AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 17
MONIQUE
Hot tears flowed down my face. I couldn’t stop them. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t express what it was.
I clutched my fingers more tightly into Xander’s thick pelt and looked over my shoulder. I still couldn’t see Michael. Where was he?
Please. Please, be all right.
I rode on Xander’s back for what felt like ages, over logs, around bushes, and between thick brown tree trunks. He barked to Kyle running ahead, and they both came to a stop. I slid off Xander’s back, shaking from the stress of the day.
Xander shifted back to human, though his teeth were still large and sharp and his eyes retained that yellow shifter tinge.
“I’m going back for him.” His words were slightly garbled but clear enough that I got the gist of it.
I wrapped my arms around myself. “You’re going back for Michael?”
He nodded, the looked over at Kyle. “Take her to the car. We’ll meet you there.”
Xander didn’t wait for a reply from either of us. Instead, he turned and ran. He jumped up and in mid-air, shifted back into his wolf form before he landed.
He disappeared into the forest, leaving silence behind.
I turned to Kyle, who offered his back to me. As a wolf, he was huge, but not as big as Xander, and I worried I was too heavy for him. But I didn’t know how else we were going to get out of here quickly. There was no way I could run as fast as a shifter in wolf form, and I didn’t know how far it was or what sort of terrain lay between us and the car.
I knew nothing about this world other than my brief forays into forest next to the veil. I’d never been this far from my realm before. I figured he wouldn’t offer if he couldn’t carry me, so I climbed onto his back and leant forward, clutching at his pelt with my fingers.
He didn’t run as fast as Xander, which made for a more comfortable ride. His fur was soft and his body warm beneath my legs.
With every step away from my realm, I felt my magic grow weaker.
It was still there, within me. I could feel it pulsing gently. But it was like the battery was low, and I had no idea how to recharge it.
I closed my eyes and clung tight until Kyle slowed and finally stopped. I opened my eyes to discover we were at the bottom of a rocky cliff face. I slid off Kyle’s back, my legs unstable.
“Why have we stopped? We don’t need to climb up there, do we?”
