Page 49 of The Alpha Option
Jace flew at him, twisting in midair, swinging his teeth in the hopes of connecting with a body part he could hang on to. He got a small slice of Del’s haunch, and his low yip of pain made Jace’s wolf want to beat his chest with pride.
Another rattle of thunder overhead, and the rain doubled in intensity, falling so hard that the crowds on the edge of the field vanished behind a curtain of water. Jace’s senses filled with white noise—nothing but water. No scents but the crushed grass underfoot and the watered-down iron of blood.
Del crashed into him from the left. Jace snapped his teeth on empty air. He twisted, lunged, and smashed his head into something solid that grunted before it rolled away.
He took a chance, rolling and swinging in the hopes of catching Del unaware before his cousin found his feet. The instant Jace closed his jaws around fur, he realized the trap. Del had him by the leg as well. Both in a position to hurt each other without gaining an advantage.
A long low howl split the air. Feeble, weak.
Both Jace and Del froze, teeth digging into each other’s fur, but held on without ripping.
Another cry, the faintest call of a frightened young wolf.
Jace let go. Del pulled away at the same instant. And then they were off, out of the challenge circle and breaking through the trees side by side.
Somewhere ahead of them, something had gone completely wrong. The rain eased off barely enough that they could see the trail, sprinting down it, jumping the obstacles flying at them from either side. Behind him, Jace heard another wolf racing after them and sensed it was Blue.
Moments later, they found it. A minivan stuck in the middle of the broken-down bridge. The culvert underneath had washed away, one side support had vanished, and the back wheels of the van were being forced down the shallow river by the excess current.
Jace glanced in the window and spotted a shockingly familiar face. It couldn’t be Stephanie, which meant this was her sister, Stacy. He shifted on the spot, rushing forward to grab for the van door.
Another flood of water cascaded down the river and tore the wheels from their moorings, making the van slide farther into the river.
“Stacy. Where are the kids?” Jace shouted.
She unrolled the window just as the engine cut out. She pointed behind her. “Help me.”
Beside him, Del took a running start, then flew to land on the roof of the van. He shifted out of his wolf and, clinging to the rocking van, leaned over. “Can you open the doors?”
Stacy shook her head. “I can get them out the window. Stay there.”
She vanished into the back, crawling over the driver’s seat. A moment later, a young boy with a mess of bright red hair stuck his head out the window, big blue eyes wide with fear.
“You’re okay. Del is going to grab you then send you to me. Be brave,” Jace shouted.
Del nodded. He lay down on the roof and reached in to grab the little boy’s hands.
A second later, he had the kid hauled up on the roof. “Curl up in a ball,” Del ordered. “Like doing a cannonball at the swimming pool.”
The van rocked. Del stumbled for a second, recovered his balance then sent the child flying into Jace’s arms.
Blue was there. He took the boy from Jace, even as Del pulled a younger child from the window.
A second time Del threw. Jace caught the kid in a strange wilderness baseball game with more at stake than simple scores.
Stacy was back at the window, tears pouring down her face. “I can’t get Colt to come. He’s in his wolf form, and he’s really scared.”
The van rocked, sliding farther into the river. The back wheels must’ve hit a deeper spot because the van began to roll onto its side. Stacy backed away from the window with fear.
Del reached in and caught her wrist. “We’ll get him. But you’re coming out now.”
She struggled. “No. Not without my son.”
The van moved rapidly as the water level rose and forced the vehicle farther into the current. Trees from upstream that had been pushed over smashed into the metal frame. In spite of her protests, Del hauled Stacy to the roof as the entire vehicle began to roll.
Del picked up Stacy and jumped, vanishing from Jace’s sight on the other side of the river.
Another long sorrowful howl echoed. Heartbreaking and young.
