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The panic in his voice pushed me forward, and I felt a chill creep over my spine. I could see him. There weren’t lights in the forest. The car was dead, and my wolf wasn’t out, but there was still an orange glow surrounding him.
“Jamie, is something burning?” I asked, the fear creeping into my voice.
“Just get the knife, and we’ll be okay,” he said.
“Jamie, you’re still buckled,” I said, tugging at my seat belt again. “Are you stuck too?”
“I am, but if you can cut yourself free and give me the knife, we’ll be fine, we just have to be quick.”
I nodded and turned back to the glovebox. I reached for it a second time, stretching until my shoulder burned. I hooked my fingers, and the hatch popped open. The light flickered on inside for a second and then went out.
I pressed my side against the door, ignoring the pain, and scraped my fingers along the box until I found a hard metal object. I wiggled my fingertips around it, inching it towards me, and the knife came free, dropping into my palm. I sat back, and my side pulsed as blood began pouring from my ribs.
Jamie inhaled sharply. “You’re bleeding. Shit.”
“I’ll be okay,” I said, unable to disguise the breathless quality in my tone. “I just have to get out. We have to get out.”
Panic clawed at my throat. This was how my father died. Not trapped in a car but trapped in a fire. Burned alive. Screaming for help, and no one could reach him. I had to get out, I had to get Jamie out. We had to—
“Hey!” Jamie shouted, making me jump.
My fingers shook around the blade, and I started to saw away at my seat belt. “We have to get out. We can’t go out like this.”
“Listen to me…Eve…just listen. We’re going to be okay. You’re gonna get through that belt and then you’re gonna give me the knife and climb through the front window. You can break it. It’s gonna be okay,” he said, speaking as calmly as he could.
I nodded and looked back down at the fraying seat belt in my hands. “I can do this. We’re gonna be okay.”
“Yes,” he said. “Exactly.”
“I can do this,” I repeated, cutting through the chest half of the belt.
“Be careful,” he said. “Don’t cut yourself, you’ve already lost a lot of blood.”
I nodded and shifted in my seat again to get a good angle on the waist strap. I slipped the knife along the fabric and began sawing at the belt. The knife made it halfway, and something popped at the back of the car. Our weight was thrown sideways, and the blade dropped out of my hand.
“No!” I screamed, reaching for it, but it was lost in the darkness, and a burst of heat rolled through the car as flamed caught behind the back tires. “No, no, no.”
“Eve, Eve, look at me, look at me,” he called, reaching for my outstretched hand. He brought my knuckles to his lips and held the back of my hand to his cheek. “You need to breathe. It’s okay. You’re already halfway through the belt. Just close your eyes and borrow some strength from your wolf. Do that and you’ll have no problem getting out. Okay?”
I nodded, but every breath I pulled through my lungs was a struggle. My chest throbbed, and my heartbeat thundered in my neck. I whimpered, “Jamie.”
“I know, I know. Just breathe.” he said, massaging my hand, keeping his voice calm. “You can do this. I know you can. I know it, and I’m never wrong.”
I laughed and took a calmer breath. “Never wrong? That remains to be seen.”
“Well, I intend to spend the rest of my life proving it to you, so, close your eyes and breathe.”
“You know, sometimes you say the sweetest things,” I chuckled, closing my eyes.
“You make it easy,” he said, massaging my hand again.
“Did you just call me easy?”
“You? Easy? Never,” he laughed. “I’ve never had to work so hard for a girl in my life.”
I snorted, and flexed my free hand, imagining my wolf deep inside me. I felt it’s fur beneath my fingers, and I trembled as the power that came with the transformation rippled through me.
“Good girl,” he whispered, letting go of my hand. “Now try and rip the last of the threads.”
