Artifice - Man x Man - Book Six

Chapter 49

If one could get past the smell of exhaust, that is. I just didn't have the upbringing they did, I appreciated fine art and a more classical attempt. Though I was beginning to appreciate 

"What do you think about wearing out the new recruits before we get to the compound?"

 Marisol lays her ears back. 

"Really?"

I return to reality and grip his scruff, pulling back on it. "No, no, no! Randy, please, I'm so sore." I complain, my thighs burn in protest from just sitting on this beast. Marisol raises her eyebrows and giggles, making me narrow my eyes at her. "Not in that way, unfortunately." I practically spit at her. He sure did have a 'type'. "Can't we just walk?"

"No can do, darling. We're taking too long as it is," Glancing over his shoulder, he barks to the six wolves following us. "Come on, we need to pick up the pace. Try to keep up, feel your wolf, follow the leader."

Marisol smirks, ruffling her coat in anticipation. "Flying blind, are we?"

"I'll be gentle." His words only make me groan, I'm not going to be able to walk if I take much more of this abuse. There were days when I would sit on his back for hours at a time, now I felt every movement, and it was torture.

 Was I really in such poor shape? The gray creature speeds off into the night, and I tug firmly on his scruff. 

"Listen here, asshole. You're much faster than most of these wolves, so maybe take it easy?"

He scoffs at me, jumping smoothly up and over a dumpster. "If they value their lives, they will find a way to keep up. Welcome to pack life, baby." 

How was it that healing his shoulder brought his mental age down twenty years? But the more I think about it, the more I calculate that it was more extensive than just his shoulder. This doesn't feel like a death march, more like an attempt at fun in an awful situation. 

I hear the clumsy lycans slipping and stumbling behind us, and I can't help but chuckle at the image of the skinny creatures trying to stay upright in the twists and turns of the back alleys. Distant clanging makes me think we're being chased, but just as my heart begins to race, Marisol leaps off the banister of one of the stairwells and lands in front of us. 

"Cheater." He accuses.

"Cheater? You've gone soft." 

The path becomes narrow, forcing us into a single file line. His ears swivel as we run, scanning his surroundings, and I know he has the same worry I did. Where were the cats that hunted us so fiercely in this area? The lighting begins to dim as less and less roof space allows for the moonlight to trickle through the fire escapes. 

"We need to get out of the allies and onto the streets." He barks to Marisol. 

"You wanted to keep a low profile." She reminds him.

"I know what I said but this doesn't feel right. We need to get out into the open. The fresh lycans all look alike; no one will recognize them." 

She slams on the brakes and makes us all slide and skitter into the back of her. I agree that remaining in this dank alley didn't make much sense. We weren't too far away now; if it meant getting to the compound quicker, making a break for it seemed like a good option. 

"Why did you stop?"

"You. You're gray, light gray; they'll notice you very easily against a bunch of black wolves." 

The group watches us with uncertainty, murmuring amongst themselves. Carefully, I slide off him and almost stumble on the slick ground. Reaching down, I touch the silty brick and grimace.