Chapter 26
Charlie
The alpha dingo’s hackles rose, every muscle in his body coiling. Then he lunged at me.
His sharp, bloody fangs snapped shut just inches from my knee.
"Get away!" I swung the torch with everything I had, flames streaking orange through the darkness. He dodged back at the last second, paws skidding in the dirt, but his eyes locked onto mine. Yellow-green. Unblinking. Evil.
The other dogs were getting bolder. The circle tightened, inch by inch, a wall of matted fur and fangs closing in on me. Their ribs jutted out beneath mangy coats, and they stunk of wet fur and old blood. These weren't well-fed animals. They were starving.
And I was meat.
Beside me, two of them snarled at each other, snapping over territory, or who'd get the first bite of me. Out in the darkness, more howls echoed in long, rising calls that made my blood run cold. Were they calling more dogs?
The torch flickered in my hand, flames sputtering lower and weaker. The main fire crackled, and my stomach dropped. The flames were dying.
Oh, God. The fire's going out.
Panic clawed up my throat. I'm running out of time. Running out of options.
As I swung the torch again, driving back a scrawny female creeping toward my left side, I scanned the tree above me. A low-hanging branch was two feet above my head. Thick enough to hold my weight. But was it high enough to keep me safe from them?
It was the only shot I had.
As I sucked in huge breaths, lungs burning, getting ready to move, I studied the branch above me, memorizing its exact position, calculating the distance. I had one chance.
If I missed, I was dead.
Clenching my jaw, I stepped toward the fire, sweeping the flaming branch in a wide arc, forcing back the closest dingoes.
I tossed the torch back onto the main fire, and their snarls filled my ears as I ran at the tree and jumped.
A cry tore from my throat as my hands grasped for the branch. Rough bark bit into my palms as I swung my legs up hard, using every bit of momentum I had. My bare feet slammed against the wood, and white-hot pain exploded through the raw, shredded flesh on my heels.
One dog tried to climb after me, his claws scraping against tree bark.
I shrieked as my feet slipped away. My legs dropped, swinging wildly beneath me, and a scream ripped out of my throat.
The pack went wild below me. Snarling, leaping, snapping at my dangling feet.
I kicked one in the head, and it yelped and raced away. But another one took its place, and I tried to kick it, too.
There were too many of them. Move, Charlie, or they will eat you!
I swung my legs up again, every muscle shaking. My biceps burned with fire. Come on. Come on. But my body wouldn't obey. I was too heavy, too weak. Days of dehydration and exhaustion had drained everything out of me, and I had nothing left.
I hung there by my hands, arms stretched overhead, and my bare legs completely exposed.
The dogs circled around me, their snarls rising higher and higher.
A scrawny female lunged at me, and her jaws opened wide, teeth snapping at my ankle.
I kicked hard, and my foot connected with her snout.
She yelped and fell back, but the others pressed closer.
Two dingoes dug at the base of the tree, dirt flying as if they couldn’t control their frenzy.
The smell of them rose up. Rank and wild, with blood and decay.
I dug my fingers into the branch, and clenching my jaw, I kicked up again, fighting gravity. My biceps screamed, shaking and burning. But I got nowhere.
My shoulders tore apart. The tree above me swam in and out of focus.
I can't do this.
As my heart hammered so hard it pounded in my neck, I looked down.
Shit!
The pack circled beneath me. I counted seven. Eight. In the flickering firelight, their eyes were pure evil, watching every move I made. Jaws hung open, and their wet tongues flopped out as they panted. Saliva dripped from yellowed teeth. Most of them just stared up at me, heads tilted, waiting.
Waiting for me to fall.
Waiting to tear me apart.
One still scratched at the dirt below the branch, claws scraping as a low whine built in its throat. The alpha paced back and forth, its dripping tongue spilled from its mouth.
Gritting my teeth, I swung my legs up one more time. My abs cramped, my shoulders burned, but I got my left ankle over the branch.
The bark ground into my heel, and white-hot agony exploded up my leg. I bit down on a scream, tasting blood where I'd cut my tongue. Tears blurred my vision, but I held on.
