“Well, at least I’m not fucking around with a couple of dragons. Do you even know what they are capable of doing?” He pushed me against the hood of the car. “They are dangerous, Rosie, and you’d be smart to remember that.”
“And you would have been smart to never cheat on me but you did that without a care in the world. Fuck off, will you, Jake?”
He shook his head. “You believed me down at the station. Took my side and now all of a sudden, I’m the bad guy? I’m just looking out for you, Rosie.”
“Ha.” I laughed. “Now, that’s funny. You never cared about me even from the start.”
“That’s not true.”
“Oh, so is that why you decided to break my heart because you care about me? I’m so touched.”
He grabbed my wrist when I tried to walk away. “Just listen to me for a second –”
“No,” I interjected, cutting him off. “I don’t want to hear a word you have to say because it doesn’t matter. So, what if those two are dragons? They showed me more love and response in two fucking days than you did in five years. So, if you think I’m going to go crawling back to you, well, you’ve got another think coming.” There was so much venom in my words that he actually took a step back and held up his hands in defeat. “Don’t make me say it again: stay the hell away from me.” I pointed a finger but it shook violently, detracting from my sternness. “Or I will get a restraining order. I don’t care whether you’re a cop or not.”
He sighed. “There’s really no way for me to convince you otherwise, is there?”
“No.”
“Alright, I’m sorry it has to be this way…” For some reason, his words held an ominous tint to them that forced the hair on the back of my neck to stand on edge. I dismissed the feeling, got in my car, and drove to the nature reserve. I left my car in the parking lot and started up the trail, trying to remember the exact way to the village. It was hard to gauge whether I was going the right direction or not because Myles had always flown me there and things looked much different from the ground level.
Still, I followed my gut, hoping that this feeling tingling through the air would be enough to guide me back to my lovers, so I could apologize for casting them off.
Overhead, the stars twinkled but they didn’t do much to light up my way. I struggled to hike along the path, ever cautious of getting hurt. I didn’t want to put my baby at risk. So, I took it slow but as the hours crawled by, I got the sense that I was horribly lost.
I did a full 360 but I had no idea where I was or from what direction I had originally come from. Even if I wanted to return to my car, I couldn’t.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.
Suddenly, a wolf’s howl sounded through the night. I nearly jumped right out of my skin. My heart thumped like it belonged to a racehorse.
I sidled up to a tree trunk as if that would protect me from the deadly predator.
Another howl.
And then, the eyes.
They shone like two miniature moons. I stared in horror as the wolf stared back, licking his chops in anticipation. Slowly, he stalked forward, head low to the ground.
Then came another set of eyes. Another wolf joined the hunt, followed by another.
Sweat trickled down my forehead. Somehow, I found the courage to pick up a heavy branch and hold it like a baseball bat. Whatever happened, I would do everything in my power to protect my baby.
If these wolves wanted to kill me then they would have a hell of a time doing it.
Despite my resolve, I was terrified – seconds away from peeing my pants if I’m completely honest. Nonetheless, I steadied myself, ready to swing as hard as I could. Maybe, just maybe, if I managed to land a solid hit, it would scare them away…
It was a long shot but it was my only shot at getting out of there alive.
Chapter 14: Myles
As soon as I heard the howls, I made a run for it. Foster was close at my heels. We weaved through the trees with ease. Nature was our element and nothing could stop us from reaching our destination.
I blinked, my eyes shifting to those of a dragon. Doing so, I was able to see clearly. “Wolves,” I said.
“What about them?” asked Foster.
“They’re going after Rosie,” I answered. “If we do not reach her in time…” The threat got our feet to move a little bit faster. I thought about transforming but the trees were too tightly packed making it hard to maneuver.