Maya expected Nell to run away as soon as she heard that. Her shy, quiet demeanor should have had her scurrying off like a startled mouse, but she remained where she was.
“Please find them,” she whispered. “Please bring them back.”
Tears ran down her face. She couldn’t do anything to help here, not directly. All she could do was look at Maya with hope in her big brown eyes and ask her to bring back her family.
It was an impossible guarantee. But Maya would rather die than fail at it.
“I will. I promise.” Maya nodded towards the cabin. “Now get inside.”
Nell wiped her eyes and did as she was told.
As soon as the door closed behind her, Maya turned and ran. She went past the tire tracks, following a more direct path than the one offered by established roads. Pulled along by the incessant tugging in her chest.
The feeling wasn’t a stranger anymore. She’d let it guide her enough times by now that following it was second nature.
It had happened in St. Louis, when Maya had shown up on Harper’s doorstep with no real explanation for how she got there.In Chicago, when she’d wandered around and found herself at the Lotus, where Harper happened to be. At the outpost, where being apart from her had transformed a gentle tug into a tearing, as though her heart was slowly being pulled from her chest.
This was similar. Except now she didn’t have to stop herself from giving in to it. She would let this feeling drag her wherever it wanted. Across state lines, countries, and continents.
She would go anywhere if it meant having Harper in her arms again.
Chapter 39
The further Maya got from the cabin, the more piercing the storm became, and it didn’t exactly improve this situation. She wasn’t so much walking as stumbling, with her needing to stop several times and cling to a tree, just to keep herself upright.
She dropped another empty blood bag, gritting her teeth and continuing on. Everythinghurt. It felt like a boulder was pressing down on her ribs, and every step taken made it heavier.
She could have waited for the Chains. Could have rested until her strength came back, but her heart wouldn’t let her. Every minute she delayed meant another minute of horror for Harper. Another minute she had to spend in Kieran’s clutches.
Sounds carried on the wind. Coughing, cursing, and angry voices, and despite her mind screaming at her torun, she forced herself to slow down and sneak through the trees.
The forest opened up, revealing a tightly packed collection of industrial-looking buildings. A mill of some sort, filled with old machinery, and with trucks and motorhomes parked in disorderly rows. A handful of people walked around, some limping, many bleeding.
This was the place. She knew it in her heart, and even if she hadn’t trusted that, her sight would have told her the same thing.
Therian packs often congregated in small settlements, so their members could live close to one another, but there wasn’t any actual organization here. Everything seemed randomly placed, as though they hadn’t thought they’d be there for long.
The main focal point was a large decrepit warehouse. It had holes in the roof and shattered windows, and a small cabin was affixed to its side.
Her heart leaped forward. She didn’t have any evidence to support the thought, but it still sang through her mind as indisputable fact.
Harper was in that building.
Maya nearly darted out from the trees right then, but she was in a state. Even though everyone else was too, they had the numbers. She couldn’t afford to rush.
She crept around the side of the mill. Slipping between the shadows, footsteps silent despite the freshly fallen snow.
She didn’t need to bother being quiet. No one patrolled the perimeter, which either meant their losses were severe enough that they couldn’t or everyone was inside. The cabin and accompanying warehouse could be filled with people hungry for an easy victory. A limping vampire would serve that up nicely.
She just had to be careful. Had to curb her instincts and moveslowly. If she stuck to the shadows and used them to pick people off one by one, then—
“Don’t touch me!”
Maya froze. She was at the back of the warehouse, sneaking towards the adjoining cabin with the switchblade drawn, when a sharp voice flowed out of a broken window.
Evie’svoice.
Maya peeked inside. The space was open, with a stained concrete floor and some burning oil barrels being the only sources of light. A few people were huddled near them, faces dour, and a throne made of pallets sat in the center of the room.
