Adrenaline pumped in my veins when I heard the slight sound of a footstep. My eyes swung in the direction of the sound but the there was nothing other than a thick forest. No movement. I held my breath.
My instinct screamed for me to run. I was being hunted.
Fear held me in my place. I only had one chance to get out and I couldn't screw it up. Without moving my head, my eyes went to the opposite direction and I tried to figure which way was the best way out. I couldn't outrun a werewolf but I couldn't just wait for them to attack, either.
One, two, three, I counted down in my head. I pushed away from the tree and ran as fast as I could. Hearing the noise behind me propelled me forward but a heavy weight launched against my back and I fell forward. The breath was knocked from me as the heavy weight impacted with my body when I landed on the ground.
Winded and unable to move, I began to panic. The heavy weight moved off me and I was able to draw in a breath. My backpack had fallen beside me. Groaning, I pushed up onto my knees and looked up to face my attacker.
It was a huge male werewolf. His amber eyes fixed on me as he stood a few feet away. I didn't recognize him but that didn't mean he wasn't a scout.
I got to my feet and raised my hands in surrender. My heart was beating so fast it was hard to catch my breath. He took a few menacing steps closer and growled at me. That wasn't a good sign.
"Please don't hurt me," I whispered.
The werewolf growled louder.
Well, that didn't work, I thought. A scout wouldn't have been openly hostile toward a human. He had to be a rogue. Could he be the murderer? The reason why werewolves on the territory were being evacuated to the main compound?
The werewolf launched at me but I wasn't fast enough to avoid the powerful body that slammed into me. I felt his powerful jaws sink into my arm. A cry of agonizing pain wrenched from my lips. I struggled against the razor-sharp teeth tearing into my flesh as my body hit the ground.
I was about to push the rogue from me but I didn't get a chance. In a blink of an eye the werewolf was ripped off me and flung against the trunk of a tree. He yelled out in pain before falling to the ground.
Confused and in pain, I tried to figure out what was going on.
Trying to make sense of what had happened I took in the dark form that stood in front of me. Through the tears, my eyes cleared as I watched a figure dressed in black bend over the injured werewolf.
"How about picking on someone your own size?" the stranger said in a dark voice as he bent down to pick up the wolf like it weighed nothing.
Shock set in. Then the fear washed over me. Despite my pain all I could concentrate on was the scene in front of me.
My mind couldn't process what I was seeing. I sat up and held my injured arm protectively against my chest as I watched the unbelievable scene play out.
Blood seeped from my wounds but I ignored the throbbing pain as Iwatched a man slam the injured werewolf against the tree.
My mind screamed for me to get to my feet and to try and escape but fear kept me frozen in place.
CHAPTER FOUR
Kyle
The run to the site was uneventful. I kept my senses on high alert as I ran with my beta. We could smell the blood before we found the red-stained grass where a rogue had lost its life. I shifted first and bent down to investigate the scene as James shifted.
"Did you find any trace of Crystal?" he asked, and I stilled.
I didn't want to be reminded of that while I was leaning over a pool of blood.
"There's nothing," I answered as I straightened up to face him. "It's like she just…disappeared into thin air."
James gave me a contemplative look.
"I thought back to when we were growing up and I can't think of any reason why she would be on the run," he said.
I had done the same and had come up empty.
"You think she's hiding something?" he asked with a slight crease in his forehead.
It would explain her strange behavior but what on earth could she be hiding?
