Page 55 of Fat Sold Mate
“Too obvious,” James cuts me off, already pushing open the bathroom window. “This way.”
The window is small, barely large enough for his broad shoulders to squeeze through. He goes first, dropping silently tothe ground outside, then reaching up to help me through. I pass our packs down, then wriggle through the narrow opening, his hands steadying my descent.
We're just rounding the corner of the building when the sound of splintering wood reaches us—our motel room door is being kicked in.
Without discussion, we break into a run.
Chapter 20 - James
Howls erupt behind us, my senses locked on the truck parked two blocks away. Ruby keeps pace beside me, her breath coming in controlled bursts, grimoire and journal clutched to her chest.
“They'll cut us off before we reach it,” I say, already calculating odds that grow worse by the second. “I need to slow them down.”
Ruby's steps falter. “James—”
“Get to the truck,” I interrupt, already pulling off my shirt. “Start it. Be ready to move the instant I reach you.”
“I'm not leaving you,” she argues, stubborn even with death on our heels.
“You're not.” I toss her the keys. “You're giving us a fighting chance.”
The shift ripples through me before she can protest further, bones cracking and reforming as my human skin gives way to russet fur. The wolf emerges with a growl, senses sharpening, instincts surging to the forefront.
Protect mate. Fight threats. Survive.
Through the bond, I feel Ruby's fear and reluctance war with pragmatism. She nods once, tight-lipped, and veers toward the road while I turn to face our pursuers.
They emerge from the shadows like nightmares—three corrupted wolves, their forms twisted by dark magic, yellow ichor dripping from elongated fangs. The stench of wrongness rolls off them in waves, triggering every primal warning my wolf possesses.
I position myself between them and Ruby's retreating form, hackles raised in clear challenge. The leader—larger than the others, with patches of fur missing to reveal blackened skin beneath—sizes me up with unnatural intelligence in its yellow eyes.
The attack comes without warning—not from the leader, but from one of the flanking wolves lunging from the left. I sidestep, teeth finding purchase in its shoulder, tasting the foul corruption that taints its blood. The creature yelps, twisting in my grip with unnatural flexibility, claws raking my flank.
Pain sears across my side, sharper and hotter than normal wounds. No time to dwell on it. The second wolf is already circling, looking for an opening, while the leader watches with calculated patience.
I release the first wolf with a vicious twist that sends it stumbling, then wheel to meet the second attacker. This one moves with jerky, unpredictable motions—newer to the corruption, perhaps, not yet fully adapted to its changed form. I use its awkwardness against it, feinting right before lunging left, teeth closing around its throat.
The taste is revolting—rot and sulfur and something metallic that doesn't belong in living flesh. I fight the urge to release it, instead shaking violently until something gives with a wet snap. The corrupted wolf goes limp, but there's no time for victory.
Claws rake across my back, the leader finally joining the fray with devastating effectiveness. I whirl, snarling, but it's already danced back out of reach, yellow eyes gleaming with something almost like amusement.
In the distance, an engine roars to life—Ruby, reaching the truck. The sound distracts me for a fraction of a second, andit's all the opening the leader needs. It lunges, a blur of motion too fast to counter, jaws closing around my foreleg with crushing force.
Pain explodes up my limb, but it's the burning that follows that truly terrifies. Like acid in my veins, spreading from the wound with unnatural speed. I twist free, leaving fur and flesh in the creature's teeth, then launch a desperate counter-attack.
We collide in mid-air, a tangle of teeth and claws and murderous intent. I fight with the knowledge that Ruby is waiting, that every second buys her distance, that if I fall here, she faces these monsters alone.
The smaller wolf rejoins the fight, darting in to snap at my hindquarters while I grapple with the leader. I kick out, connecting with a satisfying crunch of bone, but the movement leaves me open to the leader's next attack.
Teeth sink into my shoulder, directly over the nearly-healed wound from our previous encounter. The pain is blinding, immediate, but it's the wrongness that follows that truly terrifies—a cold burning that seeps deeper than physical damage.
Corruption. They're trying to infect me.
Rage gives me strength I didn't know I possessed. With a roar that's more primal than conscious, I throw off the leader, sending it crashing into a tree trunk with bone-jarring force. The smaller wolf hesitates, clearly reconsidering its options now that its companion is temporarily stunned.
I seize the opportunity, lunging for the tree line where the truck's headlights illuminate Ruby's tense face behind the wheel. The corrupted wolves give chase, but I have desperation on myside, stretching the distance between us with each stride despite the burning agony spreading from my wounds.
Ruby throws the passenger door open as I approach. I shift mid-leap, the transformation excruciating as human form reasserts itself over damaged wolf flesh. I tumble into the cab, gasping, “Go!”
