Lost and Found (A Werewolf Wars Novel Book 4) (7 page)

Sarah sucked in a deep breath as she peered over the edge.

“At least we’ll get a bath,” he winked as he wiped at a smudge of dirt on Sarah’s cheek.

“We are really doing this?” she asked quietly, averting her wide-eyed gaze to the raging water below.

“Together?” he quirked his brow at her.

“Together,” she nodded.

Vincent squeezed her hand tighter. They were really going to do this. He sucked in a large gulp of air and, after one last look at Sarah, they plummeted off the edge into the swirling water below.

S
arah gasped as the icy water hit her, causing a burst of pain to jolt up her legs from the impact. Water invaded her mouth as she went under and Vincent’s hand ripped away from hers. The water swirled around her ferociously. Her heart hammered against her ribs as she fought to push herself to the surface. The effort was in vain as the rapids pushed and pulled her in every direction but up.

Swim up!

Her body listed to the side and she kicked her feet in a futile attempt to fix her positioning. The sun shone brightly above, illuminating the way to the top. Terror filled her as she fought to get to the surface.

I am not going to drown!
Sarah thrashed her arms down and propelled herself upwards. Like a torpedo, her head popped out of the river and she sputtered, expelling the water from her lungs. The river raged around her, sloshing into her face as she treaded water, fighting to stay afloat.

“Vincent!” she screamed out between coughs. She grasped onto a floating branch and hauled herself further out of the water. Sarah searched frantically for her companion. “Vincent!”

“Sarah!”

She spun around. Relief flooded her as Vincent swam against the current toward her. Her joy quickly turned to panic when she noticed the bag was still on his back and the current was forcing it over his head, making it hard for him to move. Vincent panted breathlessly as he fought the current to get to her.
Help him!
Sarah used her hands to paddle closer, praying he didn’t go under. He reached out and clung onto the branch with her.

“You okay?” he asked, running a hand over his face.

“Yeah. You?”

He nodded, his eyes drifting to the hilltop they’d jumped from. “We need to get moving before one of them musters up the courage to jump in after us.”

Sarah followed his gaze and shuddered.
Is it really too much to ask for the Lunas to leave us alone?
She just wanted a chance to rest, to be safe again.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Six men stood watching them. One of them was pointing and saying something to the others, but she couldn’t tell what he was saying. Vincent was right; they needed to get a move on. They were sitting ducks there in the water.

“Help me get to shore,” Vincent said. He clutched the limb with one arm and used his other as a paddle. Sarah mimicked his action, and, after a few strenuous moments, they reached the other side.

Vincent climbed out of the water first and then offered his hand to her. Sarah squeezed his fingers tightly as the water lapped at her hips. She stumbled in the water as her boots sunk into the murky ground. Vincent tugged on her arms harder, yanking her free of the muddy embankment.

She fell into his embrace and he quickly righted her. He took her hand in his and led them off the shore.

“Can you run?” he asked.

Sarah’s teeth chattered uncontrollably as she nodded. She was freezing. The word hypothermia popped into her head and she shuddered.  Goose bumps covered her flesh and she noted Vincent’s lips had turned purple from the chill of the water. Regardless of the cold, they had to keep moving. At lest the movement would keep their blood flowing.

“Come on,” Vincent hauled her the rest of the way out of the water, never once releasing her hand.

She glanced back to the hilltop again. The men still stood watching. She and Vincent needed to leave; for all they knew, more men were coming down to the river to greet them.

“Come on,” Vincent urged, pulling her forward into the cover of the trees.

***

V
incent collapsed against a tree trunk and ran his forearm across his sweaty brow. He let the bag fall off his back onto the ground, glad to be rid of the extra weight. Sarah, hunched over, brought her forehead to her knees. He was impressed with Sarah. Having spent a lot of time at the gym and training at the Harris’, he considered himself in peak physical shape. But the pace and intensity was taking a toll on him, and he had accelerated abilities. He couldn’t even imagine how she felt.

Sarah groaned as she slowly lowered herself to the ground. Exhaustion must have taken over because the next second she was on her butt. “I don’t think I can move another inch.”

“Me either,” he panted slouching down against a tree for support. He leaned his head back against the bark and closed his eyes. The tree was oddly comfortable. He could very well fall asleep right against it.

“You know the town was in the opposite direction,” she stated, quietly.

