Every ache and pain in her body was making itself known. She felt as if she was one big throbbing mass. Her face hurt and her head was pounding. The muscles in her legs burned with the unfamiliar exercise and her feet hurt. She imagined she had more than one blister on each foot. Her boots had not been made with this kind of activity in mind, plus they were fairly new and not quite broken in yet. After spending all day yesterday walking, her feet were beginning to complain.
The gun in her hand was beginning to feel as if it weighed a ton and she kept flexing her arm, trying to relieve the strain. She wasn’t willing to tuck it away any longer. Their enemies were too close for her to risk it.
All she wanted to do was to lie down in the dirt and sleep. Right now, she could probably sleep standing up. Every now and then her eyes would start to drift shut and she’d have to jerk herself awake. She figured it was her head injury making her tired. She probably had a mild concussion, but there was no time to worry over that minor detail. They had much bigger problems chasing them through the woods.
Joshua held up his hand and she almost plowed into him before she could stop. She curled her fingers into the back of his shirt and held on for a moment, longing to just snuggle against him and rest. Grabbing her arm, he pulled her low, practically shoving her behind the trunk of an oak.
He held up two fingers and pointed off to their right and then one finger and pointed to the left. Gripping her right hand, he pointed her gun with its silver bullets toward the left. Werewolves. She knew then it wasn’t the bounty hunters who had found them.
Joshua then pointed two fingers straight ahead and shook his head. So it wasn’t just werewolves, but bounty hunters as well. She nodded so he’d know she understood. His dark eyes were fathomless as he leaned forward and dropped a quick, hard kiss on her lips before disappearing into the forest around them. One moment he was there, the next she was alone.
Cold sweat broke out on her body as fear filled her belly. She knew he was going out there to fight them, possibly even to draw them away from her. If she’d have known his intent, she could have stopped him.
No, she honestly told herself. She couldn’t have. The look in his eyes had told her that nothing could stop him. Not until all their enemies had been eliminated.
She shivered beneath the leather jacket, suddenly chilled to her bones. Only two days ago, she’d had no idea this world existed. Now she’d been plunged into the middle of a war that had apparently been ongoing for quite some time. Right now, she longed for her old life with its predictable, if slightly boring, routine. She wanted to work alongside her father at the garage and drink in his familiar, comfortable presence. She wanted to curl up in her living room and read a book while she sipped a huge mug of coffee or wander out onto the street and shoot the breeze with Divine.
But that was over. She knew those days would never return. All she had now was the life ahead of her and that included Joshua. She grasped her weapon more firmly and risked a glance around the tree trunk. A rustling sound came from ahead of her. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
Her arm was steady as she extended it in front of her. Time seemed to slow down as the wait became unending. Her fingers flexed as she heard the faint sound again.
She blinked away the sting from a bead of sweat, not willing to move to wipe her eyes.
It got closer.
And closer.
Her finger caressed the trigger.
A small furry animal burst from beneath a pile of leaves and scurried across the ground in front of her.
Alex sucked in a breath and dropped her chin down to her chest. Her heart was pounding and she had the sudden urge to laugh. She could just imagine how she looked, the fearless hunter facing down a killer squirrel.
Swiping her free hand across her face, she shook herself.
She got no warning at all, but suddenly she knew there was someone, or something behind her. Instinct? Or maybe she felt the subtle shift in the air? Whatever it was, Alex suddenly threw herself to the right as she turned. A huge gray wolf was already airborne as she fell to the ground, raised her arm and fired off several quick shots.
The large animal yelped and jerked in midair before its heavy weight came tumbling down on top of her. All she could see was a huge muzzle with large teeth coming toward her. She fired again, but the wolf kept on coming.
The impact knocked the air out of her lungs. Frantic, she dropped the gun and shoved at the animal’s head. It took her a second to realize it wasn’t moving. It was dead. She’d killed it. Him. It.
She shook her head and tried to clear her vision. The impact with the wolf hadn’t helped her already battered body, but she knew she couldn’t stay like this. There were more of them out there and she was vulnerable just lying here.
Arm muscles straining, Alex thrust the animal’s head away and then concentrated on moving the heavy body off of her, but it took some doing. This was no regular-sized wolf and it was a deadweight. She half-pushed, half-squirmed out from beneath it, flopping onto the ground beside it to catch her breath.
As she lay there, she silently thanked her father for all the shooting lessons she’d had since she was a kid. She hadn’t had to think in order to act, but had done it purely on instinct.
Her limbs were shaky, but she managed to grab her gun and crawl back to the trunk of a tree. Briefly, she rested her forehead against it. Where was Joshua?
A low, menacing growl echoed around her and her fingers closed around the hilt of her weapon. How many bullets were left? She thought she’d fired seven shots—four today and three back at the garage. Had it been more?
Steadying herself against the base of the oak tree, she took several slow, deep breaths to calm her breathing. She didn’t hear a sound, but suddenly a man stepped into view about fifteen feet away. Had her shots given away her position to the bounty hunters? Man or werewolf? She didn’t know and couldn’t take a chance. She fired off a round.
She swore when he ducked out of the way just in time to avoid being hit. Bark exploded from the tree just above her head and she ducked before popping up again to return fire with two quick shots. As she pulled back behind the tree, she admonished herself for wasting her ammunition.
“That’s what he’s trying to do and you’re obviously playing into his hands,” she muttered as she shifted to the next tree. The man shot at her again, but this time she didn’t return his fire. She’d already wasted three of her precious bullets on him. She needed to make every shot count.
“Come on out,” a male voice yelled. “We don’t want to hurt you. We only want the wolf.”
Yeah right. Like she’d believe that. She crept as quietly as possible through the trees, scooting from one to another. Another shot grazed the tree in front of her and she flinched.
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the forest. Alex wanted to cover her ears against the horrid sound, but couldn’t move. Then silence. Joshua had found one of the bounty hunters.
Alex swallowed, but it wasn’t easy. Her mouth was as dry as sandpaper. Her stomach churned. She took a deep breath and then another. She dropped to her knees and sucked in air just as another shot rang out, shattering the bark just inches from her chest. Splinters of wood flew wildly and she was thankful for the protection of her leather jacket.
Flinging her body to the side, she fired from flat on her stomach, sending three quick shots in the direction of the shooter. She was swearing even as she was dragging her body across the forest floor. They had somehow surrounded her. And just where in the heck was Joshua?