Dark Wolf(30)

She ran as fast as she dared, Dimitri, for all his weakness, matching  her pace with no problem. She tried not to panic, knowing that would  make things worse, but they were still some distance from their safety  zone. The ground beneath her vibrated with the footfalls of the Lycans.  They were incredibly fast, streaking toward them from different  directions.

She had heard they were fast, but hadn't conceived of such a pace.  Already they had fanned out in hunting formation. They were attempting  to circle around and get in front of them. If they managed to do that,  they would have to fight their way through that line in order to gain  entrance to the sacred spot waiting to protect them.

She was tiring. She didn't have the physical stamina the other two did.  Even with Dimitri in such bad shape, he wasn't faltering. Her lungs were  already screaming.

Paul's just ahead, Josef said. In those trees.

Call him down, Dimitri instructed. I need to know exactly where the clearing is, what's there and how far away it is.

Skyler showed him the information in her memory, but she was trying to  puzzle out how the Lycans knew which direction they'd taken. They ran  silently, Mother Earth making certain there was no scent to follow.  Their footsteps were muffled. There had to be something she was missing.

Wait. Wait. Skyler breathed the words. Just for a moment, we have to  stop. While we do, Josef, give Dimitri blood. Not too much, you have to  be at full strength.

Dimitri put his hand on her shoulder, urging her forward as she began to  slow down. Not yet, Skyler. We can't be caught out here on the trail.

That's the point, they already know exactly where we are. How?

They're Lycan. Hunters.

There shouldn't be a trail for them to follow, yet they know our  location, Skyler insisted. She halted abruptly and turned to face  Dimitri.

"Clever, clever Lycans," Josef said aloud, extending his wrist to  Dimitri. "I offer freely," he added the formality. He tried not to stare  at Dimitri's burned body, but it was difficult to look away. He took a  deep breath, let it out and got back to the business at hand. "They must  have put a tracking device on their prisoner, and it's been activated."

Dimitri took the offering, knowing they had very little time. He bit  down and allowed the rich Carpathian blood to flow into his starved  body.

"We have to find it, Josef. You can take it in another direction and buy  us time. The moment they get close to you, drop it and take to the air.  Don't let them see you," Skyler cautioned.

While Dimitri drank, Skyler searched through the rags of his clothing  and came up with a tiny bug that had been placed in the pocket of his  trousers.

Josef reached for it with his free hand. "I'll bring Paul down from the  tree and get moving, and then see if I can lead the pack away from you."  He winked at her, his grin wide.

"Be careful, Josef," Skyler cautioned. "Don't play hero. This isn't a game."

Dimitri closed the wound on his wrist, but retained possession. He  looked Josef in the eye, his gaze icy. "You will not take any chances,  do you understand me? You're not expendable, not matter what you think.  You are our family and we stick together."

Josef swallowed hard and nodded. "I'll be careful."

"Get back to us the moment you can," Dimitri said. "We'll need you."  Reluctantly, he released Josef. The boy did think himself expendable.  Skyler hadn't come to that realization yet, but Dimitri saw it in his  eyes.

"I'll get Paul. You start running." Josef took to the air before either of them could say anything else.

Skyler set the pace again, a steady, but fast speed, Dimitri on her  heels. She tried not to think about what she'd gotten her friends into.  If they hadn't found Dimitri when they had, he would be dead. She knew  that with certainty, but she didn't want to sacrifice Josef or Paul for  her own happiness.

Josef set Paul down directly behind Dimitri on the narrow path that  muffled their footsteps. Without another word, he veered away, moving  fast, taking the tracking device with him.

At first, Skyler was certain the ruse wasn't going to work. The pack  seemed to stay on course. Her heart accelerated and she felt her mouth  go dry. She wasn't going to be able to get Dimitri and Paul to their  safe haven. She'd chosen the meadow for the richness of soil. Nothing  had disturbed it in centuries. The earth was rich with minerals and  healing agents, everything Dimitri would need when he went to ground.

