“I suppose you want me to take that.”
He nodded and she groaned. “I’m talking to a wolf. Do you have any idea how weird this is for me?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but kept on muttering to herself as she grabbed the handgun, checked the safety and stuffed it in the waistband of her jeans. She jammed the hunting knife back in its sheath and shoved it in her coat pocket before gathering up his clothing and boots.
“I need to find my Glock and my knives.” She started to go around him, but he moved in front of her, blocking her path. There was no time. The wolf that had escaped was moving fast. There was no way of knowing how close the other members of his group were. There would be more of them. Of that, Joshua had no doubt. They had to move. Now.
“I guess that’s a no.”
Bitterness filled him. He wished they were mated. If they had completed the mating ritual, if he had claimed her for his own as his wolf was demanding, she’d have been able to hear his thoughts and to communicate with him mentally. That would have been a huge advantage when he’d been fighting the others. He’d have known what was happening to her at all times. When the shots had rung out, his heart had almost stopped. It was only when he’d heard the return fire that he’d managed to start breathing again.
Sometimes honor was a bitch.
They’d talk about this later. The important thing now was that they needed a safe place to hole up for the night. Their enemies were still searching for them, the sun was sinking and total darkness wasn’t too far away.
Alex was holding his clothing in her arms, her body swaying with fatigue. He hated the fact she couldn’t rest, but since there was nothing he could do about it now, he put it out of his mind as he nudged her body and then padded into the woods. He paused and glanced over his shoulder. Alex was staring at him.
“We’re just going to leave them, I guess.” She stared down at the carcasses that were flung carelessly across the dirt. She sighed and swallowed hard. He stood motionless, watching her gather her strength once again. Pride filled him when she shook herself, tilted her chin upward and stalked toward him. She never looked back as he led her deeper into the forest.
There was a cave not too far from here that would afford them some safety. Joshua recognized the area. He’d scouted this land when he’d been little more than a boy. Now, he was glad he had. Being familiar with it would give them an edge. And right now they could use any advantage they could get.
Alex stumbled behind the gigantic black wolf. Joshua! It was amazing to her, yet all too real that this magnificent predator was the same man who’d brought her a T-shirt because she needed clean clothing and who’d stopped and bought her a coffee earlier today for no other reason than because he’d known she’d wanted one.
She’d seen more blood and death this afternoon than she had in her entire lifetime. And she’d kill again if she had to. Staring down at her hands, she was unable to believe that they weren’t coated in blood. Sure, they were stained from where she’d bandaged Joshua’s injury, and from where she’d struggled to shove the dead werewolf off her, but that was it.
Somehow, she felt as if there should be more. She knew she’d done what she’d had to do to protect herself and Joshua, but still, it wasn’t easy.
The new life that had been thrust upon her was certainly more violent than the one she had left behind, and that was saying something considering where she’d grown up.
Swiping the back of her hand over her forehead, she then wiped it over the leg of her jeans. She was exhausted. Her legs and feet had long passed the burning-muscle stage and were almost completely numb. Her arm ached from carrying Joshua’s clothing. It wasn’t a large bundle, but it seemed as if she’d been lugging it around forever.
Realistically, she knew it had probably only been for two hours, maybe less, but it was hard going. There were no trails and she was constantly having to scramble over fallen trees and push her way through thick brush. She almost resented how easily Joshua maneuvered through the woods in his wolf form. She wondered what it must feel like to be that strong and agile. She guessed she’d eventually find out.
If she lived long enough.
She bit her lip to keep from asking to stop. There was no way she’d give in to weakness. Besides which, she knew they couldn’t stop. One of the wolves had gotten away and that could only mean one thing. There would be even more enemies on their trail.
When Joshua finally stopped at the base of a rather large hill, she almost cried with relief. Then she almost cried in agony when he started up the steep incline. She sucked in a deep breath and stared at the rocky hill. She could do this. There was no other choice.
Sighing, she put one foot in front of the other, being very careful where she placed her boot. As tired as she was, it wouldn’t take much for her to lose her focus and stumble. She couldn’t afford a sprained ankle or something worse at this point.
She concentrated on her breathing, which was becoming more labored with each step. Her sweat-stained clothes were sticking to her and she felt curiously detached from her body. One step. Then another. There was nothing else she had to think about. Nothing else she had to do. She trusted Joshua to stay alert.
She stumbled when she reached the top. Flinging out her hand, she managed to keep from ending up facedown in the dirt, but it was close. Her hand skidded out from beneath her and Joshua’s clothing went flying. She rested there on her hands and knees, her head bent as she sucked some air into her starving lungs. It hadn’t been a long climb, but it had taken what little energy she’d had in reserve.
Warm fur brushed against her cheek and she managed to raise her head. She found herself peering into concerned brown eyes. “I’m okay.” Lifting one of her hands out of the dirt, she stroked it over his side. She frowned when her fingers encountered something wet and sticky. Drawing back her hand, she stared down, horrified by the blood that dripped from the tips of her fingers. “You’re hurt!”
She scrambled to her feet, her fatigue washed away in a rush of adrenaline and concern. His black fur and her exhaustion had hid the fact that he was badly injured. The wolf backed away from her and if an animal could shrug, then this one did. The total unconcern for the state of his health was so familiar she wanted to scream.
“Oh yeah. You just go ahead and bleed to death. See if I care.” Stomping past him, she continued to beat a path through the woods. She had no idea where she was going, but what did it matter? “You get yourself killed and they’ll eventually find my petrified bones at some point I suppose.” She knew her anger was unreasonable, but she wasn’t feeling really reasonable after everything she’d been through the past few days.
Her hand was captured in the wolf’s strong jaw again, and when she tried to pull away, he clamped down tighter. Not hurting her, but letting her know who was in charge of this expedition. She glared down at the huge beast. “So which way are we going?”
He tugged her back in the opposite direction from which she’d been traveling. “It figures,” she muttered. Resigned, she tromped after him, stopping to scoop up his now dirty clothes as she went. Her adrenaline rush was giving her a much-needed boost. She knew she was on borrowed time though. When she crashed this time, there would be no going on until she rested. She could only hope they were getting closer to whatever destination Joshua had in mind.
The wolf stopped at the top of the path and disappeared behind some heavy brush. She paused when she reached the spot she’d last seen him and really looked around her. Being high up, she had a good view of the area. It was strange and unsettling for a city girl like herself to see nothing but forest as far as the eye could see. She was well and truly out of her element.