Page 53 of Marked For A Bite
"Pressure," he managed, even as darkness began creeping around the edges of his vision. "But we need to move. Find the antidote herbs?—"
Kieran materialized beside them, his black hair matted with blood from his own battles. "I'll handle these last few guards and help get the prisoners out. Zoe, you need to get Logan out now and find those herbs near the caverns."
Logan tried to protest—his mind screaming that splitting up was dangerous—but his body was betraying him. The wolfsbane was spreading faster than he'd anticipated, and his enhanced strength was hemorrhaging away with each heartbeat.
Can't protect her if I'm dead. Have to trust she's strong enough now.
"I don't know where to go," Zoe cried out desperately.
"Your wolf does," Logan whispered urgently, fighting to stay conscious. "Trust her."
Something shifted in Zoe's expression, a primal certainty replacing her panic. Her eyes blazed golden as her wolf surged to the surface.
There she is. My fierce mate.
The transformation was instantaneous—one moment she was kneeling beside him in human form, the next her magnificent wolf stood where she'd been. Dark brown fur with honey patches gleamed in the dim underground lighting, and Logan couldn't help but admire her beauty for a moment.
Without hesitation, she clamped her powerful jaws around the scruff of his tactical vest and began dragging his weakened body toward the exit. Logan could feel her wolf's determination and absolute refusal to let him die through their growing mate bond.
I should weigh too much for her. But our mate bond... she's drawing strength from me even while I'm dying.
The world blurredas Zoe's wolf navigated the stone corridors with supernatural speed and precision. Logan's consciousness flickered in and out, but he maintained enough awareness to marvel at how his mate moved through the labyrinthine passages without hesitation.
Her wolf knows this Granite Ridge territory. Her ancestral lands.
They soon burst through the southeast exit that the Gamma team had secured, emerging into moonlight that felt like salvation after the underground hell. Logan's boots draggedacross the forest floor as Zoe's wolf continued her desperate race against the poison spreading through his system.
TWENTY-THREE
ZOE
Zoe's wolf form raced through the moonlit forest with Logan's tactical-gear-laden body clasped in her powerful jaws. The wolfsbane poison was spreading through his system faster than she'd anticipated. His breathing had grown shallow and labored, and Zoe could feel his strength ebbing through their mate bond. Her wolf's instincts screamed in desperation.
The herbs are too far. He'll be dead before we reach the caverns.
But something deeper began to stir within her consciousness. The land itself seemed to whisper ancient secrets as her paws struck the earth, guiding her steps with knowledge that transcended her brief existence. The mountain territory of Granite Ridge called to her blood and to ancestral memories she shouldn't possess.
Follow the pull. Trust what the earth is telling you.
The full moon shone bright overhead and cast silver light through the autumn canopy as Zoe's wolf climbed higher into the mountainous region. With each stride, her strength multiplied impossibly—the moonlight feeding directly into her soul and enhancing abilities she didn't understand.
Logan's presence beneath her amplified everything. Their mate bond was creating a feedback loop of power that made her wolf form faster than should be possible for a newly awakened hybrid.
Snow began to fall in spirals around them, unusual for this time of year, as if nature itself was responding to their desperate flight. The wind picked up gently, carrying scents that spoke of sacred ceremonies and ancient rituals performed in these very woods.
Suddenly, Zoe's wolf stopped in a circular clearing that seemed to glow with ethereal beauty. Ancient stone markers formed a perfect ring around the space, weathered by centuries but still emanating power. The moonlight concentrated here, creating an almost cathedral-like atmosphere that made her wolf's fur stand on end with recognition.
Ancestral mating grounds. The blood in my veins knows this place.
She looked up at the moon instinctually. Even in her wolf form, she recognized the deep crimson hue that painted the lunar surface. A Blood Moon. Tonight of all nights, when the veil between worlds grew thin and ancient magic ran strongest.
"You need to shift back," Logan's voice was barely a whisper, but his alpha presence still commanded attention despite his weakening state. His green eyes, now dull with pain and blood loss, found her golden ones with desperate urgency. "I think I know what we need to do, but I don't have much time left. I only have just enough strength to do the one thing that might save me."
Zoe's transformation back to human form was surprisingly instant, driven by panic and the absolute certainty that she would not lose him. Not after three centuries of separation. Not when they'd finally found each other again.
The cold mountain air hit her naked skin, but she ignored the discomfort as she dropped to her knees beside Logan's weakened form. His black henley was soaked with blood and his tactical gear weighed him down like anchors. His face had taken on the deathly pallor that spoke of internal systems beginning to shut down.
"What do we need to do?" She wrapped her arms around him, trying to share her body heat while fighting back tears. "You're going to die soon. We don't have any time."
