Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
The whole world felt like it was spinning off its axis as Lash bolted up the cliffside.
And here I thought I’d finally wrapped my mind around how strong he really was. I’d watched as he’d bashed a tree in half and marveled as he’d carried me all night without breaking a sweat.
But setting what had to be a world record for fastest free climbing as he sprinted above the redwood canopy was some comic book superhero shit.
Or more accurately, when it came to Lash—supervillain.
Heroes didn’t snatch up fleeing women, their hands still dripping with the blood of their last victim, then dangle them over the side of a cliff, hundreds of feet in the air.
On the other hand, a real villain wouldn’t be worried about making sure I reached the top. He’d simply shrug me off his shoulder and let me fall to my death the second I slowed him down.
But for reasons I couldn’t fully explain, I knew that wasn’t going to happen. There was no rational reason for my certainty. Still deep down, I knew Lash wasn’t about to drop me.…at least not intentionally.
The higher he climbed, the stronger the wind grew, until I had to practically wrap my whole body around him just to keep from being blown away.
All I could do was close my eyes, hold on tight, and pray.
And for the first time in years, those prayers were actually answered.
The worst of the gut-cramping terror eased as I felt Lash make the transition from vertical climbing to solid ground. However, I still couldn’t force myself to open my eyes.
Not even as he spoke my name.
“Felicity.” The deep bass of his voice rumbled through his body and into mine. “We made it. You can let go now.”
The trouble was I didn’t want to. As much as I hated to admit it, there was something strangely comforting about the feel of Lash’s body next to mine.
When I still hadn’t unclenched after another couple of seconds, Lash took matters into his own hands.
Wrapping his arm around my waist, he physically pried me off his shoulder, sliding me down his body.
Without a shirt or his coat as a buffer, I could feel every rise and contour of his rock-hard muscles under the thin cover of his clothes.
Damn, he’d felt good.
Better than good.
Perfect.
Just like he had in the dream—hard and thick and taut. The tips of my fingers tingled, and I found myself filled with the urge to reach out and touch him again. To caress his warm body, humming with life and vitality.
What the…?
No!
I stomped the thought out like a cigarette. What the hell was happening to me? I couldn’t fantasize about an alpha. And I sure as hell couldn’t act on those desires. Could I?
Sure, Lash had saved my life, but that didn’t change the fact that he was a stone-cold killer. He’d bragged about murdering Hannah Carter. I’d watched him shred another alpha with his claws. Silvan’s blood was still splattered across his body.
Sure, right now Lash might be the only one in this world of wolves that wasn’t currently looking to sink his teeth into me, but that didn’t mean he was my friend…or that I could trust him.
With that in mind, I took a long step back as soon as my feet hit the dirt.
For a long moment, neither one of us said a word. We just stood face to face in a strange, loaded silence, Lash piercing me with his dark, impenetrable stare. I did my best not to squirm under his gaze, but it wasn’t easy.
The space between us felt heavy. The ground beneath our feet seemed to buzz. The air crackled with…what exactly?
Hostility?
Distrust?
Desire?
Never mind. I didn’t want to know the answer.
Breaking eye contact, I craned my head to gaze over the seemingly endless sea of green splayed out in front of us. From this high lookout, the true scale of the forest came into focus—and it was terrifying.
The Wilds were massive, bigger than I ever could have imagined.
Down in the valley, the woods were so thick that it had been hard to see anything farther than a few feet away.
But up here, the horizon was miles in the distance.
Everywhere I looked, there were steep hills separated by deep gorges.
Sharp, rocky ridges stretched toward the sky, some of them shimmering with the rush of nearby waterfalls.
Slender valleys and dramatic canyons cut through the terrain, stretching out like creeping vines in the low spaces, and in the far distance, the shadows of snow-topped mountains loomed over everything.
The one thing I couldn’t see was the Wall.
How was that possible? The thing was massive—supposedly visible from space. Had we really traveled far enough to lose sight of it in one night?
Apparently.
God only knew how long it was going to take me to get back to it. Or how I’d ever find my way.
“So, uh…what happens now?” Turning my back to Lash, I raised my hands and tried to rub the chill from my bare arms. “Do you want to say goodbye here or?—“
“Goodbye?” He sounded upset…even more upset than usual, if that were possible. I glanced over my shoulder to find the corners of his mouth pulled down, and his eyes narrowed.