Ordinarily, it might take weeks to heal his terrible burns, both inside  and outside his body, but they didn't have weeks. Mother Earth would see  to it that her son was in the best shape possible for fight-or  flight-if Skyler could just get him there.

Abruptly, she felt the shift of the pack, moving away from them,  circling around, following the tracking device they'd placed on Dimitri.  Josef was leading them away. He'd veered closer to the Lycan pack then  she would have liked, obviously to make certain he had their attention,  but now he was in full flight, giving them the opportunity to make  better time and reach their goal.

Do you know how many there are? Paul asked.

Dimitri glanced at the boy over his shoulder. No, not a boy. Paul had  turned into a man. He was family to the De La Cruz brothers, some of the  most lethal of Carpathian hunters. They swore fidelity to the prince  and Dimitri didn't have any doubts that all five brothers would defend  him with their lives, but they answered to the eldest, Zacarias. His  reputation was well deserved. He was a dangerous predator, untouched by  civilization, a hunter renowned for his skill and relentless pursuit.  These were the men mentoring Paul.

Too many, Dimitri said.

So basically an entire army. There was a faint note of humor in Paul's voice.

You could put it that way, Dimitri agreed. I didn't realize you were telepathic.

Josef exchanged blood with me. He enabled me to speak to Skyler and him. Otherwise, I'm not really, Paul admitted.

But you do have psychic gifts after all. Dimitri made it a statement.  Paul might have exchanged blood with Josef to start the process, but he  was too good at telepathy not to have some natural talent. I knew you  and your little sister had some jaguar in you, which can pass on psychic  abilities, but I was told you didn't have them.

Ginny is a lot like Colby, Paul said, sidestepping the issue. She has a  gift with animals, not just the horses, but all animals. She can talk to  them. At first I just thought she was a horse whisperer, but it's much  more. She can communicate with animals, and they understand her just as  much as she understands them.                       
       
           



       

When did you first start noticing the ability in her? Dimitri did his  best to keep Paul's attention away from the fact that they were running  for their lives, and Skyler from thinking too much about Josef's safety.

Still, Dimitri was genuinely intrigued. Gifts expanded or showed up as  human children got older. Was that why Skyler was becoming so powerful?  Was it her age? Or her acceptance of who she was and the acknowledgment  of what gifts she actually wielded?

She always had a way with horses, Paul said. But since we've been in  South America, she's really thrived. This last year we all started  noticing her abilities.

Dimitri suddenly became aware of another heartbeat. He caught Skyler  just as she paused. Paul ran into him, nearly knocking them all off the  path. He signaled Paul to crouch low and go still. He slipped his arm  around Skyler's shoulders.

There is only one heart beating that I can hear ahead of us, he said.  Probably a sentry left behind to warn the pack if he came across your  trail. They know someone had to aid me.

Skyler let out her breath, her hand on the path, pushed into the soil to  gather more information. Just one in our way. He's nearly directly in  our path. Even if we're super stealthy I don't see how we can get past  him without detection.

Dimitri could, but even if Skyler cloaked her breathing and muffled her  footsteps, the Lycan was on high alert and he would feel them. Skyler  tried to think of a spell, anything at all to misdirect the wolf.

Dimitri's fingers went to the nape of her neck, massaging, easing the tension out of her. Give me a minute. I'll be back.

Skyler caught his hand, shaking her head. No, the pack will know the  moment he's down. They communicate through some kind of psychic network.  Not telepathy, but when they hunt like this, they have some kind of  ability to know where each member of the pack is. The formation is  crucial to them. Give me a minute to figure this out.

We don't have a minute. Josef can't run against them for long. Once the  pack catches up to him, he's going to have to get out of there fast.  Even if he takes to the sky, they leap impressive distances.

Skyler bit her lip hard. Can you give him a sense of how high? Josef  takes chances. I know you told him not to, but he always is proving  something to himself.