Alpha Blood Box Set(88)

18





Wilson drove us onto a nearly-invisible dirt-and-grass road, and we once more bounced and bumped our way to the region border. The drive took an hour, and by the time we reached our destination the sun had set and darkness covered the truck. My wolf eyes allowed me to see another fence in front of us, and Wilson stopped the truck as he did before. He leaned over the wheel and scowled at the chain-link. “Damn, but they’ve been thorough.”

Luke opened the door and turned to our driver. “We will part ways here,” he told Wilson.

Wilson frowned. “I told you I’d get you in there, and I mean to keep my word.”

Luke shook his head. “The situation has changed. We must ask that you care for our two friends there.” He nodded toward the bed where lay the wounded Ian with Emily beside him. Ian’s leg still bled freely and there was little healing evident. It would take time before he could even think about putting weight on the limb.

Ian and Emily looked at each other, and Ian gave a nod toward her. Emily stood and turned to us. “I will go with you,” she offered.

“It would be better if you stayed with your mate and protected him,” Luke argued.

“Let her come,” Adam spoke up. All of us looked to the former Protector in amazement. He scowled back at us. “If she wishes to come with us then let her come. We will need the help, and these two won’t. Once Wilson leaves the border they will have very little trouble with Lance’s men.”

Luke smiled and bowed his head. “Very well. If you insist on accompanying us than I won’t argue further.”

Emily smirked. “Then I’m coming.”

I raised my hand. “Um, how exactly are we going to get over the fence?”

Luke chuckled. “We won’t be getting over the fence. We are wolves, after all.”

“And that means what?” I asked him.

Emily jumped over the side of the truck and walked up to our open door. “It means you better not care about breaking a nail because we’re going to dig our way under the fence.”

Luke and I piled out of the cab, and Adam jumped from the bed. Emily and Ian squeezed hands one last time and Wilson leaned across the seat as I held the passenger door to shut it. He smiled and winked at us. “You be careful now and don’t get into any trouble without me.”

I returned the smile. “I don’t think I can make that promise.”

“Well, then try your hardest not to get into too much trouble.” Wilson glanced past me at Luke. “You keep your mate safe. She’s a good girl.”

Luke bowed his head. “That is a promise I can make.”

“Good, now get along before more of those feroce come sniffing for you.”

I slammed the door and Wilson backed up the vehicle. He spun it around and bounced off into the night. Ian waved at us from the bed, and Emily waved back until they were beyond sight. Then she stiffened her upper lip and turned to us. “What are we waiting for? Let’s get this dirty job done.”

She wasn’t joking when she said it was a dirty job. All those times I’d watched a dog make a jailbreak from a fenced yard the dogs had made it look easy, but for a werewolf stooping that low and digging a hole large enough to fit our bodies wasn’t much fun. Our backpacks were set aside and used as chairs while we waited our turn at the digging. The others watched for signs of de-scented guards and their feroce pets. There was also a problem with the depth of the bottom of the fence.

The hole was two feet deep and Emily was at the turn digging to China. She stood, popped her back and growled at the metal. “They must have used a trench digger to bury this fence,” she grumbled.

“Undoubtedly, but the fence can only go so deep,” Luke replied.

Emily returned to the digging and in a few minutes she yelped. We turned and I saw her cradling her cradling one paw in the other and glaring at the ground. “I found the bottom. They stopped digging the fence when they hit the bedrock.” We moved over to the hole and Emily climbed out to give us a look. Sure enough the bottom of the fence lay atop a sheet of rock. She leaned down and kicked at the rock. It didn’t even leave a scuff mark. “We could look for a spot that has deeper dirt, but that could take a couple of days.”

Adam glanced at the top of the fence. “Then we have no choice. We must climb the fence.”

I looked at the barbed wire at the top of the chain link and frowned. “How are we supposed to climb over that?”

“You won’t,” Luke spoke up. He grabbed me and hefted me over his head.

