Page 25 of The Werewolf Cowboy
Chapter 8
As she clung to the thick fur on Grayson’s back, Katy tried to keep her eyes on the horizon. Tried to keep the anxiety at bay, clawing at her. She was safe now, with Grayson, the one Lupine who’d promised to be there for her, day or night.
But he seemed as foreign and dangerous as the world surrounding them. She’d never seen a wolf this large, one who looked like he could swallow an ordinary wolf whole. And then have another for dessert.
The air in the Dark Kingdom smelled more pure, free of pollutants caused by Skins. The sky was a startling blue, no smog or haze. And that made scent clearer as well. She knew Grayson could detect the fear oozing from her pores, much as she tried to suppress it.
Looking over her shoulder, she could see the two forms on horseback, or whatever they rode. Before they had been specks on the horizon. Now they were more discernable.
The ash wasteland of the Blasted Zone seemed endless. She hoped they would soon find the unicorn bones and a way home.
But instead of going in the direction Jaeden had told them, Grayson suddenly hooked a right, heading for the jagged mountain range looming over the desert. Holding onto him, bouncing up and down, she wanted to protest he was going the wrong way.
I have to get you to a safe place, Katy. I can never outrun Night Riders, even though they are slower during daylight.
Blinking, she realized he’d spoken directly into her mind, just as he had back at the Mitchell Ranch during the wrangling.
You said they were slower than Darius.
I was trying to calm you, darling. You were scared enough. Don’t worry. I can handle a Night Rider. I eat them for breakfast.
“Long as you don’t eatme,” she muttered, wincing as he leapt over a rock and she landed hard on her bottom.
Grayson turned his head, showing a toothy grin.Oh, I’d love to eat you for breakfast, darling. And dessert and dinner…and you would love every single, sheet-grabbing moment.
She didn’t even know how to respond to that.
And then he was running even faster, his energy seemingly boundless. Katy had seen Grayson on a horse, had seen him lifting bales of hay as if they were light as paper, and knew he was muscled, but this wolf’s strength astounded her.
The ash thinned here, leaving more yellow, hard-packed sand, which made traction easier. Clumps of stubby trees peppered the ground as they drew closer to the mountains. At a thick gathering of green trees with branches stretching out like welcoming arms, Grayson stopped. She climbed off his back, grateful for the rest.
Katy unpacked the canteen and drank deeply, gesturing to Grayson. He nodded. And then he shifted back into a man, and conjured clothing. He took the canteen and sipped, his gaze glued to the wasteland they’d left behind.
“Be careful,” he said softly. “These lands present all kinds of hidden dangers, even small ones.”
She watched a black insect crawl up a nearby tree branch. “Such as?”
A bright orange bird swooped down to eat the bug. Suddenly the insect reared back on its legs and spat at the bird. Shrieking, the bird flew off.
“Insects that spit acid into the eyes of their attackers, for one,” he said, screwing the cap on the canteen. “If you leave most of the living creatures here in the Blasted Zone alone, they leave you alone.”
Then he set down the canteen and pointed. “Except for the Night Riders. They intrude upon everyone and everything.”
Grayson stared into the distance, the concentration on his handsome face worrying her. He knew this world and its dangers, it seemed, and she was on foreign land.
“Why did we stop? I thought Jaeden said the unicorn bones are quite a distance away.”
“They are, but until we find out who wanted you kidnapped and I deal with that threat, you’ll never be safe in your world.” Grayson pulled a pair of binoculars out of his backpack and scanned the horizon.
This patch of thin trees, with the sharp, dull brown boulders and the yellow sand, didn’t seem like a terrific hiding place. Or a place to make a stand against dangerous bounty hunters.
“Those Night Riders are gaining on us. They plan to take me back, but I’ll die here before I return to that place. I’m a wolf, too,” she said, gathering all her courage.
If a fight was forthcoming, she had fangs and sharp teeth.
An amused smile touched Grayson’s mouth as he lowered the glasses and glanced at her. “That’s my girl. But you focus on finding a place to hide, Katy. These Fae hunting you aren’t like those in the Skin world. And your powers aren’t as developed. Yet.”
She sipped from the canteen again, and then set it down, trying to control her shaking hand and not knowing if her nervousness stemmed from the dust cloud of the Riders that grew closer, or Grayson’s odd words.
