4. Left Behind

Mirabel sighed in frustration.

"Believe me, helping you wasn't exactly at the top of my list tonight." Her gaze swept over the three of us. "If I had the option, I'd be halfway across the forest by now instead of standing here debating survival strategies with a cripple, a crier, and a half-breed."

"Fuck you," Sam snapped.

Mirabel ignored her.

"The point is, four people moving together are harder to catch off guard than one. Four sets of eyes. Four sets of ears. Four chances to notice something before it rips your throat out."

Her gaze flicked into the dark trees, then back to us.

"Make up your minds," she said impatiently. "Come with me or don't. But I'd suggest doing it before one of them catches our scent and makes the decision for us."

Another scream ripped through the trees. This one was much nearer than before. It was cut off abruptly, followed by rough male laughter and a low growl that made my stomach turn.

Shit.

Ee were running out of time.

"Fine," I said. "We'll go with you. But if you start treating us like garbage again, we're splitting up."

She nodded slowly and glanced deeper into the forest.

"Now move. Stay low, step where I step, and for the Moon Goddess's sake, try not to sound like a herd of terrified cows."

"Addie, your leg—" Sam started.

"It doesn't matter," I cut in quietly. "I'd rather the damn thing snap off than let one of those bastards get their hands on me."

Her grip tightened around my waist, but she didn't argue.

"We started moving again, this time following Mirabel through the undergrowth. She slipped through the forest with frustrating ease while I had to half-jog to keep up. Most of my weight was on Sam's shoulder by now but every step sent a fresh jolt of pain shooting up my leg.

The woods felt alive in the worst way. Leaves rustled overhead even when there was no wind. Twigs snapped under our feet no matter how careful we tried to be. Every shadow looked like a man waiting to grab us. I kept expecting hot breath on the back of my neck or a hand closing around my arm.

My senses were useless here. All I could do was trust that Mirabel knew where she was going and pray my leg didn't finally give up on me.

"Do you really think the water will hide our scent?" Teagan asked quietly.

"It should help," Mirabel answered without turning around. "Running water throws scents off. Rocks help too. But we can’t stay in one place long. They’ll sweep the area eventually."

"You really learned all this from your dad?" Teagan pressed.

"Some of it." She said casually. "The rest is common sense. You three spent your lives tucked away in the servant's quarters pretending the rest of the pack didn't exist. I paid attention to what the ranked wolves talked about. There’s a difference."

I bit my tongue. There it was again. That little reminder that she thought she was better than us. But right now I needed her help more than I needed to argue.

"Down!" She hissed suddenly.

She dropped into the tall grass and we followed suit, falling into the damp earth. I pressed my face into the dirt, trying to stop my ragged breathing.

A few dozen yards away, a massive dark shape leaped over a fallen log.

My heart nearly stopped.

It was a wolf, but larger than any I had ever seen back in my home pack. Its fur was midnight black, blending almost perfectly with the darkness around it, while its eyes glowed like twin embers beneath the trees.

The wolf landed silently and came to a stop.

Then it lifted its head and sniffed.

I pressed myself deeper into the damp earth and held my breath until my lungs burned. I prayed to whatever gods were listening that the breeze would stay in our favor. That it would carry our scent somewhere else. Anywhere else.

For a long, terrible moment, the wolf remained perfectly still. Then it let out a low growl before turning and sprinting off in the opposite direction toward a group of girls who were screaming as they ran.

As soon as it was gone, Mirabel got up again.

"Move. Now," she commanded. "That one was just a scout. There will be more."

Sam scrambled to her feet, reaching down to hoist Teagan up. I gritted my teeth as I planted my good foot into the mud and pushed. I expected the familiar flare of agony to shoot up my left leg. I expected to feel the bone-grinding friction that had become my constant companion for the last seven months.

Instead, I felt nothing.

Cold panic slid down my throat. I tried to wiggle my toes and flex my calf but I couldn't feel a thing. It was like my leg had turned into a heavy, dead piece of timber attached to my hip.

Oh, no.

Of all the times for my body to fail me, of all the moments for my nervous system to shut down, it chose the one time I was being hunted for sport.

"Addie?" Sam whispered. "Addie, what’s wrong? Is it your leg?"

I looked up at her, my eyes stinging with tears. I didn't want to say it. Saying it made it real.

"It’s gone numb, Sam. I can’t… I can't feel it at all." I managed to say.

"I’ll carry you," she said, already reaching for me. "Come on, get on my back."

"Are you stupid?" Mirabel whisper-yelled. "Do you actually think you have the strength to carry her while we’re running for our lives?"

Sam turned her head around. "Then help me! If you think you're so much stronger than the rest of us, stop standing there and grab her other side!"

"I don't think I'm stronger than you guys. I know I am." She snorted. "But contrary to what you seem to think, I can't magically carry dead weight through half a forest while being hunted by a pack of psychotic alphas." Her gaze flicked to me. "And even if I could, have you looked at her? I've seen fully grown wolves weigh less."

Ouch.

That one hit straight in the gut.

I knew I was bigger than most girls my age. My sickness had always made my body cling stubbornly to weight no matter how hard I trained. For years I'd dragged myself out of bed before sunrise to train with the warriors. It never made me skinny, but it helped.

But after I broke my legs, everything stopped.

I couldn’t train anymore. I couldn’t run or push myself the way I used to. All I could do was sit and heal slowly while my body changed in ways I didn’t know how to control. And no matter how little I ate or how desperately I tried to fight it, nothing seemed to make a difference.

So I stopped trying.

"That wasn't very nice, Mirabel," Teagan said quietly.

"I wasn't trying to be nice." Of course she wasn’t. "The truth is she can't walk properly, and you can't carry her through half a forest while being hunted. You can be offended by that if you want, but it won't make it any less true."

"She's right," I said quietly.

Sam immediately shook her head.

"No."

"Sam, listen to me."

"No."

I forced myself to meet her eyes. "You need to leave me behind."

"Not happening." She said firmly, her grip tightening on my arm. "I am not leaving you here, Addie. We’ve come this far."

"Please listen to me," I begged, the first sob finally breaking through my throat. "The numbness... it won't go away for hours. I know how my body works. You can't carry me half a mile, let alone to the mountains. You’ll get caught within minutes. If you go now, you have a chance. You can run."

"And what about you?" Teagan sobbed.

"I’ll hide," I lied, looking toward a thick clump of ferns near a rotted log. "I’ll crawl in there and stay perfectly still. My scent is weak anyway because I don't have a wolf. They might pass me by. I’ll wait until I can feel my toes again and then I’ll follow the creek to find you. I promise."

"They’re coming." Mirabel muttered. "We have to go now. One minute. That’s all the time you have before I leave you all behind."

"Addie, please," Sam whispered. "I can't abandon you like this."

"Go!" I shouted, as loud as I dared without drawing every alpha in the woods straight to us. "If you love me, if you want me to have any peace at all, just run! Don’t let them take you because of me. Please, Sam. Just give me this one thing."

Sam looked at Teagan who was sobbing quietly into her hands now. Then she looked at Mirabel, who was already halfway swallowed up by the shadows. With a strangled sound that sounded like her heart was breaking, she leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead. Her lips felt warm against my cold skin.

"I'll come back for you," she whispered. "I swear it."

"I know," I lied again, forcing a small smile.