Page 37 of Broken Fate
Ahead of me, Kiel growled in pain just as we ducked into the forest and out of sight of any immediate pursuit.
Is he hurt?
My wolf knew better. She panged of loss. A deep thing. Like the gutted, hollow place inside of me where the memory of my parents now lived.
Like me, Kiel had just lost much of his family. It was impossible to tell how many of the others had made it out, but there was no way his group hadn’t taken major casualties. Probably people Kiel had worked with for years. They would all be hurting.
I resolutely didnotthink about Clive and whether or not he was alive as we raced through the forest, trees whipping past. Dwelling on such thoughts wasn’t helpful, and right now, all my energy needed to go to keeping hot on Kiel’s heels. Despite all I was doing and the wound in his shoulder, itstillfelt like he was forcing himself to go slow to allow me to keep up.
Besides needing my focus elsewhere, the truth was, I wasn’t sure I even had any emotional capacity left to cope with more loss. After everything—
My paw caught on a root, and I tumbled forward, bouncing painfully off a rock with a yelp before catching my snout on a tree. For a brief moment, stars swam across my vision. Knowing we were still in imminent danger, though, I forced myself to my feet.
Kiel snarled.Focus.
I bit at the empty air in defiance.I’m trying.I shook my head, thrusting my snout at him with bared teeth.Not everyone is you.
The giant black-furred beast stepped toward me, yellow eyes wide. He pawed at the ground.Keep. Up.
I growled.Let’s go.
For a second, I thought Kiel might try to assert his dominance further, but there was no need. He knew I understood. He was just trying to focus my thoughts—my anger—on him. To keep me aligned instead of distracted.
We took off again, running until we could no longer smell the smoke and then some more. My legs were shaking, close to giving out. There hadn’t been enough time to properly recover before the attack. Somehow, Andracis had tracked us with incredible speed. That, however, was a later question. For now, there was only one thing concerning me.
Where did we go from here? Kiel’s hideout was gone. What was next? Had our little rebellion ended before it really began?
Chapter Nineteen
Wait.
I staggered from the effort of that single yelp, my concentration faltering as I missed a step. Nearly delirious from the exhaustion, I stumbled forward. Kiel had come to a stop, looking back over his shoulder, eyes wide, pupils drawn into vertical slits as he stared past me to the morning sun just beginning to peek over the ridges to the west.
Rest.
The muted growl I got in response to my plea wasn’t promising. Did Kiel intend to abandon me to find my own way just because I couldn’t match his brutal pace? Nobody could keep up with him forever. Whatever unnatural force he had driving his body, I simply didn’t possess it. I’d tried my hardest to keep going, pushing past any and every barrier I could think of, but still, I’d fallen behind.
My flanks heaved, fur matted from lather. Saliva coated my jowls. Two of Kiel floated across my vision momentarily as I panted pathetically in his metaphorical shadow.
Tossing his head indignantly at my condition, he swung his snout back around and started at averyslow trot—for him at least. I tried to follow, wishing he would just come to a hill so I could slide down it. My legs were shaking. At any moment now, they would refuse to work, I was sure.
Kiel led me through some trees and then, to my absolute horror,upa small incline. I paused to stare at the ground as it angled toward the sky. Why did he hate me so much?
That much is obvious, isn’t it?
Bowing my head in resignation, I started up, somehow finding the energy to do so. I reached the top to find Kiel sitting on a boulder, already in his human form.
I stared, wandering over to the river that meandered through that part of the forest and drinking deep. The water helped to rejuvenate me for a moment, and I dug deep again, gathering the strength to shift.
“How?” I gasped as I lay on the riverbank.
Kiel glanced down at me, carefully concealing whatever disdain I was sure he felt for my pathetic self.
“What do you mean?” he rumbled slowly.
I dragged myself into some semblance of a sitting position. Or tried to. I couldn’t stay upright, so I settled for lying on my side, my head turned to be able to see Kiel. “How … do you … keep … going?” I staggered out, having to pause for breath several times. “You aren’t … even … tired! Not fair.”
Kiel shook his head. “No, it’s not,” he agreed. “You did well.”
