So she was now headed the wrong way.
She thought.
The stream could have taken her in another direction entirely.
Abruptly, she remembered the little stream she’d found when she’d gone exploring with Cain. It must be the same stream, and if it was, then it wound around Gallen and would take her near the landing field, hopefully near enough she would be able to see the security lights.
Unfortunately, she’d left the stream almost an hour before. Sighing, she turned and began to retrace her steps. After walking a little more than twenty minutes by her calculations, she heard the sound of gushing water. Hopefulness surged through her and she hurried onward. She’d just reached what she thought was the embankment when a cold, clammy, very hairy arm snaked out of the darkness and caught her around the waist, jerking her back tightly against an equally hairy chest. Almost at the same moment, a large hand clamped over her nose and mouth, cutting off her air supply.
Panicked when she couldn’t drag in a breath of air, Amaryllis’ fighting instincts kicked in sluggishly. She swung her arm reflexively toward her captor, connecting with a bony, hairy shoulder hard enough the creature let out a howl of rage. It didn’t release her however, and within a few moments the darkness was no longer merely around her, it was clutching at her, sucking her down into nothingness. In vain, she clawed at the hand that was suffocating her, her efforts becoming weaker and more futile by the moment. Her last thought before she lost consciousness was that she’d killed Reese’s baby and herself in the process.
* * * *
Reese wasn’t certain what woke him, but he was instantly wide awake. He sat up, listening, but heard no sound that seemed to indicate a threat. Slipping silently from the bed, he pulled his sword from its scabbard and crossed the room, easing the door open. All was quiet, but he found he couldn’t shake the sense that something wasn’t right.
Leaving his room, he made his way down the stairs and checked the first floor, room by room. He met up with Dante when he reached the stairs once more.
“What is it?”
Frowning, Reese glanced around the foyer, looking for anything that seemed out of place. “Something woke me.”
Dante nodded. “You take the front. I’ll take the back.”
When Reese reached the rear of the house, he found Dante studying the ground beneath Amaryllis’ window. His heart seemed to seize in his chest as he glanced up at the house and saw that her window was open. Cain was leaning out, his expression grim.
“She went out here,” he said when both men looked up at him.
Reese looked down at the impressions in the soil. “She was alone,” he said neutrally.
Cain landed on the ground behind Reese and Dante. “When she left, at any rate. I’ve got a feeling none of us are going to be too happy when we find out what our darling mate has been up to.”
Reese sent him a sharp look. “Do you know what this is about?”
“I could guess, but it would only be a guess. I don’t know any more than you do.”
“The child?” Dante hazarded.
Cain glanced at him in surprise. Reese looked as if he’d been pole axed.
“She told you?” Cain asked.
Dante shook his head. “She was … deeply disturbed, but she would not trust me enough to speak to me. It is only a suspicion I had.”
“She is breeding?” Reese asked hoarsely, glancing around the area as if he thought she might magically reappear. He didn’t wait for either of the others to respond. After glancing at the footprints again, he lifted his head, gauged the direction and took off at a run. Dante and Cain fell in behind him.
Dante glanced over at Cain. “You have no weapon. If we run into trouble, you will be the least useful. You should return to the house to watch over her if she comes back.”
Cain’s lips tightened. “It’s nearly dawn. She would have returned by now if she could. I’m thinking she’ll have more need of me wherever she’s at.”
The trail they followed led them to the med center. When they arrived, city security was still investigating a break in. The three retreated a short distance to consider the situation. It seemed indisputable that Amaryllis was the one they sought, and that she’d eluded them. The question was, where had she gone when she’d escaped?
Deciding Dante would be the least suspicious to ask questions, he was sent to see what he could discover. He returned a few minutes later.
“This way,” he said, setting off at a jog.
Reese and Cain caught up to him. “What did you find out?”
“She was chased beyond the city perimeter. They lost her in the woods. They’re combing the area now with scanners.”
