I have no idea what time it is, but it feels late enough in the morning for tourists to be around. I move quickly, eager to complete my errand so I can return to Marshall before he misses me.
At the back of my mind, I'm thinking that the last thing I need is to be caught by the hiking couple with their bag and pot, or by some other hikers wanting to know what happened to the rest of my clothes.
I'm halfway to the cabin where I got the firewood, when I come to a sudden stop at a scent that tells me I'm in trouble. Not the tourist kind of trouble, but something a lot worse than that. The shifter kind.
In a second, I'm overcome by terror. I drop the bag and pot and spin around. My only goal is to get back to Marshall as fast as I can, but before I've taken two steps, a large brown wolf, the one that savaged Marshall, emerges from behind a tree in front of me.
He hadn't been there before. I know it because I picked up his and the other shifter's scent in the other direction, which means he's fast to have circled me like that. Far too fast for me to outrun him. So, I won't get back to the cabin, not on two legs. Even if I could shift quickly, maybe not even on four.
The large wolf with silver eyes stalks toward me.
As I watch his slow progress, I remember what he did-all the damage he did to Marshall as a wolf. Human skin isn't anywhere near as tough as wolf hide, so he could do more damage to me. Probably even kill me.
I know running will be a mistake and one I likely won't live through, but that doesn't stop me from wanting to anyway as he pads toward me, his eyes fixed on me with predatory focus.
Meeting the wolf's eyes is impossible. The second my eyes meet his, mine are dropping. Everything in me wants me-compels me to lower my head, even as I back away the closer he nears.
That I'm dealing with an alpha is no longer in question, even if I'd somehow overlooked how quickly they were able to shift, and how aggressively they fought against Marshall.
When hands clamp down on my shoulders from behind, I jump and scream. No sound spills from my mouth because the second before it does, a hand leaves my shoulder and muffles the sound.
"As much as we're looking forward to dealing with that mate of yours, now isn't the time for it," a low voice murmurs into my ear as one hand squeezes my arm in a punishing grip hard enough that I know he's leaving bruises behind.
The brown wolf stops right in front of me and opens his mouth in a silent snarl, offering another warning in case I'd somehow missed the first. I keep my gaze fixed on his sharp teeth and swallow back my need to scream.
I wish I could do something about the overwhelming scent of my fear in the air, but that isn't as easy to control as the need to scream.
"Did he come out with you?" the shifter behind me murmurs into my ear.
He must be the lighter wolf.
I take a second to consider my options, not that I have many of them. I could try to break free long enough to scream and maybe Marshall would hear and come after me. I doubt I've gotten too far away from the cabin that he might.
But then I remember he was still sleeping, and he's not fully recovered. If my scream woke him, he'd charge right out to save me, and immediately have his throat ripped out by the brown wolf sitting at my feet.
I can't let that happen. He needs more time to heal.
I shake my head no.
"You're not lying, are you? Because you won't like what I do to you if I discover you are," he croons in a low, sing-song voice.
I shake my head as hard as I can with his hand still clamped over my mouth.
"Good." He sounds pleased, and the grip on my arm loosens a touch.
I stupidly start believing that he's going to let me go.
And I'm right. He does let me go, but only long enough for a hard object, maybe his fist, maybe a rock to strike me at the back of my head.
I slump, but I don't hit the ground. The shifter tosses me over his shoulder and my head spins. Maybe the dizziness is because of the angle I'm being carried, or maybe it's because of the blow to the back of my head. Before I can discover which, the ground below me starts getting so hazy that even blinking isn't enough to clear my vision.
The shifter turns away from mine and Marshall's cabin and starts walking. Between the first step and the second, I stop seeing the ground beneath me. I stop seeing anything at all.