She heard the pounding of paws on the dry leaves. She wasn’t going to make it. She had to get higher.
He growled and his claws ripped into her sweater. He didn’t break the skin but he did drag her back down onto the ground. The hard fall knocked the breath from her lungs. He loomed over her, teeth bared. He wasn’t happy.
She dug her fingers into the ground and tried to scramble backward. He caught her jeans between his big jaws and yanked. She ended up flat on her back once again.
She gathered fists full of dirt as she tried to keep from sliding. When he released her, she flung the dirt and leaves at his face, hoping to momentarily blind him.
He howled in fury. She was barely on her knees before he knocked her to the ground again, driving her onto her stomach. Totally vulnerable, there was nothing she could do.
The weight on her back changed, and she knew he’d shifted again. He leaned down and whispered in her ear. “Now we’re going to have some fun.” He shoved his hands under her sweater and yanked. Claws extended and shredded the garment.
He rose long enough to shove her onto her back and pull away the remnants of her sweater and bra, leaving her naked from the waist up. She tried not to show fear but suspected she wasn’t doing a very good job.
The bastard looked too pleased with himself. Some of her fear burned away under the force of her growing anger.
“By the time I’m done, you’ll admit just how superior I am.”
“I doubt it.” She wasn’t sure where she found the courage to verbally fight back, but she’d never been a quitter and wasn’t about to start now. At some point he’d be vulnerable or make a mistake and she’d be ready.
He gripped both her hands in one of his and slammed them to the ground over her head. She screamed as the pain ripped through her. If her arm hadn’t already been broken, it was now.
He smiled and reached for the opening of her jeans with his free hand.
A blur of dark brown fur slammed into her attacker and pushed him off her. Hannah rolled to her side and managed to lower her arms. The intensity of the pain almost made her pass out. She cried out and sucked in several deep breaths. No matter what happened, she couldn’t faint. That would leave her totally vulnerable.
The familiar wolf looked toward her, and Edgar took that moment of inattention to shift.
“Look out,” she cried. He managed to duck as Edgar launched an attack. When he missed, her attacker skidded to a halt and turned back to face Reece.
He’d come for her. Reece had been unconscious and hurt when she’d left him. Somehow, someway, he’d come for her.
She scrambled away and put her back to a tree. Her heart was pounding so hard and fast it was threatening to burst from her chest. Her limbs were as steady as wet noodles, and she couldn’t stop shaking.
The two male wolves faced off against one another. One was a mature, full-blooded werewolf. The other a younger half-breed. Reece had been injured in the wreck and had lost a fair amount of blood. Would he be able to beat Edgar on his own?
Hannah had no idea. She glanced around and found the stick she’d dropped earlier. While the two wolves stared and growled at one another, she scrambled over the dirt and grabbed it with her good hand.
As she watched in horror, the two wolves jumped at one another. They collided in mid-flight, attacking in a flurry of sharp teeth and razor claws.
Chapter Seventeen
Reece knew he had to end this fast if he hoped to win. He wasn’t anywhere near full strength. It had taken a lot of energy to heal his injuries, and now he was facing a healthy, full-blooded werewolf bent on killing him.
He couldn’t think about Hannah. That one moment of inattention when she’d cried out had almost cost him. And if he lost, she was dead.
He launched himself at his opponent. When they collided, he raked his claws down the other wolf’s flanks, drawing blood. The other wolf did the same. They fell back down to the ground and rolled away from one another.
Reece caught a fleeting glance at Hannah as he whirled to face his adversary. Her face was pale, her hair tousled. She was bare from the waist up. Just thinking about how that happened was almost enough to make him lose his mind.
Focus.
He had to focus. He couldn’t help Hannah if he was dead.
She was hurt but not down, not by any means. She gave a yell and ran forward. Before his stunned eyes, she slammed the branch she held at her attacker’s head. The wolf jerked aside but took a hit on his flanks.
She pulled back and kept her gaze on her attacker, who ignored her and turned his attention back to Reece. Saliva dripped from her stalker’s fangs as he growled and snarled.
The other wolf was big, but Reece wasn’t intimidated in the least. He was used to fighting large, powerful wolves. Granted, it had only been in training sessions, but he was glad his uncle and the other males in the pack had insisted on them.
He let his own fangs show and growled. He could practically hear Gator whispering in his ear, “Let the other guy move first. Watch his eyes and his shoulders. They’ll tell you where he’s going.”
Sure enough, Reece saw a twitch in the other wolf’s shoulder. He reacted before the other male even moved. He darted to the right and avoided the hit. Instead of moving away, Reece jumped on his opponent’s back, dragged his claws down his flanks and bit into his neck.
The other wolf howled and fought, urgently trying to remove Reece. He was powerful and desperate and succeeded in shaking Reece off. He rolled and centered himself for another attack.
This time, there was no warning. Hannah screamed as the other wolf took him down. His opponent raked his chest. Reece shifted back to his human form, thrust his hands under the wolf’s belly, and shoved with all his strength. The wolf flew off him and smashed into a tree.
