Mated (Mortal, Book Two)

Wendy

Whenever I've pictured my death, it always had something to do with lying in bed, old and feeble, my grandkids gathered around me. That, or I figured I'd go out in a car accident like both of my parents.

I certainly didn't see myself leaping from a tower, holding the hand of a vampire, while people who want to kill us simply for existing nip at our heels.

Alec seems so confident that we wouldn’t drop to our deaths. That, somehow, we would—what? Float into the sky?

But here we are, plummeting. My stomach flies into my chest, and a scream rips from my throat. I grip Alec’s hand tighter, and it’s just like they say: my whole life flashes before my eyes.

My fifth birthday party. Seeing the ocean for the first time.

Reading in the tree in my backyard, the sounds of the neighborhood around me. Looking out the window and waiting for my dad to come home. Seeing the cop car pull up the driveway and knowing my life was about to change forever.

The dark ground rushes up to meet us. I squeeze my eyes shut, bracing for the impact.

Except it doesn’t come. We lift, and then we’re ...

Wait. No way.

I open my eyes, and instead of ground beneath us, it's water. Alec and I are flying over the river!

A disbelieving laugh spills from my lips. "We're flying!"

Alec's lips are pulled into a grimace. "I can't hold it for long."

As we soar over the water, I can't help but feel a surge of adrenaline that I've never experienced before. It's as if I've been reborn into a new, fantastical world. I glance over at Alec, his face etched with concentration as he struggles to maintain our flight.

"How are we doing this?" I ask, my voice barely audible over the rush of water below us.

Alec grunts, his eyes scanning the horizon for any signs of danger. "I'm a vampire, remember? I can't do it forever though!"

As we soar over the river, I can't help but feel a sense of freedom. For the first time in my life, I'm not bound by the limitations of my human body. I feel weightless and alive, as if I could fly forever.

I glance over my shoulder at the wreckage we're leaving behind. Hawthorn's main building is smoking, and several Silver Hunters stand at the wishing well tower, watching me and Alec escape.

"Even a few minutes is good!" I shout over the wind.

But we're already dipping. We reach the woods on the other side of the river, and it's clear Alec can't hold us up any longer. We sink towards the ground, and when we're a few feet above it, we crash hard.

My shoulder hits the packed dirt, and I try to tuck and roll, but I end up in a tangled mess. I groan, my head spinning as I try to catch my breath.

Alec lands gracefully beside me, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of danger. I hiss, the impact still jolting through my entire body.

“Are you okay?” he asks, his voice laced with concern.

I sit up, wincing at the pain in my shoulder. “I think so. Just a little sore.”

He nods, his hand hovering over my shoulder. “Let me take a look.”

He pulls my jacket down, revealing a large bruise already forming on my shoulder. He touches it gently, and I flinch at the pain.

“You’ll have to be careful with that,” Alec says, his voice low. “We don’t know what kind of trouble we might run into.”

I nod, feeling a twinge of fear in my gut. Escaping Hawthorn doesn’t mean things are over yet.

Alec stands up, his eyes scanning the woods around us. “We should keep moving. We don’t want to stay in one place for too long.”

I stand up, feeling a little unsteady on my feet. “Where are we going?”

“Anywhere but here,” Alec says.

It’s been a hell of a night, and between the two of us, we have enough injuries to kill one person. Luckily, we get to share them. He takes my hand once more, and we half run, half limp into the forest.

"Let me carry you." He stops to take me into his arms, his red eyes flashing and his dark brow knitting. As soon as he scoops me up, though, he grunts in pain.

I put my feet down before he can drop me. "You're too weak right now. We'll need to walk."

The red fades from his eyes, and he looks like a normal teenage boy again. "They'll catch us."

"Then we better hurry."

We make our way through the trees, each step a struggle. We know we're being hunted, and if we make it out alive, it will be a miracle.

But I'm determined to make it happen. I can't let the Silver Hunters catch us and take away our freedom.

We have to keep going.

"Which way?" I ask. The woods are so quiet that it doesn't seem right. It feels like we're being watched.

He sucks in a sharp breath. "We can't lead them to town. We can't risk bystanders being hurt."

"What about the police? Can we go to them?"

Already, I know what a stupid question it is. What are we going to tell the authorities? That the two of us go to a school for supernatural students, and that we're being hunted down because of that?

Alec shakes his head. "There's no one we can trust. No one who will believe us. We're on our own. The Silver Hunters are notorious for working with the authorities."

I take a deep breath and try to steady my racing heart. "So, what do we do?"

He stares off for a moment, then his gaze settles on mine. "We run."

I take his hand, and together we continue to pick our way into the trees.

"I'm sorry," Alec says as we climb over a log.

"What for?"

"I should have made you leave. I shouldn't have let you go back to the school."

"You wouldn't have been able to stop me." We reach a creek, and I scramble over the rocks in it.

Hawthorn hasn't been the most welcoming place, but there are good people there. Students and teachers who don't deserve to be attacked.

Thinking about the sights at the school—the blood and the fire—I shiver. I feel awful for running now, but we already returned to help. If we stayed any longer, we would be dead.

"I hope Brynn's okay."

She was so brave back there, so strong. When we first met, she was so timid. Seeing my friend transform into a warrior willing to take on the Silver Hunters attacking our school makes me so proud.

