Sanctuary (A Hunted Novel Book 1) (8 page)

Satisfied that she could handle herself, he went in for the kill. Nate dipped his head and closed his mouth around his enemy’s throat. The man bucked beneath him, but he squeezed harder. Bitter blood flooded his mouth. Nate shook his head violently, wanting to end this now. Hunters could be hiding in the trees, and he needed to be on alert for an attack.

The thrashing beneath him subsided, and he pulled back, looking down into lifeless black orbs. He chuffed and narrowed his eyes. The woods were silent for the moment. Wildlife no doubt had been scared away by the gunshots, but their adversaries could still be lurking.

Tess slinked by him, crouched down, her eyes alert and ears pinned back. Did she hear something he didn’t? Or was she being extra cautious?

He chanced a quick glance at the fallen shifter. Snake. It was trapped in its animal form. The injured animal lie still, but he could see the slight rise and fall of their abdomen area. They were still alive.

A twig snapped to his left, and he ducked down, trying to hide himself in the brush. He shifted his gaze. Where was Tess?

T
ess crept through the thick brush.
Slow and steady. Whoever is out there, you don’t want them to know where you are.
Nate was somewhere behind her. He wasn’t exactly stealthy either. Nate had what her brothers referred to as thunder feet.

Her heart clenched at the thought of her family. While she was glad the shifter was alive, she’d hoped to find someone from her pride.
They’re out there. Right now, you need to focus on what’s right in front of you.

Leaves crunched to her left, and she dropped to the ground. Her belly grazed against the dirt as she carefully moved toward the sound. Tess narrowed her eyes, letting them flit from side-to-side. No one was going to sneak up on her.

She perked her ears up. The footsteps crackled over the earth in sets of two. Humans. Judging by the steps, there were three of them. It could be Callum and his team. Or, it could be more hunters.
Stay vigilant.

The trio was moving deliberately slow as if they were searching for something, or someone, and trying to keep quiet.
I’ll let them get ahead and then tail them back to Nate and the other shifter. At least I’ll have the upper hand.

Tess froze in her spot, staying low to the ground. They were close. She drew in a deep breath and inhaled. The smell of wolf and bear assaulted her senses. They were friends—well, at least Nate’s friends. For all she knew, they would turn on her the first chance they got. It might be better if they found Nate first. Besides, it wouldn’t hurt to check out the perimeter. Hunters traveled in groups. They’d only taken out two. There were more out there.

She waited for the three men to pass her before slipping away. She snuck through the underbrush, her senses alert for anything out of the ordinary. Voices whispered in the distance.

“I can’t reach them. The shifters might’ve gotten them,” a male said.

“There are footprints leading this way,” another said.

Tess cocked her head to the side and sniffed. Her bottom lip curled, but she kept quiet.
Don’t give away your position.
At least six different scents overwhelmed her. Six men were too many to take on solo.

Carefully, she crept back. She was far enough away they wouldn’t be able to hear her yet, but they could see her if she wasn’t careful. Staying low to the ground, she sprinted back to Nate and the others.

She flew through the bushes in record time. If they had enough time, they could stage an attack or sneak away undetected. She was up for either, but she couldn’t be sure what the other shifters protocol was.

She ducked under a fallen limb and then sprung forward, landing on all fours in front of Nate and his friends. They turned toward her startled.
Good. I can sneak up on them.
She smiled inwardly at the thought. They didn’t seem amused by her entrance. Four sets of partially shifted eyes met hers. Ray stepped forward his pawed claws poised and ready to attack.

“It’s just Tess, calm down,” Nate said, placing a hand on the semi shifted wolf. 

He must have shifted back while I was gone.

“A little warning would have been nice,” Ray snarled.

She hissed, exposing her sharp canines.
Warning you wouldn’t be any fun. But you do have to caution them about what you saw.
She flexed her paws and used one of her razor sharp nails to quickly write in the dirt.

Hunters ½ mile from here. At least six.

“We should get out of here,” Callum said. He crouched down next to the snake, staring at the still unmoving body.

“You want to change?” Nate asked, pointing to a bag.