I flailed and tried to grasp his arms. “Hey, what the hell are you-ah!” Luke tossed me into the air and over the top of the barbed wire. My clothes scraped the sharp points, but I landed safely on the other side. Not well because I landed on my butt, but safely.

My back was to the fence so I turned around and glared at him. My glare didn’t last long as I caught our bags thrown by my evil mate. “You could have warned me!”

He smiled back at me. “I preferred the surprise.”

I turned away from him, crossed my arms over my chest and hunched my shoulders. “I don’t like surprises,” I muttered.

“You’re not getting me over that like a sack of potatoes. I would rather climb,” I heard Emily argue. I glanced over my shoulder in time to watch Adam stalk toward her. She snarled and tried to fend off his hands, but he tossed her over his shoulder and marched her back to the fence. Her legs kicked and she squirmed, but to no avail. “I can climb!” she screamed.

“The fewer of us who are injured the better the chance we have against Lance’s men,” Adam pointed out.

“I can take all of them with one-hey!” Adam lifted Emily over his head as Luke had done to me and he threw her over the fence. She landed like a sack of potatoes next to me, and glared back at Adam. “You’ll pay for that!”

“It will be hard to get any money from a poor Protector, but I will risk it,” Adam quipped.

Even as we fumed the men grasped the fence and climbed to the barbed wire. They paused and sniffed the metal. Both of them wrinkled their noses. “Wolf’s bane,” Luke commented.

“Yes, the metal is coated in a thin sheen of the liquid. Should we try to find a gate to go through?” Adam wondered.

Luke shook his head. “No, we don’t have time to waste. Try to swing yourself over the top of the wire and hope for the best.”

The pair steadied their feet for the jump. Emily and I scrambled to our feet and backed away with our bags, our faces filled with anxiety. Luke was the first to try the leap. He pushed upward off the fence with both feet and kept his hands on the highest links. His legs vaulted over the top and he released his hands. He sailed onto the other side of the fence and dropped to his feet.

Adam wasn’t as adept at the vault. He swung high, but not high enough to clear all the wire. His legs barely cleared the wire and his hands scraped across the sharp metal. He cried out and hit the ground more gracefully than my landing. Adam held his hands out in front of him and smoke floated up from his palms. The three of us hurried to his side, but Adam quickly hid his hands.

“They will heal,” he assured us.

Luke frowned at him. “Not unless the wounds are cleaned of the wolf’s bane,” he told him.

Adam stood and pushed through us. “We don’t have time to waste on a few scrapes. We still have no idea where Callean may be hiding, and the Prospera region is as large as any other. Without a vehicle it could take us days to travel across the region.”

“And all the while you’re getting yourself sick with that poison in you,” Emily spoke up. She stalked over to him and yanked one of his hands away from him. The skin was both blistered and burned. “We just need to get you some water. There has to be moving water somewhere nearby.” She lifted her nose and sniffed the air. “There’s fresh water a few miles northwest of here. We’ll get you clean there and move on.”

Adam yanked his hand from her grasp and glared at her. “I will be fine,” he argued.

I held up my hand. “I don’t think puffing off smoke from your hand like a cigarette is fine.”

Luke nodded. “I must agree with the ladies. You need to mend before we travel further, and as we have no idea in which direction Callean is hiding the creek might be the direction we must go.”

Adam growled, but his shoulders slumped. “I will agree, but let us hurry. Delays will only give Lance a chance to move the formulas.”





19





We trudged through the groves of trees and tall grass with our eyes and ears alert for danger. Our noses were useless with so many of Lance’s men in possession of the de-scent pills. The night still hid us from obvious view, and after a half hour we reached the bubbling, gurgling creek that wound its way through the tree roots and tall grass. Adam stooped on the bank and dipped his still-sizzling hands into the clear, cold water. He winced, but his manliness kept him from screaming outright like I would have done. It must have been like dipping a wound into salt water.

Luke held back away from we three. His eyes scanned the patches of trees and the few large rocks. I walked over and tugged on his arm. “What is it?” I whispered.

“I’m not sure,” he replied.