Page 7 of Forsaking His Mate

I tip my face toward the inky sky, soaking in the moon, which is in its waxing gibbous phase.

It bathes everything in a white light, making it easy to see what dangers might be lurking ahead, but the trees behind us are shadowed and feel dangerous.

I peer around, trying to get my bearings, but I have no idea where we are. I’ve never been this far from home before and I don’t recognize anything.

“Where are we?” I ask.

“About forty miles from your pack lands.”

I peer back at the trees, wondering if I will ever see my father again. My heart hurts at that thought. I know I can never return. I can’t risk any more lives because of what I am… whatever that is.

“Come on,” Hester says, breaking through the dark turn my thoughts have taken. “We need to get out of here.”

There is a truck parked at the side of the road in a small rest stop. I stare at it, my heart thudding.

I pause, suddenly feeling anxious.

What if this is a trap?

What if she’s with the hunters?

“Come, we don’t have much time,” Hester urges, but I don’t move.

“How do I know I can trust you?” I demand, finally asking the question I should have asked before trailing through the woods after her.

I let myself get swept up both in my father’s words and in my visions.

Hester forces out a breath that sounds frustrated. “We don’t have time for this. If we stay, we’ll be attacked. There are still wolves on our trail.”

There are?

I turn, peering into the trees, my heart suddenly pounding.

Are we still being hunted? I can't scent or sense anything at first, but then I get a whiff of wolf.

It smells powerful, strong, and dangerous.

Not alpha, but maybe deltas—usually the enforcers in any pack.

“How many?” I ask, unable to pinpoint exactly what we’re facing.

“Two, maybe three,” she says. “Their scents are mixed.”

“Can you shift?”

I can’t, but if she can, we at least have a fighting chance. In our human forms, we’re screwed. There is no way we can beat two, possibly three, powerful wolf shifters.

“I don’t need to shift, Tessa.” The confidence in those words shocks me. Is she crazy? She wants to take on delta wolves in her human form?

“We can’t fight them,” I counter.

I may be unable to let my wolf out of her cage, but I’ve seen my share of wolf fighting. Even in play, it can be fierce. In a fight to the death, the rules don’t exist. “They’ll make short work of us if they catch us.”

Hester laughs and I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse. “I don’t fear the wolves, but we do need to keep moving.”

She jogs over to the truck, drags the door open, and climbs inside. I glance in the direction of the trees, still hesitant, even though I know staying will mean my death.

It’s not really a choice, but I decide to put my trust in Hester and my father that this is the only way to stay safe. I hope neither will let me down.

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