Page 14 of A Wolfe in the Woods

I gasped when I saw the rope loosen?—

Then horror struck me when I saw the heavy beam begin to topple, heading straight toward him.

CHAPTER 5

JONATHAN

Pain sank its fangs deep. Muscles burned, biceps stretched, threatening to rip through my sleeves. My breath came in ragged gasps, short and sharp. I felt that I could black out at any moment.

But I refused to let go.

This thing, this monstrosity, fought back. It wanted me down, broken and buried beneath it. Every inch I gained, it stole back, dragging me closer to the ground.

If I slipped, I’d be crushed beneath it. No one was coming. No one would know. I could accept that. I just couldn’t accept losing. My plan was to conquer this alone. Like always.

My grip was agonizing. Hands numb. The rope bit in like teeth, but I held.

I was close.

Angry, it offered a splintering groan. I growled right back, breath turning savage. I had faced bigger odds—and won.

And right as victory was near, I sensed…something. Like a phantom touch at the base of my skull.

A presence shifted behind me. My focus slipped. The beast groaned, and before I could react, my grip tore loose and the rope snapped.

The beam I was hoisting came crashing down, slamming into me as pain exploded through my chest. The splintering shriek of wood followed it as the floorboards buckled beneath me.

Then I fell back. Light vanished. Dust rose in waves.

The only thing I heard was a short gasp of surprise in the near distance…followed by silence.

I knew instantly by the sound of its reaction that it was too frightened to be a predator.

For a moment, everything was still. Then I moved. Barely. Just a twitch, then a breath. The weight on top of me groaned as I shifted beneath it. A sound escaped my throat, low and pained. I pushed once. Nothing. Then pushed again. This time something gave.

I dragged myself out from under the wreckage, bleeding, as I pulled free from the shattered boards and the broken beam. I hoisted myself up from the subfloor.

When I finally got to my feet, I was shaking and my chest burned. But I was standing.

Cabin number six stood half-gutted and barely framed. Its walls were long gone, ripped out after years of rot and decay. Now it was worse off than when I had started this project. It had taken me three whole days to get everything just right and into position…only to have it come crashing down in one tiny moment due to an unexpected interloper.

I’d told May—explicitly—to make sure no guests went past the chain perimeter I’d set up. There were signs. Warnings. Rope. It wasn’t subtle.

I turned, already bracing for whatever idiot had wandered in.

And there she was.

Scared to move, peeking out from behind a bush like a kid playing hide-and-seek.

Her face had gone pale, eyes wide with a kind of shock that hit after a near miss, just realizing what could’ve happened.

Her hands hovered midair, trembling slightly, fingers twitching, as if she wanted to reach out, to help, to somehow undo it…but she stayed rooted to the ground. Frozen. Like she was afraid to breathe wrong and make things worse.

I fixed my gaze on the shrub she clearly thought was doing a good job of hiding her.

“I can see you,” I said flatly.

She stepped out into view, wide eyed and innocent, like she hadn’t just nearly gotten me killed.