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I nodded and put my hands up as he lowered Willa. I held my breath while he started counting.
She let out a small squeak as she fell. I did my best to catch her, breaking her fall. I got her around the hips, but her knees gave out. We both fell to the ground.
She covered her mouth with her arm to suppress her pained cry. She blew out long breaths and bit into her sweater. Tears misted her eyes, and she squeezed them shut.
I hugged her to me. “It’s okay. Deep breaths.”
Lincoln plopped down next to us in a deep squat. “I got her.” He hurried to us and picked her up, bridal style. “Let’s go.”
He didn’t give room for argument before he set our speed at a steady jog. I kept pace with him and kept my eyes on the woods.
Willa buried her face into his shoulder and wrapped both arms around his neck, clinging to him as he ran faster. We were almost at a full sprint now, which couldn’t have been easy for him with the burden of her weight.
We made our way through the woods until we came to the waterfall. The crashing water gave me hope. Almost there.
“I’ll get the bags.” I didn’t wait for Lincoln’s permission before I hopped across the rocks and crawled into the cave.
I knew exactly where the bags were. I rushed across the cave and grabbed them both. As I hurried back to the opening, I put one on my back and held the other to my chest.
I pushed the one in my hands through the opening first and then army crawled out so I didn’t have to remove the other. Then I picked the bag up and hugged it to my chest as I darted back across the rocks.
I’d just landed on the thick, mossy grass when a howl pierced the air. I gasped and clutched the bag closer.
I darted my gaze to the tree line. More howls sounded off in the distance, and they seemed to be getting closer.
They were coming.
Lincoln met my gaze with wide eyes. “We need to go.”
He motioned for me to follow him. He took off at a sprint. I charged after him, looking over my shoulder every few seconds.
My chest constricted, making it hard to breathe. Those howls were getting closer. There was no way we were going to outrun them. Wolves were faster than humans.
Willa lifted her head and met my gaze. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and her face crumpled as she began to tremble.
I risked another glance over my shoulder. Paws pounded on the earth behind us. They were gaining on us fast.
Lincoln stopped and put Willa down. He took the pack off his back and yanked away the one in my hands and tossed it to the ground.
He cupped my cheek. “Sloane, listen to me. You and Willa keep running. Keep heading west. You’ll run right into the car. Keys are under the front seat.” He shoved the bag he had into my chest. “Get this bag out of here. Everything you need to know is on my laptop. The password is DarkSide#22#. Upper D and upper S.”
I shook my head and shoved the bag back at him. “No. I can’t take this. You have to come with us. If they catch you—”
Lincoln cut me off with a kiss. “If they catch you and Willa, they will kill you for sure. I can’t let that happen. Go. Get that laptop out of here. It is the key to taking my dad down.”
I clutched his hand with both mine and tried to pull him with me but he didn’t budge. My bottom lip trembled. “Please don’t do this. We can make it.”
He kissed me one last time. “I have to. Go. I’ll find you. I promise.”
Lincoln didn’t give me a chance to respond before he leaped forward, triggering his shift midair. He landed on his feet as his wolf. He cast one final glance our way and then darted off in the direction of the howls.
Luna, please protect him.
Every fiber in my being protested as I hauled Lincoln’s bag over my shoulder and turned to Willa. Tears burned my eyes, and my heart thumped painfully in my chest.
I couldn’t do this. But I had to. His sacrifice would be for nothing if Willa and I got caught, and I wouldn’t do that to Lincoln.
I loved him too much.Love!Gah, I should have told him.
