Then he yelped and flew back with Derek’s teeth embedded in his haunch. Fortunately, it was too thick for him, too, and he couldn’t get any farther than Derek had, just close enough for me to smell the stink of his breath as he tried to shoulder his way deeper into the undergrowth. He just stood his ground until Derek was almost on him, then feinted to the side and ran straight at me.ĭerek tried to stop, but he’d put too much momentum into the charge and he skidded into the brush.Īs Ramon barreled toward me, I scrambled to get away, but the brush was too thick. Finally, with a roar, Derek rushed at him. But the other wolf kept coming at us, steady and relentless. I’d seen those scars just a few days before.ĭerek snarled, fur rising, tail puffing, fangs flashing. When I squinted, I saw that they were strips of missing fur, the uncovered skin pink and puckered with recent scar tissue.

The clouds finally passed by the moon, but the wolf was still black as night from his nose to his eyes. It seemed to roll toward us, silent as fog, slowly and steadily drifting our way. The cloud cover thinned, and a figure materialized in the path. I twisted to tell Derek that I couldn’t continue, but he’d stopped at the edge of my hole, his backside blocking the entrance. I’d gone only a few feet when I hit a tree. I got down on all fours and pushed into the brush, hands in front of my face to clear the way. At another twig crack, Derek slammed into the back of my legs, pushing and jostling me until I was at the far side of the clearing, then prodding me into the thick brush. Derek spun so fast he crashed into me, pushing me back as I stumbled, snapping at me when I didn’t move fast enough.Īs I retreated into the clearing, I could make out a dark shape at the edge. A cloud rolled over the moon and the forest went black.

The reckoning armstrong novel