Werewolf Compilations novel Chapter 122

I sit in the dirt, against a tree, the bark scratching my bare back, and I stay curled up. A thin fog gathers around me, the air frigid. My fingers lose color and I feel as if these are the sensations of death. Everything is cold, so painfully and relentlessly cold. The feeling in my toes fade and I contemplate shifting again to stay alive. I can't be too far, I can't be off of pack land. I should go back but I'm scared that his father will grab me again, that he'll choke me and cut me as he did his wife.

'You didn't finish the diary, did you?'

A harsh shiver overcomes me and I hold my bare body tighter, ready to shift even though my wolf is exhausted. This is what I get for not letting her out enough, she grows weak.

I need to go back, I need to find James, he needs to know the truth about his—

I jolt forward, hearing a distant voice.

It comes again.

I attempt to stand up, my limbs frozen in place and sore. My fingers grip at the bark of the tree, prying me from the ground, dirt getting under my nails. Then I feel him. His scent grows strong in the air.

"Rae!"

Relieved, I throw my head back. "James!" My voice is rough, hardly loud enough to sound like a yell. "I'm here!"

I wobble in the direction of his voice, back from where I came. My ankles bend and my bare feet mold over rocks and dead brush, and I use my hands to make myself decent, covering my body where needed. The wind is sharp against me, like little needles. "James?" I call again.

He appears and hurries over to me, holding my robe. I knew he was the wolf who brought his father to the ground, the one who... He must have seen me run off. James grabs my arm and holds me up, keeping me stable as I wrap myself up. He catches a glimpse of the growing bruise on my hip and gently brushes his hand over it before the soft fabric of the robe can cover it.

"H-He killed your mother," I mumble, telling him what he deserves to know. "He tried to kill me. He tried to get me in the bathtub."

James pulls me in, his fingers seeping into my hair as he holds me close as if the sky were falling. "We have to go back, Rae. You're freezing."

I tense. "Is he—"

"He's gone," James says simply. "Come on."