Page 8 of Camp Dire

I break through the tree line into what appears to be a glade. Shit! If I don’t get back to the cover of the trees, I’m going to be easy pickings for the monsters behind me. I make a run for it through the knee-high grass, praying the entire time I don’t step on a snake. I couldn’t handle that right now, not something slithery on top of those two snarling murder dogs and the threat of getting struck by lightning.

Halfway across the clearing, I trip over something lying in the grass and go down hard, hurting my wrist when I try to catch myself as I fall. I roll over on my butt, the cold of the ground sinking in. My hand throbs and I’m not sure if I broke something or just sprained it really badly. In the next brightening of the sky, I start to shake and back up, still on my butt.

It’s worse than snakes. It’s a dead person! Without thinking I let out a shrill scream as the world goes black again. One of these things already had a snack and now they want more. I scream again before covering my mouth and trying to keep myself from hyperventilating. I’ve not only entered a nightmare; I’m starring in a fucking horror movie! And the chances that I’m the main character are not great.

Tears stream down my face as I continue to stare in front of me even though I can’t see the body anymore. The two wolves break through the trees. The brown one is limping and snipping at the black one. The black one’s nose goes up in the air like he’s caught the scent of something. I’m not sure if it’s me or the dead body in front of me. I try to stand but my legs are wobbly and can’t hold me up very well. I fall again and let out a sharp cry as I come down on my injured hand.

The black wolf’s head snaps around, his blue eyes zeroing in on me as the sky lights back up. Unlike the brown eyes, these are...different - almost human. This time when the brown wolf attacks, the black one goes for his throat and rips it out. I gain my feet just as the brown wolf falls and I have enough light to see that there’s blood everywhere. I feel myself sway as the world goes silent, no more snarling or growls, no more sounds of animals fighting, no more noise at all.

I need to run, to get back to the trees and hide from the big, dark monster coming towards me. I stumble back and turn only to be brought up short when I hear my name called out.

“Piper!”

What the fuck?

I turn in time to see the monster’s body start to shrink in size, the sound of bones cracking and realigning as the flashes in the sky become more and more frequent. Fur recedes and smooth skin takes its place. The ground feels like it moves under my feet as the thing that used to be a wolf stands up and stares at me.

This is no stranger. This isn’t an animal either – not anymore. I take a step back as my legs give out under me leaving me on my butt and staring up in the dark at familiar blue eyes and a mouth I was kissing not hours ago.

Merrik!

Merrik is standing in front of me in the exact same place the wolf was standing before. My eyes trail down his bare chest and I realize immediately he’s not wearing anything. Totally naked. Nude. In his birthday suit.

And laying at his feet…is a crumpled-up human with blood painted down his body. It takes me a second to realize that under all the blood and muck is the body of Doyle. When he moves closer to me my body goes numb and my brain shuts down as it refuses to accept what’s right in front of my face.

“Piper.”

“M…,” the first attempt doesn’t come out, so I try harder, “Merrik?”

As he comes closer to me, my neck feels too tired to hold my head up as the world tips and I end up on my back staring up at the night sky as more lightning forks across it. Merrik’s face swims in front of me for a split second before the world goes dark!

Chapter Nine

Merrik

I kick the door shut behind me as I carry Piper into my house. My mate is now right where she is supposed to be. Something inside of me loosens at the thought. It did not escape my attention while I was fighting with Doyle that the moon was almost full.

I take her to the only room she is ever going to sleep in. Mine. Once there, I go straight for the bathroom. I’m covered in blood and mud, and she’s got dirt in her hair and on her body. I make quick work of our clothes and turn the shower on. I can tell she’s hurt. There is heat emanating from her wrist that my extra senses can pick up on, but I don’t sense anything else other than superficial scratches and bruises.

Still, the water will help me make sure. When the water hits her body, she starts coming around. Finally.

“Merrik?” She tries to push my hands away as I rub a smudge of dirt off her cheek.

I am well aware that she is completely naked in my arms. My eyes have already feasted on the sight before me, the soft swell of her breasts tipped with raspberry nipples, the soft curve of her hips, the hairless mound leading down to the delicious-looking lips that are equally bare. My mouth is dry and my dick is hardbut right now my mate needs me to make sure she is alright and cared for. Touching and tasting will come later.

We’re on the bottom of the shower floor and I’m fighting with her to stay still so I can wipe the dirt off her.

“Merrik, there were wolves and people dead, and I thought…I think…I was dreaming?”

Now isn’t the time to clear anything up for her. “Shh, let me make sure you’re not hurt, sweetheart.”

“Hurt?”

Her brows furrow and she’s quiet for a long time, giving me time to clean her soft skin. If I was in my wolf form, I would simply use my tongue to clean her but this is the way that won’t cause her so much panic…hopefully.

She holds her hand up in front of her face. “I…fell. I tripped over something in the clearing and landed on my wrist.”

I wrap my hands around the wrist and start feeling around, bending it a little and checking on her. “I don’t think it’s broken, just sprained.”

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