Page 3 of Moon Destiny
The wind rushed around us, sending dry leaves skittering over the ground. Overhead, thick clouds rolled across the sky.
I swallowed. “Alex, I—”
“Quiet,” he said suddenly, his nostrils flaring.
I bristled, ready to protest, but something in his eyes gave me pause. His irises were different. Almost…glowing.
“Get behind me.” He didn’t wait for me to comply, merely gripped the strap of my pack and shoved me behind him. Just as fast, he shed his own pack and then tensed, as if he braced for battle.
A growl rumbled from the trees. Then another. It was fully dark now—too difficult to see. Even as I thought it, a pair of golden eyes appeared in the forest.
My heart jumped into my throat. Oh god. A whimper escaped me before I could stop it.
Alex reached a hand back and touched my hip. “It’s okay. I’m calling my dad.”
What? Even with my heart pounding in my ears, I recognized the oddness of his statement. He didn’t have his phone. He insisted on “unplugging” when he camped, so he’d brought some kind of satellite location device. Was that what he meant?
A dark blur streaked from the trees.
Sounds exploded in my ears—my strangled scream, the dull thud of the blur smacking into Alex, the wild shuffle of Alex’s boots on the trail.
Something slammed into my side.
I landed on my shoulder in the dirt, and the weight followed me.
More sounds. Deep growls and short, brutal yips.
Screaming. Is that me again? A flash of deep purple sky. Glowing eyes glaring into mine. Hot breath on my cheek.
Fire across my throat.
My back bowed off the ground.
Something hot and wet dripped down my neck.
Drowning. How could I be drowning when I was nowhere near the water?
Black crowded the edges of my vision.
Oh shit, I thought. I must be dying.
The black rushed forward. Raindrops splashed against my cheeks. In the distance, a wolf howled. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I should be worried about that. But my brain was sluggish, and my body was suddenly cold. But I was too weak to shiver. Or think. Sleep was good. An escape from the fear and the icy chill creeping over my skin.
I closed my eyes and let the darkness claim me.
CHAPTER TWO
HUGH
I tore through the forest, dirt flying from my paws as my enforcers struggled to keep up with me. My lungs burned, but it was nothing compared to the rage searing my veins. Alex was in trouble—I’d heard it in his voice when he’d called out in my mind.
“Come quickly,” he’d said. “They found us, and they’re going to attack.”
I’d rushed from the house, tapping the mental connection as I went. “Who are they?”
But Alex had gone silent, and he’d stayed that way while I broke the speed limit and several other traffic laws racing the twenty-two miles to the Columbia River Gorge.
I’d made the trip in fifteen minutes—and now I was afraid I was fifteen minutes too late.
