“Hey, put me down, you fucking jerk!” Alisha yells.
“No fucking way,” I growl, trying as hard as I can to hold in my frustration. “You have no idea how dangerous it is out here, and if you aren’t going to listen to me, then you’re giving me no choice!”
It’s bad enough that she’s out here alone, in savage wilderness, potentially getting chased down by a dangerous ex, but she was also running straight towards the incursion site!
“Brad!” she cries. “Stop!”
She wriggles, pounding on my back with her fists, but I just wrap my arm even tighter around her thighs and keep her against my shoulder.
“You’re not getting down, and it’s going to be a very uncomfortable walk for both of us if you don’t relax and let me help you.”
“Relax! How the fuck am I supposed to relax? You’re kidnapping me!”
“Alisha,” I sigh. “There is stuff going on that you aren’t aware of. I’m not leaving you out here to fend for yourself under any circumstances. I’m also not going to allow any possibility of your nasty ex finding you. Added to that, there is some immediate danger in the surrounding area.”
“Yeah, like what? Volcano about to erupt or something?”
If you only knew.
“It’s not something I can discuss right now,” I grit out.
“Oh, here we go. Mysterious Bradley with all the secrets. I can’t believe I ever found this cute.”
“You think I’m cute?” I quip.
Alisha thumps me in the back and tries to kick her legs. “Not anymore,” she mutters.
I pick up my pace a little, making good time moving through the trees even with Alisha over my shoulder. I try to avoid the steeper hills and make my way through flatter areas, which takes slightly longer but is more comfortable for us both.
“Okay, Brad. You can put me down now.”
“Are you going to run again?”
“I’m tired of being stuck on your fucking shoulder, okay? My feet are going numb, my head is pounding, and my guts are getting bruised. Even if I do run, you can catch me pretty quick, anyway.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” I agree. As well as being a lot faster than her, I’ve got her scent all over me now, and if she somehow managed to move a few miles away from me, I’d have no problem tracking her.
I stop and put her down, gesturing that she should walk in front of me. Alisha puts her hands on her hips and glares at me.
“Where are we going?”
“Home.”
“You have a home?”
“Everyone has a home.”
“It doesn’t mean we can all go back to it,” she mutters.
“What?”
“Never mind. Can you be more specific about where we’re going?”
“It’s a small town called Eccles,” I answer. “Shifter town. It should be shielded from human view, and I’m not sure how you got so close. It must have looked like dense bush to you.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “I saw the lights.”
“What?”
