Cold Moon Rising: A New Adult Paranormal Romance (Cry Wolf) by Sarah Makela

dashed to the driver’s side. He bent near the front wheel and pulled out a spare key.
    A loud thwap ripped through the air, and I dodged to the side. The dart smacked into the car door where I’d been standing. My heartbeat hammered with fear and, strangely, the need to fight. The beast within me growled, and the sound trickled from my lips.
    Jacob pressed the car key into my hand. “Get in the car. You’re vulnerable out here.”
    “Wait.” I grabbed him by the shoulders before he could go. “What are you doing? We have to get out of here.”
    Anger darkened his eyes, and I flinched. He wasn’t upset with me, but I wanted us to both be happy and safe. “There are two guys. If I don’t fight them, then we might have them follow us to wherever we try to hide. I wouldn’t be able to go to my brother or the Pack without them knowing where we’re at.”
    Chewing my lower lip, I knew he was right. While we had escaped the tracking devices, if these men came after us, the chances of slipping away to safety were a distant dream.
    “Just be safe.”
    He nodded, then pulled me in close before he took off toward the shadows. My beast wanted to follow him, stand by her mate to protect him, but we both knew Jacob was capable of defending himself.
    I crawled to the driver side door. If the dart had hit the passenger side, then the men were facing that direction. However, the soft crunching of gravel approached the front of the car. If there had only been two men, then I’m sure Jacob would’ve taken out the one closest to us first before incapacitating the guy farther away.
    I shrunk back toward the rear of the vehicle and took a deep breath. My senses exploded with so many details I could barely sift through to find the ones most important to me. A garbage can nearby still had trash in it that smelled like it had been there for years, Jacob’s car had the scent of car wax which explained the shine it gave off even in the dark, and the distinct smell of three men plus Jacob. Jacob and the other two men were several feet away, but the third one was almost on top of me.
    This wasn’t good. While I’d taken out Dr. Peacock, he hadn’t been carrying weapons. Besides, there had been bars between us. For some reason, the bars made me a little more insulated from danger. He couldn’t have hurt me unless he’d had his guards with him.
    If I didn’t take this man out, I could be risking Jacob or the possibility of him capturing me again. I wanted neither of those. Only to curl up at Jacob’s side in a warm safe bed miles away from here.
    My ears perked at the creak of leather getting closer. I peeked under the car, seeing his boots near the back driver side door. Now was my chance to do something. He walked a few more steps, and I jumped at him.
    He fired his gun, and a sharp sting ached in my side where the dart hit. No, I can’t let this happen. This isn’t how this should end. I glanced down my torso, my knees wobbling with effort to stay up.
    “Nighty night.” The guard huffed. “Now I can get back to the big game,” the guard said, taking a step toward me as if to catch me the second I go down. I stumbled and he grabbed my arms.
    The wolf growled, and before I knew what I was doing, I slammed my head into his. The guard dropped to the ground in seconds like an extinguished light.
    Pops of tranq guns going off filled the night air, but the sound quieted with the crunching of bones. Jacob trudged toward me, the thick vein in his neck straining with the effort. My legs turned to jelly, and I collapsed to the ground on my back, smacking my head on the graveled parking lot. Pain exploded behind my eyes. We’d been so close to freedom.
    Jacob dropped to my side, and he took my hand before slumping forward onto my chest. It was so hard to breathe, but the comfort of having him near helped ease the agony of knowing that our chance to run was gone.
    “Sorry, Kelly,” Jacob whispered.
    I couldn’t respond. My lungs