She was a better fighter in her feline form, but if she wanted a say in anything, she would need to be able to speak. Tess bobbed her head up and down once. She trotted to the bag and picked it up with her mouth.

Glancing around, she dashed down a small hill. Tess took one last glimpse around, ensuring she was truly alone before she envisioned her human form. Her bones snapped and realigned. Once transformed, she quickly dressed, then headed up the hill and rejoined the others.

Callum had carefully lifted the snake into his arms. Her breath caught as realization struck her. The snake was much too small to be an adult. A child. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth.

“Is it, he—she all right?” she whispered. How did you tell what gender a snake was? She’d never come across a snake shifter until she came to Sanctuary.

“He’s alive. But we need to get him back to Sanctuary. He’s been shot. Poison always effects the young and elderly harder than anyone else,” Callum explained in a hushed voice.

Crap, it is a child. Apparently there is a way to tell the gender. Interesting. You clearly have some things to learn about other species.

“Let’s go before our friends catch up to us,” Nate said, motioning everyone on.

They moved through the woods, doing their best to avoid the dead, dry leaves littering the ground. Trekking undetected through the woods in late fall was a daunting task, one that these shifters were failing miserably at. Thankfully, the small wildlife that called the trees home had started to move about again, giving them some cover.

As the street came into view, they quickened their pace into a steady jog. All of them clearly eager to reach the safety of the vehicles and make a hasty escape back to Sanctuary.

But going back to Sanctuary would take her further away from Ohio. She was so close. Too close to turn back now. How could she get away from them?

“If we leave now, we should be back in Sanctuary within an hour or so,” Jax started. “I’ll call ahead and let them know we have an injured snake.”

“We’ll follow behind you,” Nate said, unlocking his car.

Tess crossed her arms over her chest. Time to make a stand. She was going to Ohio one way or another. “What? Why? Ohio’s not that far from here.”

“To make sure we get home okay. Duh,” Ray snarked.

Tess scoffed and rolled her eyes. “We’re closer to my pride in Cincinnati than we will be at Sanctuary. I’m going there with or without you,” she insisted. Sure she wanted the child to get help, but whether she was there or not wouldn’t make a difference. Her family was out there, and she was pretty certain that the four other shifters could handle the trip. Her heart squeezed at the idea of walking away from Nate. Maybe she would find him again sometime. No. A clean break would be best. Besides, she wasn’t welcome at Sanctuary. Whatever this weird attraction was, it was dangerous, and the sooner they split up the better for them both.

Jax took a step forward, his nostrils flaring. “There are six men out there. You said so yourself. You’re going to risk getting caught—putting Sanctuary in danger—“ 

“We don’t have time for a debate,” Callum interrupted, turning to Nate.

Tess watched curiously as the others turned their attention to Nate as well.
He must be in charge. Why didn’t I pick up on that sooner? Makes sense his parents are council members.

She cocked her head to the side as her ears twitched. Voices spoke behind them. She whirled around, scanning the trees. She didn’t see anything, but danger was lurking in the woods. They were either being watched from afar, or they hadn’t been discovered quite yet. Hopefully it was the latter. “They’re coming,” she cautioned.

Nate’s eyes flicked to the trees before he took a step back toward his car. “It’s fine. You three, take the main roads home and watch your speed. You don’t want to get pulled over, but get home as quickly and safely as possible. I’ll go ahead with Tess,” Nate volunteered. “We’ll take the back roads and make some noise. With any luck, we will be the ones pursued and you’ll be left alone. The last thing we want is for our enemies to follow us back to Sanctuary.”

“The council—” Ray began to argue.

“I’ll deal with them when I get home,” Nate cut him off. “Let’s go. Hunters can’t be too far behind us.” He placed his hand on Tess’ forearm and led her to his car. He opened the passenger door and motioned to the seat. “Get in.”

Tess thought about snapping at him about giving her orders, but thought better of it. He was doing what she wanted after all. Best not to try his patience.

She slipped into the vehicle and buckled up as Nate hopped in the other side.

