they are after me

I trip over my feet and Aspen reaches out and grasps me around my waist, helping me maintain my footing. "He has a pack?"

"Not anymore." A pained expression fills Aspen's face. "We kinda pissed off a witch with triplet daughters."

My stomach tightens. Witches and wolves have an uneasy truce at best. They like to keep to the cities and separate from us. I shake my head. No, I have to stop thinking that way. I'm half-witch even though I don't feel magical or special at all. I feel broken. Like something inside me, besides my wolf, is missing or buried.

I force myself back to the conversation. "Do I want to know?"

"Wasn't Raven's fault." Aspen gives a wry chuckle. "They were to be a gift to a Warlock. Needless to say, there's no reasoning with an enraged mother and witch."

"Then why didn't she curse you and Dex? Why go after the pack?"

"Cause in her mind, it was the worst way to punish us. To see Raven's suffering." He looks away, the muscle in his jaw working before he speaks again. "When we came back, there was nothing left but carcasses."

I cover my mouth with my hand as my stomach rolls. "I-I'm so sorry."

"Now you know why Raven fights them every chance he gets." Aspen shakes his head, his face pale. "It's going to get him killed one day."

Is that why Raven said for us to run if we come across any more lost ones? That he'll sacrifice himself to save his two packmates without concern for himself? The fact he's hurting this much has my heart twisting with empathy in my chest.

"What's your story?" I ask Aspen. "Were you part of a pack before you met Raven or Dex?"

"Not much to tell." He steps over a muddy hole that I have to veer around to avoid. "Four older brothers fighting to be Alpha only to have the constant worry someone will challenge you..." He shakes his head. "No thanks. I like to pick my fights not worry about being ambushed or stabbed in my sleep."

"That's awful, they wouldn't do that would they?" But even as I ask, I know the answer. Too many in my own pack would if they believed it could win them the title of Alpha.

Raven stops and presses a finger

to his ear.

"What's going on?" I ask, trying to catch up to him while Aspen and Dex's long strides equal three of mine.

"We're being tracked." Raven stops to wait for us. "We need to move now."

He leads us through the woods and no one speaks.

I glance over my shoulder, but there's nothing there.

"Is it lost ones?" I whisper.

Dex glares at me like I've done something horrible. "No. It's your pack."

"Four-"

A prickling sensation skates down my spine. Casey. A group of wolves flank him, hunting with their leader. Their lethal teeth and claws glint in the light, hungry for blood. Their shadows lengthen until they seem to reach out and grab me. The snapping of branches and the crackle of twigs rip through the air and make my stomach heave.

I swallow hard as I stare into the eyes of my impending doom. I know that I can't survive this fight. No wolf, no magic. Nothing.

My wolf whines, pining for Michael but I doubt he's here with the others.And even if he was, I'm not ready to see him yet. Not until I'm fixed and the bond between us broken. Then he can regret his mistake. Let him feel what rejection is like.

"We'll hold them off. Get Jessica out of here," Raven snaps. His eyes flash amber.

Dex grabs my hand and yanks me after him. I stumble over vines and broken branches as we run.

Howls and growls sound closer. A whine sounds and I wince. Was that Aspen or Raven?

Thunder booms overhead, shaking the ground. Stinging rain pelts us and the sky flashes with lightning.

Dex and I run for what feels like hours.

"I'm not sure how much more I can take," I say, my thighs soaked with mud, my arms bloody and scratched from fighting branches.

"You'll be fine."

"Please, can't we stop?" I hate that I sound pathetic but I can't go another step. "What about Aspen and Raven?"

Oh God, what will Casey do to them? Drag them to his father and have them skinned for trying to protect me?

protect me?

Dex stops abruptly and turns to face me. I flinch, expecting him to scold me.

Thunder booms overhead and flashes of lightning illuminate the sky and his emerald eyes.

"We can't stop. If we do, we're dead."

"But what about-"

"Trust me, they'll agree with me." When I don't answer, he continues, "We needed to split up."

He drags me forward, but I dig my heels into the ground. I try to pull away from him but he's too strong for me to get away and I stumble after him, but don't let go.

We continue through the dark forest and I'm barely able to see, while Dex doesn't stop.

Panting, I keep up with Dex as we run deeper into the forest. A branch knocks against my cheek, drawing blood that drips down my face. The rain soaks me.

"We need to stop," I gasp out between pants. Lightning flashes, making the dark forest visible for a moment before it returns to black.

Doy stone running tucking me with

him and we huddle together in a small hollow beneath a tree.

I shiver, unable to stop even though I'm now wet and muddy, chilled to the bone, and terrified. Dex holds me close, resting his cold hands on my back.

Shouts sound in the distance and I close my eyes, wishing I could be anywhere else but here.

"What are we going to do?" My voice shakes.

Dex's gaze meets mine and the shadows mask it. "We need to wait until the storm clears."

I'm so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. There's a small light under the trees, barely perceptible. It feels like it's a million miles away.

Dex wraps his arms around me and keeps me close. His heart beats erratically beneath his ribs as his breathing slows. Is he resting or trying to listen for something?

"What do you hear?" I ask, pushing myself closer to him.

"Nothing." His voice is void of any emotion. "Quiet."

The rain pounds the ground, soaked into the earth, too far to be helped by the leaves overhead. The rain fills up the depression where we