Love's Protection (Passion Moon 3): (A Shifter, Supernatural Romance) (9 page)

I pulled off my seat belt. My chest ached. I ignored the fatigue and pain, forcing myself to stand on the seat so I could crawl out of the destroyed cop car. The hood was crumpled. Sickly-sweet steam hissed out the front grill, the radiator fluid cooking on the hot engine block. I dropped to the ground and almost fell over.

I looked up the cliff. I could barely make out flashing lights high over head through the thick trees. A path of broken branches and a shattered tree led back to the cliff face. I gaped, shaking my head. “We survived that?”

“You're a powerful witch.” Vanessa grunted and opened the trunk. “I have a survival kit in here.” She pulled out an orange pack. “I lost my rifle. It must have flown out the window while we were bouncing around down the cliff.” 

“Where do we go?”

“No idea. I've never been in this part of the mountains before. We have a few hours of daylight. I say we hike that way. It's north. We can descend out of the foothills, maybe hit Meyersville or Dillon. I have friends who can help hide us while we figure things out.”

“How far is that?”

“A long walk.” Vanessa pushed her emergency kit into a backpack. She tied a pair of blankets to the bottom and slung it over her back. “Can you hide our trail? Scent and all? When they get down here, they'll run us down.”

“I'm not sure,” I said. “I'm wiped out.”

“You need to try.”

I nodded. “Let me think.” I rubbed at my temple. The beginnings of a headache pounded at the corners.

“I have Tylenol in the glove box.” Vanessa dived back into the wrecked car as I struggled to think. How could I hide our trail? It would have to be a combo spell, spirits of Life to devour our scent and spirits of Earth to conceal our footprints.

I hoped I had the power to cast this.

Vanessa returned with the Tylenol and handed me a bottle of water. “Drink up.” I swallowed the two pills and drank the water in a few gulps.

“Okay. I think I've worked out a spell.”

I staggered when I cast the spell. Vanessa caught me and held me upright. My vision swam. I took a deep breath and nodded. “I'm fine.” Rocky Earth spirits and green Life spirits went to work, cleaning up our scent and footprints from the crash. “Let's go.”

I forced myself to walk. I couldn't let fatigue stop me. I just wanted to sleep, but that wouldn't help me save Forrest. The spirits trailed us. The Earth spirits rolled on the ground, erasing our footprints as the Life spirits danced in our wake, devouring our scents and fixing the damage we caused to stalks of grass and branches.

Maintaining the spell was a constant drain. My totem prickled. Despite the Tylenol, my headache grew worse and worse, pounding on my brain. I didn't complain. I forced myself to keep walking as much as I could until I had to stop, sucking in breaths.

“We need to go faster,” Vanessa hissed.

“Sorry,” I heaved.

She pulled out an energy bar from her pack. It was chocolate covering a bar made of nuts and oats. I had a burst of energy for a while. We made good progress, but the fatigue returned. Vanessa put her arm around my waist and helped support me. She had more endurance. Shifters were stronger than humans.

As the sun sank towards the horizon and the shadows grew longer, my feet rebelled. Pain throbbed in them. Cowboy boots were not the right type of boots to use to hike through uneven terrain. We followed the valley. It narrowed and we descended. The brush was thick. Sometimes we just crashed through it. The Life spirits repaired the damage we left behind.

“I...I can't maintain the spell any longer,” I gasped. My totem was numb. It had been hours of trudging.

“Fine,” Vanessa sighed. “We've put miles between us. They'll have to spread out and search for us.”

It grew darker and darker. I didn't have the energy to cast my light spell to see in the twilight. I clung to Vanessa, letting her guide me. I could barely make out where I was stepping as night descended. Then the moon rose, clearing the trees. It was nearly full, shining bright. In the dark of the woods, away from the lights of civilization, I discovered you could walk by moonlight. Everything seemed silvery.

My legs were a mass of pain. My feet screamed. My chest heaved. I only mumbled when Vanessa asked me questions. It was too hard to think. I could only stumble forward. Ever forward. Branches brushed my face and I barely felt them. My body shook. I was so cold.

“Damn,” Vanessa muttered. “You need to rest.”

“Fine...” I mumbled.

“What?” she asked as she lowered me down.

“I'm fine. Keeping going. Can't...caught...”

Vanessa shook her head. “You're barely coherent, Kotie.” She pulled out a blanket and draped it over my shoulders and then pressed another energy bar into my hand. “Eat.”

