Page 23 of Wolves Always Bite

“I’llbe right back,”Adriansaid.

Whilewe’d been talking,Nelsonknelt to secure the hands and feet of the…Well,Iguessed they were our prisoners.Iwasn’t sure howIfelt about having prisoners.Peoplelike me didn’t take other people prisoner.

Oncehe’d tied everyone up,Nelsonrifled through their pockets.Themen didn’t have much more than a phone and a wallet each, but it took a lot longer to go through the woman’s belongings.Mymom always said women liked pockets.Evidentlysupernatural women liked them too because this woman had a lot of them.Nelsontucked her cell phone and wallet into the pocket of his hoodie with the others he’d collected, then sifted through the rest of her things.Mostof what he found didn't look like much to me.Therewere two tubes of lip gloss, a pencil stub, a balled-up tissue, a small container of hand lotion, a few gum wrappers, a handful of coins, and three grocery store receipts.Nelsonobviously didn’t think they looked like much either, because he didn’t pocket anything else he found.

AsNelsonworked,Adrianstalked around our attacker’s vehicle, sniffing and growling as he went.Whenhe came back around, he was human again.Herushed over to me and crushed me against his chest.Igrunted.Asgood as it felt to be wrapped up in those muscular arms, my body ached.Ihated to think what it would be like when my adrenaline rush faded.

"Youagreed to stay in the truck,”Adriansaid. “Whathappened?"

"Jeremyknocked out the harpy with his backpack,"Nelsonsaid.

“WhatcanIsay?”Ishrugged, smothering the painIfelt at the movement. “Mybook bag is my weapon of choice.Apparentlybook nerds can be superheroes too.”

Adrian’sface paled and he swore. "Youwent up against a harpy… with a bag of books.Whatwere you thinking?"

Adrian'squestion wasn't worth answering.NothingIsaid would ease the wolf's worry.Soinstead,Iasked one of my own, because that was just howIrolled. "It’sa guy, how can he be a harpy?Aren’tthey all women?Anddon’t harpies have wings?"

"It’sa harpy,”Nelsonsaid. “Twoof our four attackers were.Hemust not have expected you to be much of a threat and didn't keep his full shifted form.Hewas wrong.Goodjob."

Yeah.I'ddone that.I'dtaken down a supernatural creature.Bookswere awesome.Igrinned and fought the urge to cackle like a cartoon villain.

Adriangrunted like he was annoyed. "Heshouldn't have gotten that close to you."

"It'sokay, wolf boy."Ipatted him.

"Weshould leave,"Nelsonsaid, glancing up and down the road. "Beforemore arrive."

Myhappiness over our win faded. "Youthink there will be more?"

“Wehave to assume there’ll be more.”Adriangrowled but loosened his hold on me.

“Anyidea how they found us?”Nelsonasked.

“Oneof the harpies must have flown after us and given our location to the others.Theirkind is known for being skilled at hunting,”Adriansaid, glancing up at the bright blue sky. “Ishould have noticed, butIwas looking for something on the ground, not in the sky.Iagree, we need to get out of here before more arrive.”

WhenAdrianfaced his beat-up and broken truck, a quiet whine escaped him.Thetruck was upside down, the windshield had a humongous hole in it and there wasn't a foot of the bodywork that didn't have a dent in it.

"It'sokay,"Nelsonsaid, pattingAdrianon the back. "Itwas worse than this when you bought it.It'llbe fine."

Adrianhuffed out an annoyed breath.

Thethree of us managed to flip the truck so it was on its tires again.Okay,Ididn't fool myself into thinking my efforts had helped much, butIwasn't about to stand back and watchNelsonandAdriando all the work.TheSUVthat had driven us off the road was battered too, but not as badly.Ialmost suggested we use that vehicle instead, but the werewolf didn't look ready to part from his truck.AsAdrianknocked out the rest of the glass from the windshield and brushed the broken glass off the seat,Nelsontossed our attackers into the bed of the truck.

Ididn't ask what we were going to do with them.Iknow, keeping quiet didn’t really sound like me, but over the yearsI’dlearned a simple truth that had seen me through a lot:Neverask a question if you weren't prepared for the answer.

Thenwe climbed into the truck again.

Thistime,Adrianpulled me close to his side.Iwas shaking now, and my stomach churned like a washing machine on spin cycle, but the heat and strength ofAdrian'sbody anchored me.

"Weshouldn't go to the city now,"Nelsonsaid as he studied a map on his phone.

Adriannodded as he glanced at me. "Weneed to meet up with the guys again.Teaguecan helpJeremy."

"Helpme how?"

"He'sa death mage, so healing isn't exactly his specialty, but you'll feel better after he's seen you than you will after any human doctor.Besides,Idon’t know any of the hospitals around here, soIdon’t have any contacts who can steer us in the right direction.Idon’t want to take you some place whereBabetteand her people might have connections."

Thedizziness that followedAdrian'swords didn't help my nausea. "Adeath witch?"