I just wish I knew where she is and if she’s all right. Tears fill my eyes thinking about her.

Alec doesn't answer, and I can tell he has about as much faith in her safety as I do.

As we move farther into the woods, the darkness closes in around us. The only sound is our breathing and the crunch of leaves beneath our feet. But I can't shake the feeling that we're being watched. That there are eyes on us, waiting for the moment to strike.

When we reach the edge of the woods, Alec stops and puts his hand on my arm. We're somewhere outside of town, and a few lights shine through the trees, but it's mostly a rural area.

"We have to be careful now," he says. "Don't talk, don't make any noise. We can't risk being seen."

I nod and follow him, my eyes darting from side to side. We creep through a dark field, and I can't help but think that the shadows are conspiring against us, the trees reaching for us with their gnarled, grasping branches.

But we make it out of the woods, and Alec points to a small house a few hundred yards away. "There," he says. "We can get some rest and figure out what to do next."

I start to move towards it, but he pulls me back.

"Wait," he says. "We need to be sure no one is there first."

He takes a few steps forward, and I follow. The house is small and dark, a good sign.

He stops and holds up his hand, signaling for me to stay put. I do so, wrapping my arms around myself and studying the field behind us. It's cold, and my thin jacket doesn't do much against the autumn night.

It's crazy to think that, less than twelve hours ago, I was actually feeling like a normal teenager. I was on a date, enjoying myself for the first time in weeks.

And then the whole world flipped upside down. First with Heather and Alice. And then with the Silver Hunters.

Thinking about Heather and Alice still makes me sick. I genuinely thought Alice was my friend. She showed me kindness, took me under her wing when I came to Hawthorn.

And then she stabbed me in the back.

She filmed me defending myself against Heather and her friends and then gave Heather the video to show Gregory. Except they edited it to make it look like I was attacking them, instead of defending myself.

And there went another relationship I thought might grow. Gregory probably wants nothing to do with me now.

Maybe it was stupid to go on a date with him, anyway. Thinking about it now, I wonder if I was only trying to distract myself from my feelings for Alec—feelings he doesn’t seem to share.

And now, on top of that craziness, we’ve all been attacked by people who want to kill us.

I can't even imagine what's to come next, and I'm afraid I won't be able to handle whatever it is.

Alec circles the house, and I stay close behind him, my eyes scanning for any sign of movement. The windows are dark, and there's no smoke coming from the chimney.

"It looks safe," he says.

He moves closer, and I can feel my heart racing. If someone is inside, all our efforts will be for nothing.

But then he turns back to me and gives me a small nod, and I know it's safe.

We creep up to the house, and Alec tries the front door. It's unlocked, so we slip inside.

The house is small and filled with old furniture. But it's warm and dry, and that's all that matters.

There's a musty smell to the air, and I can feel the dust tickling my nose. We move through the living room and into the kitchen. Alec flicks on a light, and I can see the outline of a table and chairs.

"This looks like some kind of vacation rental or hunting cabin."

"One that hasn't been used in a while." I run my finger along a dusty table. "Luckily for us."

Alec opens the fridge. "At least there's bottled water."

He tosses me one, and I gratefully gulp down the whole bottle.

Alec leads me to the bedroom, and I collapse onto the mattress.

He lies down next to me, and I can feel the tension in his body.

I wrap my arms around him, and he shudders. "I'm so sorry," he says.

I close my eyes and press my lips against his forehead. "It's not your fault. We're alive, and that's all that matters."

We stay there for a few moments and then Alec sits up and looks at me, his eyes filled with determination. "We'll get through this," he says.

I nod, feeling a sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. I don't know what our next move is, but I know it's not going to be easy.

The sun will rise soon, and we will keep running. We will do whatever it takes to escape the Silver Hunters and their reign of terror.

"We could try to lay low for a while," I suggest. "Maybe the Silver Hunters will think we've fled the area and give up."

Alec shakes his head. "They won't give up. They'll keep coming after us until we're dead or captured."

I feel a shiver run down my spine at the thought.

And what about the others? Are they even still alive?

Tears prick my eyes, and I wipe them away.

Alec stiffens, his gaze going to the window.

"What?" I ask.

His shoulders tense. "Dogs."

My breath hitches in my throat. The way he says it, I don't think he's talking about a neighbor's labradoodle, out barking at the moon. He means something way more sinister.

"Do you mean ...?" I can't even finish it.

The Silver Hunters have dogs that are tracking us.

"We need to go." He's up in a flash, despite his injuries, grabbing my hand.

We make it out of the house and into the woods, running faster than I ever thought possible. The dogs' barks are no longer a distant thing. Each yip is closer.

We run and run, my heart pounding in my chest, the fear coursing through my veins. I don't know what will happen if they catch us, but I know it won't be good.

"Hurry, Wendy." He yanks me, but I trip on a root and hit the ground, my palms landing on a bed of pine needles.

Shouts fill the air and mingle with the barks. The Silver Hunters are close. If they don't yet know where we are, they will soon.

"We have to go." Alec is frantic, tugging on my arm, but my legs are shaking. I can't go any farther.

"They're here!" someone shouts.

I manage to get to my knees and turn around just in time to see a pack of hounds, several Silver Hunters behind them, filtering through the trees.

They've found us.