Page 61 of Hidden Fate

We’d get out of here, but not without Drake learning we had the ten warriors and that Theron and Hydra were part of our crew. I only hoped that didn’t mean something worse for their thunder, but we’d discuss that once we were on our way out.

Brenton jumped into the driver’s seat of the rental car, while Saphira took the front passenger side. The rest of us split up, heading to the vehicles we’d ridden in to get here.

Over his shoulder, Thorn told the warriors, “Five in each Suburban.”

As we jogged past two families getting hiking gear together to head into the woods, they all stared at us. We were running, maybe in an obvious hurry, but not so fast that we screamed supernatural…at least, I didn’t think we did.

I realized that wasn’t what had caught their attention. It was the ten warriors with rifles on their backs.

“Honey,” a middle-aged mother said as she scurried to her two preteen kids. “We need to go.”

The father nodded abruptly and ran to the driver’s side door to unlock their vehicle.

I hated that we’d scared them, but there wasn’t much we could do. I ran to the Suburban parked closest to the road and jumped into the front passenger seat. I wanted to ride with Thorn, but using our fated-mate connection could be beneficial. Caution would help us in this situation.

Echo, Blaze, Fury, Owen, and Opal climbed in the back of my vehicle, and as soon as the door shut, Vlad put the car in reverse and peeled out of the lot.

I turned around in my seat, searching for the enemy dragon shifters. One of the human families that had been squatting when we’d run by had stayed, while the other family had piled into their car. The warriors chasing us must have split off, casing the area outside of the woods. They couldn’t move too quickly and were still three-quarters of a mile away. Luckily, the other cars in the lot blocked our tags, so all they’d see were the types of vehicles we were driving.

Thorn and Brenton backed their vehicles out, and the three cars raced to the road. I could hear seatbelts buckling in the back as the warriors settled in. Fury sat in the middle of the far back row, with Opal and Echo flanking her. I was surprised that of the three men in the car, the largest one had gotten shoved into the far back until Echo placed an arm around Fury’s shoulders. They must be together, but they had distinct scents, meaning they weren’t bonded yet.

“I need you to keep an eye out and make sure no one is following us,” Vlad said as he stepped on the gas, going fifteen miles over the speed limit.

I wanted to tell him to go faster, but that would be reckless. We could get pulled over, and that would only cause more problems.

“We’re on it,” Blaze said from his spot behind me.

My head rolled back as the world spun. I forced out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, then filled my lungs to capacity.

All the vehicles were moving, and we were making headway back to the safe house. Even better, trained warriors were keeping an eye out in case someone was following us. That hadn’t gone over so well with me last time, so I focused on calming down.

I’d give anything to be in that vehicle with you,Thorn connected in my head, his nerves still frazzled.

Unlike me, he didn’t show them, and since we were going to rule over the dragons once we took Drake down, I’d better develop a poker face of my own. With Peter, I’d managed to hide my emotions because he’d always been indifferent and mean to me. That was easier to take than people I loved being in danger. I was damn sure they could see every emotion rolling across my face.

Me, too.I turned to stare into the side mirror. I wanted to do my part, even with warriors in the vehicle, but I did feel better that I wasn’t the only one watching for tails, or I’d thinkeverycar was following us.

After twenty minutes of no one saying anything, some of the tension eased. I told the warriors there was a cooler in the back with sandwiches, and Fury immediately leaned over the back seat and dug in.

When they passed me a sandwich, I settled back and continued to keep watch…just to make sure. I suspected it would feel like a much longer ride back.

* * *

The next morning,Arrow, Echo, Errol, Vlad, Theron, Cassidy, Thorn, and I were in the kitchen after breakfast. Despite Peter’s protests, Elliott and Eva had dragged him outside to train with the others, saying that even though he was the only human, he had to learn to defend himself.

We’d gotten back late and hadn’t discussed our situation because the warriors had been exhausted. We’d found extra sheets and pillows, and they’d camped on the floor of the den, promising it was the most comfortable they’d been in weeks.

The table had been cleared of dishes, and everyone but Errol was sitting around it with cups of coffee, the scent of bacon still lingering.

Cassidy placed her teal coffee mug on the table. “So, they know these warriors are with us. We wanted to have that be a secret advantage.”

“There was nothing we could do.” Thorn leaned back in his seat across from her. “They arrived. If those wolves hadn’t warned us, they might have chased after us and caught us.” He leaned over and took my hand resting on top of the table.

Vlad ran a hand through his thickening scruff and placed his elbows on the table. He didn’t say anything, but his forehead was lined with worry.

“We need more allies,” Errol stated as he paced behind us. “But how can we achieve that while we hide?”

Arrow rubbed a finger against his bottom lip. He was sitting at the end of the table between Thorn and Cassidy. “One thing we can do is traineverybodylike the warriors. We’ll teach them the way we…er, the enemy thinks. They’ll surprise Drake’s people and have a better chance of escaping them.”

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