Page 7 of Guarding the Runaway Omega

Hawk turned to leave but Jasper caught his sleeve.

He glanced over his shoulder. “What is it, little wolf?”

“Don’t get caught.”

Hawk covered Jasper’s hand with his own. “I won’t.”

After one more scan of the garage area and the rest of the surroundings, along with a quick sniff of the air, Hawk crouched low and scurried as fast as he could until he’d dropped down behind a row of vehicles. The garage sentry would have a ring with the keys to the vehicles, but Hawk could hotwire with the best of them.

Right as he was about to make his move on one of the Jeeps parked outside at the end of a row, a snapping twig caused him to freeze. Hawk scented the vicinity, angling his head to catch any residual sounds, any indicators of what he might soon face. Damn human ears. Next to useless. It was too bad he couldn’t shift right then to take advantage of his stronger wolf senses.

At the rustle of nearby leaves, Hawk readied to defend himself until he spotted the reflective eyes of a lynx gazing in his direction. The creature stared back as if gauging whether Hawk might be a threat. He didn’t want to attract attention by scaring it off, so he remained still until it ambled away a few seconds later. Hawk tracked the movements of the animal as it padded through the nearby woods until he was satisfied that the wild cat was the noise he’d heard.

Fuck. Don’t have time for this.

Even if he had to race away under pursuit, they’d have a better chance of avoiding capture in a vehicle than if they were on foot. Hawk knew plenty of backroads to take and it was still early enough in the fall season that the snow had yet to arrive.

He sucked in a deep breath then made his move, yanking open the Jeep’s driver side door in one swift move. He plucked the fixed-blade knife from the leather sheath attached to his belt, then used the metal end of the handle to break open the steering wheel column. After twisting the starter wires together, the engine came to life.

Not all juvenile delinquency is bad.

Hawk jumped into the seat but didn’t turn on the headlights. If the sentry was nearby, the sound of the engine alone would alert him. However, if the luck of the gods was on his side, Shep would have either joined the chase after the rogue wolves or be off playing cards with the mess hall kitchen staff. The building was nearby, but it would still take Shep a minute to figure out something was up then get his lazy ass over to check things out.

And even if he is around, everyone else is on the chase right now. I hope.

Hawk assessed his surroundings once more, then maneuvered the vehicle to the edge of the woods where he’d left Jasper. He gestured wildly, giving Jasper the signal to jump in. At the sight of his mate dragging the heavy as fuck duffel as he emerged from behind the boulder, Hawk cursed himself. He put the Jeep in park, then leapt out of the vehicle to assist him.

The excited shouts of a few humans approaching reached his ears and without pausing, Hawk flung the duffel over his shoulder and scooped Jasper into his arms. He raced the couple dozen or so feet back to the vehicle, scrambling to get his mate and the bag inside. As the sounds increased in volume, Hawk hopped behind the wheel, threw the truck into gear then gunned it.

“Throw on your seatbelt! This might get bumpy.”

Hawk didn’t waste time taking the road out of camp, opting to snake his way through the narrow rows of Jeeps instead. A side mirror from one of the parked vehicles snapped off as Hawk clipped it, sending the projectile flying where it clanked against the rear window. He hit a pothole in the dirt parking area and they both jerked forward, Hawk almost hitting his head on the roof of the truck. The three seconds it would’ve taken to fasten his own seatbelt had been too precious.

Hawk veered right, fishtailing in the mud as he jetted behind the long mess hall, racing along a pathway that wasn’t meant to be driven on.

“Hawk! Watch out!”

One of the cooks taking out the trash leaped out of the way as Hawk barreled toward him, the terrified man falling backwards over a row of plastic chairs the guys used when they took their smoke breaks. Hawk jerked the truck to miss him. This time when the rear wheels slid, he almost lost control.

“Hang on, little wolf!”

Jasper let out a scream and Hawk righted the vehicle just as it seemed as though the Jeep would roll. He slammed his foot on the accelerator again, aiming for the ten-foot wide passageway between the mess hall and the training gym.

Please don’t let anyone be walking there, please don’t let anyone be walking there…

He might be pissed off and annoyed by the Guardians in general, but he didn’t want to murder them.

For the most part.

As he reached the end of the long building, he jerked the wheel to the left, exhaling in relief that the ground was solid and the wheels had kept purchase. He’d maintained control of the vehicle and no one had been taking an evening stroll between the two buildings.

Now to leave this camp behind.

Hawk honed-in on the supply entrance, gritting his teeth once he spied the stacks of cardboard boxes partially blocking his exit.

Fuck. What idiot leaves carboard boxes out in the rain? He grunted. The idiots in this pack. He refused to think of the Guardians as his. If it hadn’t been for his father’s insistence, he never would’ve left home to join them.

“Prepare yourself!” Hawk yelled. “This might not go well.”