“Don’t say it aloud,” she teases, but there’s something strange about her still. I reach my hands to her waist, bringing her close to my body, searching for her lips with mine, but Cassandra steps away. “I’m tired. Tristan, will you lay down with me?”
The dog follows the two to a soft spot in the grass and the three bundle together. I sit on the car’s hood and watch her, but she doesn’t relax. Her body is taut and her breathing never goes deep, even as Tristan softly snores. I can hear the dog filling his lungs and emptying them, his paws moving on the grass, chasing something in his dreams, but Cassandra’s still awake.
Finally, she sits up then gets to her feet. She turns to me and her eyes go round, surprise crossing her face for a moment.
“What’s wrong?” I ask in a murmur once she’s close enough to hear me.
She shakes her head. “I just need to pee.”
I nod her on. “Alright.”
She turns away, then back to me and presses a kiss to the corner of my mouth. With a last look over her shoulder, she sets off into the trees. I watch her disappear amid the trunks, her soft steps taking her further into the woods. Maybe she said she wanted to pee, but she needed something else. That’s why she’s walking further away. I won’t go after her. That’s the last line of privacy she still has, and I won’t take it from her.
My heart grows weary. I watch the woods with worry swelling in my mind. Donatello and Ren appear once more, lazy, long strides taking the two closer to me.
“There’s a path through the forest, but nothing there,” Donatello starts, jutting a thumb over his shoulder, “or in the main road. There’s no sign of any cops in a five-mile radius. I think that bastard followed the road into New York. They might wait for us on the way there. Anyway, with all this darkness and silence, we can hear them coming, if they do.”
Ren shoots a look over his shoulder. “Where’s Cass?”
I jump down from the hood, staring into the woods. The nagging in my heart grows. “Yeah... Where is she?” I mutter, and the two gape back at me.
“You don’t know?” Donatello sounds astonished, and I wish he had no right to look at me like that, but he fucking does. He fucking does.
“Wake Tristan up,” I shoot at Ren and start on a jog into the trees. Donatello follows me easily. “She said she needed the bathroom, but she hasn’t come back yet.”
“And you did the right thing and gave her privacy?” he guesses, and I shoot him an annoyed look.
“Fuck.” I release a roar into the night, frustration eating up at me. “You said there was no one in the woods!”
“There wasn’t,” Donatello insists. “Not when we looked.”
“I didn’t hear a thing,” I shoot at him, anger rising in my throat. My dragon paces inside me, making my blood boil. He wants out. He wants out to search for her, find whoever kidnapped her this time and hurt them real bad.
Donatello makes a face, like there’s more to it. I ignore him and pick up my pace. Where is she? I need to find her.
Whoever dared taking her from me is going to suffer.
CHAPTER5
CASSANDRA
Tears sting my eyes and I wipe them off before they touch my cheekbones. Why the hell am I crying? Why am I crying when I know I should have done this days ago?
This is for the best. For their safety. My foot finds a root and I trip, but keep my balance. I keep running, taking advantage of this newly found ability of seeing in the dark, making the most out of it. I have to be fast. No matter how well I see in the dark, I will never be faster than my men.
My men. My men. The first people who ever cared about me, who tried to get to know me, who wanted to keep me safe. They never thought I was weird. None of them tried to run after they learned I killed the Light Mage. I fucking love each one of them, in their own ways, with their own behaviors.
And because I love them so much I need to keep them safe.
Tristan got shot. The sound of it still rings in my ears, making my heart beat double time. What if it was his head? I’d be cuddling his dead body now, tearing up all over his corpse. He left the Collector for me. He could have left me behind and go live his life, but he stays because of me.
I can’t bear the idea of them getting hurt. It’s too much.
Racing through the woods, I skip over roots and avoid holes, praying I won’t slip on the underbrush. There’s not much time, and I’m counting on luck too — which is always bad, in my experience. I need to find a road or a village, or anywhere that can take me to the cops. If the cops get me, then the Collector won’t. The Collector won’t break me out of jail. He doesn’t look like he’d get into this kind of trouble. I’d be safe from him, and I could parlay with the cops for the boys. I’d tell them they only helped me because they’re my mates, and the mating bond makes you do crazy shit.
All I need is time.
I burst out of the woods into a beaten path, something that might be a small road into a village. Whirling around, I look up and down said path, searching for any sign of civilization. Of course, there’s none. No sign, no plaque, no indication I might find a small town around the corner.