Page 107 of Mortal Blood
I swallowed and gave a shaky nod. We were losing ground. The insects were too fast, too many. We had to do something or we’d never break free. Cole gave my arm a brief squeeze.
“Focus, princess. Ready?”
I nodded again and we burst back onto the track at a sprint, racing through the gaps Jax and Alina had carved out, vaultingover insect body parts and trying not to look too closely at what they were—there were some things I really didn’t want to know.
“Almost there,” Cole grunted in my ear. He staggered, almost collapsing into me as something thudded into his back. A centipede. Cole hissed in pain and panic and anger flooded through me. I smashed my hand into its face and it fell back with an inhuman scream of pain. Ichor dripped down my claws—claws?—but I didn’t have time to worry about that now.
“Come on!”
We raced forward, and then abruptly the creatures stopped following us, instead turning and scuttling back into the forest. We ran on, not stopping until we caught up with the other two, still in their wolf forms.
They shifted back when they saw us, and I tossed their clothes to them.
“Did you lose something?” Jax asked.
“You should be thanking me,” I wheezed. “The bugs probably could have tracked us just by the stench coming off that shirt.”
“If you wanted to see me walk around shirtless,” he said, flashing me a grin, “you only had to say.”
“I think you’re confusing me with…actually, I’m pretty sureno-onewants to see you shirtless.”
“Tell that to Ling.”
Touche.
“If you’ve quite finished hitting on my mate, we should get moving,” Cole rumbled, his tone not quite calm.
“Buddy, if that’s your idea of hitting on someone, it’s no wonder it took the pair of you all of last year to get together.”
He sidestepped the half-hearted slap Cole aimed at the back of his head, and chuckled.
“How’s your leg?” Cole asked, zeroing in on Jax’s slightly uneven gait. Jax shrugged.
“Just a scratch. It’ll heal.”
“Good. Let’s get moving.”
I checked Cole over for any sign of injury from the centipede that grabbed him, but if he was hurting, he didn’t let on.
“I know I’m the outsider here,” Alina said, tugging her shirt over her head, “and no-one owes me any kind of explanation, but…”
“But why can’t I shift?” I asked, and she nodded.
“Honestly, I don’t know. But I can only shift when Ryker gives an alpha command…or if I’ve fed from a shifter.”
“Fed, as in?”
I nodded. “Drinking their blood.”
“Then you should feed. We’re down a person if you can’t shift.”
“Bad idea.” I shook my head. “I just failed my feeding assessment. As soon as I taste blood, I’ll lose control until someone stops me.”
“Alina’s right,” Jax said. “We need you on four legs.”
“Was that you volunteering?” I asked, with a saccharine sweet smile. He shuddered.
“Yeah, no. Once was enough, thanks.”
