Page 29 of As Darkness Fall
My attention stayed focused on Aaron, though, as I came to a decision.
“What’s up, boss?” he asked.
“I need to ask you something,” I said. “And I won’t ask you to explain your answer, because I know you want to keep your privacy. But I need you to answer it honestly. Can you do that?”
The low conversation that had struck up between the other members of his team died as the seriousness of my attitude registered home with first the team leader, spreading to the rest of them. They were all watching me now, and I could feel the tensions rising, a pressure on my skin as I stood strong under their combined gazes.
“I can try,” Aaron said quietly. “That all depends on what the question is.”
In the silence that followed, the fire crackled and snapped as branches burned, the fresh green wood making plenty of noise during its slow demise into ash.
“Can you and your men keep up?” I asked.
“Haven’t we been?”
“If we’re on all fours,” I said quietly.
Aaron’s eyebrows twitched, and I knew instantly what he was thinking, but he made no comment. Only very slight raising of his eyebrows, to which I didn’t react.
Beside me, Johnathan hissed in surprise. Tearing my eyes away from Aaron, I glared him back into silence. Aaron and his men were not human. Or they were some sort of enhanced human. Either way, they already knew about me, and so far, none of them had batted an eyelash.
In fact, they’d not so much as brought it up, which, now that I spent some time thinking about it, should have been an indicator. They weren’t surprised by the fact that I could shift into a wolf. And Aaron and Vir, they’d acted like they knew one another back in the temple when Aaron had shown up to rescue us.
“No.” Aaron’s response was slow, measured. “But we can move faster than we have been,” he added.
Interesting. So, they weren’t as fleet as a wolf. But theywereable to move faster than humans. Which was good, because if Jo was in danger, we needed to get a move on as soon as possible. We couldn’t take our time getting out of the wilderness.
“I assume you’re good, right?” I said, looking over at Vir.
The god just nodded. It seemed like a silly question to ask, but I didn’t know if he had any stamina limits or the like on Earth. It was worthwhile finding out what my allies were capable of if necessary. By asking now, I wouldn’t be surprised later when there wasn’t time to discuss it.
“Okay, good,” I said, addressing everyone at the same time now. “Let’s move then.”
The team got to their feet and started moving to tear the tents down.
“Leave them,” I said. “Leave behind anything you don’t absolutely need.”
I looked out past them in the direction we had to travel. “We’re going to be back at the trucks by dawn.”
A wave of surprise washed over the team. That was going to be a long night, and in all honesty, I wasn’t sure we’d make such an ambitious goal, but I intended to try.
“Come on, get up,” I snarled, kicking Johnathan as I pulled off the tight black tank top that I’d pilfered from one of Vir’s magic trunks and began shaking out of my pants.
Johnathan gave me a questioning look as I stripped.
“I’ve been naked so often lately, I feel like a stripper at an audition,” I muttered. “I’m not going to run into the forest to get naked just because they might see a titty or two. Jo is in danger. That’s what matters most.”
By the time I finished reaming Johnathan out, I was naked. Though, despite my tough speech, Iwasfacing away from the men. Just because I didn’t care if they saw didn’t mean they got a free show.
Eyes half-closing, I called to my wolf. It was the first time I’d reached out to her since the temple. She’d slept for a long time afterward, needing to recover her energy, but now, she came alert in a second, her energy racing forward as my body began to change.
It started the way it always did. The hair on my arms and legs grew lighter and thickened, turning a brilliant white. It was the opposite of Johnathan, who was swiftly becoming covered in a layer of fur as dark as the sky, a sure sign of his Aldridge heritage.
My attention wavered and was flung out into the forest around us as my body changed and my wolf took over, guiding us down onto all fours, our mind filling with a thousand scents and more, our eyes picking out details of the land around us that we’d missed, from simple things like fallen trees and patches of berries to the owl perched on a tree two hundred yards distant.
Free at last, our minds merged, we looked around at the rest of our little pack. They were ready, even Johnathan, our asshole of an ex. His giant sable-furred beast pawed at the ground. Apparently, it, too, was ready to roam. With a bark, we took off into the forest, leading the charge.
Jo was our friend, and we were coming for her.