The wolf whimpered and then growled. Blood ran down Reece’s sides. His head was still throbbing from the accident and his desperate race through the woods looking for Hannah. Shifting several times had taken a lot out of him, considering his body was desperately trying to heal.
Another piece of Gator’s advice popped into his head. He staggered and barely caught himself from falling. Hannah yelled his name. Sensing an opportunity, his opponent leapt at him.
Using a move that Cole had taught him, Reece threw himself to the left and stuck out his arm. He caught the other wolf in the throat. He didn’t let up. As soon as his opponent was on the ground, Reece dropped down behind him, wrapped his thick arm around the wolf’s neck, and twisted.
The snap sounded like cannon fire in the silence.
Reece held on, needing to make sure the wolf was no longer a threat to Hannah. His biceps quivered and his entire body shook. He gritted his jaw against the pain. He wasn’t letting go until he was sure the werewolf was dead.
When his opponent didn’t move for several seconds, Reece eased back on some of the pressure. It was much harder than he’d thought it would be to make himself release the dead wolf.
He’d never killed anyone before. His entire life had been about protecting and serving people. First his pack and then the people of Chicago.
Now he’d taken a life.
It had been necessary. He just regretted that it had come to this.
“Reece.” Her voice was little more than a pained whisper. He forced his muscles to relax and let go of the wolf. He was breathing heavily, his muscles quivering.
She touched his shoulder. “You’re bleeding.”
He nodded, unable to speak yet. What would she think of him now? She’d just watched him kill a man.
“Hannah.” He shoved himself upright. He had to see to her injuries. One of her arms was swollen and heavily bruised. He blinked as her face swam in and out of focus. “I’m sorry.” His tongue felt thick and heavy.
“It’s okay. Everything is okay,” she assured him.
But it wasn’t. He’d allowed her to get hurt. She’d had to watch him kill someone. Now they were miles from anywhere and she was half-naked, holding a big stick in her hand.
Okay, so the last thing was kind of hot. He was a man, after all.
And damn, he was loopy. He staggered to the right and she caught his arm with her left hand. “Hey. Why don’t we sit down for a minute?”
That was probably a good idea. It was dark, but he could usually see no problem at night. There was a nice moon and stars for added light. But for some reason, he was seeing dark spots. “Yeah. Okay.”
He led her away from the body. Or did she lead him? It didn’t really matter.
He found himself sitting at the base of a large elm tree, not really remembering how he got there. He frowned and tried to concentrate. “Phone?” He’d meant to ask her where his phone was, but only one word came out of his mouth.
She bit her bottom lip. “I’m sorry. I had to toss it.”
He nodded and then regretted the action when pain spiked through his head and his stomach churned. He was going to pass out. Shit. He tried to hang on, but the darkness overcame him and swallowed him whole.
Hannah was more terrified now than she’d been when she’d thought she was going to be raped and killed. Reece was hurt and they were miles from his truck. She honestly wasn’t sure she could even find her way back to it.
She managed to catch him before he could fall and eased his head down onto the ground. She crawled across the ground and collected the remnants of her sweater and bra and tucked it under his head as a makeshift pillow. Wasn’t like there was enough left for her to wear.
Blood had dried on his head. She reached around and felt the solid bump in the back. He probably had a concussion. Yet he’d run through the woods in a mad dash to find her. Then he’d fought and killed a werewolf who’d made a hobby out of killing others like them.
Reece was nothing short of amazing.
He’d rescued her. Now it was up to her to return the favor.
She glanced over at the dead wolf and shuddered. The only saving grace was Edgar Treadmont’s body would disintegrate quickly. Within a day or two, three at the most, there would be nothing left of him for anyone to find.
Her father had explained to her that the same werewolf genetics that allowed them to heal quickly and live up to twice as long as regular humans also sped up the decomposition process. This adaptation kept their secret from being discovered by the regular population. Humans couldn’t study what didn’t exist.
Reece had large gashes down his arms, chest, and thighs. Edgar’s claws had ripped through him. Thankfully, most of those injuries had already closed and would eventually totally heal. There was only one really deep slash on his left arm that was still bleeding.
Hannah glanced around, wishing there was something she could use as a bandage. She blinked and looked down at her jeans. They would have to do.
She sat down on the ground and undid her sneakers. It was awkward with only one good hand, but she managed to get her jeans off. She wished she had a knife to cut the material. She’d have to make do.
Hannah glanced at the dead wolf. His sharp claws were available. And she was crazy to even think of doing this. She scooted over next to him, grabbed his paw, and jammed several claws into the fabric. Then she pulled. She did that over and over until she had several long strips of denim and a big piece she could use as a pad.
She was sweating profusely in spite of the chilly night air. Goose bumps ran up and down her legs. Her arm, which had caused her such pain, was now totally numb. The bone wasn’t exactly sitting right, but there was nothing she could do about it. Not on her own.
She scrambled back to sit beside Reece. He hadn’t moved since she’d left him. That was worrisome. She folded the larger piece of fabric and placed it gently over the still bleeding wound. She wrapped a long piece of denim around it and knotted it, using her teeth and bracing her injured arm against his body to hold the bandage in place. It was challenging, but she got it done.
