Going Rogue

Thirty-Four

DREW

Even putting a jacket on couldn't help me stop shivering. Ryan and I sat on the couch, not speaking, but we leaned against each other. He moved the safety pin on Dom's necklace back and forth on the chain. His eyes were so distant, I didn't think he even realized he was doing it. Liam stood by the door, staring out the window. Waiting. It was all about waiting.

Ryan's cell phone sat on the coffee table, completely back and shining my horrible reflection back at me. I dropped my face into my hands and took deep, needy breaths. I counted them. One. Two. Three... Twenty breathes went by when a howl ripped through the sky. My eyes sprang open as I jumped to my feet, scaring the crap out of Ryan. A thousand goosebumps littered my skin. I recognized that howl. I'd recognize it anywhere.

"That was a warning," I looked at Liam, feeling all the blood rush out of my face. "Someone is coming. Ryan," I reached for him, helping him onto his feet and his crutches. "We've got to hide you."

"But-" Ryan looked between us like this was a sick joke.

"Don't argue," Liam insisted. He scooped Ryan off the ground, letting his crutches clatter on the linoleum. "We'll take you to the shack in the backyard. Cameron used to live there."

I ran ahead, pushing open the door to see a brown wolf aimed at us. My blood went ice cold. "Fuck!" I cried and slammed the door shut. We scattered back as the door explode and its pieces went flying and my back hit the table, knocking it across the floor.

Liam plopped Ryan in a chair, quick enough to nearly knock him over. Liam's form brightened and changed shape to reveal a snarling golden wolf that snapped at the brown wolf. Alex. I knew the moment his scent slapped me across the face. My legs fell out from underneath me and I hit the floor.

Liam tackled Alex, forcing him outside the house. Snowflakes whirled into the kitchen and the cold nipped at my cheeks. "Stay there," I told Ryan, who couldn't do anything more than nod. Grabbing the table, I forced myself back up and stumbled to the broken door frame.

Puddles of blood stained the perfect white snow and my stomach acids curdled. Liam shook Alex back forth by his shoulder, tossing him to the side. Alex rolled right into a tree, knocking the snow and ice from the limbs.

"Liam?" I asked, my voice coming out tortured and unrecognizable. "Are you okay?"

Liam nodded, breathing heavy as he trudged back up the porch sets. Blood trickled down his fur. Someone reached into my chest and crushed my heart. I took one step onto the porch, when Liam's back arched and he howled in anguish. The sound of his cry nearly split apart my heart.

"Liam!" I gasped, dropping to my knees as Liam fell sideways into the snow. An axe sat snug inside Liam's back. Tears burst from my eyes, losing the feeling in my arms. This was a nightmare. This was officially a nightmare.

"No," I ran to him, but just before I could touch him or help him, a hand enclosed around my throat. In a blur, my feet lifted off the ground and my back slammed into the wall. Alex laughed in my face, blood trickling down his face and into his mouth, staining his teeth.

"Hello, Drew," he smiled wider. I grabbed his wrist, desperately prying him off as his hand tightened around my throat. My windpipe-squeezed to needle thin and all my blood rushed to my face, threatening to pop.

Alex leaned in closer. "Being on the run looks good on you. Jacob will be pleased."

My eyes flickered only a moment at Ryan. Ryan stumbled forward on his cast as he held a chair over his head and slammed it into Alex's back. Alex let go and we both hit the ground, alongside the bits and pieces of the chair. I gasped, trying to breathe again without choking.