Lone Wolf (The Pack 5)

Wind swirled the leaves on the ground around us, bringing another scent and I jerked forward as I recognized it. Trent reached for me, but I stumbled out of his reach, walking toward the truck like a zombie, my throat working as my mouth formed a single word, “Dru.”

Chapter Seventeen

Dru

The wolf twitched as the truck sped through a tiny town and a spurt of hope shot through me, but he didn’t open his eyes. I didn’t know where we were going, but our chances of escape decreased with every mile. If they managed to get us to this auction they kept talking about, it would be impossible to escape. Right now, idiots held us but I had a feeling that would change once we got to our destination.

I reached for the wolf’s feet, tickling them and he jerked reflexively but didn’t wake and I sighed. I was running out of ideas and time, since I didn’t know how long it would take to get wherever we were going, and I couldn’t wait any longer for the wolf to regain consciousness.

An impenetrable wall of trees lined both sides of the road and there were no other vehicles in sight. I braced myself against the side of the truck, one hand on the wolf as I worked up my nerve. I had one shot at this and there was no margin for error. A deep breath and the truck’s tires continued to spin, but there was nothing for them to grab as we went airborne. Chuck panicked, just like I knew he would, jerking the wheel and I released the truck in time for us to slam into a tree.

The impact sent me flying, my hand still locked around the wolf’s leg so he went with me, both of us landing somewhere in front of the truck. I gasped, trying and failing to suck air into my lungs. Round eyes met mine and I realized the wolf was awake. I opened my mouth, starting to feel desperate as my lungs refused to work, and his snout nudged my cheek. My eyes drifted closed as he tried to comfort me and as I relaxed, a little bit of air entered my lungs. Each breath came a little easier until I could take a full breath.

I assessed my body, searching for broken bones or hidden damage, but there was nothing. I eased into an upright position to find the wolf sitting on his haunches staring at me unblinkingly. “You okay?” I asked, not expecting a response and I didn’t get one. “Thank you,” I added gratefully, my gaze straying to the pickup truck currently smooshed into a tree. “I need to see what happened to them.” I gestured to the truck but still didn’t get any type of response. “Can you shift?”

He blinked and a second later, a man sat there, his distinctive round eyes explaining why he’d been so uncommunicative. “You made that look easy,” I grumbled, scrambling to my feet as I tried to avoid looking at anything below his neck. “Blink and you’re a man. Another blink and you’re a wolf.” I limped my way over to the truck, my body protesting the movement, as he trailed behind me silently, and the intensity of his stare made my shoulders twitch.

The kid, Luke, was unconscious, blood trickling down his temple, but old Chuck was wide awake and started screaming when he saw me. “Don’t kill me. Please. Turn me into one of you,” he begged and I shook my head. “Please, my leg.”

“Chuck, we’re not vampires. It doesn’t work that way.” His eyes widened when he spotted the wolf shifter he’d shot standing behind me and he whimpered. “Besides, even if it did work that way I’d never turn you. I don’t like you.” I rested my arms on the window of the truck, surveying the damage. “But I will do something for you.” Hope flared to life behind his eyes and I smiled. “I’ll put you out of your misery.” Chuck’s head snapped back as the wolf shifter moved faster than I’d ever seen, breaking his neck with no compunction. “I was going to do that,” I protested and he lowered his head apologetically and I waved my hand. “It’s alright. Dead is dead.” The shifter moved, reaching for Luke and I shook my head. “Not him.”

The rumble of an engine reached my ears and I moved instantly, dragging Luke out of the truck and awkwardly shuffling to the tree line. “A little help?” I whistled, snapping my fingers at the other shifter as he stood there, staring down the black road. “Hey, I don’t want to get caught out here by some Good Samaritan.” He lumbered after me, lifting the unconscious man with ease and this time I followed him as we went into the trees, but he wouldn’t budge after a few feet. His gaze kept straying back to the road and in an effort to distract him, I asked, “What’s your name? I’m Dru.”