“What if we can’t remember how to find him?”
“That’s a problem for later.”
“I hate these assholes,” Asher muttered.
“We all do. Come on,” Declan said. “They’re getting further away from us.”
He led the way through the woods as they followed the hunting cries.
* * *
Willow jerked awake so fastthat she nearly fell off the branch, but her belt did its job and yanked her back. With a racing heart, she took in her surroundings before leaning over to peer into the shadows below. She held her breath as she waited for a pair of blood-red eyes to meet hers, but no one else was in the tree.
Taking a deep breath, she rested her head against the trunk and looked at the stars. Despite knowing she was alone and safe, her heart continued its riotous beat as howls echoed over the land.
She must have taken the sound of those cries and incorporated them into her nightmare, but she’d woken to another nightmare. The Savages weren’t going to give up, and if she didn’t get out of this tree soon, she’d be too weak to fight.
Wiggling her toes, she smiled when she discovered that she didn’t dream her healed ankle. She started to undo her belt strap when a howl sounded from so close that she searched the tree to make sure she was still alone.
She bit her lip as the howl went on until it became an endless wail vibrating through her body until it became a part of her—a part that would drive her insane if it didn’tstopsoon.
She almost slapped her hands over her ears to block it out, but she wasn’t a child who could bury herself under the covers or crawl into her parents’ bed when she was afraid. She was a trained killer, and as much as she longed for her mom and the safety of her home, she’d chosen to join the Alliance, and it was where she belonged.
In the beginning, she hadn’t known what would come of her choice, but in the Alliance, she discovered a second home and family. She’d also found a purpose that felt as right to her as the air she breathed. It was a deadly choice, and one day it might kill her, but she would never regret it.
Please don’t let that day be today.
Sticks cracked beneath her. Checking her inner jacket pockets and her belt, she breathed a sigh when she discoveredthatpart of her nightmare was also wrong; she still had her stakes. She removed the one from her belt when a Savage emerged.
If it was only one of them, she would take it, but as she thought it, three more materialized. She cursed as she glowered at them. If her incessant thirst and having to heal hadn’t weakened her, she might try to take them, but she didn’t have a death wish.
When they stopped beneath her tree, Willow’s grip tightened on her stake. They stood together as they scanned the forest. If they looked up, they might see her, but she doubted it. It was nighttime, the branches were thick, they didn’t expect her to be there, and she exposed little of her head to their view.
Finally, they moved away and vanished into the forest as another unnatural cry sounded. Willow tried to swallow, but she was so starved she had no saliva left in her parched mouth and throat. She’d give anything to have her feet on the ground where she could feed and run, but she would wait until morning.
Chapter Eleven
When the firstrays of the sun touched the sky, and the cries of the Savages died away, Willow undid her belt and slid it around her waist. Buckling it in place, she ignored the stiffness of her body as hunger burned her arid veins.
She hated the tremor in her hands as she descended the tree. When she reached the area where there were no more branches, she sat and, gripping the branch with both hands, lowered her legs over the side. She hung in the air before releasing the limb and falling to the earth.
Landing silently, she crouched and rested her fingers on the ground as she took in her surroundings. Too busy trying to stay alive, she hadn’t paid attention to where she was running while fleeing the Savages, and she had no idea which direction would lead her out of these woods.
In the end, she decided to go in the opposite direction as the Savages last night. She could survive in the woods if she stayed away from them. She had to avoid them until she could feed. At least then, she could take on more than a few at a time if it became necessary.
Willow kept her attention riveted on her surroundings as she ran through the woods in search of prey. The only problem was, the Savages had scared off the larger prey and made the squirrels so skittish they remained in trees.
The sun was high in the sky when the distant sound of trickling water drifted to her. She wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her arm and changed direction to head for the water. It wouldn’t quench her thirst, but it would wet her parched throat, and she could clean the sap off her hands and face.
The closer she got to the water, the louder it became. She suspected it might be the same river she’d plunged into a couple of days ago, and she ran a little faster. If it was the same river, she could follow it back toward the tunnels. From there, she could figure out how to get out of the forest.
She was almost to the water when the snap of a tree branch drew her attention. Her head turned to the side, and from the shadows, a pair of white-blue eyes blazed out at her.
Shit!
She hadn’t bothered to return her stake to her belt after leaving the tree; the second it would take her to remove it was one second too long. And now she gripped the weapon tighter as laughter came from the direction of those eyes.
A turned hunter.
