She and Declan didn’t talk as they raced through the woods while the sun crept lower in the sky. They hadn’t bothered trying to find a way back up the cliffs. It would have taken too much time, and there was a good chance any Savages who survived the others would be coming after them.
They had to find somewhere to stay soon. Once the sun set, the Savages would be out in full force.
When they arrived at the bank of a small stream, Willow’s abused ankle twisted out from under her in the loose dirt. She bit back a cry as she fell beside the water. When she first joined the Alliance, part of her training was running, and during that time she’d run more than she ever assumed possible, until today. Today she’d run more than she ever had, and she would run more before it was over.
All that training had prepared her for this, but she still struggled to catch her breath as her fingers dug into the cool, loose earth beneath her. Then she realized there were probably worms in there and yanked her hands free.
Cupping her hands, she dipped them into the stream. Water trickled down to wet the sleeve of her jacket and black shirt, but she ignored it as she washed her face.
Declan knelt beside her. “Are you okay?”
She finished washing her face and pushed away the straggling strands of hair sticking to her face. Undoing the elastic that had barely managed to stay in her hair, she pulled her hair into a knot and retied it. “Yes.”
“When was the last time you fed?”
There was a time when she knew the answer, but it eluded her now. “I’m not sure. Three days… maybe four.”
Declan sat back on his heels as he studied her. Her skin was far paler than usual, and her cheekbones were more pronounced since the last time he saw her. She had to eat. He glanced around the forest before focusing on her again.
“We’ve put a lot of distance between them and us,” he said.
“How do you know that? They could be anywhere in these woods.”
“True,” he admitted. “But we’re far from where we last saw them.”
“Do you know where we are?”
“I have no idea. I’m hoping if we continue in the same direction, we’ll find civilization. But first, we have to find you something to eat.”
Red flashed through her eyes, and he spotted the hint of a fang before she turned her head away from him. Her hunger beat against him as she shuddered and lowered her hand to the ground again. He had to get her out of here.
It was most likely useless, but he reached into his pocket for his cell phone; it was gone. Even though he knew where he put it, he searched his other pockets too. He still had his stakes tucked into his inner pockets with some lollipops, but no phone.
“How many of them are there?” he asked.
“I don’t know. There was no way to count how many of them came out of that tunnel. It was like a horde offuckingrats.”
She spat the words as bitterness laced her tone. When Declan rested his hand on her shoulder, the contact brought an unexpected wave of longing and calm with it. She bowed her head as she marveled at the warmth seeping through her.
“Do you know what happened to Lucien?” Declan asked.
He resisted running his thumb across her full bottom lip. Exhausted and battered, she was still achingly beautiful with her lush lips, high cheekbones, and enticing body. Desire coiled within him; he tried to bury it as he had for centuries, but it was impossible around Willow… which was why he went to Mexico. Being this close to her, and touching her, tested every ounce of his restraint, but he was so glad to see her that he didn’t care.
“The last I saw Lucien, he was fighting off the Savages in the clearing. He commanded us to run, and he was trying to get away, but it was all so… so confusing, and there were so many,” Willow murmured.
She swallowed to wet her parched throat as the memory of those Savages descending on Lucien played through her mind. Lucien was a ballbuster and about as friendly as a rabid raccoon most days, but she’d learned a lot from him and respected him.
He’d told them all to run while he bought time by fighting off the Savages. Lucien was faster and stronger than all of them, he could have run and easily gotten away, but he stayed to save them. She didn’t care what it took; she would find him.
Willow’s attention shifted back to Declan, and she gulped as she gazed into those astonishing silver eyes so full of turmoil. She’d grown close with all the guys in her training class; it was impossible to go through their intense training together and not form a bond. She’d come to consider the Alliance her home and the place where she belonged, but her relationship with them was nothing compared to the one the original, core members of the Alliance shared.
They’d been doing this together for centuries, they were brothers, and the sorrow he felt for Lucien etched lines around his mouth and eyes. Without thinking, she rested her palm against his stubble-roughened cheek.
Her hand tingled as little bursts of electricity ran from him to her and back again. She’d never experienced anything like it, and when her gaze fell to his mouth, she couldn’t stop herself from imagining kissing him.
BAD idea! BAD, BAD, BAD idea!Getting involved with someone in the Alliance would be a piss-poor life choice on her part; getting involved with one of the originals could be a disaster.
Still, she couldn’t bring herself to move her hand away. She’d touched him so often in her dreams, but the warmth of him was way better than any fantasy as she relished his stubble pricking her palm.