A female dingo launched herself upward, body twisting, jaws snapping. Her teeth snapped shut an inch from my right foot. Her slobber splattered across my ankle, hot and wet.
"Get away!" I kicked at her face and used the swing to hook my right foot over my left ankle.
My heels slammed into the rough bark, shredding my raw wounds, and another scream tore out of me.
Below, the pack howled in chorus, a terrifying cry that vibrated through the air. Somewhere in the distance, another dingo answered. And then another joined in.
Oh, God. How many are there?
I glanced down as a young male crouched, muscles bunching. He lunged at me, and his muzzle hit my hair. As he fell, a few strands caught in his teeth, and I screamed as he yanked the hair out of my scalp.
If they get a solid grip on my hair, they’ll drag me down. But I couldn't let go to tuck my hair away. Couldn't move at all.
"Help!" My cry tore out of my throat. "Mitch! Help me!"
Sweat made my palms slick, and my hands slid, bit by bit, bark scraping skin. My fingers had locked into claws around the branch, but they were numb. I couldn't tell if I was even gripping anymore. Sweat dripped into my eyes, mixed with tears that I couldn't blink away.
"I'm slipping! Help!"
I shifted my grip, one hand then the other, fingers scrabbling for purchase. But my hands were too weak. Oh God. I'm falling.
Something slammed into my lower back.
Gasping, I twisted, looking down. The alpha had Mitch's shirt clamped between his teeth, hanging in midair, thrashing. The fabric stretched tight across my chest, pulling at my shoulders and arms.
"No!" A scream tore out of me. "Help!"
His full weight dragged at me. The branch dug deeper into my ankles, and my body slid lower, inch by inch.
The alpha whipped his head side to side, and every movement yanked me down. I was barely holding on.
Below, the pack erupted into yips and snarls, sensing the kill. Two of them fought each other, snapping and lunging, competing for position.
"Get off!" I twisted my hips, trying to shake him loose, but the movement made my grip weaken, and I froze.
"Mitch! Somebody! Help!"
Fabric ripped near my spine. For one wild second, I thought the shirt would tear free. But it held.
My left hand slid.
I'm going to fall.
The thought arrived calm and certain, as if someone else were thinking it.
I'm going to die.
The words echoed in my head, cold and final.
I'd never see Mitch again. Never know if he’d found Zeus. Never kiss him again, never tell him how he'd gotten under my skin in ways I didn't understand.
He'd come back and find just my blood and torn flesh. Maybe scattered bones.
Maybe nothing at all.
My fingers were so numb I couldn't feel the branch. Couldn't feel anything except blind terror crushing my chest.
I don't want to die.
A sob burst from my throat. "I don't want to die!"
The dingo pulled harder, growling low in his throat. Other dogs yipped and howled.
"Help!" The word came out broken, desperate. "Somebody, help me!"
The ripping got louder. The shirt was giving way, threads snapping one by one.
Tears poured down my face, cutting tracks through the dirt and sweat.
I screamed. No words, just primal fear pouring out of me until my throat burned, my voice cracked, and nothing came out but a ragged wheeze.
A pounding rhythmic beat sounded in the distance.
What's that?
It grew louder.
"Help!" I forced the word out through my shredded throat.
I rolled my head back, searching the darkness beyond the firelight, but saw nothing.
The pounding grew louder. Steady. Fast.
Hoofbeats.
Oh my . That's a horse.
"Mitch!" His name came out as a sob. "Mitch, help!"
A few of the dingoes' heads snapped toward the sound, ears pricking forward. They glanced between me and the approaching noise. One released a short, sharp bark. A warning.
Hope blazed in my chest. Wild, impossible hope.
"Mitch! I'm here!"
Zeus exploded into the firelight.
The horse was enormous, all muscle and speed, and he didn't slow down.
He charged straight into the pack, and a dingo was crushed under his hooves.
The others scattered, yelping, scrambling over each other to get away.
The alpha let go of the shirt, and as he fell, Zeus's back hoof caught him square in the ribs.
The impact made a sickening thud. The dog hit the ground hard, then lurched to its feet and scampered into the shadows.
Zeus skidded to a stop directly beneath me, sides heaving, foam flecking his neck.
