Slade had not bothered covering his scent, since he wanted them to follow him and not her. He’d gone down a canyon and then up the rocks to the other side. She followed his Yukon wolf aroma toward a cliff. Below the edge, the ocean’s waves pounded the rocks with thunderous claps. The black helicopter hovered low, still searching, while their werewolf team tracked them.
She cocked her head and turned.
The enemy beta growled. “Get over here, runt!”
Cricket’s hackles rose, and she growled in challenge. “I’ll show you who the runt is, mongrel.”
He snarled and stalked forward. “Bitch!”
The flash of a white wolf springing out of the brush and a single yelp stopped her from completing her challenge.
Slade broke the beta’s neck and dropped the dead wolf.
Cricket looked back. “Come on, they’re looking for you.”
“Us.”
“No, only you, the alpha. Me, well I’ll either be immediately disposed of or played with before being disposed.”
He growled in response. “Not before I break all their necks.”
“Two of the men carry tranquilizers.”
He grinned. “You know those don’t work on me.”
“You can’t protect me from so many.”
A wolf howled behind them and a human shouted, “They’re up here.”
Cricket walked to the edge. “We need to make a jump for it.”
Slade tilted his head and stared at the open ocean. “Are you mad? The waves will slam you against the rocks.”
“Not if we leap far enough into the surf.”
“Shift to human form and grab onto my neck.”
“What?”
“You might not make it. Better, you hang onto me.”
“I don’t know.” Hitting the freezing ocean while naked in human form didn’t seem inviting. Still, the arrogant alpha had a point. Compared to him, her legs were not strong enough to offer enough of a leap.
The werewolf in human form and his men were almost upon them. He commanded his men. “Kill the female.”
Cricket shifted, climbed on Slade’s back, and held his neck in a death grip.
Shots fired near them.
“Not the alpha!”
Slade leapt off the cliff and into the sea.
Cricket held her breath and buried her face in his fur as they plunged into the chilly water.
Slade kicked his powerful hind legs to reach the surface. Above the rough waters, Cricket gasped for air. He swam to shore. Her trembling arms held onto him for dear life. If he didn’t get Cricket to shore soon, she’d freeze to death. He crawled out
onto the rocky shore and set her down gently. He shook his wet fur and then nosed her ice cold face. Her body temperature dipped. Abella. He licked her face and whined. “Shift.”