Hunting Human - Amanda E. Alvarez [109]
“If it comes to that, you let that storm inside you go.” Chase put the keys underneath the front seat of the car and stalked into the forest to shift. “It’ll be the only thing that saves you. And him.”
The sun dropped behind the trees, casting shadows like teeth across their path. They’d been following scent trails most of the day. Every single one of them died out—lead into streams, or back to the highway or in one case, within a half a mile of the Edwards residence. Beth wasn’t sure how many miles they’d run, pausing only to sniff and determine if the trail was good or if they should find another one. As the shadows lengthened, menacing reminders of the deadline they faced, Chase grew more and more irritated and Beth more and more worried.
She put her nose to the ground and inhaled Markko’s scent. It flooded her senses, a foul aroma that left her feeling as though the inside of her snout had been covered in an oily residue that clung and tasted of decay and rotten meat. It was fainter here, along a deer path half obscured by brush, but it still made her stomach turn. Beth turned, looking for Chase when something else slid over her snout, completely at odds with the scent Markko left behind. A faint trace of mint, a hint of spring water and the spicy scent she only ever associated with one person engulfed her senses. Plunging into the underbrush Beth followed the trail. When it disappeared off to the right, she turned and chuffed at Chase.
Chase’s head snapped up and he trotted to her side, sniffing the patch of grass she indicated. He leaped forward, nose pressed to the earth, following the scent.
It took nearly thirty minutes, and twice they’d had to double back and pick up the scent again, but with every new step Braden’s scent grew stronger. Twice now they’d found droplets of blood. Adrenaline thrummed through her.
We’re getting close.
Chase froze midstride, ears rotating and angling in a several directions. He turned to her and tossed his head to the right. It was time.
From here, I’m on my own.
Beth put her nose to the ground and took a long, deep breath, imprinting the trail on her senses.
Two voices filtered through the woods two or three hundred yards ahead of her. Both were speaking what sounded like Russian. She closed in as quickly as she dared and peered ahead, searching for an area of brush she could see through. Sliding along on her belly, trying to be as silent as possible, she scooted forward with the voices loud in her ears and Braden’s scent coating her nose.
There he is.
Not twenty yards away she saw him lying on his side, his hands tied behind him and his feet tied to his hands. She couldn’t tell if he was conscious, but his breathing came in short, shallow pants. He was shirtless, his chest and sides littered with bruises. It was a miracle he wasn’t dead due to exposure.
He probably would be, if it weren’t for his wolf.
She didn’t take the time to wonder that she’d finally found something positive about the wolf. It had been happening all day. For now, she pushed it to the back of her mind and slid forward. Markko and Alek weren’t paying attention; maybe she could get closer to Braden.
Fifteen yards.
Ten yards.
The leaves around her rustled against her coat and the talking abruptly ceased.
“Lizzy?” Marko whirled, his eyes scanning the area where she crouched. “Don’t be rude. Join us.”
Stall for time.
Chase had asked her to stall as long as possible, but the sun was fading quickly, the sky already losing its blue hue as darkness leeched