Page 25 of Red

“Aloka.”

I wake up to Stark bent over me. Squinting from the light, my hips ache and I stretch my legs out toward the wall. I move onto my knees with a groan. Healing is exhausting and yesterday was something new. After a month of new, it was nice that this something was not so bad.

Stark grips my arms, pulling me onto my feet. I sway and he holds me still.

“Sorry. Floors aren’t great on the body.” I twist, trying to release the tension in my spine.

“Why are you still in your dress?”

“Oh, um, I . . . never mind.”

He looks better than last night, dressed in a loose T-shirt and another pair of jogging pants. Blacked out again.

“I don’t know what you did last night, but thank you.”

Heat flushes across my cheeks. “Nothing like some good bandaging. Don’t worry about it.”

His hand comes back to my arm and the tingles flow. “No,” he says as heat swarms me, “it was something else.” He lifts his shirt. The white wrap is gone, and the four horizontal gashes have been replaced with deep-red skin.

“That wolf blood works wonders. I’m jealous. I should go get out of this.” I pull away and step around him, closing the door behind me. In all the spirits, I thought it’d be slower acting.

A double knock comes on the door. “I’m heading out. Stay in the house and don’t open the door for anyone.”

Like I’m a child who’s grounded.

“No, thanks,” I mutter to the empty room, knowing he can’t hear me.

Heat builds in my chest, spreading down to my hands. By the time I cross the room to grab my clothes, my palms are burning. I try to breathe and keep the magic from reacting to my emotions, but controlling it has never been that simple.

Stark leaves on foot, and not long after he’s gone, I scan the map in his office. If I head northeast, I should reach the right road for home. It looks like the run should take a few hours, but driving down the highway isn’t an option. Stark probably has the keys for my vehicle locked away. Tire tracks would be obvious in the snow, even if I do find them.

I unlock my window and open it just enough to slide out. Hands gripping the wood-planked windowsill, I hang my legs down, one foot reaching for the small ledge of stones. When I get my toe on it, I jump back into the deep snow. Cold air surrounds me and I can’t wait to get moving.

My runners crunch into the crusted top layer of snow. Wind blows my hair back off my shoulders. I leave the window open so I can climb back in later.

Before I can move, though, brakes screech to a halt around the corner. I rush back through my deep footprints to lean against the cold stone wall. A door slams, then another.

“Let’s get the bitch.” The man’s voice spins in my head as I try to pin it to a face.

“Yeah, no Alpha to defend her this time.”

My lungs empty as my lips sting with the reminder of being slammed into a truck door. Stark didn’t lie.

One of them knocks on the front door. It’s locked, so maybe they’ll think I’m gone. A bang comes, then another. “Here, little human.” They’re quieter now, like they’ve made it inside.

They’ll scent me out here.

I bolt for the trees. With any luck, they won’t hear me. The second the trees enclose me, I pick it up, taking in the fresh air. The snow is deep in some spots, but I try to follow some sets of tracks as I wind through the expansive trees, light shining down. I slide past a few low branches, scraping my arm on pine needles, refusing to slow down. If they turn and start looking, they’ll catch up in no time.

My chest throws heat out through my limbs as I crouch beside a tree to listen.

Thick breathing sounds. A growl rips through the forest. My pulse races, heart pounding in my chest. I wish Stark was here right now, but he headed in the opposite direction. There are no options for hiding, so I dive off the path and run through the thicker trees they’d have to take out to get around as werewolves.

This way.

As I hear the branches break somewhere close, the magic inside me gets protective, heating my skin to pain.

There’s no choice now.