Mitch stood in the stirrups, reaching for me. "Charlie!" His voice cut through everything.
His arm locked around my waist. "I've got you." His voice was pure steel. "Let go, Charlie. I've got you."
I couldn't make my hands obey. My fingers were cramped and frozen. "I'll fall," I gasped.
"No, you won't." His arm tightened, taking my weight. "Let go. I won't let you fall."
I forced my ankles to slip free of the branch first. Mitch caught me, and his arms were iron bands across my ribs.
"That's it. I've got you. Let go now." His calm tone cracked through my senses.
My fingers screamed in protest as I released my grip.
I dropped into Mitch's arms. He pulled me against his bare chest, and I sat sideways across his lap, my side pressed against his bare chest as he embraced me in his warmth.
The tattered remains of his shirt hung from my shoulders, barely holding together.
"I've got you," he said again, quieter this time, his breath warm against my ear.
Around us, the dingo pack circled closer, regrouping. A low snarl rose from the alpha.
"Hold on to me," Mitch said.
I wrapped my arm around his bicep, hugging myself to him. His free hand gathered the reins.
Zeus shifted beneath us, tossing his head.
"Easy, boy," Mitch murmured. "Let's go." He clicked his tongue.
As Zeus moved forward at a steady walk, Mitch kept one arm locked around me, holding me securely as he guided the horse through the pack.
The dingoes didn't attack. They watched us pass, heads low, hackles raised, but they kept their distance from Zeus's hooves.
We moved away from the dying fire, away from the tree, into the darkness beyond.
As my eyes adjusted, the landscape emerged in silver-blue light.
The moon hung low and full on the horizon, casting long shadows across the scrub, while above us the Milky Way blazed across the sky in a river of stars.
The sounds of snarling faded behind us, replaced by the rhythmic thud of Zeus's hooves and Mitch's steady breathing near my ear.
"Are you hurt?" Mitch asked.
A knot the size of the moon wedged in my throat, making it impossible to answer. I shook my head. My chin dimpled. A sob spilled from my throat.
"Hey, it's okay. You're safe now."
"They were going to eat me." My shoulders shook as great heaving sobs burst from my lips.
Mitch pulled Zeus to a stop and let go of the reins. He wrapped both arms around me, one warm hand cupping my cheek as he held my head against his bare chest. As I cried, really, truly ugly cried, he just held me, as if knowing that was exactly what I needed.
He ran his hand over my hair, murmuring things I couldn't hear.
After an eternity, I sniffed back my stupid emotions and eased away from his chest. "Sorry," I blurted.
"Hey, don't you say that." His hand still cupped my cheek, and he wiped away a tear. "You're incredible."
I shook my head. "I thought I was going to die."
"I should’ve got to you sooner." His jaw tightened.
"You didn't know."
A frown drilled across his forehead as he shook his head. "If anything had happened to you…"
I looked up at him. Moonlight silvered a few hairs in his short beard, and concern shimmered in his eyes. "You saved me. Again."
His gaze dropped to my mouth. His expression shifted to so damn sexy my breath hitched. He slid his hand into my hair, angled my face toward his, and crushed his lips to mine.
This wasn't a gentle kiss like last time.
This was need and fear and relief all tangled together.
His kiss was fierce, demanding, and I parted my lips for him.
He kissed me as if he was claiming me, like he'd almost lost me, and now he was making damn sure I knew I was his.
His other arm hugged tightly around my waist, crushing me against his bare chest.
I kissed him back just as hard, curling my fingers around his neck, holding on and anchoring me to the world. Because right now, he was.
When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard. I didn't see a question in his eyes. I saw desire and need.
His thumb traced my bottom lip. "Charlie." My name was a rough whisper. A promise. A yearning.
My heart twisted in my chest. I was falling for him. Hard. Fast. Recklessly.
But he belonged out here under vast skies and endless red dirt, with dust in his veins and sun-scorched earth beneath his boots. I didn't even know where I belonged anymore. We lived in different worlds. Different lives.
This, whatever this was, it was temporary. A moment stolen from reality and driven by pure chaos.
And that made his kiss, his tender touches, and every heartbeat against his bare chest both precious and devastating.