Chapter 18
Idrove until morning before the truck finally sputtered and died.
I’d been running on empty for the last hour, but I’d hoped I’d find civilization before the old rust bucket gave out.
No such luck. In all the time I’d been driving these endless dirt roads, I’d seen nothing.
No wolves, were or otherwise, but also no people. Not even a road sign.
I searched the glove compartment, finding two more chocolate bars but no water, not even a map. Not even a damned gun. Frustrated, I climbed out and searched the truck bed. I found a spare gas canister, empty. That was it. I kicked the wheel of the truck, cursing Oatis.
Calm down, Iona. You’ve come too far to lose your shit now.
I took a breath, reminding myself I needed to stay quiet. I’d put a lot of miles between myself and the pack lands. If I was lucky, they wouldn’t pick up my scent.
I clenched my hands and shook them out, trying to rid myself of the anxiety. I was going to need a lot of luck to get through the next part of my journey. With a dead vehicle, I had no choice but to continue on foot.
I’d been lost in the wild before, but I wasn’t being chased then. I could take my time hunting, finding a safe place to rest, searching for water. I couldn’t do that now. I had to be quick, quiet, using only my wits and what was in my pack to survive.
I could do this.
Grabbing my pack, I climbed up into the bed of the truck. I needed to take stock of everything I had. I opened it up and saw the knife I stole from the hen party. It glared up at me, igniting a tiny flicker of guilt in my gut.
For a moment, I allowed myself to think of the females. Had Kole figured out how I’d escaped? Had he punished them for it? I shook the thought away, reminding myself how pleased they had been at what was being done to me. They weren’t my friends.
I put them to the side and emptied the rest of my pack.
I had spare underwear, socks, and a shirt, a sleeping bag, sunscreen, and a small torch.
I smiled at the water filter and purification tablets, those things were going to save my life out here.
I could go weeks without food, but water?
Water I needed. I had a fishing line and hooks too, not that I would have time for fishing, I had to stay moving, but being able to fish if I was starving was an option I wasn’t going to complain about.
I had two water bottles, one empty, the other two thirds full. I also had the cake knife, the swiss army knife from Oatis’ keys, and his skinning knife sheathed on my hip. The two chocolate bars I’d found in the glove compartment were my only food.
These items were now all that stood between me and dying out here.
I tried not to let the thought overwhelm me, but for once, I was afraid of the wild.
I’d been in some tight spots before, been more lost with less, but then the worst outcome was death.
Now the idea of being caught by Kole and dragged back to his pack was worse.
I would rather die than go back to that.
Which, if the Gulfs got hold of me, might be exactly what happened.
It was ironic that if I sat here and waited, eventually the Maclays would find me and I would be saved.
They would take me back, feed me, and I wouldn’t have to worry about slow starvation or grizzly bears.
But visions of me in that white silk dress, raped and bitten in front of the entire pack, in front of the Elders’ smug faces. It sickened me.
I packed up, tightened my boot laces, and set off.
I could do this.
I kept to the treeline, following the road but keeping myself hidden. I set a jogging pace, one I intended to keep up for the whole day. It was dangerous, burning calories with little food to replenish them, but a slow pace meant a greater chance of being caught so it was an easy decision to make.
Getting in Oatis’s truck had either saved or killed me. It would have killed off my scent but it had also got me lost. I took comfort in the knowledge that the road had to lead somewhere. Sooner or later I would find help. A park ranger, a tour guide…someone.
Hours passed, and by midday I had to slow to a walk.
I ate a quarter of a chocolate bar and drank a little water before picking up the pace again.
After a night of no sleep and high adrenaline, I was running on fumes, but I had no choice.
If I was still lost tonight, I would sleep then, but while the sun was up I had to keep going.
The pack rubbed against my lower back as I jogged. The friction mixed with my sweat was going to cause some nasty blisters by the end of the day, but that was a problem for later.
I was sinking back into my rhythm when I heard a sound that had my blood running cold. A howl that wasn’t nearly far enough away. My throat thickened with fear. The sound was only miles away in the direction I’d just come from. They were close.
No, no, no.
I took off. Crossing the road, I ran into the woods, moving in the opposite direction of the sound. I didn’t want to lose the road but it would be too easy for them to find me if I stuck to it.
I pumped my legs as hard as I could, moving swiftly through the trees, but the howl continued, other voices joining and spreading maybe a mile behind me.
They’d found my scent. Now all they had to do was catch up, which they would in minutes.
I didn’t know what I was hoping for, Maclay or Gulf wolves, either way I’d rather be dead.
Rage and fear pooled in my gut but I didn’t stop running, I wasn’t going to make it easy for them. Oatis’s knife bounced at my hip. If I was lucky, I’d get to take one of them down with me.
I ran for all I was worth when suddenly I heard something that gave me hope.
Water.
