Riley to cooperate, not freeze in the middle of a disease-ridden nest.

“All right,” I said. “We’re going to go through that line over there.” I gestured toward the weakest section of the crowd. “Then we’re going to run as fast as we can around the masses.”

I locked gazes with her, wanting to be sure she’d heard the command in my tone. There would be no deviating from this plan.

Her bright blue eyes had darkened to a midnight shade in her wolf form—something I’d never seen before because she’d always ignored my offers to go for a run.

The dark orbs seemed to glow against her reddish-brown fur, the shade reminiscent of her auburn hair.

She was small for a Beta.

Almost frail.

Which had me a bit concerned about her ability to keep up, but she’d seemed to take offense to my questioning her shift a few minutes ago.

It was only natural after witnessing her change. The slowness of it had suggested she wasn’t very experienced in shifting. Although, that couldn’t be true because she was at least thirty years old.

However, something had definitely been off about it. I just didn’t know what it was, and I really hoped it wouldn’t slow us down now.

“I’m going to try to be as gentle with them as I can,” I continued, telling her the full plan in hopes that it would make her more acquiescent to comply. “But we’re severely outnumbered, Riley. And it’s my job to protect you. Please remember that, okay?”

She snorted.

I wasn’t sure if that was a scoffing sound or one of agreement, but I chose to assume it was the latter.

If she wanted to survive, then she needed to trust me.

And I was done submitting to this fiery little redhead.

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