that held only death.
It was a risk, of course. If the fall didn't kill me, I might not be able to ever get out. But I had no choice, and so I ran even faster and put my head down in an effort to get away from them.
Snow kicked up around me and I heard the Wolves begin to circle. I didn't look back, instead setting my gaze firmly on a deep, narrow crevasse that suddenly yawned ahead of me. This place was between my cave and I, and I'd scouted it thoroughly. I never imagined I’d have to jump down one of the holes, but I’d filed their existence away in my head nonetheless.
After all, the opportunity to lead my enemy through this minefield at night in hopes that they broke their necks wasn’t something I’d have turned down.
I guess I was going to use them for a very different purpose. Before I could second-guess myself I breathed found myself saying the word, “Zoe” out loud. It wasn’t a spell. Her name shouldn’t have had power, but it somehow dulled the pain as gravity took hold and I hurtled downward, my pelt catching on jagged ice and tearing open in several places as my pelt ran slick with blood.
7
Zoe
I ran to the bar as if my life depended on it, since I was almost certain that it did. For a moment I thought it would be best to retrace my tracks, to sprint as quickly and surefootedly as I could along the trail I’d already made back to Bruno's. After all, he’d already found my footprints, so what difference would it make that they now went back in the same direction they'd come?
Of course, that would lead him right back to me. If he got tired of chasing my rescuer and returned, once he followed the tracks they’d only go back to the bar he owned. He'd find me and Carla there, and that was it. I may as well come out and tell him that it was me he’d been tracking.
Not very secretive of you, I told myself. Play this smart girl, or you’ll regret it .
I shook my head, trying to clear it. I was good under pressure, and I wasn't going to let what I’d just seen rattle me. Yes, the guy who'd saved me from being discovered had turned into a Bear. I couldn't pretend that wasn't the case. It had happened, but I wasn't about to let that slow me down now.
here was plenty of time later to sort that out. And if there wasn't, it would be because I'd messed up my escape right now…
Instead of heading for the bar I ran to the road. If Bruno followed me, he’d only be able to track me to the road and that would be it. There were a lot of people that lived in town, and any one of them could've gone to the bar, found it closed, gone to the woods and returned to the road. It didn't have to be me, and I wouldn't implicate myself or Carla in the process.
As I ran through the snow I realized that I was retracing the steps I'd seen in the moonlight last night. When I came out of the forest I could see the little rise ahead of me where I’d stopped, and this time I knew exactly who had made those tracks. Or did I ? Everly had been one of them, that was for damn sure.
But who had made the other set? The guy who'd saved me, who was now a Bear?
I didn't know. Instead of puzzling it out now, once again I told myself it didn't matter. Get through this, and then you can ask all the questions you want. For now, it has to be about survival. Curiosity killed the cat and all that, remember?
I sucked in cold lungfuls of air and sprinted through the snow as best I could, working so hard that the chill wind in my throat made me hoarse. The road wasn't too far ahead, but I was starting to get worn out. Fear and adrenaline had gotten me this far, but I was starting to slow down.
It was hard going, and without a set of snowshoes I hit a deep section and sunk into the ice and snow that surrounded me up to my waist. It was like trying to run through mud, or trying to sprint through the ocean as the tide pulls against you.
I thrashed my way to my feet again and finally made it to the road. Without too much surprise, I
It was a risk, of course. If the fall didn't kill me, I might not be able to ever get out. But I had no choice, and so I ran even faster and put my head down in an effort to get away from them.
Snow kicked up around me and I heard the Wolves begin to circle. I didn't look back, instead setting my gaze firmly on a deep, narrow crevasse that suddenly yawned ahead of me. This place was between my cave and I, and I'd scouted it thoroughly. I never imagined I’d have to jump down one of the holes, but I’d filed their existence away in my head nonetheless.
After all, the opportunity to lead my enemy through this minefield at night in hopes that they broke their necks wasn’t something I’d have turned down.
I guess I was going to use them for a very different purpose. Before I could second-guess myself I breathed found myself saying the word, “Zoe” out loud. It wasn’t a spell. Her name shouldn’t have had power, but it somehow dulled the pain as gravity took hold and I hurtled downward, my pelt catching on jagged ice and tearing open in several places as my pelt ran slick with blood.
7
Zoe
I ran to the bar as if my life depended on it, since I was almost certain that it did. For a moment I thought it would be best to retrace my tracks, to sprint as quickly and surefootedly as I could along the trail I’d already made back to Bruno's. After all, he’d already found my footprints, so what difference would it make that they now went back in the same direction they'd come?
Of course, that would lead him right back to me. If he got tired of chasing my rescuer and returned, once he followed the tracks they’d only go back to the bar he owned. He'd find me and Carla there, and that was it. I may as well come out and tell him that it was me he’d been tracking.
Not very secretive of you, I told myself. Play this smart girl, or you’ll regret it .
I shook my head, trying to clear it. I was good under pressure, and I wasn't going to let what I’d just seen rattle me. Yes, the guy who'd saved me from being discovered had turned into a Bear. I couldn't pretend that wasn't the case. It had happened, but I wasn't about to let that slow me down now.
here was plenty of time later to sort that out. And if there wasn't, it would be because I'd messed up my escape right now…
Instead of heading for the bar I ran to the road. If Bruno followed me, he’d only be able to track me to the road and that would be it. There were a lot of people that lived in town, and any one of them could've gone to the bar, found it closed, gone to the woods and returned to the road. It didn't have to be me, and I wouldn't implicate myself or Carla in the process.
As I ran through the snow I realized that I was retracing the steps I'd seen in the moonlight last night. When I came out of the forest I could see the little rise ahead of me where I’d stopped, and this time I knew exactly who had made those tracks. Or did I ? Everly had been one of them, that was for damn sure.
But who had made the other set? The guy who'd saved me, who was now a Bear?
I didn't know. Instead of puzzling it out now, once again I told myself it didn't matter. Get through this, and then you can ask all the questions you want. For now, it has to be about survival. Curiosity killed the cat and all that, remember?
I sucked in cold lungfuls of air and sprinted through the snow as best I could, working so hard that the chill wind in my throat made me hoarse. The road wasn't too far ahead, but I was starting to get worn out. Fear and adrenaline had gotten me this far, but I was starting to slow down.
It was hard going, and without a set of snowshoes I hit a deep section and sunk into the ice and snow that surrounded me up to my waist. It was like trying to run through mud, or trying to sprint through the ocean as the tide pulls against you.
I thrashed my way to my feet again and finally made it to the road. Without too much surprise, I
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