Page 5 of Forsaking His Mate

“I-I don’t know. How are you doing this?”

She glances around, as if she is taking in everything she can see. “I’m trying to find you, but your magic is chaotic. I can’t lock onto you, and I’m not doing this. You are.”

I don’t know what that means—how can I be doing something I don’t even understand? “Who are you?”

“You know who I am. You’re looking for me.”

“Hester.”

“I knew you’d be running today. I’m in the woods, but I don’t know how close I am.”

As my vision fades, I’m on my knees in the dirt, and my heart is racing. I can taste blood in my mouth, and I realize I must have bitten my tongue at some point. Disgusted, I spit it out.

I need to keep moving.

I push up and something tells me to head straight on. It’s a feeling, an instinct that it will lead me to her, to Hester.

I don’t want to trust it, but my wolf urges me to walk, so I stumble forward, my body exhausted and spent.

The darkness is creeping in and I have to use all my senses to keep from falling over roots and rocks. I can’t scent another wolf on my trail. I can’t scent anything other than a deer in the distance and small animals hiding in the undergrowth.

I’m only focused on putting one foot in front of the other, ignoring the pain.

It’s nearly dark when I hear my name.

“Tessa.”

For a moment, I think I imagined it. Even so, I skid to a halt, twisting to see the raven-haired woman standing there.

Hester.

I blink, sure that I’m hallucinating. I’m so tired and my back is a constant ball of pain now.

She doesn’t disappear though. Instead, she smiles at me.

“What is going on?” I demand, my voice shaking.

“I’ll explain it all,” she says, “but we need to get out of these woods. Will you come with me?”

I glance behind me, wondering if any of the hunters are still coming for me. “I don’t want to endanger you,” I say.

She smiles. “Those little pups don’t frighten me. Come.”

Looking back at me over her shoulder, she smiles, beckoning me forward.

I blow out a breath, and then I follow.

Chapter 2

Tessa

Hester sets a grueling pace and my legs are burning by the time we reach the edge of the woodlands.

I stare at her back, still convinced she’s a spirit who might disappear at any moment.

My wolf is uneasy, pacing inside the confines of my mind. She’s an awareness, rather than a physical thing I can touch, but I sense her movements and her feelings as if they are my own.

If I could shift, she would gain control, and I would be the passenger, just along for the ride.

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