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My chest clenches at the sight.
I tip my chin toward the horde of undead noticing our commotion, and I pray we are quick enough to escape them while the Ash Wolves at our rear are taken out.
Abruptly, the mass of undead on our right pour toward us with such speed that it takes me aback at first, my heart galloping. They're coming for my two men.
Lucien swings a sharp left and right to where the forest is less dense, where he has more of a chance to escape. Bardhyl does the same, nudging me with his head to follow.
I swing my attention to the Shadow Monsters, to the Ash Wolves, to my two men darting away, and it's all happening too quickly.
Slivers of seconds to make a decision.
Bardhyl looks back at me as I pivot in the opposite direction to him and lunge at the undead that move fast. I want these creatures to focus on our enemies instead.
I slam into a dead man, bringing us both to the ground. He reeks of death and putrid things. Brittle bones snap beneath my weight on his chest cavity, but it makes no difference to these creatures. He's already rolling to get up, groaning. I scramble forward and tear down the next monster, and another. Sure, they keep returning, but I'm slowing them long enough for my wolves to escape.
In a chaotic dance of leaping and tearing them off their feet and shredding clothes, I stop as many as I can. Already, half a dozen swing toward the wolves careening toward my men.
When I stare out that way, Bardhyl and Lucien stand by a twisted grand old tree, farther away, barely a shadow, but I know it's them.
Frantically I study how nimble the Ash Pack moves toward my men while curving away from the encroaching zombies. The members don't see me, not while I'm surrounded by the undead.
Problem is that the moment I step out to join my lovers, I will reveal myself. Instead, I recoil deeper into the river of undead emerging from the woods.
Desperately, I stare at my men, imploring them to get the hell out of here, hoping they understand. I will find them. Our only saving grace is starting to see some of the zombies chasing after the Ash Wolves.
When I swing my attention back to Bardhyl and Lucien, they're gone.
My heart twists and hurts, but it's for the best. With the Ash Wolves out, better for me to remain near the undead for now... at least until I can make a clean break.
Jittery nerves rush through my veins and I jostle about following the flow of zombies heading after the Ash Wolves. They shove past me, moaning, flooding the air with their reek. I may hate them, but they have saved my ass a few times. Beggars can't be choosers.
When I can no longer see the Ash Wolves in the woods up ahead, I start to pull away from the undead and decide to keep going in the direction Lucien had been taking us initially, away from where the Ash Wolves and zombies headed. I pray that once they shake off the Ash Wolves, they’ll resume their course in this direction too.
Woods blurred, closing in around me, this part of the forest is tightly packed with trees, and sunlight barely pierces the canopy overhead.
Shivers of panic blaze over me. The farther I travel and keep looking over my shoulder, my stomach hurts. Maybe I should have tracked after my men being chased by the Ash Wolves but kept my distance? Did I make a mistake?
Pausing for a moment to catch my breath and slow my drumming heart, I wrack my mind for what to do next.
There's no one following me that I can see when a twig snaps behind me.
I whip around, teeth bared, my rage unleashing. My thoughts fly to the Ash Wolves, except my gaze lands on Jae and the three huge men by her side. They are dressed in clothes too clean, too perfect to be from anywhere in this place. Pants, boots, long black coats, and wild hair. Brutality gleams in their eyes. The sight of them scares me and reminds me in many ways of three bears rearing up on hind legs before they attack.
With their sheer sizes, these large men standing at least six-foot-five or higher look like beasts to me. They aren’t from around here, so where the hell did they come from?
"Meira," Jae says at first, stepping closer, her hand stretching out to me. "Don't be afraid."
The man with honeyed hair, cropped short, snatches her arm to hold her by their side.
Yeah, right, don't be afraid, she says.
Jae frowns and glares up at her captor, then shakes her hand free. "She's not a danger, but an Ash Wolf. She saved me from the zombies and from the rogue wolves. She is with me."
I tilt my head to stare at how confident Jae sounds, and I'm proud of her in that moment, but these three men she keeps company are nothing but danger. Does she know what she’s doing?
The man who took Jae by the arm steps forward, which tells me he is the leader of these Alphas. I can smell it on all of them in fact, feel the Alpha heat that radiates from them like fire. Just as Omegas like me give off a certain scent, so do these men.
But I'm no fool... Alphas search for two things when they hunt in the woods.