I did. My eyes closed as I munched on the bar. Vanessa held me. I leaned my head on her shoulder and slept.

My dreams were a blur of confusing images. I was hunted by a wolf. I never could get away. He chased me through my house. Through Moonrise. In woods, through swamps, and even bustling cities. I couldn't escape him. The landscapes blurred one into the other. Nothing made sense.

I woke up after a bit, my back sore. I was lying on my back covered by the blanket. The ground was hard beneath me and a rock nudged my ribs. I rolled over and fell back into my dreams. They were the same blurring terror of being hunted. The night passed in frightful moments. I would wake up, roll over, and fall instantly back to furtive sleep. I must have woken up every fifteen minutes.

Vanessa lay nearby, her back to me. Near dawn, I cried. Would I be able to save Forrest? Was I strong enough? I wasn't sure. It all seemed so hopeless. My stomach growled. The few energy bars I ate last night wasn't enough.

I tried to be quiet, but Vanessa stirred. She sat up. Her face was haggard and her blonde hair was a tangled mess. “Come on,” she groaned.

“Any water?” My lips were parched.

“We drank it all last night,” she answered. Her lips chapped and peeling.

I swallowed. It hurt. Everything hurt, even thinking. My thoughts were fuzzy.

“We'll find some,” she answered. “Come on. We need to keep moving. They're hunting for us.”

I cast the spell to hide our scent and trail. It was easier. I didn't feel like I had gotten much rest, but my magic had recovered. My feet throbbed in my boots. I didn't want to look at my soles. I grimaced as I stood.

“I hope we find civilization,” I muttered as we trudged forward.

“Yeah,” Vanessa nodded. “I've had enough of nature for a while.”

“That's not very wolfish.”

“I'm feeling most unwolfish right now.” Her head twisted. “Forrest is in the valley. I can hear his call.”

“Has he found our trail?”

“I don't think so. Let's just keep going.”

Fear gave me a burst of energy. Despite my hollow stomach and parched throat, I discovered my body had reserves I didn't know about. I glanced behind us and was relieved to see the Life and Earth spirits still covering our tracks. The wilderness was vast, and we were moving through dense brush. Forrest and his pack might get close and never find our trail or even see us.

“Water's ahead,” Vanessa grinned. “I can hear it. Rapids. I bet it's the Whitefroth.”

I nodded my head in excitement. The Whitefroth flowed east of Moonrise. Every time we drove out to Granite Hills, the small city two hours away, we had to cross over a high bridge that spanned the deep canyon the river had carved.

“We can follow it to the highway and get help,” I smiled.

Vanessa nodded, eagerness in her eyes. “This way.” She turned us to the right. The sun climbed higher. It was nearly noon. The time was passing faster as we trudged across the wilderness, heartened by the sound of the river.

A wolf howled behind us.

Fear clenched about my throat.

“Forrest,” Vanessa gasped and fell to her knees. “He's getting close.”

“What?” I gaped.

A second howl answered, off to the left.

“Move!” Vanessa snarled. “We have to move faster.”

“Did they find our trail?” I gaped as another flood of fear sent me moving through the brush.

“You didn't hide it all last night. It gave them a direction to search. Dammit. We should have changed directions this morning.”

The howls grew louder as we marched. We reached the river not long after. It cut a deep chasm on our right. We raced along the cliff edge, following the river downstream towards the highway. There were limits a human had, but fear could make you exceed them. I didn't want to get captured by my father. I didn't want to be hurt again.

A car honked.

“We're near the highway!” I grinned.

“Keep going!” Vanessa's voice was a low growl. She snarled, fighting Forrest's call.

Ahead, through the trees, cars streamed by on the high bridge. I knew where that was. Meyersville was only a short walk on the other side of the river. We would get away. The land climbed towards the highway. The trees fell away as the slope grew steep and rocky.

“We made it!” I grinned, staring up at the hill we had to climb up to the road. The bridge rumbled as a semitruck crossed. It was steep, but we could make it. We had to.

A loud, haunting howl echoed down the ravine. Vanessa gasped and fell to her knees. “I...I can't...”

“What?” I turned and looked at her.

“Run!” she snarled at me, her eyes wolfish. “He's too strong. He's too close. I'm too tired to fight him. Run!”

