Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Neither was he. Quicker than her, he shed his shirt and jeans, followed by the boots.
Snarling, she grabbed his clothes and shoved them in with hers. “Our boots and your jacket won’t fit.”
Did the female sound sad about that? “I’ll buy you new ones. Leave the pack.”
“No.” She shivered almost violently, and now nude, he could see the bruises remaining on her ribs.
He willed himself not to look anywhere else and forced his gaze up to her face. “Emily? Why are you still bruised?”
She sighed. “I don’t know, but I have blood in the pack that should tell me. All right?”
Blood? What the hell? Whose blood was she carrying across pack lines? In the distance, a wolf bayed.
Damn it. “We have to run. Now.” Turning away, he shifted into his wolf form as she did the same. He engaged in a brief tug-of-war with her for the pack, finally ripping it free. Then he launched into a run, slowing to make sure she stayed on his six.
His instincts flared.
Their attackers were coming. Fast.
The cold ripped into Emily’s paws as she struggled to keep up with Jackson. Their breath steamed in the icy air, vanishing before it could rise past their muzzles. Snow clung to her fur, weighing her down, and her pulse pounded in her ears as exhaustion gnawed at her muscles. She could hear the wolves behind them, their growls and panting breaths carried by the wind.
Lifting her head, she sniffed the air and could make out four different scents. She had a gift for smell, and it often came in handy.
Jackson cut a path for her, his powerful frame surging through the snow with a relentless pace. His massive paws barely seemed to touch the ground.
Emily dug deeper for strength, trying to force her legs to move. The icy wind attacked her, freezing her ears as the jagged ground scraped her already frozen paws. Branches whipped past, and the sting of sleet bit into her face. Snow clumps dropped from branches high above, and one hit her on the head.
The impact knocked her sideways, her body rolling through the snow, pain echoing throughout her rib cage.
A growl tore through the air, and in an instant, Jackson stood in front of her. His jaw latched onto her scruff with a firm but careful grip, pulling her upright. Leaning in, his nose touched hers as he scanned her.
In his wolf form, he towered over her even more, with thick fur the color of onyx and those unmistakable blue eyes that glinted with fury and determination.
Emily yipped, shaking off the snow and signaling she could still run.
Jackson’s gaze lingered for another moment before he spun, snatching the pack from where it had fallen. Muscles bunching, he broke into a run again, his paws tearing through the snow with barely restrained power.
She had to keep up with him. Taking a deep breath, she barreled herself forward, adrenaline dulling the ache in her legs.
Their pursuers’ howls echoed through the trees, closer now. Too close.
Panicking, she pushed forward, each step harder than the last. Snow bit into her paws, and her breath came in ragged gasps. Desperation clawed at her chest, but she focused on Jackson’s form ahead, muscles rippling beneath thick fur as he cut through the snow with relentless speed.
Her vision blurred.
The silver in her blood pumped sluggishly alongside the illness, both slowing her down. The wind sliced against her fur like needles, and branches above them creaked, dropping shards of ice that stung as they hit.
She followed Jackson, pushing beyond the exhaustion, but her limbs refused to obey. Each step felt heavier than the last until her body almost buckled beneath her.
They reached an outcropping of rocks offering a shallow shelter, the branches overhead catching most of the falling snow. She lurched into the space, her body trembling as it betrayed her, and she shifted back into her human form. Her knees hit the frozen ground, and she collapsed forward.
“Emily.” Jackson shifted back in a heartbeat, catching her before her face hit. His arms closed around her, heat searing her frozen skin. “What the fuck?”
“I don’t know.” Her whisper trembled from her lips as her body shook violently.
“Damn it,” he muttered, holding her tighter against his chest as if willing his warmth into her. “The silver…it’s still in your blood. It’s fighting you.” His voice roughened, and his gaze swept the woods beyond their shelter.
The wind carried the sound of paws scratching over ice. The wolves were closing in.
“All right. Okay.” He shifted his hold, pulling her fully onto his lap. “We need to get clothes on you.”
He reached into the pack and yanked out her sweater, pulling it over her head in one swift motion before grabbing her jeans and jacket. “Put these on.”
Her fingers fumbled with the fabric, stiff and clumsy from the cold, but she managed to tug them up over her trembling legs. He crouched and slid socks onto her feet. First hers, then his thicker pair, before zipping up her jacket and tugging the hood over her damp hair. Her breath puffed out in shaky clouds, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably.