Chapter 2 - Running on Empty

Jolie POV

"It's settled then. Tomorrow night, she becomes Thorne's problem."

The rain pounds against my skin as I back away from the window. My wolf isn't whimpering anymore. She's growling, low and dangerous.

Run, she says again. Run now, or die trying.

I run.

I stare at the forest edge fifty yards away. Beyond those trees lies wilderness for miles. No roads, no shelter, no food. I can barely survive a five-minute shift without collapsing. How could I possibly make it alone in the wild?

But staying means Thorne Blackwater's hands on me. His teeth in my throat. His twisted games until there's nothing left of Jolie Rys but screaming.

"She's probably upstairs crying into her pillow right now," Gio says, his laughter carrying through the storm. "The pathetic little ash wolf can't even hold her form long enough to hunt mice."

Something inside my chest snaps like a dry branch. My wolf surges forward, with desperate strength i let go of the wall and walked toward the tree line.

My feet hit the forest floor and suddenly I'm running. Branches tear at my thin sweater and scratch my face, but I don't slow down. Behind me, the house lights disappear into darkness. Ahead lies nothing but unknown territory.

For the first time in my life, the unknown feels safer than home.

My wolf pushes power into my legs, more energy than she's given me since my first shift.

"We're actually doing this," I think to Ash as branches whip past my face.

We should have done this years ago," she pants back. "I'm tired of being small.

I keep running through rain and thunder, dodging trees and jumping fallen logs.

The realization hits me: I'm actually doing this. Running away from everything I've ever known with nothing but the clothes on my back.

But anything has to be better than being Thorne Blackwater's broken doll.

My lungs burn as I push deeper into the wilderness. Each step takes me further from the Nightshade estate, further from my family's plans to trade me like cattle. The rain soaks through my sweater, plastering my hair against my skull, but I don't care.

I'm free.

My wolf howls inside my chest, not in pain but in pure, wild joy. She's been caged her whole life, forced to stay small and quiet and apologetic. Now she's loose, and she wants to run until her paws bleed.

I stumble over a root and go down hard, skinning my palms on rough bark. Blood wells up in the scratches, but I just wipe it on my jeans and keep going. Pain doesn't matter anymore. Nothing matters except putting distance between me and tomorrow night's delivery.

The storm follows me deeper into the woods, lightning illuminating my path in brief, brilliant flashes.

The dumpster behind Murphy's Gas and Grub reeks of spoiled meat and old grease, but it's the only shelter I've found in three days. My stomach cramps so violently I double over, clutching my middle with both hands.

I haven't eaten anything except wild berries and creek water since fleeing Nightshade territory. The berries gave me diarrhea. The creek water tastes so terrible.

Through the chain-link fence, I watch truckers come and go from the all-night diner. Normal people with money in their wallets, ordering coffee and pie like it's nothing special. My mouth waters at the smell of bacon drifting through the kitchen's exhaust fan.

"You look like death warmed over, sweetheart."

I spin around so fast my vision goes spotty. A trucker stands ten feet away, thumbs hooked in his belt loops. He's maybe forty-five with a beer gut and small, mean eyes that look me up and down like I'm a merchandise.

"I'm fine," I lie, taking a step backward toward the fence.

"Sure you are." He grins, showing yellowed teeth. "When's the last time you ate something hot?"

My stomach betrays me with a growl loud enough to hear over the highway traffic. His smile gets wider.

"Come on, girl. Let me buy you a burger and some coffee. You look ready to keel over."

Every instinct screams danger, but my legs shake with exhaustion. I've been walking for seventy-two hours straight, afraid to stop moving in case Gio sent trackers after me. My feet are bleeding inside my worn sneakers.

"I don't need anything from you," I manage.

"Of course you don't." He takes a step closer, and I smell stale cigarettes and something else that makes my skin crawl. "But everybody needs to eat. Basic human decency, helping out someone down on their luck."

He's between me and the gap in the fence now. My wolf stirs uneasily, sending prickles of warning up my spine. She may be weak, but she can smell just fine.

"Really, I'm okay." I edge sideways, trying to get around him.

"Now don't be like that." His hand shoots out and grabs my wrist before I can dodge. "I'm trying to be nice here."

The contact sends panic shooting through my veins. My wolf lunges forward instinctively, not shifting but flooding me with desperate energy. The change that's been building for days suddenly erupts.

"Let go!" The words come out in a snarl that doesn't sound human.

My fingers stretch and burn as claws try to push through the tips. My spine arches as my wolf fights to break free. The pain hits like a sledgehammer to every bone in my body.

I scream and collapse, writhing on the wet asphalt as agony tears through me. My wolf is stuck halfway between forms, neither human nor animal, just pure suffering given flesh.

"Jesus Christ!" The trucker stumbles backward, releasing my wrist. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I can't answer, neither can I breathe. The partial shift feels like being turned inside out while someone pours acid on my nerves. My vision goes white around the edges.