Isla's POV
"I'm not waiting for them to decide my fate," I whispered into the cold night, and the words kept circling in my head as I sat in the dark, my knees pulled tight to my chest, the fire outside Kyree's camp dying lower and lower. I had slipped away farther from the camp than I ever dared before and my heart was pounding so hard I thought someone might hear it.
Ava stirred inside me and her voice came out sharp and angry. "If you stay in their war, you burn with them. If you run, maybe you breathe."
I nodded once and clenched my teeth. "Then I run."
The forest around me was thick and darker than the outlaw camp and colder than anywhere I had been in weeks. I followed a narrow deer trail for hours and my legs ached and my feet were numb, but I kept pushing forward. The ground sloped down after a while and the smell of rotting wood drifted toward me and I knew I was getting close to something.
There it was, an old cabin half buried in weeds with windows broken and the roof sagging like it might cave in any second. My hands shook when I pushed the door and the hinges groaned so loud, I froze and waited to see if anyone heard. The air inside was stale and smelled like mold and dead animals, but it was covered and that was all I needed.
I slid against the wall and let my pack drop and my heart was pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. For the first time in days, I exhaled and let my shoulders drop. "One night," I whispered to Ava. "Just one night."
She growled back low and uneasily. "One night too long. Someone will sniff you out."
"I need rest," I said. "I can't keep running on nothing."
Ava didn't answer, but I could feel her pacing inside my head like a caged animal. I pulled the blanket tighter around me and shut my eyes, but I didn't sleep. My body was exhausted, but my mind wouldn't let me rest and every sound outside made me jump.
Then I heard them. Voices cracked through the dark outside and they were rough and slurred like men who had been drinking.
"She's out here, I swear it," one man said.
Another laughed and it was a mean sound. "Drake doubled the bounty. More than enough to keep me chasing until my legs fall off."
My blood went cold and I felt it drain from my face. My hand closed around a rusty knife lying on the floorboards and I gripped it so tight my knuckles went white.
"If she's Kyree's bitch, it makes it sweeter," the first one said and his voice was closer now. Boots crunched on dead leaves and they were circling the cabin like wolves around prey.
Ava pressed inside my head and her voice was urgent. "If they come in, strike first and don't freeze."
The boards creaked outside and I could hear them testing the ground around the cabin. My grip on the knife tightened and I moved slowly toward the back of the room, where there was a window with half the glass missing.
"She's worth more breathing than dead. "Remember that" one muttered and I heard him spit.
"Yeah, but if she fights, we can rough her up a little," another said and they all laughed.
I backed toward the rear window and held my breath. My heart was slamming against my ribs and my hands were shaking so bad I almost dropped the knife. Then a fist rattled the door and the whole cabin shook.
"She's in here," a voice snarled and I heard the door handle turn.
I didn't wait. I shoved the back window open and the glass cut my palm and blood ran hot down my wrist, but I didn't care. I slid out into the night and landed hard on the ground outside.
"There!" one shouted and I heard them scrambling. I ran. Branches tore at my arms and face and my lungs burned, but I didn't stop. The howls of men followed me and their feet were hammering through the trees and they were getting closer.
Gunfire cracked and the sound split the air. Bark exploded near my face and splinters hit my cheek.
"Run!" Ava screamed inside me and I could feel her trying to push through and take over. I kept asking myself how they found me, because I know what I can do. Did he spread his men in all angles of this pack to carry me?
Just then, a bullet tore past my shoulder and my skin split open and hot blood soaked through my shirt. I stumbled and almost went down, but my legs kept pumping.
"Move," Ava growled. "One more step, always one more." I could hear them behind me, crashing through the brush and yelling to each other. "She's hit! She can't go far!"
My shoulder burned and blood was running down my arm, but I pushed deeper into the forest. The trees were so thick I could barely see, and I kept hitting branches and stumbling over roots, but I didn't stop.
Coby's POV
The rogue bar stank of sweat and blood and cheap liquor. I pulled my hood low and shoved through the doors and the noise hit me like a wall. Inside, men turned to stare and their eyes glinted when they recognized me.
"Well, well, the hockey star," one sneered from a corner table. "Come to play in the dirt?"
I ignored him and headed for the bar. My jaw was tight and my hands were in fists. "Whiskey," I muttered to the bartender.
Before the glass touched my hand, three men blocked me. They had tattoos across their necks and blades at their belts and they stood too close. The biggest one smiled and his teeth were yellow.
"You're looking for the girl, aren't you?" he said and it wasn't a question.
My jaw tightened. "Where is she?"
They laughed and the sound made my skin crawl. "Drake's price has the whole border hunting. You think you'll find her before us? You'll lose more than your stick, hockey boy."
His hand shoved my chest and I took a step back. Bryan snarled inside me and I felt him pushing against my ribs. Tear him apart and show them what we are.
My fists clenched and I tried to hold it back. I couldn't afford a fight right now, but then his finger jabbed me again right in the sternum. The wolf ripped through my control and I caught his arm and twisted hard. Bone cracked and the sound was loud in the quiet bar. He screamed and dropped to his knees.
The other two lunged and I moved fast. I slammed one into the table and bottles shattered and glass sliced my hand, but I didn't feel it. The third drew a knife and my eyes burned gold as I snarled. "Try it."
He froze with the knife shaking in his hand and then he dropped it and backed away.
"Where is she?" I growled and my voice didn't sound like mine anymore.
"We don't know yet. All men are now looking for her. We have spoken to other groups of the army except the ones that went towards the western woods," he stammered and his face was pale. "Near the old cabin. Hunters were sent there tonight." I shoved him back and he hit the wall hard. I stormed out and didn't look back. Bryan's voice roared in my chest and I could feel him clawing to get out. "She's close. You can smell it."
I ran for the bike I had borrowed from a guy at the last town and gunned it toward the tree line. The engine roared and I pushed it faster than I should have on these roads.
"She's ours," Bryan growled. "She's mine," I muttered and gripped the handlebars tighter. "Hold on, Isla, I'm coming."