Water was good. I headed for it, the sound growing as I got closer. The ground levelled up, pushing me up towards a high ridge on a steep incline.
The yips were getting louder. What had been a mile away was now so much closer, but I might just make it.
I looked up, panting. I could see the cliff edge and knew I had backed myself into a corner. But I had no choice. I couldn’t outrun them.
My calves burned as I sprinted up the hill. I could hear the wolves now, not just their yips but their breathing, their heavy footfalls pounding the earth.
I reached the top and skidded to a halt. This was higher up than I’d thought, and water rushed far below, crashing over rocks in rapid waves. This kind of water was bad. Very bad.
I turned to back up but it was too late.
Five wolves emerged from the tree line, each a foot taller than me.
Relief hit as I realised they were Maclay wolves, then fear as I noticed the centre wolf, the largest one.
Kole. My legs trembled as I took in his giant, tan form, but I stiffened them. I would not cower in front of him.
“I’m not going back with you.”
They paused. A smaller, grey wolf on Kole’s left whined at me.
It was Konnor’s wolf. I don’t know how I knew that, but I felt his familiarity.
The other three I didn’t recognise. They could be Marcus or Carrick or anyone, all I knew was that none of them were Kallum.
I swallowed. I couldn’t focus on that now.
My heart thudded in my chest, panic roiling through my every vein as I tried to figure out a way out of this.
Kole shifted. His skin slick with sweat, he was bare and beautiful but I didn’t have time to dwell on that.
I was too focused on the scarring stretching over half of his torso.
Had he been injured during the fight? Is that why they took so long to catch up to me?
Worry hit me hard, worry for him. He was suffering.
Pain shone on his face, his green eyes warm with?—
He took a step toward me, that one small movement snapping me out of my trance.
“Don’t come any closer!”
He stopped in his tracks, his hands raised. He looked scared. Nothing like the ruthless Alpha I knew.
“Iona, come away from the edge.” His voice was somehow comforting, and my tired body yearned for it. I gritted my teeth against the wretched bond. I wouldn’t let it bend me.
“I’m not going back!” I yelled, forcing myself to sound fierce. “I won’t!”
Kole studied me, those eyes electric. I could feel his power reaching for me and I clenched my fists. Of course he would try to force me into submission.
“Don’t you do that to me! I’ll jump, I swear.”
“Okay, okay…” He raised his hands again.
His chest heaved with exertion. I was sure he’d been running all day and night.
Something deep inside urged me to go to him, to step away from the danger and run to his arms. But I refused.
The bond was a lie. A cruel trickery. I knew the truth.
I knew what he was going to do if I took a step closer.
“Iona, please. Come back with me. My people, they need?—”
“I don’t care!” I screamed. “I can’t let you do that t— stop moving!” His wolves had been fanning out around him, inching closer while my focus was on him. I took another step back and they paused, each wolf watching, tense. I could see their hind quarters ready to pounce.
Konnor shifted. “Luna, we’re not going to hurt you, we can talk and?—”
“Liar!” I was losing it, losing control of my strength, but I was beyond caring now.
Ever since I’d met Kole I’d shown him my strongest side.
I hadn’t cried or shown how truly terrified I was.
But I was at the edge now, and the time for wearing masks was over.
“You’re lying. He’s going to hurt me.” I pointed at Kole who raised his hands again.
“I won’t. Just come away from the edge, please.” His hands were shaking, his eyes looked manic, and I wondered if they mirrored my own.
I took another step back, sparing a glance over the edge. I was inches away from falling.
“You jump, you’ll die,” Kole called out. I looked at him with as much venom as I could muster.
“I’d rather die than be yours.”
I watched as something broke inside him. His face fell, a deadness taking over his eyes. It was as if I’d reached in his chest and pulled his soul right out.
I looked at him, at the future that meant worse than death. I took a breath and for a moment, I looked up at the sky, resigned. I shrugged off my pack and immediately the wolves began to yip.
“Don’t…” Kole forced the word between clenched teeth. I could see how hard he was fighting to keep his wolf away from me. “What will it take? What do I have to do to keep you away from that edge?”
“My freedom. Give me my freedom back.” Silence hung between us as I waited, wondering if he would save my life.
“I can’t.”
At least he hadn’t lied. He could have, to get me away from the edge. Wind rushed through my hair. An eagle called out in the distance. I didn’t need him to give me my freedom now. I could feel it. Even if it was only for a few moments.
My pack weighed heavy in my hand and I looked down at the water. There were rocks down there and the current was so fast…If I was lucky I would hit my head and drown. It would be quick.
One of his wolves broke out into a run and that was all I needed to turn for the edge.
“No, Iona, please!” Kole’s eyes were wide with a look I had never seen there before. He looked...human. That was the last thing I saw before my feet left the cliff. “NO!” His anguished scream was swallowed up by the rushing water.
It was cold. So, so cold.