His tail swished, but he turned away from me, unconcerned with my presence. If I could lay low here for an hour to make sure I wasn’t followed, then it might be safe enough to head back to Paladin Village. Assuming everyone was out. Reaching up, I traced the two small divots in my neck, already healing, only a slight scar there that would be gone in an hour. A shiver ran through me at the memory of her sucking on my blood.
I quickly checked my body for cuts, or blood, or any abrasion that might lead the vampires to sniff me out, even with my cuffs on, when my gaze fell onto the giant cow dung patty that lay on the floor.
The pungent odor was vile, but also strong enough to mask everything else.
Sometimes survival was gross, but I was going to have to do what it took to stay alive and lay low. Grabbing a handful of cow dung, I rubbed it onto the front of my black army fatigues, gagging through the process. I rubbed two strips along the front of my legs, and two along my arms, before backing away from the dung in an effort to escape the smell. Except I couldn’t … now Iwasthe smell.
Gross. I fought down a gag as I scanned the space for a place to lay low. I spied a tack room in the corner, with a sink inside, and ran in to wash my hands with soap. On the far wall, hanging near some saddles and helmets, was a handkerchief.
Thank God.
Using my clean hands, I wrapped the hanky around my nose and mouth, breathing a sigh of relief that the smell had lessened to a manageable amount.
‘You okay? Did it work?’Rab asked suddenly.
‘I got free. Hiding out now in a barn. Will wait an hour and then meet you. Everyone get out?’
I felt his relief through our bond.‘Everyone but the Independent Council of Douchebags. They decided to stay.’
I almost growled, but in case the queen and her men were stalking around the barn, I didn’t want to call attention to myself with noise.‘Well, it’s their funeral. I don’t care,’I said grumpily.
But I did care. I wanted all of us together. I didn’t want Sawyer to come out of prison only to see his people broken into multiple groups, but I couldn’t control them, so whatever.
‘All okay at the village?’
‘We had to take care of a few Ithaki on the outskirts, but I’m heading there now. Arrow went with the first group. He says it’s deserted and completely fertile for planting crops. Fully restored. Good job, Alpha.’
I grinned, taking pride in his praise. It might have taken me a year to restore that damn land, but I restored it and that’s all that mattered. I settled into the tack room, sitting in a corner and staying out of sight, expecting at any moment that the vampires could track my scent, but they never came. Maybe I’d injured the queen worse than I thought. Maybe she was in need of some lifesaving surgery or something. That would be awesome.
I was so tired that my thigh muscles quivered even though I was sitting. I’d run too long and hard and my body was hurting. The minutes ticked by agonizingly slow, and my eyelids started to droop.
No.
I couldn’t fall asleep here. That would be a death sentence. Popping up, I paced the room to stay awake, trying to ignore the exhaustion pulling at my limbs. I’d run nonstop for hours, then the queen stole some of my “essence.” It was a wonder I was still conscious.
After a while, I decided it was now or never. Time to head to Paladin Village.
I tiptoed out into the main barn, seeing that the door was still ajar, just as I’d left it. I would keep the cuffs on and have to just rely on my normal human jogging speed to get back to the village, because I wasn’t going to risk spreading my scent around for the vampires.
Slipping out the barn, I crossed the farmland, and quickly tucked into the trees that bordered the Wild Lands. I knew on the other side was the Ithaki portion, but I had no choice. I’d rather brave them than the vampires right now. Stepping over the orange flags that demarcated the property line, I started a brisk job through the woods.
‘On my way,’I told Rab.‘If I don’t run into trouble, I should reach you in the next thirty minutes.’
‘I see you. Go right,’he said, and shock caused me to slow and look around.
“What?” I whispered out loud.
Rab, Sage, Arrow, and Eugene stepped out from behind an outcrop of trees. They were armed to the teeth and covered in mud paint to camouflage themselves.
“You didn’t think we were going to leave you on your own, did you?” Sage winked.
My throat tightened at the sight of my little protection squad. Their loyalty made tears form in my eyes as I swallowed hard. One by one, their noses wrinkled as they took in the stench covering me.
“No offense, Alpha,” Arrow said, “but you smell like shit.”
Sage pinched her nose. “Literal shit.”
I grinned. “Cow dung. Threw off the vampires. Come on, let’s get home so I can shower.”
