Page 59 of Sweet Tooth

The cramped spaces made my wolf uneasy. The scents coming off the asphalt made my skin crawl. Surrounded by the smell of blood, piss, and booze, I tucked my tail underneath me and kept going. Moving. Always moving.

Between buildings and behind dumpsters, I prowled. All the while, I thought back to what Dustin had said and hoped more than anything he was right.

Kate didn’t hunt. She didn’t have a malicious bone in her body.But that doesn’t mean they don’t,I thought as I studied a couple of humans stumbling on the other side of the street.

My wolf didn’t care, whimpering at me to find Kate even with how tired we were.

Normally, when I felt like this, I borrowed my wolf’s strength. However, because she’d used that energy on our way here, all I could do was cross my fingers in hopes of surviving until morning.

“She’s close.”My wolf’s low rumble caused me to jump, sending me into a blind panic as I ran forward, right toward the very intersection I was trying to avoid.

Heart racing, I skidded on bits of asphalt. My paws ached as I slipped under a car. A horn blew in the distance, followed by someone yelling out their window. They were too far away to be a concern, and yet, the thought of them finding me here was enough to put me on edge. More than I already was, that is.

This is your fault. You know that, right?I scolded my wolf.Couldn’t you have picked a different day?

If it had been tomorrow, we would’ve been fine. But seeing as the moon was still full, there wasn’t a damned thing I could do outside of running, hiding, and playing musical cars. The amount of cover out here wasn’t reliable. However, going back the way I came wasn’t any better.

I was lucky no one saw us on the way in, but now that I was in control, there was a good chance someone would find us for sure.

“We can’t stay here.”

My wolf was right. The longer I stood in place, the more danger we’d face.

Where did you smell her?I asked my wolf as I slowly crawled out from under the car.

“That way. About three blocks over there.”My wolf nudged the left side of my mind, causing it to tingle as I scented the air.

I can’t smell anything.

“She’s there.”

Knowing better than to question my wolf this far from home, I checked my surroundings, then bolted behind a dumpster. My stomach turned over, forcing a wave of nausea up my throat as a mix of rotten food and mildew assaulted my nostrils.

Closing my eyes, I took a breath, got my heart rate to this side of normal, then padded down the alleyway. I winced when I scratched a claw on the road’s hard surface. No one else would’ve noticed unless they were a wolf. Thanks to the strict laws humans had in place, I was probably the only one who was dumb enough to come here.

“Focus.”

I bit back a growl.You’re the reason we’re here in the first place,I reminded her.

If only I’d pulled her back when I had the chance instead of blindly allowing her to lead me into one of the most dangerous situations ever.

It can’t be helped now.Fighting with my wolf wouldn’t get us anywhere.

So after taking another calming breath, I urged myself forward and crouched close to the ground.It’s just like hunting,I thought while pressing my ears against my skull. Humans couldn’t smell me, so I didn’t have to stay downwind. However, every move I made had to be slow and calculated. As much as my heart told me to run and find Kate, I stayed.

I concentrated on the hard surface beneath my paws, on the vibrations coming from a handful of cars on the street. I perked my ears and listened to someone’s air conditioning turn off, noting its position far behind me.

An overhead light flickered across the way, making an incessant noise as though it were a gnat beside my ear. Ignoring it now, I sniffed at my surroundings, then held back an excited bark when I finally picked up Kate’s trail.

She was close. So very close.

All I had to do was slip out of the shadows and–

“There!” someone called out in the darkness. “Can’t you see it? It’s right over there.”

I didn’t have to look back to know they were pointing at me.

Driven by fear and my need to survive, I left the safety of the alley and ran as fast as my tired legs could carry me.

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