“Vanessa...” I swallowed, backing away as she spasmed on the ground. I hesitated. I didn't want to leave her. “Just fight it. We're almost to safety. We'll catch a ride and get away before they reach us.” 

“Too late!” Vanessa snarled. She threw back her head and howled, announcing our presence. The other wolves answered, baying with excitement.

They were so close. I backed away from Vanessa.

She lunged at me, her eyes wild, a snarl on her lips. The change took her. Fur sprouted. Her eyes were wild. She moved so fast, crossing the distance between us in a heartbeat. She seized my shoulders, her transforming face twisted in pain.

“Sorry...Kotie...” Vanessa panted, her words garbled by her growing snout.

“Please!” I begged.

“Only...way...” Her eyes bored into mine. I saw it. She had a scrap of herself free of Forrest's domination. It wouldn't last long, but it was enough for her to have one final moment of resistance.

Vanessa shoved me over the cliff.

I forced myself to stop screaming as I tumbled towards the river. Fear gave my mind a startling clarity I had lacked all day. I had my magic. Only last Saturday, I had jumped down into a ravine. The spell leaped into my mind. “Spirits of the wind, surround me and slow my fall!”

I had fallen halfway down the cliff, my red hair blowing in my face, before I gasped out the spell. The cloudy Air spirits zipped around me. They brushed my skin as they surged beneath me and wrapped me in an updraft. My fall slowed. The cliff face was no longer a blur streaking by me and the frothy waters of the river weren't hurtling towards me.

I drifted down like dandelion fluff.

Vanessa howled atop the cliff. A second werewolf joined her. Forrest. He was so big and menacing, wrapped in chains of red. He howled his frustration as he stared down at me.

“I'll save you,” I whispered. “I'll find a way. I'm not losing you, Forrest. Not after all we've—”

I landed in the water. The cold shocked away my words. The current was strong, pulling me downstream. The water roared around me. I swam, my boots heavy and dragging me under. The water frothed about me. My legs scraped rocks, sending me spinning in the waters. I gasped, swallowing water as I was plunged through the rapids.

I was driven under the dark water. I spun about, screaming in fear. I broke the surface for a moment, sucking in a deep breath before I struck a rock. Pain exploded down my side. I spun, dazed, and plunged back into the dark waters.

Fear filled me. I had to get back to the surface. My lungs burned. The current was so strong, holding me down. I kicked and swam, my feet pushing off the gravely bottom of the river. I burst up right before a rock parting the river.

I hit my head. Pain drove away thoughts. My head throbbed. The world swirled about me.

My tattoo burned. Golden hearts danced about me.

The world became snatches of comprehension between whirling darkness.

Water splashed.

Darkness.

Blue sky above cottoned with drifting clouds.

Darkness.

Love spirits surrounding me with golden light.

Darkness.

I tumbled through pain and frothing water.

Darkness.

A log floated by.

Darkness.

I clung to a log, bobbing along in the current.

Darkness.

I lay on a gravel beach.

Darkness.

Pain filled me, drawing me from the depths of the darkness. I opened my eyes. My heart pounded. Pebbles were hard beneath my cheek. I rolled over. It was night. My boots were wet and cold. I shivered and my teeth chattered.

I had been washed down the river. I vaguely remembered the Love spirits around me. “You...protected...me,” I said through chattering teeth to a Love spirit that flew around me. The spirit didn't answer.

My body was battered. I was at the limits of my endurance. My legs were still in the Whitefroth. I pulled myself up the beach. My entire body convulsed and shook. I was so cold. Every part of me was numb. My thoughts were sluggish, but one word broke through—hypothermia. I had to do something. Magic. I had magic.

“Spirits...of...warmth...drive...away....cold...” I chattered.

Fire spirits swarmed to me, caressing my body. Their warmth flooded me. The cold banished. My clothes steamed as they dried. I forced myself to crawl further up the beach. The moon was full tonight. It was the first night of the full moon. I was still in the cliff valley. A rock face rose before me. There was a dark pocket.

Shelter.

I crawled into the nook, the Life and Earth spirits busy behind me, erasing my presence. Somehow, I had maintained the spell while tumbling through the river. I didn't care. I squeezed into the crevasse. The ground was sandy and soft. I laid my head on my arm. Tears shook my body. Forrest and I were supposed to be married at noon tomorrow. How was I supposed to save him? My strongest spell hadn't worked.