He was our alpha. The last alpha we had. Now our magic will slowly fade with him as he had no living children.
Alpha.
Alpha.
Finally, sleep took me, and I welcomed the relief from my own thoughts.
* * *
The next morningI was stiff from sleeping on the hard tree platform but grateful to be alive. There were small tracks from some kind of creature all over the ground and I even spied a dead rat that looked like it had been half eaten. I was worried about Ginny, but she seemed fine as she ate her oats or whatever out of her bag. Whatever pest roamed the ground at night, it didn’t like donkey. After peeing at the base of a tree, and brushing my teeth, I was good to go.
This day felt longer than the previous one. The sun was hotter, Ginny felt slower, and I was bored out of my damn mind. Bored, but also on guard for any foe, so super heightened and mentally alert. It was not a good way to feel, and I imagined it would just get worse as I went through the Dark Fey Territory. And when I got there, I wouldn’t have Ginny, so I would have to make my way on foot.
This was a nightmare.
How had things taken a turn for the worse so quickly? One second I was making love to Sawyer and we were imprinting, and the next I was like some fugitive on the run from vampires who wanted to drink and bottle my “essence.”
What the fuck?
Not to mention the things that Arrow told me last night. That man, the one who saved me… he was the alpha, which could only mean he was my grandfather, right? I was so confused. But either way I wanted to know more about the Paladins. They seemed like a reasonable people. I mean, sure, Arrow almost killed me last night when he thought I was a regular city wolf, but when I told him I was banished, he was cool…
The rift must run really deep between the two clans. Probably what you get for cursing Sawyer’s family line.
I was so absorbed in my thoughts, I didn’t hear it until it was too late. A whistling sound cut through the air, then hot unyielding pain shot down my spine and an arrow lodged into my injured shoulder. A wild scream ripped from my throat as I lurched forward, lying flat on Ginny’s back. “Go!” I yelled and kicked her hard in the ribs with my feet.
She started to run as I fiddled behind me with my good arm and reached for the shotgun. When I felt my fingers grasp around the cool metal, I yanked it from my pack and sat up, spinning around at the same time.
I’d preloaded it this morning, and thank God for that because when I turned, I locked eyes with a giant troll. He was flying through the air, about to jump on my back. Without thinking, I pressed the butt of the shotgun to my good shoulder and pulled the two hammers back before squeezing the trigger with zero hesitation.
Holy crap.
A deafening blast exploded in my eardrums as the base of the shotgun kicked against my shoulder, but I held it firmly in place. A shrill whine rang in my ears, and everything went muffled. At the same time, the two shotgun shells ripped into the chest of the giant male troll and his body flew backward in a heap of blood and flesh.
There were two other trolls running behind their fallen friend, and instead of pressing on to attack me, they stopped to examine his body as Ginny ran like a bat out of hell. I pinched her belly with my thighs, trying to hang on while simultaneously searching for more shotgun shells as blood dripped from my shoulder wound and down my back.
That was a problem for future Demi. I needed to reload in case these asshats tried to come for me like their friend.
The trolls pointed to me and said something, but the ringing in my ears was so loud I had no idea what it was. They looked like bandits or something; they wore dirty crude clothing and had traveling packs on their back. Dirt and grease marred their ugly faces with yellowing tusks poking out of their leathery cheeks.
With shaking fingers, I managed to use my elbow to pop open the shotgun and load two new shells. The metal was hot, and I singed my finger before snapping it closed. My poor shoulder was bleeding and hurt like all hell, but I kept my focus. These guys would either fall back or seek revenge.
I waited as Ginny ran into the woods and the men started to heave their friend backward, taking his body with them while they retreated.
Thank God.
I sighed in relief. Relaxing only a fraction but still alert. Keeping the gun propped on my lap, I patted Ginny. “You can slow down, girl.”
She lessened to a brisk trot and I looked down at my shoulder.
Murderous snakebite!It was bad. Really bad.
The arrow’s metal tip had completely protruded through my shoulder, right near my armpit. I peeked behind my back and saw it poking through the other side.
A whimper left my throat as I reached up to probe the wound with gentle fingertips, and pain seared my skin there. Okay, I was leaving it in until I could stop somewhere and figure this out.
‘Sawyer, help,’I sobbed, and then cried out when the cuffs lit up, stopping my magic.
There was no reply. I was all alone and that was a depressing realization.