“Right.” I nodded. “I should have realized you’re not the formal farewell type. Fine by me. I don’t have anything against an Irish goodbye. But can I get that gun back from you before I start my way back to the Wall?”
“You can’t go back to the Wall.” His voice was firm, bordering on angry.
“Sure, I can.” After making it through the last twelve hours, I had a feeling I could survive just about anything. “I can figure out the general direction. It’s morning, and the sun’s in the west, so that must be south. But if there’s a marked trail or a path you can tell me about?—“
“You know that’s not what I meant.” His shoulders tensed as he readied himself for a fight.
Yeah, of course I did, but I’d chosen to take it the way I wanted. “So that’s a no on the gun?”
The dark fire in his eyes roared to life, and I could only watch as he lifted up the revolver and bent the steel muzzle in front of my eyes.
Well, shit.
“You aren’t going anywhere,” he declared. “Half the alphas in this territory are hunting for you.”
“And whose fault is that?” I shot back.
“Yours.” He didn’t hesitate. “You shot Nelissa in the face.”
“After you pulled your buddy, Silvan, apart like a slab of barbecued pork.”
“Which I only had to do because you threatened him with that ridiculous weapon.”
“Well, I wouldn’t have hidden it in my boot if you hadn’t spent the whole night talking about torturing and killing me!
” Screw protective distance. I was too riled up for that.
Stepping forward, I slammed my open palms against the middle of Lash’s chest—hard.
“You’re the whole reason I’m in any danger in the first place.
If you had left me alone on the other side of the Wall, none of this would have happened. ”
“And if you had just stayed home?—“
Oh, hell no.
Threatening me was bad enough, but trying to shame me for his own actions?
Something in me snapped. Without a single thought for the consequences, I reached up and slapped him across the face.
Or…I tried to.
But somewhere in between the massive difference in our heights, Lash’s incredible speed, and my inexperience with violence, I missed by a mile. He easily grabbed my wrist long before my hand was anywhere near him.
“Don’t,” he warned.
Filled with impotent rage, my frustration hit a boiling point.
“You son-of-a?—“
Before I could finish, Lash snapped me around, pulling my backside flush against his front. One arm strapped across me like a seatbelt, while his other hand clamped over my mouth.
“Shush,” he rasped against my ear.
Oh, fuck this. I didn’t care how fast or strong or homicidal he was. The second let me go, I was going to figure out a way to kick the shit out of him.
But before I could even attempt to wriggle free, his warm breath washed over the back of my neck.
“Stop fighting for one second, and listen,” he whispered.
Reluctantly, I did what he said.
At first, I didn’t hear anything important, just the sound of the wind whipping through the treetops and the shrill caw of distant crows. But as the sound of my own furious pulse pounding against my eardrums started to quiet, I was able to pick up the faint mumble of voices.
“It’s Nelissa’s men,” he said, careful to keep his voice so low and intimate that only I could hear.
Lash wasn’t kidding when he said they’d be out for my blood. With each passing second, the number of voices grew and grew.
Dear God, how many of them were there?
Last night, I’d counted over two dozen down in the camp, but it sounded like there were at least twice as many down there, looking for me. But no matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I couldn’t make out what they were saying. They were too far away, and my ears weren’t that good.
“Can you hear what they’re saying?” I asked once Lash had relaxed his grip over my mouth enough for me to speak.
“They’ve lost our scent,” he whispered. “For now, at least.”
Oh, thank God.
“So what do we do?” I asked.
“We keep moving and find someplace safe to rest.”
He had to be kidding. There was no such thing as a safe place in the Wilds, just varying levels of peril. “Where?”
He didn’t answer right away, and for a few long seconds I was forced to endure the achingly warm press of his body against mine without any distractions.
Until finally, he pointed toward a line of rocky crags along a precipitous ridge a few miles to the north. “ There. We can find shelter there.”
“Caves, you mean?” As much as I wanted to scream hell no, I held my tongue, even as my heart started to hammer. “Like the one in the dream.”
Every muscle in his torso hardened against my backside. “Maybe. Maybe not. Try not to think about it.”
Try not to think about it?
How the hell was I supposed to think about anything else?