Page 62 of Hybrid Moon Rising

Draven faded from her periphery, and she assumed he fell back to where Mateo rode.

Kade slyly lifted his fist in solidarity and held it up to where hers sat on the pommel. She bumped it with her own and a triumphant smile tugged at her lips.

Suck it, Draven.

Another hour passed in relative silence; the only chatter between them was focused on confirming that they were on the correct path. She didn’t turn around to look at where Draven rode, despite the constant urge to do so.

With each step toward the base of the mountain, the sky darkened and with it the woods fell from ominous to downright spooky. The trees created a thick wall on either side of them, and aside from where the moon lit the trail, there was nothing but silent darkness.

A shiver ran through Flora, and she wanted to believe it was only because of the wind, but the eerie feeling that they were being watched creeped up her spine.

“Do you feel that?” she whispered to Kade.

“Yes.” He was tense behind her, but didn’t say anything more. If it was an attempt to set her at ease, he’d failed epically.

When the mountain was nearly on top of them, the sound of rushing water met their ears. Up ahead was a river big enough that there was no doubt they’d get wet crossing it. Flora groaned internally. The temperature had dropped significantly in the woods after the sun dipped below the treeline, and she didn’t have the luxury of supernatural body heat like the wolves did. She wasn’t looking forward to having to try to warm up after a dip in what was probably frigid water.

Draven and Mateo pulled up on either side of her and Kade.

“Let’s stop here and let the horses rest and have water before finding a better place to cross,” Draven ordered, his eyes never glancing in her direction. “I’m not sure how much further we will need to go, but the bartender said the place we are looking for is rumored to be just beyond the river, in this area of the woods.”

Kade dismounted first, and Flora followed behind him. The minute her boots hit the ground, she noticed something wasn’t right. Her gut clenched, and it was like she’d spun around in circles and suddenly stopped, only the world around her kept moving. She stumbled forward and grasped the neck of Firefly, who jerked away from her touch.

“Flora.” Draven’s voice was muffled, and she could barely make it out above the ringing in her ears. He reached out and tried to steady her, but the instant he touched her, her skin erupted in blistering pain.

Flora pulled away from him and looked down at her hand. Through the continuous shifting of her vision, she could see the skin wasn’t marred, but still it burned like hell.

“Don’t touch me,” she shrieked, panic lacing her voice. She backed away from him, which only managed to disorient her further, sending her tumbling toward the ground. Only it wasn't the ground that broke her fall.

The icy water stole her breath as she sank beneath the surface and into the river’s turbulent current. Her legs kicked out beneath her, but she couldn’t make out which way was up. Churning water tumbled around her, and her lungs burned for oxygen.

She was going to die.

She’d only just gotten her life back. She’d survived a gunshot wound and an attempted kidnapping by her father, but a damn river was going to take her out.

It didn’t matter how many times she blinked to try to right her vision, it continued to narrow. In no time at all, she could only see the light of the moon above her, and then darkness.

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