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I huffed in response, slowly standing. After wiggling my shoulders a few times to make sure she wouldn’t fall again, I nodded.
Charlotte and Adam shifted back into their wolf forms, cautiously trotting beside me. As they scanned the area to make sure no other vampires were about to attack us, I led the way to the front of the fortress. About four vampires littered the ground near my truck—that had nothing left of it but a fiery frame.
Oh, my precious, I whined.
Rose stirred on my back, whispering,Yes, dear?
I was, uh…No use lying to my mate now.I was talking about my truck.
She snorted.Excuse me?
My baby got blown to bits, I grumbled.
Yes, your precious baby is on fire, but your other precious baby fell off a cliff.She scoffed.Heavens, I should have smacked you when I had the chance.
Adam barked, commanding the other two wolves with his mind to take up the rear. Those two vampires near the cliff were probably well on their way to being functional again. Lucius burst from a small group of vampires and darted toward us, barking furiously for us to follow him.
Don’t ignore me, mister, Rose argued.You can’t drop this just because we’re in danger.
I chuckled.Actually, I don’t have to drop it. You’re about to pass out from the poison.
You are such a menace, she accused.When I wake back up, I’m going to…
Her voice faded and I felt her energy shift. The wolf was completely taking over now, urging her to rest. If she wanted to recover properly from all that poison she drank, then she had to go to sleep. It was the only way.
Which made me feel a little better about the accidental slight.
Rose was more precious to me than any truck. While the years of labor I had put into that vehicle meant a lot to me, they weren’t worth more than her life. She was everything to me, the entire world.
And I would happily carry her on my back through a wicked storm just to make sure she stuck around.
I’m not running from her anymore, I thought.I’m not pushing her away anymore. Never again. Please, sweet gods, don’t let it ever happen again.
Lucius directed us from the winding driveway to the thick woods just across the road. We disappeared into the trees, moving as quickly as the mud would allow. I slid a few times but kept my footing, unbothered by Lucius shouting commands this way and that. We worked as a cohesive unit, following his lead since he was the most experienced.
It had been years since I worked with a pack. And not just with a pack. But like I waspartof the pack. Charlotte shouldered my left side when I stumbled, keeping me from falling to the ground. Whenever we paused, Adam carefully leaned on my side to check on Rose. Lucius and the two security wolves circled us frequently, keeping a tight perimeter.
When we reached a clearing, Lucius turned around and asked,Are you alright? Do you need water?
His offer made me step back.Uh, no, I replied.We should push through. We have to get her to the hospital wing at the inn.
Good plan, Lucius praised.Alright, let’s keep moving!
And that was that. Nobody argued with the idea. They were likely as eager to get away from the fortress as I was to get Rose to safety. Once we reached Rochdale’s city limits, more relief seeped into my veins, the rain let up enough to reveal the last rays of the sun disappearing on the other side of the horizon.
Anger flashed through me.How the hell did they ambush us like that?
The storm, Charlotte replied.They used it to block the sun. They couldn’t have possibly done it without some kind of magic.
I growled when we reached familiar streets.We have to find out who’s helping them. We can’t afford to lose like this any longer.
Charlotte sniffed my shoulder.Sounds like you’re planning on sticking with us, bud.
I halted near the mouth of an alley. Lucius urged us to go ahead of him so he could take the rear again. But I couldn’t stop thinking about what Charlotte had said. When I turned to her to ask about it, she launched ahead, running around the corner with Adam.
The darkness swallowed them. I tried not to think about what that could mean for our future. As long as I had Rose and as long as I could protect her, then disappearing into the shadows wouldn’t be as dangerous as it seemed in the past.
Surely there was a way out.