Then she wrapped another strip around his head. The wound there was still seeping.
By the time she was done, she’d run out of strength. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and ignored the way the thick bark scratched her skin. With all her other bumps, bruises, and hurts, that was minor.
She brushed a lock of hair off Reece’s forehead. She hadn’t known him long but his face was so familiar to her. It was as though she’d always known him. Even passed out, he looked formidable. His jaw was firm and just a little on the square side. Prominent cheekbones and a high forehead added up to one good-looking man. But it wasn’t his looks that attracted her.
Okay, so they were a factor. She couldn’t deny she was physically attracted to him. His big body was heavily muscled. Even now when he was hurt and bleeding, he radiated warmth. She thought about lying down next to him but was afraid she’d fall asleep. Someone had to keep watch. All the blood might attract a bear or a cougar.
While his looks might have caught her attention, it was Reece’s other qualities that kept it. He was loyal and committed. He used his strength to protect, not to hurt. He had a sense of humor that she’d only caught glimpses of.
What would it be like to spend time together when she wasn’t running for her life? Of course, the reason he’d been taking her back to his pack was to protect her. She didn’t need protecting now.
She drew her legs up close to her body to conserve heat and buried her face against her knees. What would she do now? Where would she go?
The first thing that needed to happen was they had to get out of here. That probably wasn’t happening until morning at the earliest. Reece needed time to recover. She reached out and put her fingers against his neck and found the reassuring beat of his pulse.
She’d never felt more alone than she did at this moment. What if Reece didn’t wake up? What if he wasn’t able to heal?
“Stop it,” she muttered. He’d be fine. All he needed was time.
She should really move and gather some branches to put around them. Anything to shelter them from the cold night air. That couldn’t be helping Reece heal. And she was so cold she was starting to shake.
The blessed numbness in her arm was starting to wear off and it was throbbing once again. “Branches aren’t going to gather themselves,” she reminded herself.
She wondered what had happened to her backpack, containing her laptop and camera. They were her life. She looked at Reece’s still body and couldn’t work up any real worry about her belongings. Maybe tomorrow she would. Right now, she was simply glad they were both still alive.
The stick she’d used as a weapon was lying a few feet away. She rolled onto her knees and crawled toward it. She was so tired. All she wanted to do was close her eyes and sleep for a week. She didn’t want to think about the dirt on her body and what insects might be crawling through her hair.
She grabbed the branch and drove one end into the ground and used the leverage to push herself upright. She wobbled slightly before she steadied herself.
Branches. Fir would be best. Maybe she could tear off some lower ones. She hated to damage a tree, but these were desperate circumstances.
She’d just taken a step away from Reece when she heard a rustling off to her right. She pivoted and faced the sound. The air was blowing in the opposite direction, which meant there was no scent to tell her what was out there.
She’d been worried about bears and other predators. A fair amount of blood had been spilled here this evening. Hannah stood her ground and waited. She could only hope that a predator would smell wolf and decide it wasn’t worth the risk to attack.
Just as she had that thought, two large wolves broke from the woods, each coming from an opposite direction.
Startled, Hannah almost fell. She caught herself and raised her makeshift weapon. Di
d Edgar have friends? Had he called members of his pack?
She backed up until she was standing over Reece. A huge wolf stared back at her through golden brown eyes that glittered in the moonlight. The other wolf was the biggest she’d ever seen in her life.
Her hands shook as she raised the stick in front of her. “I’ll kill you if you try to hurt him.”
* * * * *
Sage skidded to a stop just as the woman spoke. She was naked, but for a pair of panties and socks. She was obviously injured but she stood defiantly, ready to protect his twin.
He knew now why Reece had fallen for her. She was magnificent. She reminded him of his Rina, fearless and courageous.
“We won’t hurt him,” he assured her.
She swiveled and blinked several times. “Reece?” She glanced down at the body next to her and then back over at him.
“Sage,” he told her. He took a step forward and held out his hand. “Give me the stick, Hannah.” He didn’t want to do anything to startle her. She was obviously a woman on the edge.
“Oh, God.” She lowered the branch and leaned heavily on it. “He’s hurt. He fought.” She pointed to the dead wolf. “He passed out after and won’t wake up.”
Elias pushed past them both and went down onto his knees beside Reece. The others shifted, even Gator and Mikhail, who’d both been watching from a hidden position. Hannah took a step back. Her entire body was shaking.
Sage ripped his T-shirt over his head and held it out to her. “Let me help you.” He desperately wanted to go to his brother, but he knew Reece would want him to tend to Hannah first.
She dropped the stick and crumpled. He leapt forward and barely caught her before she hit the ground. “I thought we were both dead,” she whispered. She put up no resistance as he slipped his shirt over her head and carefully threaded her arms through the arm holes.
“You’re safe now,” he assured her.
“Reece passed out and won’t wake up,” she repeated. Tears welled in her eyes but she didn’t shed them. She bit her bottom lip and looked away.
Wolf in her Soul: Salvation Pack, Book 8 Page 19
