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Chapter 10
Chapter 10
Once the supplies were packed, I took the driver’s seat in one of our two trucks, loaded with
medical equipment and essential supplies. The nurses‘ vehicle, a white Highlander,
followed behind, ferrying what we couldn’t fit in mine.
My fingers gripped the wheel instinctively, my senses heightened, feeling every shift in the terrain. Shadow Sand was unpredictable, and one slip could mean trouble.
I shot a quick look in the rearview mirror, just in time to see the Highlander bouncing over a ridge. My eyes narrowed, spotting a dark shadow lurking farther back.
I took a breath, beginning a mindlink. “Zoe, are you guys being followed?”
There was a pause, then Zoe’s voice crackled in my mind. “…It’s a jeep. Been behind us for
about ten kilometers now.”
My heartbeat quickened, but my voice remained calm. “Right. Looks like trouble.”
As I spoke, a familiar sensation crept over me. I knew this feeling well–it was the prickling awareness that comes when you’re being hunted.
Zoe’s voice grew panicked. “It’s the jeep from that illegal mining site!”
A curse slipped through my lips. This was the last thing we needed. “Okay, listen up,” I said, shifting into a higher gear. “You keep the main supplies with you. I’ll lure them away with
these extra crates. Don’t slow down, got it?”
“Claire–no!” Zoe gasped, her voice thick with worry.
Zoe was a documentary director we’d met a few weeks back. She and her crew had been filming the harsh realities of life in Shadow Sand, covering everything from the plight of rogue packs to the environmental ravages. While we’d tried to mind our own business, we couldn’t resist investigating when we’d come across suspicious tire tracks cutting across the empty plains.
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Altha’s se
Chapter 10
Since my wolf was small, I can easily trick the guards and get in. Looks like we were still being watched.
As Zoe arranged for backup from the local pack, I switched my radio to a different frequency, hoping for a signal.
“Claire?” a voice responded after a pause. The slight New York accent jarred me–it wasn’t the familiar southern drawl of Shadow Sand’s usual pack.
Yes,” I replied cautiously, steadying my voice. “This is Dr. Claire Green. We’re en route with medical supplies and–well, we seem to have picked up some unwanted company.”
Your
“Hold tight,” he replied briskly, his voice laced with authority. “Gammas are tracking scent. ETA… fifteen minutes.” He paused, as though something had clicked. “Did you say Claire Green?”
The familiarity in his voice threw me. I glanced nervously at the road ahead, the stars. blurring past. “Yes, that’s right.”
“Just keep moving,” he said, his voice now tense. “Help is on the way.”
The line went quiet. I tightened my grip on the wheel, my heart hammering. Something told me that, one way or another, tonight was going to dredge up a past I’d tried desperately to leave behind.
Then came a prolonged silence. In an emergency, even a few seconds of quiet felt painfully drawn out, each tick of the clock an eternity. Every inhale seemed like it might be the last.
The road in Shadow Sand was rough, frozen ground crunching under the tires, the icy surface hardened by the night’s chill.
Moonlight glinted off a silvery glaze that stretched across the terrain, turning it into a surreal mirror. Startled animals darted across the pale landscape, disappearing into the shadows. It was a beautiful, haunting scene–one that might have brought peace if not for the sharp echo of gunfire in the distance.
I closed my eyes briefly, then forced them open, my foot numb against the gas pedal, but I couldn’t let up. I could feel the pulse of adrenaline with each beat of my heart, my senses. keening. A thought struck me, breaking the spell of the moment, and I asked, “Are you from
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Forsaken Mate: Alpha’s Second Chancer at Love
Chapter 10
New York?”
The sound of movement crackled from the other end of the radio, making his voice slightly muffled. But I caught his answer. “Yeah.”
I could hear the tension in his voice, the urgency beneath the calm tone. I didn’t know if
small talk would soothe his nerves–or mine–but something about it felt grounding. After a
beat, he asked, “Are you?”
No.
I stared ahead, a memory rising through the fog of fear. “I… went to college there, live a few years. It feels like a second home.” I could almost see the lights of the city, bustling
and alive.
“But you sound like a local.”
“I
“Guess that’s what happens when you get attached to a place,” I murmured, a bittersweet
smile flickering on my lips. As soon as I finished, a shattering sound filled my ears. My
heart skipped a beat as I realized it was the window beside me.
A massive dewclaw crashed through the glass, reaching inside the car and nearly dragging. me out. I jerked back, hands gripping the steering wheel so hard my knuckles went white. The vehicle swerved wildly as I struggled to regain control. With a desperate effort, I managed to pull a small pouch of anesthetic powder from my belt, sprinkling it over the creature’s claws. Gradually, they loosened their grip, sliding out of the broken window and freeing me.
“Hold on!” The voice on the radio returned, tense with urgency. “We’re almost there. Don’t
stop!”
I forced myself to take a steadying breath, then managed a weak smile. “Do me a favor, will
you? Deliver a message to someone.”
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