Prologue #2
“Hell yes. Okay, three more, and we’re out of here.” The man grinned triumphantly up at me, and I finally placed him.
Samuel. Pack Blackwater. He was ruddy cheeked, and his thick thatch of brown hair canted down over one eyebrow.
Tepid relief tried to work its way in, but I was too beaten down to feel truly excited. We weren’t out of this hellhole yet, and the chains were making a lot of noise as he snatched them apart.
But in another moment, both of my feet were free—cuffed, but no longer attached, at least—and that was more freedom than I’d had in weeks.
To my shame, tears prickled my eyes as my arm came down, the muscles burning and protesting as he lowered my shoulder to its normal position for the first time in more than a day and night.
Dominik hadn’t bothered to release my arms since he hadn’t fed me in days.
I swore under my breath, and Samuel grimaced.
“I’m really sorry, Luce, but I’ve got to get you out of here quickly.
It’s just me and you, and if Dominik catches sight of us, he’s going to send the whole pack after us.
There’s no signal in these woods to call for backup, but I didn’t want to hike back and leave you down here any longer. ”
“So we can’t get caught. Got it,” I wheezed as much as spoke the words, probably from that broken rib Dominik gifted me with yesterday.
Although, I hadn’t been wheezing before, so maybe he broke something new while I was still out? Didn’t matter. Samuel found me. We had to get out. There was no time to think about anything else.
I might get my revenge after all. The thought was fleeting, pain clouding out any chance of more as I had to take my own weight.
He made pretty quick work of the last chain and, with a shudder, released the call on his wolf. The fur faded along his arms, and the sharp claws faded into blunt human fingertips.
“Can you walk?”
I was barely standing, but like fuck was I going to admit it. “I’m good. Let’s go.”
I only made it one step before my knees buckled, and I would have face-planted into the nearest wall if Samuel hadn’t caught me up under the arms.
“Okay, tough guy. New rule: you be honest about your condition, so we don’t make stupid mistakes.”
I grunted with half acknowledgment, half pain as he looped my right arm over his shoulder to hold me up. Our ascent out of the weird dirt cave I’d been held prisoner in was slow, my body protesting every single step.
But I wasn’t looking a gift escape in the mouth, so I bit my bottom lip until it bled, and knuckled under.
Samuel took most of my weight, but even so, every step was excruciating.
In my feet, yes, but by the time we made it to the surface, the pain in my face and abdomen was white-hot and throbbing.
I didn’t know what Dom did to me this time, but I must really have hit a nerve with the line about him being a bastard.
That, or he really had been possessed by the spirit of my depraved father there at the end.
I must have made a noise, because Samuel looked down at me and frowned.
“Shit. Why didn’t you tell me you were bleeding?”
“Been bleeding for weeks. Not worth mentioning.” The words came out too quiet, and my head felt light, like a balloon trying to float away.
I was so out of it, I couldn’t even appreciate the fresh air and sunshine, which I’d so badly missed over the last few weeks.
If I passed out, he’d have to carry me, which would take twice as long and double our chances of getting caught.
Samuel hobbled us over to the nearest tree and sat me down where I could lean against the trunk, lifting my ragged, bloody shirt to get a better look at my abdomen. Sitting down did feel better, but we couldn’t afford the break. He and I both knew it.
“Fuck me.”
“What is it?” I asked, not bothering to lift my burning arms to check for myself.
There was a long pause, and I could see his decision to lie to me play across his features before he intentionally blanked his face. “It’s nothing. You’re just more busted up than I realized. We’ve got to get you to a medic.”
Yeah, whatever was going on with my gut? It wasn’t nothing. But if we didn’t get out of here, it wouldn’t matter because I’d be worm bait.
“Hoist me back up. I’ll live.” And if I don’t, I don’t want to kick it here.
To his credit, he didn’t pussyfoot around and claim it was going to be roses. He pulled a crinkled water bottle out of his back pocket and shoved it into my hands, and as soon as I had taken a few blessedly cool swallows, he was back to business.
Samuel’s mouth was set in a determined line as he pulled me to my feet and used the momentum to heft me all the way onto his shoulders into a fireman’s carry.
He grunted as my full weight hit him, but a moment later, he pressed back up to standing, and then we were running.
Every step jolted and jarred things that really couldn’t handle the impact, but I gritted my teeth and hung on the best I could while he dodged trees and periodically stopped to listen for pursuit. I considered it a win that I stayed conscious.
Eventually, we hit a small clearing, what looked like the very rough end of a remote logging track. A black Jeep sat facing the road, and I breathed a sigh of relief as we broke out of the trees.
Until Samuel went stiff and slid me off his shoulders. I swayed on my feet as he whispered, “Just get in the truck and lock the doors. Don’t let them get their hands on you, and if you have to, leave me.”
Yeah, right. Even behind the wheel, I wouldn’t make it far before I passed out. The bottom of my shirt and the left leg of my pants were saturated in thick, sticky blood. Running through the woods had been faster, but it hadn’t been easy on my battered body.
But Samuel didn’t give me a chance to argue. One second, he was a man, the next, he was a wolf, bolting into the forest back in the direction we’d come.
Angry howls pierced the air, and I got moving. If we had to make a hasty getaway a second time, I’d like to be in the damn Jeep, where I could pass out in peace.
Progress was painstakingly slow, and twice I stumbled and fell to the ground, each time harder to get back to my feet than the last. But my eyes were locked on the passenger door, and somewhere inside, the burning will to live urged me forward.
Okay, live and get revenge on the fuckers who did this to me.
When my fingertips finally met the blessedly cool door handle, I could have wept with relief. I fumbled a bit as I pulled open the door and hauled myself into the tan leather seats, which were about to be destroyed by my filth.
“Hopefully, he got the rental insurance,” I muttered, pulling the door closed with a satisfying snap. I wanted to close my eyes and sleep for a hundred years, but I forced myself to look around, see if there was food or water to help my wolf heal some of these wounds.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to go far. There was a still-cold bottle of water in the cup holder, and the center console was full of beef jerky and protein bars with writing on the wrappers I couldn’t read.
Hot damn, I’d never been so happy to see a piece of meat as tough as shoe leather. I chugged half a bottle of water, not wanting to push it, and then chewed my way through three pieces of jerky before Samuel showed up.
He was bruised, bleeding, and naked, but he was still a damn sight better off than I was. He slid into the driver’s seat and threw the Jeep into Drive without bothering to put on a seat belt.
I glanced up as he pulled away, catching sight of something in the rearview mirror. It was a shifter, no, two—one arguing, pointing our way. The other, holding him back.
I blacked out before we made it out of the forest.