Page 106 of Mortal Blood
I swallowed hard, stifling the whimper in my throat. They weren’t going to touch me. Their legs weren’t going to be on my skin, in my hair, creeping all over me…we were going to get out of here. We had to get out of here.
“We need to shift,” Alina said. “We can fight our way free and outrun them on four legs. We’re too weak in human form.”
I bite down hard on my lip, not quite managing to stifle my whimper this time as I stumbled back a step. Why were there somany?
“Cali can’t shift,” Jax said grimly.
“What? Sure she can,” Alina said, already pulling off her shirt. “I’ve seen her.”
“It’s complicated,” Cole said. “She…”
“Maybe let’s save the explanations for when giant bugs aren’t about to eat us,” Alina suggested, and I nodded, wholeheartedly agreeing with frankly the single most sensible thing anyone had said since those things showed up.
Cole nodded curtly. “Jax, Alina, shift and prepare to clear a path. I’ll bring up the rear with Cali. And Jax?”
Jax, already stripping off his pants, paused to look at him.
“If we fall behind, you leave us behind.”
“Fuck off,” Jax said, rolling his eyes as he finished pulling off his pants.
“That’s an order from your alpha,” Cole growled.
“And as your beta, I’m telling you to fuck off.”
“Is it too much to hope we could all fuck off?” I asked. “As in, right now, before they eat us?”
Alina, already in her wolf form, rumbled her agreement.
“You got it,” Jax said, tossing his pants in my direction. I caught them with a grimace.
“Did you miss laundry day?”
“Focus on the smell,” he said with a grin. “It’ll distract you from the fear.”
“Or maybe we could weaponize it to gas the damn bugs.”
He laughed and tossed his shirt my way. I grabbed it, and stooped to grab Alina’s clothes, too. The last thing any of us needed was to be running around butt naked while hairy ass bugs were on our trail.
Ugh. Bugs. I shuddered.
Jax threw himself forward with a snarl and I focused on the movement, falling in behind him and Alina. We were getting out of here. I just had to hold it together for a few more minutes…while we battled our way through giant bugs. Fuck.
Jax and Alina sprang through the fog with snapping jaws and slashing claws, tearing into the monstrous centipedes. Ichor sprayed as the wolves ripped the creatures apart, but more and more came from the gray expanse.
“Go, go!” Cole yelled, shoving me after the wolves. They plowed a path through the bugs, and we followed in their wake.
A centipede reared up in front of me, mandibles wide. I screamed and slammed my fist into its head, losing my grip on one of the shirts. The bug collapsed, but three more took its place.
“Don’t stop!” Cole ordered. He slammed his elbow into an insect trying to flank us. “Keep moving!”
We pushed on desperately. The sounds of monstrous insects echoed all around us, louder than ever. They were swarming after us.
Jax let out a pained yelp. I twisted to see a centipede clamped onto his hind leg. Before I could react, Alina tore it off him, shredding it between her powerful jaws. Jax limped onward.
“You okay?” I called to him. He snorted in response, which I took as a yes.
Cole grabbed my arm and pulled me sideways as a centipede struck, its mandibles snapping shut on empty air. “Eyes front!”
