“Look.” He reached out a hand slicked with blood. “They’re here for you, and I can’t let them take you.”
“For me?” My brain fogged. “Why?”
“I think they want to force you into a mate bond.” He glanced over his shoulder.
My gaze followed his…and my world crashed around me. I couldn’t breathe as I tried to make sense of what I saw.
Bodies littered the ground. All from my pack.
Dad and I used the thick trees of the forest to hide us over a hundred yards away as my best friend Zoe army-crawled across the road onto the grass, trying to get out of the way of the attackers. Blood poured down her arms, and I could tell she was using all of her strength to survive.
A man dressed in black ran to her and placed a gun to her temple.
I have to stop him. I moved to intervene, but warm, strong hands wrapped around my waist and pulled me backward. Dad placed his hands on my shoulders and got in my face.
The loud blast of the gun made my stomach revolt.
The spicy scent of fear wafted from Dad as he jerked. “Sterlyn, focus on me.” “But-” I pushed against his arms. I have to save them.
He groaned in pain. “Those men have no intention of letting any of us live except you. There are too many for us to fight off. Most of the pack connections are now cold. Almost everyone is dead.”
“What?” My body froze. “Mom?”
“Yes, and I’ll be following soon.” He nodded toward his side.
Now that he wasn’t holding it, I could see his wound. The gash was so deep that the muscle was visible, and the way the blood was pouring from it, I knew they had to have hit a main artery. Even with shifter healing, no one could survive that. “No. I’ll take you to the hospital.”
“I’m barely hanging on as it is.” A tear trailed down his cheek. “I had to keep it together long enough to find you. You have to run. Go to Shadow City. The alpha, Atticus Bodle, will protect you, but trust only him with what you really are.”
“Dad, how do we know it’s not him attacking us?” My voice cracked. Atticus was the only person outside of the pack who knew of our existence, so it would make sense if this assault had to be on his orders.
“Atticus is a good man. I have never sensed any negative intent in him. I’m certain he isn’t behind this, but be careful, and don’t trust anyone else. One of the attackers said they’re here to find you. We can’t let them catch you.”
“I… I don’t want to leave you.” Not only did he expect me to leave him behind, but he wanted me to go to a city I knew very little about.
“Baby girl, I love you, but you have to.” He kissed my cheek. “They’re gathering a small group to search for you. Go. Before it’s too late.”
“The alpha is missing,” someone shouted from not too far away. “He may be searching for the
girl.”
I looked at my father one last time, trying to remember his smell, his face, his touch. “Daddy.”
“I’m sorry, but I have to protect you.” His eyes glowed a brighter silver as he called his last bit of strength. Alpha will laced his words. “Leave. Now. And don’t come back.”
My wolf howled in protest as I turned and my feet moved on their own accord, following our alpha’s command. I glanced over my shoulder to look at him once more. “I love you, Daddy.” I placed the knife back in the holster on my ankle and took off as I heard him drop.
“He’s here,” another guy yelled.
My wolf surged forward, helping me run as sobs racked me. I didn’t want to leave, but I could not disobey my alpha.
The voices grew louder as multiple footsteps rushed toward my dad.
“I smell her!” someone exclaimed. “She’s in the woods!”
Breathing deep again to calm myself down, I focused on putting one foot in front of the other. I had to get out of here before they caught me. My pack’s sacrifice couldn’t be in vain.
CHAPTER TWO
“Her scent is strong,” one of the men yelled. “She can’t be far.”
Dammit, I didn’t have even a quarter-mile lead on them. I had to get my head on straight or they’d capture me.
The urgency of my situation called for focus. At least, I had a reprieve from the overwhelming grief that wanted to suffocate me.
Wiping the moisture from my eyes and the snot from my nose, I increased my pace. They might have numbers on me, but I knew the land.
I veered left, staying deep enough in the woods that I couldn’t be seen if they drove the roads. I ran a sporadic route, hoping they wouldn’t guess that I was heading to the closest town, about four or five miles away. Luckily, the road led southwest toward Shadow City and allowed me to stay close to civilization. That would force the people chasing me to keep their animal sides at bay.
After all, humans weren’t supposed to know about supernaturals. If someone let it slip, the punishment was death.
Footsteps pounded behind me, pushing me to move faster. I ran often for training, so I should be able to lose their asses. As long as I kept ahead, I should be okay. I’d figure out what to do once I got closer to the city.
MY LEGS GREW HEAVY, and it took twice as much energy to keep going, but I pushed through the fatigue. From what I could guess, I’d run about fifteen miles, which meant Shadow City wasn’t far ahead. If I maintained my current speed, I would reach the city in the next thirty minutes.
I was making decent time, but the assholes after me hadn’t fallen behind as I’d hoped. I had to lose them.
Scanning the area, I searched for something that would slow them down. Staying close to the road wasn’t a viable option any longer.
I cut to the right, farther away from the road, hoping the switch in direction would disorient them for a short while, and examined my surroundings. I wasn’t familiar with this part of the woods.