Nate jammed the key in the ignition and revved the engine loudly. Tess raised her brow in question as she watched him. Apparently he’d been serious about drawing their enemies’ attention. She gripped the door handle tightly. They were about to become the bait, and no doubt would be followed and chased.

The tires screeched as Nate punched the accelerator. Tess took in a sharp breath as they sped down the road.
Here we go. I hope he knows what he’s doing because I really don’t want to get shot again.

She watched the tree line, searching for movement. Their enemy had no doubt heard the cars loud engine. Now they just needed to find out where the Hunters were hiding so they could take evasive maneuvers. A blur of green jackets raced down an embankment.
Got you
. “Nate,” she hissed, pointing with her free hand to an opening in the trees. The group of hunters came to a stop when they reached the blacktop and drew their weapons, aiming them at the car.

“Keep your head down,” Nate yelled as the car roared with speed.

Tess ducked down. Gunshots rang out, and she cringed as one pinged against the car.
Crap. That was too close for comfort.

She gasped as the car jerked wildly to the right.
Oh God was he hit?
She glanced up and let out a relieved breath. Nate appeared to be fine. She tensed as bullets ricocheted off the car. Glass clinked and Nate dove, protecting her body with his. The vehicle swerved violently as he tried to steer without looking.
Please don’t crash.
Glass crackled and then shattered, she flinched waiting for the shards to slice though her, but they didn’t. She turned and let out a relieved breath. It was the back glass. They must have passed by them.
Almost in the clear.

Quickly Nate sat up and glanced in the rearview mirror. “I think we’re good now. Are you hurt?”

“No. You?” she asked, gazing over at him. His cobalt eyes met hers briefly before flicking back to the road. She didn’t see any cuts on him.

“I’m good,” he answered.

She closed her eyes and let out a long, relieved breath. They were safe for the moment, but she feared the safety would be short lived. “Well,” she started, smoothing her hair out of her face. “I think it’s safe to say they’re going to be coming this direction.”

“That’s a safe assumption,” he agreed. “Don’t worry, we won’t make any stops for a while. They can’t track us if we stay in the car. They’ll lose our trail before they even get started. I’ve traveled through Kentucky a lot. I know my way around.”

“Thank you,” Tess replied. “I hope you won’t be in too much trouble when you get home.” She shivered as a draft from the back worked its way to the front seat. It was going to be a cold ride without any glass to keep the elements out.

Nate reached forward and turned on the heat. “We’ll just have to blast this until we can get something over the back window,” he started. “If we’d have gone back, I don’t know when the next opportunity to find your family would be. I know what it’s like to want to look for your loved one’s but not be able to,” he murmured.

“I thought your family was all at Sanctuary?” Tess asked curiously. That’s what he’d said, right?
Did I miss something?

Nate sighed heavily and gripped the wheel tighter. “They are. My uncle was a part of the rescue teams. About five years ago, he was out and went missing. I begged to be allowed to search for him. I’m one of the best trackers. The council refused to send out a search and rescue party because hunters were too close to Sanctuary for comfort. The council is good in some ways, but they have their own agenda and if it doesn’t suit them, then you’ll never get what you want.”

“What happened? Did you find him?” Tess wondered.

Nate’s jaw clenched and anger flashed in his eyes as he momentarily met her gaze. “We found his body eleven days later. He was about eight miles from home. He’d been shot, but they hadn’t captured him. He died from the poison. If we’d have gone out for him, he could’ve lived.”

“I’m sorry,” Tess whispered.

Nate smiled sadly. “Not your fault. The council doesn’t want to be found, and I’m sure they aren’t happy about the prospect of more werecats living under our roof either. They would’ve kept you at Sanctuary and refused to search for any members of your pride.”

“So we won’t be welcome there?” Tess asked angrily. Her face burned with rage. How could they call a place Sanctuary, but turn people away? With everything that was happening how could shifters turn on each other? If the pride in Ohio were gone, her family would have nowhere else to turn. Sure they could start their own pride somewhere, but a small community wouldn’t last against an invasion.

“No,” Nate said sincerely. “There are enough level headed council members. It’s mainly the wolves who are not too fond of werecats.”