Page 99 of The Alpha Dire Wolf
“We have to make it, Vee. We—”
He turned his head while I looked in the rearview mirror as a low, ominous groan filled the car, sweeping over us from behind. I didn’t know what was making the noise. Not because it was something else new but because I couldn’t see anything.
The road behind us was gone, disappearing into a blackness not even the lightning penetrated. And that darkness was coming for us. Fast.
Gritting my teeth, I hammered the pedal down even more. The tiny engine did its best, and we sped up once more, racing down the old road.
“How much farther?” I hissed through teeth clenched hard enough to give me a migraine.
“Not much. Left turn coming up. It’s going to be sharp.”
I looked at him. He was a bit pale.
“How sharp?”
“Very. But we can’t slow down.”
Something hit the back of the car, bumping into it enough to lift the rear wheels off the ground and slowing us down.
I screamed. Light glowed in Lincoln’s eyes as he snarled back at the storm. Whatever it was let go of the car. Wheels hit asphalt, rubber burned and we went forward once more.
“No slowing down,” I said, my voice a whimper. “Got it.”
“You can do this, Vee,” he said, putting a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “I believe in you!”
Wind shrieked. Rain battered the exterior of the car. A tree limb blew through the rear window, lodging itself in the back seat.
“When I say so, tap the brakes and turn. I’ll help with the wheel.”
“Okay.”
Everything narrowed to that point, waiting for Lincoln. The storm lashed out at us, but I tuned it out. I had to. All I could do was peer through the wipers and wait.
“Now!”
The word burst from his throat. Somehow I didn’t hesitate. I tapped the brakes and pulled the wheel around. Lincoln helped. The car groaned and more rubber vaporized as the car careened around the corner on two wheels.
My screaming merged with the noise from the tires as I rose into the air.
Then we hit a pothole, and the car slammed back down onto all four tires, speeding along the new “road,” which really was little more than a rutted trail between the trees. I had to slow down now. I had no choice.
“Don’t slow down!” Lincoln howled, reaching past me to put a hand on the window.
Blackness spilled across it, reaching for the car and the road ahead of us. Glass cracked. The roof crumpled slightly.
“Floor it!”
I stomped my foot down as the darkness slithered its way through the cracks, reaching out for us.
“Hold on!” Lincoln roared as the windows shattered and shadow and darkness plunged into the vehicle.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Lincoln
We burst out into the open.
The darkness was yanked out of the car as dense brush and trees gave way to huge open spaces on all sides. Far above, the giant limbs of the trees interlocked to form a nearly impenetrable canopy. Here, the rain was reduced to little more than the droplets trickling their way through the leafy cover.
