Chapter 4
Zayd
Run.
It’s the only thought I can hold onto as I push my broken body far past its limits, every step sending another wave of agony that threatens to bring me to my knees. My mangled wing smacks into my side and I hiss in a sharp breath through gritted teeth, but keep going.
Don’t stop. Can’t stop.
If they catch me again… I don’t know if I’ll survive it. Not in this state.
Paws hit the frozen asphalt of the road and I push harder until there’s a flash of bright lights and a brutal impact knocks me on my ass in a blinding wave of crippling agony.
Every inhale sends a new lance of pain piercing through my chest, and I can’t draw in a full breath without my vision darkening at the edges.
The creak of a car door opening has me scraping up the last vestiges of adrenaline I haven’t burned through to get to shaky legs, snow crunching beneath me. I don’t give myself time to gain my bearings. I can’t.
They found me.
Peeling my aching body off the pavement, I sprint off at the sound of a man and woman’s voice as the huge shifter peels himself out of the now-dented SUV; wolf, if my senses aren’t as damaged as the rest of me.
Forcing my broken wing to endure the agony, I glide far enough away and around a bend of trees, where it’ll be harder to pick up my tracks in the snow.
Every extra second I can buy myself could mean the difference between freedom and being stuffed into a cage again.
Starved. Shocked. Hauled out only to endure another round of torture and interrogation.
Can’t go back. Gotta keep running.
Ignoring the blistering agony as my broken bones grind against each other, I pick up my pace, the trees turning into buildings as I run until my vision goes spotty. Sticking to the shadows, I eventually find a small crevice off the beaten path and wedge myself inside right before I collapse.