Page 12 of The Hidden Guardian
I’m a few inches from him when I hear snapping of branches and shuffling of leaves behind us.
“There!” a voice calls out, “Over there!”
A gun cocks. My heart pounds in my chest and my feet can’t seem to go fast enough. Renall is still in human form, and that hasn’t slowed him down as he’s fast as all hell. The tree I’m passing splinters into a million pieces, casting a cascading blast of wood all around me, that knocks me off my feet. I blink hard … dirt is the only thing I can see. My ears are ringing and I’m somewhat disoriented; my nose is also bombarded with the scent of cedar and gunpowder.
Suddenly, hands are lifting me off the ground and then Renall is tossing me over his shoulder as he continues to run. From over his shoulder, I can make out the bobbing of heads weaving through the trees behind us. I cover my own with my hands, squeezing all the gunshots and screaming from my mind. Is this how Colton felt when he was being hunted? Goddess of the Moon, Mother of all, please don’t let me die today.
* * *
Hours must have passed before coldness begins seeping into my legs and brings me back to reality. Between the monotonous up and down of his run, and my fractured mind, I must have checked out. Water is rushing and rising around me as I’m still in Renall’s arms. His face is stoic, staring ahead. I glance around, we’re in the middle of a river. Renall is wading downstream. The water is cold against my back as he begins to struggle and fight against the current and keeping me above water.
“I’m okay, I can walk now.” I swing out of his grasp.
A grunt is his only warning before he drops me down to the riverbed and Renall takes off his dripping wet jeans. I keep my eyes on my backpack as I look for a water bottle. I suppose if I were used to being naked, I would find jeans restricting too. Not that they held him back, he was running like a track star even in his human form. Taking the soaked jeans off the ground, I ring them out before shoving them into my backpack, fill the water bottle with water from the stream, and take a sip before offering him some. He breaks off some smaller reeds and covers our tracks on the riverbed. Renall surveys the quiet riverbed, sniffing in certain directions. The muscles in his neck flex with every twist. His jaw twitches before his full attention falls on me. It steals the breath from my lungs, how raw his gaze feels upon me. It sinks into my skin and sets it on fire. Renall nods. I don’t understand his words, but his eyes are asking me if I’m okay. I nod back, trying to appear reassuring, but the truth is I don’t know if I will ever be okay again.
We start off into a run again. The pace is a sprint but isn’t as fast as before.
Something tells me that he’s trying to keep pace with me because if anyone catches up with us, it’ll be me who gets killed first.
ChapterEight
AUTUMN
For someone who hasn’t worked out a day in her life, I’m keeping up fairly well. After we narrowly escaped the hunters, I followed this stranger forward. Where? I have no idea. His pack must be somewhere around here. Wolves travel in packs, right? The pace started off fast, and with all the adrenaline pumping through me. But now, my soggy shoes and I walk briskly, aimlessly forward, growing farther and farther from my former life. My brother, my Mother, my home. I swallow the sob that’s forming in my throat.
So lost in thought, I don’t notice where I’m going until my face is smushed against a broad, sweaty back.Oh. I step back.
Renall has stopped on the crest of a hill, and he slowly turns. The setting sun glistens off his brow as his stern face meets mine. A shiver runs down my spine that has nothing to do with my wet clothes.
“Sorry, I wasn’t … I didn’t–”
He growls something I don’t understand.
“I still don’t speak wolf, Renall.” I sigh. Between the ache in my feet from all this walking and running, and the pounding in my head from trying to determine if I made a good decision or not, my patience is wire thin.
He groans in frustration, shaking his head. Then points at the sun casting the world in pink and orange hues in the distance.
“Yeah, it’s going to get dark soon. Rest?” I flatten my hands like a prayer and place them under my head while mimicking snoring noises.
The corner of his lip quirks up, but he only nods. Then he turns again, eyes scanning the area. After a minute his ear twitches and he points to the dense trees to the left. After another brisk walk with Renall practically dragging me, we end up along the side of a steep mountain. Renall lets go of my hand finally and I rub my knuckles. He’s been silent and on edge since we left the cabin. My home. Tears well up in my eyes and I blink them away as Renall disappears behind a curtain of overgrown vines. My arms cross as I look around; we’re completely secluded. In a small valley between the bottom of the mountain and the tree line that rises on the hill beside me, it stretches as far as the eye can see. We’re also low enough in the valley that I can no longer see the sun setting in the distance.
