Last One Home (IN EDITING)

Chapter 5

"Take a left here." Sita instructed.

I slowly steered myself down the overgrown path, still shaking from the chase.

"Take a deep breath. And blink for Christ's sake. You look like a fucking fish."

"Easy for you to say! You didn't just shoot your boyfriend in the head!" I wailed. Panic flooded through my veins at my words and I went onto auto-pilot.

"I'm sure it's just a flesh wound." She retorted. "Take this next left and we should be at the safe house.

"Uh-huh." I kept my eye out for the left and didn't realize that a tiny break in the woods constituted as a left until Sita jerked the steering wheel. "God dammit, you need to focus." She jerked the key out the ignition and faced me, her features hardened. "Look, I understand this is scary for you. I would be absolutely petrified. You have to stay cool or they will kill you. Do you understand that?" She hit the dashboard and left a slight dent, her eyes blazing. "This isn't a game anymore and Alex sure as hell is not going to save you. We are on our own. Nero is the only possibly trustworthy person in this entire fucked up situation."

"Nero?!" I gasped. "There's no way. The guy's a sleaze."

There was a tap at my window and I shrieked, spinning so fast in my seat I was sure to have whiplash. Speak of the devil, Nero was standing there. I rolled down the window quickly. "What?"

"I'm glad to know you think so highly of me after I just saved your life but we have to get inside before they find out you're here. Sita will dump your car and lead them off our trail but we gotta go. Now."

I turned to Sita and she nodded. "He's the reason I was able to get to you so fast. I trust him."

I sighed and reluctantly got out of the car, looking around as rain started to fall. "Oh great. Now where is this safe house you're all talking about?"

"This way," Nero said quietly, taking my hand and leading me deeper into the woods. The whole time he was muttering under his breath, a strange language I'd never heard before. I heard a howl in the distance and lightning split the sky, temporarily illuminating Nero's frozen features. "We're out of time." He swore, pushing me into some bushes and muttering the strange language, pointing at me. 

After a moment he stared at me, his face calm. "Nobody can hear you, see you, or smell you. As long as you don't leave those bushes until I say."

I nodded and whispered a thank you, rain pelting down on my head. Being waterproof in this little prison would've been nice.

Nero leaned casually against the tree, the only hint of panic in his humming.  The footsteps got closer until the bushes across from me started rustling, a girl emerging from them. She was tall with dark curly hair, her amber eyes in pain as she nursed a gunshot wound to the shoulder. She was wolf, which meant Alex was to be along any moment.

"Karen, how nice to see you. Get to be a victim of a little road rage, did you?"

She growled and raised her hand to strike him until a deep voice boomed through the clearing. "Karen."

Every hair on my body stood on end as Alex walked into the clearing, bleeding from a wound to the head. He glared at Nero, clearly pissed off. "You were supposed to help catch her, not warn her."

Nero chuckled. "A hunt is no fun without a chase. Don't you agree?"

Alex grabbed Nero by the throat and slammed him up against a tree and I almost jumped out of the bushes until I caught sight of Nero's face. He was calm, like he had everything under control.

"Your little stunt nearly left my pack without an Alpha. Where is she?"

"Heading south as far as I know.I have some contacts watching for her. We should know where she is or at least where she's heading within a week."

"You better hope we do." Alex warned. I heard car tires on the gravel road and Alex released Nero, turning towards the road. "I'm heading to meet up with some of the committee. We will expect an update within the week."

Karen growled at Nero again and followed Alex out towards the road, Nero relaxing against the tree. I didn't realize I was holding my breath until I heard the car speed off and I inhaled a shaky breath. Nero held a finger to his lips and helped me up, dragging me another 300 feet and then finally speaking.

"Well, that wasn't good." He chuckled darkly. I suddenly realized how close he was to being killed for protecting me and I felt regret over what I'd said in the car. He was only trying to help.

"Uhm...Hey, Nero? Thanks. For everything." I said awkwardly. He glanced down at me and smiled slightly. "Even if I'm a sleaze?"

I blushed furiously. "About that, I'm sorry I said that, I feel really ba-" He held up a hand and cut me off, helping me over a log as we continued deeper into the woods. "It's alright. After the last time we saw each other I would've expected worse."

I chuckled and looked around curiously as we stopped between two trees. "Why did we stop?"

"This is as far as you go. Conscious, at least." He shrugged.

"Wait, what?" I panicked. Suddenly I was frozen in place and everything started to darken and turn fuzzy around the edges until the black consumed my vision and all I could hear was Nero's repeated apologies. "Sorry, princess, just trying to keep you safe."

I'm eventually going to get him for this. Again.

Then consciousness slipped away.