Chapter 328 328
Sabine POV
A growl drags me out of sleep.
Not Didier’s wolf my stomach.
With adrenaline flooding my veins last night as we fled the police, dinner never crossed my mind. Any of our minds. Now my body is making sure I don’t forget it again.
I push myself up slowly, wincing as stiffness bites into my back from the unforgiving concrete floor of the barn. Gilles’s arms are still wrapped around me, heavy and warm, anchoring me in place. Dawn has barely broken. Birds chatter in the surrounding trees, their songs tugging at memories I’m not ready for early mornings on the farm, waking before the sun to feed animals that depended on me.
A dull ache settles in my chest.
That life is gone.
It was simple. It was exhausting. But for the first time, it had been mine. I’d made the decisions. Not my father. Not my half-brother. Me.
My stomach twists again, and my mind drifts to the hens’ coop eggs waiting to be collected, warm and golden, ready to be cracked into a pan. The thought almost hurts. For a reckless second, I consider going back, just to have food in our stomachs before we move on.
But it’s too far. Too dangerous. And without Didier, I wouldn’t even find my way back.
The woods will have to provide.
Carefully, I peel Gilles’s arms from my waist. I won’t allow a repeat of last night. I must have been beyond exhausted not to notice his closeness. I’m usually more alert. More aware.
I reach for my backpack, pull out a tablet, and swallow it dry. The chalky scrape down my throat nearly makes me gag, but I force it down. Water is something I can’t afford to waste.
The fire has died completely, reduced to faint embers losing their last fight against the morning air. Ashes scatter at the slightest breeze.
Moving on silent feet, I slip toward the tree line, stepping carefully around anything that might snap or crunch beneath me. I’m not even sure what I expect to find.
Mushrooms. Berries. A miracle drive-through hidden among the trees.
I scan the forest floor, peer up into branches for nests. Nothing. Not even a hint of luck.
We’ll have to keep moving. Find a town. Stay off technology as much as possible. Decide whether we stick together or split up.
Didier will argue it isn’t safe for me to remain with him and Caroline. The truth is, I’m the danger the risk attached to them. They deserve the choice.
I keep walking until I spot a road cutting through the trees ahead. Hope flares, bright and sudden. Maybe we could hitchhike. Put distance between us and the farm.
Then I feel it.
A sharp prickle under my skin. A warning.
At first, I dismiss it. The tablet is only just taking effect, and sometimes this happens. She always resists. Always fights me.
Then a branch snaps.
My head whips around.
Nothing.
But my heart slams violently against my ribs, panic crawling up my spine. It can’t be nothing. Slowly, I step behind a wide tree trunk, pressing my palm to my chest as I try to steady my breathing.
I need to get back.
What if we were followed? We weren’t careful when we fled. Footprints would have been easy to track.
Damn it.
Then a scent reaches me.
Coffee.
Warm, rich coffee laced with cinnamon.
It makes no sense. We’re miles from anywhere civilized.
And then it clicks.
Fear grips me hard as I force myself to step out from behind the tree, eyes scanning the clearing ahead.
Movement flickers to my left.
A figure steps into view.
“Hello, Bee.”
His voice vibrates through me like a low purr, and for the first time in a long while, my body loosens instead of tightening.
I feel… safe.
“Maurice?” The name tumbles from my lips in a breathless gasp. Am I awake? Or still dreaming?
“Bee.” He takes a step closer, sunlight breaking through the trees to illuminate him fully.
My dreams never did him justice.
He’s broader. Sharper. More dangerous and more devastating than I remember. Black jeans. Dark grey T-shirt. Trainers. Clothes chosen with shifting in mind.
How long has he been following me?
“How?” I glance behind him, half-expecting others to emerge from the trees.
“How did I find you?” His gaze follows mine before he steps closer again. I instinctively retreat, and he immediately understands, lifting his hands in a calm, open gesture.
“I never stopped looking,” he says quietly. “For six months, Bee. I never gave up on you coming back to me.”
“Why”
“Because you’re mine.” His voice drops, possessive and certain.
“I can’t go back,” I say firmly. “I won’t.”
“I’m not here to argue,” he replies. “I just want to know you’re okay. That you’re safe.”
“Sab?” Didier’s voice carries from the distance.
My pulse spikes.
“I have to go.”
“Sab?” Caroline’s voice joins his, then Gilles’s.
I can’t let them be found. Not by him.
“It’s okay,” Maurice murmurs. “Go. I’ll find you.”