AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn't take my eyes off the door as I leaned closer to Tess. "Where's your cell?"
"In the bedroom." Tess moved like she would retrieve it, but I didn't let go of her.
"We go together. Do you have a back door?" I didn't remember seeing one while Tess carried me around.
She shook her head, confirming my fear. That would make it really hard to escape. I wasn't above going through the window.
I stood, wrapping my arm around Tess. Without a word, she followed me as I guided her through her house and down the hall. Once through her bedroom door, Tess gestured to her nightstand. I snatched the cell, then dialed a number from memory, hoping it still worked.
One ring, then two, and three. The line picked up and a familiar voice spoke, "who the fuck is this and how the hell did you get my number?"
Chapter Four
Relief washed through me at the voice of my partner. "Don't bother howling, I don't need the moon."
"Hadrian?" There was a pause before he let out a deep breath. "Fucking hell man, where have you been?"
"Nice to hear from you too, Kael." Tess watched me with her brows furrowed as she tried to decipher our conversation. I'd used my particular code phrase that let Kael know who I was and that I was calling of my own volition. "As much as I'd love to shoot the shit with you, I'm in a bind."
There was a pause before Kael responded, letting me know he was holding back on asking where I'd been for the last year. "Tell me what you need."
"An extraction, immediately, for myself and a human. There's someone here, and I don't know how much longer they'll wait before breaching. Does my tracker still work?" Tess's eyes widened at my words and I desperately wanted to console and reassure her, but we didn't have time for that. I was surprised the council bothered to knock in the first place.
"No, it's been… What the hell? It's on again. Were you shifted for the entire time?"
No wonder they hadn't come for me while the council's spell had trapped me. We hadn't been sure shifting would kill the signal on the tracker, but this confirmed it. "Unfortunately."
"Fuck. Hadrian—"
"Just find us." I hung up before Kael could say anything else to piss me off. Then I shoved Tess's phone in my pocket, remembering I was wearing a fluffy santa outfit. "I don't suppose you have an extra set of men's clothing that happens to be sitting around, do you? Normally we keep our clothes when we shift, but that didn't work this time. Which is weird because it has nothing to do with the curse."
"Curse?" Tess said the word like she couldn't believe it was coming out of her mouth.
"I'll explain later, but I need to know about the clothes." I cupped Tess's cheek. "We have to leave, and it would be easier to blend if I wasn't wearing this Santa outfit."
Tess shook her head, confirming my suspicions. "Okay, let's get your shoes so we can get out of here."
The knocking stopped, but I couldn't tell if they were gone or were about to breach. We were running out of time. When Tess didn't move, I grabbed her tennis shoes from the closet and put them on her feet. Then I pulled her with me as I moved to the window and pushed it open.
"Where are we going?" Tess didn't resist as I climbed out the window, then guided her through.
"Some place I can keep you safe. Come on." Whether she trusted me because of the bond we'd formed or if she was in shock, I didn't know. At the moment, it didn't matter all that much. The only thing I cared about was keeping her safe.
Once she was through the window, I took a moment to pull the pane down so our pursuers might not realize where we'd gone. Then I took Tess's hand and eased through the darkness. She followed me without a single protest. I directed us down the alley, skirting around anything that might reveal our presence.
"Hey! Hadrian!" A voice I recognized slid down my spine as my gaze shot to him. One of the assholes who'd chased me last year. "Don't run, we just want to talk!"
Fuck that. No way would I stick around and give them a chance to put a spell on me before I could defend myself. The voice must have snapped Tess out of her shock because she made a noise, then tugged at my hold on her wrist.
"I… I don't know what's going on." She tugged at my hold again. "Maybe we should stay and find out what's going on before we run?"
Her eyes went wide as her pupils dilated from fear. I grabbed her shoulder with my other hand, trying to reassure her. It didn't work. Her pulse raced as she tried to step away from my hold. "I'm sorry, Tess, but I don't have time to explain all of this. I need you to come with me, or I'll have to do something drastic to make sure you stay safe."
"What does that mean?"
Pounding footsteps came closer.
"You can run with me, or I'll carry you, but either way, you're not staying here for those assholes to abduct." Just saying the words made me cringe. I hated to push her to do something she clearly didn't want to do, but we didn't have much of a choice.
