Page 82 of Corbin
A minute later, Corbin found out who had paid Mitch to find them.
The Romanian walked in, surveying the destroyed bike and the dying grizzly. He rolled his eyes. “I pay for best. How did the wolf defeat this one?”
Behind him, two vicious human men with high-powered rifles stepped out from Vlad’s left and two more on his right. That cut off any exit they had except one.
Ares said,I kill them all.
Corbin replied,I have the greatest faith in you right now, but we can’t battle four men armed with titanium-loaded weapons.His wolf must have agreed. He didn’t argue, and Ares would argue with a sock.
Finally, Ares asked,What is plan?
Try to trust me. We only have one way out, and it’s behind us.
Panic flared in Ares.Water? No!
Give me the body and I’ll go into the water. I can keep us alive.
Not shifting,Ares argued.No energy to shift again soon. If we fight new beast, we die.
Corbin’s heart broke for his wolf.You’re absolutely right.
Vlad ordered, “Find the wolf. Do not kill him. That is my right only.”
Corbin pleaded,Please do this, Ares. If we can escape now, we will never hunt for the Romanian again. If he captures us, he’ll torture us and keep us alive to do horrific things to me as a human and you in wolf form for as long as he can.
Ares shook with agitation. Corbin’s wolf had never backed down from a fight, but his terror of water couldn’t be more real.
One of the men holding a rifle called out, “Let’s clear the easiest area between us and the cliffs.”
They would find Ares and Pixie in minutes.
Pixie leaned her head toward Ares and nuzzled his neck.
That was Corbin’s only hope. He rushed to convince Ares.Pixie loves the water and will stay with you. If we do not get up and run, the Romanian will capture Pixie. You remember how he treated all the female shifters, right? He would torture her to hurt us. Then he’d sell her to some monster.
Ares continued to shake. His bones should be rattling by now, but he stood. Pixie followed his action, giving Corbin hope they could pull this off.
Turning to Pixie, Ares pushed her behind him and began backing up. With every step back, Corbin questioned what Ares intended to do.
Was his wolf moving Pixie back until she had to jump first? She would, too, because based on what Eirene had said, Pixie loved the water and had no fear of heights.
He wanted all four of them to live, but if saving Pixie was the best Ares could do, then at least Eirene would survive.
By the time cool air blew over his wolf’s coat, Corbin prepared for Pixie to leap into the water.
She didn’t. Instead, Pixie had planted herself at the edge of the cliff, but to the side of Ares. Eirene might have figured out what Ares was doing and discussed it with her wolf.
Ares swung his head around and gave a deep huff at Pixie.
She lifted her chin and ignored him.
One of Vlad’s men shouted, “I see them. Close in now.”
He raised his rifle and pointed it at Pixie.
Ares swung around fast, knocking her off the cliff. A shot rang out, then Corbin felt Ares backpedal, but his paws were slipping. Ares went flying off right behind Pixie.
The dam must have been opened. A wall of water rushed through the deep mountain gorge. The high water would make rapids difficult for rafters, which might be why he had yet to see any on the river.
