Page 86 of Savage Games

As long as necessary.As long as it takes to get her safely to that finish line, so she has somewhere safe for herself and her sister.A home.Protection.A future.

Even if that future doesn't include me.

My paws grow heavier, and my movements are less fluid with each passing minute, but we're making progress.

The sound of running water reaches my ears, a creek cutting through the heart of the forest.Its swift current glitters in the sunlight, a natural barrier that might slow our pursuers.Naomi spots it too, angling toward it without hesitation.Her instincts are good, her wolf's natural intelligence shining through.She could win this.She could actually pull this off.

Pride swells within me, momentarily overshadowing the pain.My mate is magnificent, strong, clever, and utterly capable.She doesn't need me to protect her, she just needs me to stay alive long enough for her to claim what's rightfully hers.

The creek stretches before us, not wide, but deep enough that the water flows swiftly and clear over smoothed stones.The opposite bank rises slightly higher than where we stand, requiring a leap to cross cleanly.For a healthy wolf, it would be nothing, a simple jump, barely worth a second thought.

But Naomi's eyes tell me she sees what I'm trying to hide.Her gaze moves from the creek to me, measuring the distance against my obvious weakness.Doubt clouds her eyes, and concern washes through our bond.

I raise my head higher, forcing my tail up from where it's begun to droop, and project as much confidence as I can muster.I can do this.It's just water.One simple jump.

But I see the doubt in her eyes.

Can he make it?

With a stubborn jerk of my muzzle, I insist I can do it, pushing confidence through our connection, even as my legs shake beneath me.

She goes first, gathering herself and leaping across in a single fluid motion, landing lightly on the opposite bank.She turns immediately, watching as I prepare to follow.

I back up several paces, gathering what remains of my strength.My legs tremble beneath me, and the wound between my shoulder blades throbs with renewed agony.The wolfsbane courses through my system, fighting against every attempt my body makes to heal itself.But I just need one more push.One more burst of strength.

When I launch myself forward, determination carries me halfway across the creek.For a split second, I think I might make it, but then my hind leg buckles, pain exploding up my spine as poison-weakened muscles fail.Instead of completing the leap, I crash into the water with a splash that seems to echo through the entire forest.The cold shock steals my breath, water filling my nose and mouth as I struggle to regain my footing on the slippery creek bed.

Fuck.

The icy water shocks my system, temporarily clearing my head.I struggle to my feet, forcing my way up the bank, back to where I started.Water streams from my fur, but there's no hiding the tremor in my legs or the ragged heaving of my chest as I fight for breath.

We need to keep moving.

I gesture for her to go ahead.I’ll find an easier place to cross further upstream, and my obvious scent trail will lead Brad away from her.

But it’s too late.

A low, menacing growl cuts through the forest silence.From the trees, emerges an enormous wolf with sleek, silver-gray fur, his eyes cold and calculating, even in animal form.

Brad.

Time seems to slow as a large wolf steps from the trees on my side of the creek.Brad has found us.

He's been tracking us, following the scent of my blood, and now he's caught us at our most vulnerable, Naomi on one side of the creek, and me trapped on the other, weakened and failing.

I drag myself between Brad and Naomi, summoning every ounce of strength I have left to stand tall.My legs tremble with the effort, and my vision pulses at the edges, darkness threatening to close in.But I force my head high, my stance wide, presenting the illusion of strength I no longer possess.

Run, I urge silently, motioning with my muzzle toward the deeper forest beyond.Go.Get away from here.

But she doesn't move, frozen by indecision and fear.I can feel her love, her desperation, and her refusal to leave me.My kind, beautiful she-wolf.If we both get through this, I'm going to spend a lifetime simultaneously worshipping and cursing that stubbornness.

Brad takes a step forward, then another, his movements unhurried and confident.He knows he has me trapped, and that I'm in no condition to run or fight, much less win.His jaws part in what almost looks like a wolfish grin, and then within seconds, he stands before me in human form, utterly unconcerned with his nakedness.Despite the wilderness setting, he somehow looks immaculate, as if the very dirt of the forest floor wouldn't dare cling to him.

His physical appearance is striking, tall and lean, with sharp features and cold grey eyes that match his wolf's coat, but there's an emptiness behind those eyes, a void where compassion should be.

"Well."His voice carries easily across the water."Isn't this cozy?The rogue and his little girlfriend, all alone in the woods."His smile widens, revealing too many teeth."I have to say, Wyatt, I'm impressed.Most wolves would be dead by now."

I growl, low and threatening, not risking a shift back yet.In wolf form, I still have teeth and claws.Another change would use energy I don’t have.I need my wolf to keep healing me.The poison is spreading.

---