Knot, swoops down cawing at me and landing on my shoulder. I get the message instantly.
“Run!” I whisper urgently, fortunately the others don’t question me and just obey.
Knot turns herself back into a fox and swiftly takes the lead, guiding us towards safety and away from whoever is closing in on us. I’m hoping it’s just the guards, not Mr. Romano and certainly not Brent. As she guides us her pace slowly becomes more unhurried and she finally brings us to a stream where we can have a drink and rest for a while. She gives me a look before she shoots into the air as a raven once again, I’m guessing to scout the area to make sure it’s safe.
“She sure is special Sage,” Erin comments.
I nod in agreement. Even in my unfeeling state I can feel that.
Chapter Twenty
We have a short rest whilst we wait for Knot to return and give us the all clear. As soon as she does, we carry on trying to navigate our way towards the road through pure guess work and the help of Knot’s nose.
“What do you think the fox is?” Jett asks everyone in general.
“Knot.” I say.
“Huh?” Erin asks. “Not what?”
“It’s her name.” I say, still making sure I stay behind everyone else; I can’t risk them seeing the state of my back and slowing down.
“I like that it’s . . .” Erin starts before she’s interrupted.
“Shhh, do you hear that?” Dash whispers.
We all pause to listen, our breaths whispering out quietly, even Knot has her ears up and alert listening to the faint sound of engines. Knot transforms into her raven again and flies out of sight.
“I think she’s going to check whether it’s friend or foe.” I say when everyone looks at me questioningly.
“How is she going to know if they are friend or foe?” Jett asks.
“How does she turn into a raven or seem to sense and know things she shouldn’t?” I shrug, “she’s not a normal animal.”
Before anyone else can weigh in their opinion, she comes swooping back, effortlessly switching back to her fox form.
She yips happily at me.
“Friend, those are our vehicles. We can hear!” I tell them.
They all whisper yell various sentiments of enjoyment, so as not to alert anyone on our trail. Knot gives me a concerned look before trotting to the front of the group and leading us towards the sound of vehicles. We move as quickly as possible; I start to lag behind as my back starts to bleed again. I may not be able to feel pain in my current state but I’m sure as hell starting to feel the effects of blood loss. We are all exhausted and hurting, apart from the drink from the stream I haven’t had any water since I wason the plane, and the others have gone even longer without food and only minimal water. As if to reinforce my point Erin trips and goes down, all the guys rush to her.
“Are you ok?” I ask.
“Yeah, I just felt dizzy for a minute.” She reply’s before getting up and dusting herself off.
“You aren’t ok, Ren,” Jett says using a nickname I haven’t heard before, “let me see your arm.” He demands.
“It’s fine Jett it’s just a scrape, I just want to get out of here!” Her eyes plead with him and he relents.
We start off again at a slightly slower pace and I’m grateful for it. My back is not doing so well, at all. Knot disappears through a thick wall of trees and we each force our way through until we finally reach the road on the other side. We all crouch low as several SUV’s approach from the distance.
“It’s alright they’re ours!” Jett yells, before glancing down at Knot who just nods as she comes to sit next to me.
We all step out from the trees so we can be seen. Jett, Erin, Dash and Damon all start waving their arms so we can’t be missed. I would join in, but I can’t possibly lift my arms with my back screaming at me loud enough, that I can feel it even through the barrier around my emotions and physical pain. Several of the SUVs shoot past us and the others start to exchange worried looks before one comes screeching to halt. I watch as the doors are thrown open, the engine left running and two men I don’t recognise jump out and race towards Erin scooping her up and holding her closely.
A second SUV comes screeching to halt and my guys jump out. My barrier bursts with the sheer amount of joy and love I feel at seeing them again. I’m instantly flooded with all the emotions I buried and the physical pain of my back. The intensity of it bringing me to my knees. I watch in horror as the protection I had weaved over the Soulmate Bond, suddenly snaps and my men all suddenly fall to the floor yelling in agony at the sudden onslaught of pain.
“What’s going on?” Erin yells panicked.
