AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I didn’t like making promises I didn’t know I could keep. I would die to protect them, but I couldn’t tell them that. They would never let me leave if they knew.
A series of yelps pierced the air.
Sloane flinched. She glanced between Lincoln and me, her eyes wide and her face paling. “That’s my dad.”
She shook her head as she shuffled backwards. Then she spun on her heel and sprinted toward the fight.
Twenty-Two
Sloane
I pumped my arms and legs as fast as I could make them go. I couldn’t breathe.
The yelps grew louder, more pained. A wolf darted past me, and it took me a moment to realize that it was Lincoln. His wolf blazed a trail through the brush, making a beeline for the scuffle.
I glanced over my shoulder. Sawyer wasn’t far behind me.
A bark cut through the night.
We were still too far away. My chest tightened.
“Hurry!” I shouted at Lincoln.
He darted through the brush and leaped, snarling as he attacked another wolf.
My heart jumped into my throat as the two of them wrestled on the ground. One of them whined and then whimpered.
I ducked through the trees, wincing as the branches stung my skin as they whipped against me, but that didn’t slow me down.
The coppery tang of blood permeated the air. My stomach rolled. It was all I could smell. Most of it belonged to too many other wolves to count, but some of it was my dad’s.
I burst through the brush, and I cried out. Oh no. This couldn’t be happening.
My dad lay on the ground in his human form. I dropped to my knees at his side as Lincoln finished off the remaining enemy wolf.
I reached out for my dad with trembling hands. He shook on the ground, wheezing as he tried to draw in a breath. I didn’t want to hurt him worse.
“Daddy?”
Tears stung my eyes, and my bottom lip quivered. He was covered in blood. His blood.
His ragged breaths sounded too slow, and a crackle noise came with each one. I swallowed down the bile creeping up my throat. I grasped one of his hands and then put my other hand on his cheek.
“Daddy? Daddy, look at me.” Desperation coated my high-pitched voice. My heart thundered.
His eyes blinked open, and they darted around like he was searching for me but couldn’t quite see me.
I skimmed my thumb over his cheeks as tears rolled down my face. “Daddy, it’s going to be okay. We’re going to get you help. Stay awake for me, okay?”
He exhaled, making his whole chest rattle. He lifted a trembling hand and wrapped it around my wrist by his face.
“Sloane.” He swallowed, and his mouth worked like he was trying to say something but couldn’t.
I made a hushing noise as I started to survey the damage. “It’s okay. Just stay still.” There was so much blood it was hard to see where it was coming from. The pitch-black and my inability to shift just my eyes didn’t help.
I squinted and leaned forward, starting with torso and working my way up. I needed to apply pressure to the wound once I found the source.
“Sloane!” The sheer panic in his voice made me look up.
