She was reaching for a stake to destroy it when the approaching howls of its friends stilled her hand. There wasn’t enough time to finish this thing. She scrambled to her feet and fled into the woods. She ignored the unforgiving beating the branches delivered to her as she ran.
Everything became a blur to her—the past, the present, the middle, the end. Memories of her siblings and her family drifted through her mind. She heard their laughter, saw their tears, and felt their joy and sadness as she recalled their hugs, punches, kisses, and smiles. They surrounded her in a cocoon of love, one that she left behind to make this world a safer place.
They’d been her rocks her whole life, and now she was adrift in a sea of terror and there were no rocks to save her. She had to live for them. She had to live for…
Declan.
She had no idea why his name popped into her head. She hadn’t seen him in months, and she’d only seen him a few times before he left the compound. That didn’t stop him from haunting her dreams almost every night.
She couldn’t recall the number of nights she dreamt of running her fingers through his thick, dark auburn hair while those impossibly silver eyes held hers. Despite the beauty of those eyes, she’d sensed a sadness behind them the few times they encountered each other, and she longed to ease it from him.
The dreams always caused her to wake aching for more and with the feel of his mouth on hers. Sometimes, she swore she could taste him, but since she had no idea what he tasted like, it couldn’t be true.
And now, with the thud of feet pounding after her, he was on her mind again. She wished she’d gotten the chance to see him again, if only for a minute. No matter how badly she craved those dreams becoming real life, she never would have acted on her feelings. Getting involved with a member of the Alliance was a BAD idea, but she still would have liked to have seen him one last time.
The rushing sound of water filled her ears before she spotted the river. It was moving fast, too fast, but she didn’t have any other options. The idea of drowning wasn’t appealing, but it wouldn’t kill her, and it would wash the blood from her.
The jagged boulders rising from the rapids and the chilly May night didn’t make her hesitate before plunging into the river. Her breath sucked in, and her body screamed against the icy bite of the water. Her lungs seized, and for a full minute, no air entered her chest. Her extremities went numb as the water sloshing around her sprayed her face.
She made it almost halfway into the river before the strong current swept her off her feet. Willow didn’t fight it but allowed the flow to carry her as far from the Savages as fast as it could.
Trying to brush her hair out of her face, Willow spit water from her mouth and tried to keep her eyes cleared, but it was nearly impossible as the water spun her around, bounced her off rocks, and propelled her onward like she was a pinball bouncing off the paddles.
A large boulder loomed out of the dark. The water crashing against it sprayed outward in a sea of white that soaked her face before she smashed against the rock. The blow knocked the air from her lungs, and when she tried to inhale, all she got was a mouthful of icy water.
Unable to see and breathe, and feeling like a bug against a windshield, she placed her palms against the cold, smooth surface. Her muscles strained against the powerful current, but she shoved herself off the rock and shot out into the middle of the river again.
More howls reverberated through the night, but she couldn’t tell how far away they were. And then, the cries were drowned out as the river sucked her under again. Water flooded her nose and throat; bubbles floated past her eyes as she clawed at the water like it was a climbing wall. Except, there was nothing but cold and death for her to grab.
Her lungs burned, and just when she didn’t think she could hold her breath for one more second, the punishing water released her, and she shot up to the surface. Water filled her mouth as she gasped in air; she spit it out and inhaled a greedy lungful of wonderful oxygen.
She had only a few seconds to enjoy her reprieve before she hit another rock. The water turned her to the side as her foot caught under the rock. For what felt like an eternity, but was probably only a minute, her foot remained trapped while the river pulled the rest of her along.
Her leg and ankle were not supposed to stretch that much. Her leg was not supposed to bend in a way that made fire burn through the muscles and bones in it. Then, her leg lost the fight with the water. With a crack, she felt, more than heard, her ankle twisted to the side and she came free of the rock.
As the water swept her further downstream, she tried moving her foot, but when she did, the bones in her ankle grinding together set her teeth on edge. She bit her lip to suppress a cry and went limp to avoid jarring it further. However, the river didn’t care about her discomfort as it relentlessly battered her ankle.
Sick of the water and the beating she’d taken from it, Willow wanted out of the river but, unable to run, she let it carry her. Teeth chattering, ankle throbbing, and inhaling as much water as air, she was exhausted by the time the river bounced her off a rock and spun her toward shore.
Gathering her dwindling strength, she used her numb arms and good foot to swim toward shore. She was almost there when she hit another rock. Her fingers tore at the boulder as every muscle in her frozen body protested the movement. Despite her exhaustion, she pulled herself over the top of it and fell onto the rocky shoreline.
Her calves and feet remained in the water while she lay on the stones, gasping for air and fighting the chills causing her entire body to shake. Barren tree limbs stretched over her head as stars shone overhead, and a crescent moon hung low.
The leaf buds forming on the branches were usually a sign of hope for her, but she didn’t feel any tonight. Hell, she was so cold she couldn’t feel anything. She didn’t have the energy to move, but she couldn’t stay here.
A howl echoed across the land. It was far closer than she’d expected after her journey in the river. If they’d tracked her to the water and knew she’d gone in, they would be here soon.
Chapter Three
With renewed energy and a groan, she turned herself over and, digging her fingers into the loose rocks, pulled herself the rest of the way from the water. Her arms trembled, but she managed to get her hands under her and pushed herself to her knees.
Bones grated, and her ankle screamed in protest when the movement caused her weight to shift onto it. The thing was going to throw a bitch fit when she rose.
Taking a deep breath, Willow braced herself before rising. She bit back a scream when she put weight on her broken ankle. Hobbling toward the woods, the mid-May breeze caused goose bumps to break out on her flesh. Usually, the breeze would be refreshing, but now she cursed it as much as the Savages and her ankle.
When another howl pierced the night, she turned her head toward it. They were getting closer, and there was no way she could outrun them.
Tipping her head back, she studied the trees surrounding her before hobbling toward a gigantic pine tree. A pine tree was not her ideal tree to climb, but with no leaves on the other trees, she didn’t have any other options. At least the scent of the pine would mask her odor.
The only problem was, the lower branches of the pine had all died from lack of sunlight, which left her with nothing to climb. Not being able to catch a break, other than the one in her ankle, was really beginning to piss her off!