He skidded to a stop as his hopes for gettingto Melanie vanished with the van. Turning, he sprinted back intothe woods.
He ignored the slap of the tree branches ashis wrath built to murderous levels. He’d gladly tear the limbsfrom every single person who had touched her. And not only would hetear those limbs off, but he would use them to bash in thosebastards’ skulls.
He didn’t care if it was her father andLucy’s mother; they were dead.
Despite the fury propelling him onward, theblood loss was getting to him by the time he arrived at the edge ofthe grocery store parking lot. There, he discovered Lucy standingby the wood line as red and blue lights flashed over her.
The helpless expression on her face causedhim to slow. When he reached her side, he peered out through thetrees and discovered police cruisers surrounding their SUV.
“Shit,” he hissed when police officers cametoward them. The beams of their flashlights played across theground as they approached the woods. He grasped Lucy’s arm andpulled her back. “We have to go.”
“Melanie,” she whispered.
“They have her.”
Then her eyes widened as she took in thedamage the shotgun did to his chest. “What happened?”
“We have to go,” he said and pulled her awayfrom the parking lot.
She glanced back at the approaching officersbefore turning and fleeing with him. They ran through the woodsuntil blood loss caused him to stumble and nearly go down. Shecaught his arm to keep him from hitting the ground.
As much as he didn’t want to stop, he wouldhave to take the time to feed and find a vehicle. They couldn’t runback to the facility, it would take far too long, and if he didn’tget some blood soon, not even his rage could keep him going.
When his legs would barely carry him anymore,he staggered to a halt. The beat of his heart was sluggish, and hishead felt like cotton balls stuffed it. The blood seeping from hiswounds had subsided to an ooze.
However, that seeping ooze wasn’t because thewounds were healing; they were, but not fast enough. No, he wasbleeding less because not much blood remained in him.
It wasn’t until he rested his hand against atree trunk that he saw the blood coating his fingers. It had rundown from his chest to his arms, hands, and fingertips. It soakedthe scrub pants.
There was no way he could get a vehicle inhis condition. He wasn’t strong enough to gain control of someone’smind or to take a car from them.
Lucy rested her hand on his arm. “Are yougoing to be okay?”
“I have to feed, and Ineedto findher,” he grated through his teeth.
“They’ll take her back to the facility.”
“I can’t let that happen.”
But he had no idea how to stop it. They had abig head start on him, and he wasn’t going to gain any groundanytime soon.
“Fuck!” he snarled and slammed his palmagainst the tree.
The blow swayed the trunk and rattled theleaves. He had to get his hands on a cell phone to call his family,but if he couldn’t walk into a store before, he definitely couldn’tenter one now, even if he did feed enough to heal and regain hisstrength.
And Lucy was still so new to her powers thatshe couldn’t accomplish much. Plus, though she looked better thanhim, her clothes were still bloody, and she was a mess.
He had to get it together, formulate a plan,and get to Melanie. But the lack of blood and his incessant needfor his mate was clouding his judgment.
“I have to feed,” he said.
His legs wobbled when he shoved himself awayfrom the tree and went in search of blood.
***
It was a good hour, and far more blood thanhe’d ever consumed, before his body expelled the last of theshotgun pellets and his legs no longer wobbled. Thankfully theweapon had been meant to deter and not to kill. The black and redcolor that seeped into his skin when he saw the SUV pulling out ofthe parking lot with Melanie had yet to retreat.
He suspected the color would remain until hehad Melanie back. And he would get her back. He had to find avehicle first, as well as get in touch with his family.
