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I notice the other men disappear into the trees. Emery comes over, and I feel her nose press to my knee as she stares up at me in her wolf form. Eli strips his clothes off, and Emery goes over to her father, who is now in his wolf form, waiting next to the tree line.

“You need to keep your face tucked into my neck. I don’t need you hit by branches,” Cyrus tells me, pushing my head to the face of his neck.

I sigh but push my face into the nook; his stubble rubs against my cheekbone. He walks over, grabbing the bag off the trunk.

“I’ll take it,” Eli says, grabbing it from him.

Eli shifts into his Lycan form before standing upright, his back cracking.

“You sure that is wise, stepping in there in that form? They might think it a threat,” Cyrus says.

“Because it is. They come near you, and I’ll kill all of them. I can defend you easier in this form.”

Cyrus sighs but says nothing as he starts stalking toward the tree line. The long grass brushes against my pants.

Cyrus steps into the tree line, making the darkness of the night darker; it smells damp, and the scent of rotting vegetation permeates the air. I know just by how close the centuries-old trees are, the sun won’t penetrate the earth beneath his feet. I pull closer to him, my heart pounding in my ears. I can see why no one comes out here. The darkness of the night makes vision impossible.

The silence is deafening and frightening as he continues to trudge through the dense darkness, telling me to duck now and then from the low-hanging branches. It’s cold and eerily quiet except for their footsteps crunching on the leaves and the sloshing sound of the wet earth beneath their feet.

I can’t see anything except the reflection of their eyes, making me wonder what it looks like to them. Cyrus walks further in before pressing my head into the crook of his neck.

“Don’t lift your head and remain still,” Cyrus whispers, and I nod, forcing my face into his neck.

I close my eyes right before air whips around me, my legs tightening around his waist as I focus on breathing. It feels like we have been running for ages, and my body is aching from the cold. I’m losing my grip, my arms and legs tired from being so tense.

Despite being in a forest, I’ve never felt so claustrophobic. Cyrus’s grip on me never wavers as I find it harder to breathe through my panic. The smell of this place is getting in my head and sending me flashbacks of the cabin, the smell similar as it wraps around me. The sense of isolation chokes me as I’m shoved back to being stuck in the cabin in the woods with Sam.

This place scares me beyond anything I’ve ever felt, reminding me how capable I am of fear and forcing me to face it head-on.

The deeper we get, the harder it is to contain, my heart racing, and I can feel it with every beat. I feel faint, like the trees are moving in, suffocating me as the smell gets stronger and stronger. Cyrus comes to a stop, and my tears slip down my face as panic sets in. I want out; I want out of the darkness, out of the cold, and out of this forest.

“It’s not much further, love. Breathe, Addie,” Cyrus tries to soothe me, but I can’t catch my breath as I gasp between sobbing, choking on my own inability to take a breath.

“What’s going on?” I hear Maverick’s voice come from somewhere in the darkness.

“She is having a panic attack,” Cyrus says, trying to pull my face from his neck.

I feel rough hands clutch my face and fur brushing my cheeks as Eli grips my face, his silver eyes peering back at me as I choke.

“Breathe, Addie. You’re okay. Nothing will get you with us. My father’s entire pack is in these woods. They won’t let anyone touch you,” Eli says.

I try to understand his words, but I get even more scared; there are monsters in these woods.

“Take her,” Cyrus tells him, and Eli grips me under my arms, Cyrus having to unwrap my legs as they tighten around his waist in panic. Eli hugs me, wrapping my legs around him as I clutch him. I can’t see anything but darkness, and his silver eyes make me panic even more. Suddenly I see red glowing eyes before feeling sparks rush over my face from Cyrus’s hands.

“Breathe, calm down. You’re okay. You’re safe. Just breathe,” Cyrus says, wrapping his arms around me, making my muscles relax, as his words wash over me.

I know he’s using his compulsion, but I let it roll over me instead of fighting it. I slump against Eli, his furry arms wrapping around me tighter. His fur is warm as I rest my head in the crook of his neck and shoulder.

“I’ll take her. She’s freezing,” Eli says, and I feel him move and hear him pass something, which I assume is our duffle, to Cyrus.

“You good to go again? Only thirty minutes more, dear, not far. Then you can rest,” Maverick reassures me.

I nod against Eli’s shoulder, closing my eyes. His arm goes under my butt, lifting me higher.

“Hang on, love,” Eli says, his other hand going behind my back when I feel my belly move and bump against his hard-muscled torso. He growls softly, and I know he feels it.

The feeling of the tiny nudge makes my lips turn up. My baby is alright. I’m alright, I tell myself, tightening my arms around his neck and snuggling against him before he takes off running again.