Page 5 of Fangs
“Are your bones full of air?” the dark-haired man holding my arm muttered, and it took me far too long to realize he was talking to me.
I glanced up to find him studying my face. He tilted his head, a slow smirk curling one corner of his mouth. “You’re a lot prettier than Wolf.”
“Shut up, Lee,” my brother growled.
Lee released my arm as Wolf began to drag me toward the horse. He stopped at the horse’s side, releasing my arm, and glared at me as I tried to breathe.
“If you think passin’ out is gonna help you, you’re dead wrong,” Wolf said in a low, harsh voice.
He reached toward me, and I instinctively jumped backward, only to crash into a body that grabbed me tightly by the shoulders. I froze in fear, and Wolf’s angry face swam in my vision.
“I wouldn’t try to run if I were you,” the person behind me said.
A quick glance revealed it to be Horse Guy.
“Listen to Tuck. Or you’re gonna make this ten times worse for yourself,” Wolf said, pulling me toward him by my arm.
He moved around behind me and grabbed my waist, lifting me and slinging me onto the saddle. As he bent to make sure my feet were in the stirrups, Tuck moved around him to join Lee and Sable. The three of them spoke in low tones while watching me. I couldn’t hear what they were saying due to the panic roaring in my ears and Juck’s voice echoing in my head.
Quit cryin’, Angel, or I’ll give you somethin’ to cry about.
As soon as Wolf finished adjusting the stirrups, we started moving again in a single file line. Sable led the way, and Wolf walked behind him, holding the horse’s reins. I only knew Tuck and Lee were behind my horse because I glanced back and saw them. Somehow, the only sound was the horse’s hooves crunching through the snow. The zip ties stung where they rubbed against my skin. I wondered if the horse would start running if I gave it a good kick, but I knew I’d probably fall off with my hands tied behind my back.
What would Mac think when he came back and found me gone? Would he assume I’d been called out to heal someone? Would he even look for me before morning? It wasn’t unusual for me to be out healing during the night. At this speed, we’d be far away by then.
That was for the best, though. Wolf was going to kill me. Like he’d said, my time was up.
Was this how Trey felt when he knew he was going to die?
I’ll find you again in another lifetime.
I struggled to wrestle my emotions down. It was harder than I expected; I’d gotten too used to letting them out. I had to fall back on my old method of reciting medical text in my head until I felt myself sinking into numb emptiness again, the woods passing by in a dreamlike blur. By the time the sun began to rise, I was numb inside and out. I was only wearing a thin jacket and no gloves—fine for running around the hold while healing people, but not warm enough for an overnight trek through the woods in late winter. I couldn’t feel my hands anymore, and the adrenaline barely kept me awake. How far were they going to take me before they just got it over with and killed me?
The sun had fully risen when they finally stopped. On one side of us was a rocky cliff with large boulders scattered about its base. Despite my effort to stay calm, my heart started thudding out of control. This had to be it. This was where my brother would kill me.
The others shrugged their packs off, and Wolf came to the horse’s side. I tried to be calm but wasn’t managing it very well. I was shaking like a leaf when he pulled me down. I saw his gaze narrow on me before I dropped my eyes. When he set me on my feet, my knees fucking buckled, and he had to grab my arm to catch me before I ended up in a heap on the snowy ground. I could barely feel my ice-cold feet, and my legs were stiff and sore. Wolf dragged me toward the rocky cliff and shoved me down to sit on a flat rock someone had cleared of snow.
“Don’t move,” he ordered.
I pulled my legs in and leaned forward, trying to curl into a ball and stop fucking trembling. We’d fought constantly, but Wolf had never laid a hand on me. The idea of him hurting me was worse than the idea of him killing me. His boots stayed before me for a few breaths, but then he turned and went back to the horse.
The other men were moving around the small area, getting food and water. I didn’t move. I knew better than to try to run. I’d be lucky if I made it five steps before one of them caught me. A gust of wind blew some of the powdery snow into my face, and I shivered, miserably cold. If only my hands were tied in front of me so I could try to warm them up. Jaw clenched to keep my teeth from chattering, I risked glancing up, scanning the three men who traveled with my brother. It didn’t look like they planned to make a fire, just getting food and water and resting.
In the morning light, I could see them clearly now. Sable’s long hair fell to his collarbones in a silky sheet, and his eyes were so pale blue they almost looked white. He studied me often with a scrutiny that made my stomach churn. Tuck was the tallest and had brown skin; his head of messy black curls seemed permanently mussed. His glances at me seemed more cautiously curious, bordering on concern. Maybe he was the weak link in my brother’s group.
I glanced at Lee, and all my muscles tensed when I realized he was staring at me. His hair was pulled up in a messy top knot with a shaved undercut below. He had high cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes, and again, vague recognition tickled my brain. For a few seconds, I held his gaze, and then the memory crashed over me.
He was the prisoner from the cells at the Vault—the man who looked at me like he knew me, and Mac had later accused me of helping escape. So hehadrecognized me. I guessed that answered the question of how Wolf found me.
My revelation must have shown on my face because he smirked again and then said something to Sable and Tuck. They both glanced up, and then all three stared boldly back at me. I dropped my eyes back to the ground again, my skin crawling.
Wolf’s boots appeared before me again, and I tensed but refused to look up. His knees came into view as he crouched in front of me.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asked. “You forget how to talk?”
I didn’t answer, focused on breathing in and out. Wolf’s hand shot out and seized my jaw, pulling my face up to look at him. His eyes narrowed as his fingers squeezed into my cheeks and pried my mouth open. Terrified, I jerked my head back, and he let go, watching as I nearly fell off the rock in my haste to escape. He raised an eyebrow.
“Just making sure you still had your tongue. Never thought I’d see you so quiet.”