Renall peeks his head out of the curtain of leaves and growls something I believe means ‘follow’ because he disappears back inside. Pushing back the curtain of ivy and moss, I follow him into a dark cavern. Leaves crunch under my feet, but I can’t see my hand in front of my face. It smells musty and possibly of another animal. His footsteps stop. I swallow the apprehension rising. “Uh … Renall?”
He grunts before me. I continue walking with my hand outstretched until I kick something. “Renall?” I whisper.
He grunts again, closer this time, and grabs my arm to pull me down next to him. Something’s rustling and it sounds like he’s dragging something back and forth before sparks flicker and catch on dried leaves. He leans in, blowing it to life. The fire casts our shadows onto the cave wall long and dark, and its warmth hits me immediately in the small space. I shiver, I didn’t realize how cold I was and still slightly damp from our trek through the river.
Renall rises to his feet, growling something, and points to the ground. Stay. I nod. I’m not going anywhere. I’m exhausted, and my feet are killing me. Renall disappears out of the mouth of the cave, leaving me with my own thoughts.
What am I doing? Why am I following this wolf-man? I mean, hunters were shooting at us. Maybe I can wait them out and return home … but what am I returning home to? An empty house and painful memories? Deep inside I know those hunters won’t let me go. I’ve seen the things they buy at the Gun Lot. They are professionals, so they’ve bought trackers, heat sensors, trappers, among other things. Hardcore hunters, and I don’t stand a chance … not alone. And that’s completely what I am now.
I tremble uncontrollably, either from the cold seeping into the cave mouth or the turn my thoughts have taken. I need to get out of my damp, bloody clothes before I get sick—another complication I don’t need right now. I kick off my shoes, flexing my toes. The feeling of relief is immediate. Gods, that feels good. I continue to slip out of my shirt and lay it out on a large rock near the fire. I pause, debating for a moment whether to be caught with my pants down in front of a total stranger. A man whom I saved, then he saved me and is now protecting me … but still a stranger. But, if I don’t take my pants off, I could get sick, and there are men chasing us, so no, I can’t risk that either. I strip off my pants and hang them over the rock too. My bra and panties will stay on, I don’t care how sexy or protective this wolf-man is.
As if thinking about him has telepathically brought him soundlessly back to the cave. Renall stands there nakedstill. Two limp animals in his hand. He silently studies me in my underwear. His face is hidden in the shadow of the cave mouth, but his eyes seem to glow in the darkness taking me all in. My heart stills in my chest as my breath escapes me. His eyes, his stance, there’s something carnally sexy about it and my body tingles in response. My nipples harden—so does his cock. A part of me wants him to bend me over this rock and ravish me right here in this dirty cave.No. No, Autumn, keep your head. Colton was murdered, and the same monsters are now after me. I can’t be having sex with shapeshifting strangers in caves. I fold my arms over my traitorous breasts and break the spell between us. Renall shakes his head, bringing his kill into the firelight. There’s blood on his beard and lips. He drops two dead rabbits at his feet before he tears into them with his teeth. I notice they have two wide bite marks and blood dripping from each. He caught them in wolf form. I watch, stunned and horrified, as he peels the meat from the bone and eats it raw. Mother always taught us to value nature. Only take what you need and replace it. We planted a new tree for each one we used to build our cabin. My stomach twists and churns. But after all the running and walking and crying I did today, I’d have to say this rabbit meat is a need.
He glances over at me and pauses, lowering his hands from his still-dripping mouth. I realize that my mouth is gaping open. I shut it, not so smoothly. His brows furrow as he looks around. He reaches for something, and when he turns around again, the rabbit meat is skewered on a stick and he holds it over the fire. The scent of barbeque meat wafts over to me, and my stomach growls in response. Renall smirks, turning the stick around in the fire. I scoot over beside him expectantly. When he hands the charred meat to me, I don’t even care how hot it is. I stuff it in my mouth and breathe through the pain. After a long day of running, this is the best meal I’ve ever had. Renall watches me before returning to his raw rabbit. He finishes skinning it and licks the leg and rib bones clean, setting them aside. The vertebrae and any organ he doesn’t eat gets tossed into the fire.
With the stress of the day starting to subside, I yawn, feeling the exhaustion in the deepest part of my bones. I go to stand, looking for a rock to prop myself up against and attempt to sleep. As I rise and put weight on my bare feet, I hiss in pain. Renall looks up, immediately concerned. I lift one leg and the bottom of my foot is one giant blister. There are more tiny ones on my pinky toe and heels. I guess it took a few moments until I got feeling back in my feet when I took those shoes off before I noticed how much pain I was in.
