Page 80 of The Explorer
I kissed him again and as we sat there with him leaning against a tree and me astride him, a sound broke the night. We both froze and listened. A threatening growl made the hair on my neck stand up. And then another joined in, and another.
Looking in between the trees, I met the chilling sight of wolves looking straight back at us. They were standing with their teeth bared and their heads low, ready to attack.
CHAPTER 20
Attack
Indiana
Aubri had finally surrendered to me. Sitting with her in my arms, I felt grateful and complete. And that’s when my life went from bliss to horror in a matter of seconds.
The bone-chilling sound of snarling and growling came from all around us and in the last light of the day, I saw eyes watching us and outlines of wolves creeping closer.
Aubri reacted on instinct. Getting up in a smooth movement, she pulled her knife and spread her arms out to make herself look large.
I quickly rose to my full height, grabbed for the nearest stick and growled right back at the wolves. “Don’t you fucking dare come closer. I’ll bash your brains out,” I threatened them in a gruff tone full of aggression. It didn’t stop them. Instead their circle around us grew smaller as they kept creeping closer with their teeth bared and their eyes fixed on us. I counted at least nine. These wolves were smaller than the ones we had in the Northlands.
“They’re gonna go for me because of our size difference,” Aubri said.
I growled again and took a step forward, swinging the stick through the air. The wolf closest to us moved back but at the same time the others attacked. Aubri screamed and stabbed her knife into the head of a wolf coming at her. A howl of pain from the wolf sounded at the same time that I screamed from the excruciating pain of being bitten in the back of my leg. Pivoting around, I smashed the heavy stick against the skull of a wolf behind me and knocked it out. I was panicking about keeping Aubri safe when I had three wolves attacking me and distracting me from helping her.
A victorious shout from her and the sound of another wolf whimpering was a good sign, but the attack was relentless, and they were forcing Aubri and me apart.
These wolves were the size of large dogs. Picking up one of them, I threw it full force at another wolf while letting out a brutal scream. It made some of the other wolves back up a little. Hearing Aubri yell, I turned to see her on the ground wrestling a vicious wolf with its sharp fangs in her arm.
The second of inattention to my attackers cost me the advantage that I’d had over them just a moment ago. As I went to help Aubri, four of them attacked me at the same time.
We’re fucked!The thought registered as I fought like a beast against the demons attacking us.
And then, out of nowhere, Banni came storming like a cyclone of destruction. With a solid kick he drew one wolf back before he used his knife to slit the throat of the wolf biting Aubri. Banni’s coming to our rescue gave me a new surge of strength and I managed to twist the neck of one the wolves attacking me. With a roar, I stomped on another wolf, who howled in pain and whimpered off. Banni stabbed a knife into the third of my attackers, and finally, the remaining wolves retreated and ran away.
Banni was shouting in French and throwing sticks after them. Aubri was holding on to the arm that was bleeding and as soon as I walked toward her, I felt the sting of the wound in the back of my leg.
We were all shaking with adrenaline.
“I’ve never seen a wolf pack that big,” Aubri said. “Where we live it’s usually no more than six to eight wolves; this pack had at least fifteen.”
With a hand to the small of her back, I nudged her forward. “Come on. Let’s get back to the drone and clean your wound.”
Banni walked next to us, constantly looking left and right as if expecting another attack any second.
“Thank you for helping us. I know how much you fear wolves and how much it must have taken for you to attack them.”
Banni nodded. “I was terrified. If you could feel how much my heart is still pounding, you would understand. But wolves took one of my friends already and I couldn’t stand by and see them take two more.”
“We definitely owe you a favor.” I walked slowly and dragged my leg a little.
Banni put his hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“One of them got the back of my leg, and my hands and arms are pretty scratched up.”
“I’m sorry. I should have come sooner, but I was on my way back to the others when I heard you scream.”
“What do you mean?” Aubri asked.
“Well, when Indiana dragged you off, I was worried he might hurt you, so I followed. It was confusing to me that you were hitting each other, but since you didn’t cry for help, I didn’t want to interfere. I figured the rough sex was just the way of the Northlands, so I walked off to give you privacy. I was back with the others when we heard the screams. Val had to stay with Britany, who was freaking out, but I ran as fast as I could.”
“We’ll find a way to repay you,” I promised, feeling relieved to see the forest ending and the bonfire ahead.