“I figured,” he mumbled, too tired to open his eyes.

“We can’t keep running. This pace is too much,” she choked out between pants.

“You’re not thinking of giving up,” he warned. He opened his eyes and fixed a pointed look on her.

“No!” she snapped. “We need to change tactics.”

“What did you have in mind?” Vincent inquired, genuinely interested. They did need a plan.

“Well, we know they want us alive—or at least they did a few days ago. We still have the upper hand.”

Vincent nodded. The men he fought hadn’t been going for the kill, which was why he was alive and they were dead. He was a skilled fighter, but taking on a wolf in human form was no easy feat.

“Do you think we could pick them off?” Sarah asked. “Maybe we could get a cell phone.”

“Depending on the size of the group they are in, it’s a possibility. If we got a cell we could call Dev.”

“What do you want to do?” Sarah asked.

“We can’t keep running in circles. Are you up to it?” Vincent appraised her. She looked exhausted. Dark circles had formed under her eyes. Her skin was pale. Fresh cuts and bruises covered her arms.

“Let’s rest for the night first,” she said wearily.

Vincent moved over to her and sat next to her. “Can I see your arm?”

She twisted, giving him access to the tender laceration. “How bad is it?”

Vincent gingerly touched the gnarled flesh as he examined her. It wasn’t bleeding anymore and the water rinsed most of the blood away. “It doesn’t look too bad. Stitches would be a good idea, but...”

“We don’t have any,” she finished.

“You’ll just have to take it easy,” Vincent suggested. “Did you pack anything we could wrap it up with?”

“I only brought blankets,” she whispered.

“That’ll work. I’ll rip off a piece from the end so we can still use it for warmth. The last thing we want is for you to get an infection,” Vincent said worriedly.

He opened the bag and pulled out the edge of a blanket. Using his strength, he quickly tore off a piece and began to wrap it around her wound. “This will just keep out dirt. You really do need to go easy on this.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that,” she grinned.

He loosely tied the ends of the blanket together. “All done.”

Sarah stood up and grimaced as she shifted on her feet. “How is your back? I saw blood.”

“I just hit it funny on something in the woods. Nothing too serious. Once we stop for the night, I’ll shift and be good as new.” And boy was he looking forward to that—his body hurt.

Sarah rolled her eyes and grumbled, “Must be nice to shift and magically be all better.”

“I wish there were more we could do for you,” he said earnestly. He had an unfair advantage over her. He couldn’t imagine what she was going through. She was tough—tougher than she looked.

“We should find a spot to camp for the night. I don’t think we should start a fire.”

“I agree.” Vincent got up, too. The movement was too quick for his aching body though and his muscles tightened, sending a sharp pain shooting through his calf. He flexed his leg in an effort to work out the kinks and then stumbled forward, leading the way. “You did pretty well back there,” he started, wanting to fill the silence.

“I had no idea what I was doing. I’m lucky he didn’t hurt me anymore than he did.”

“You trained with Preston, right?” he asked without thinking.

She froze for a moment and stared down at her feet before continuing on. “A little. Things didn’t start to get really bad until after he passed. We mostly went riding or running together,” she answered quietly.

“Well, that explains your endurance. There have been a few times I’ve been afraid I would keel over. I’m not sure how you do it,” he said, desperately trying to change the topic. They’d finally begun to really get along. The last thing he wanted was for her to clam up again.

“Adrenaline. If you were faced with a life of being a breeder, you’d run like hell, too. Besides, I like running,” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“It’s freeing, especially when you’re out in the wilderness like this. The air is fresh and you’re surrounded by wildlife.” She paused as they came to a clearing.

“You’d make a good werewolf. I can’t even begin to describe the high you get when you run as a wolf. It’s exhilarating. Your perception of the forest changes; everything is more vivid—louder and brighter.”

“That does sound nice. Too bad werewolves are born, not made. I could totally see letting myself be turned.”

“If it were that easy, I’d bite you in a heartbeat.”
Wow! That sounded stupid even to me. I need to put some sort of filter on.

Sarah laughed and looked at him with one brow lifted in question.

“That came out differently than it sounded in my head,” he acknowledged as heat engulfed his face.

Sarah smiled as she slowed down and took in their surroundings. “This would be a good spot to camp.”

Vincent looked around, too. She was right this was a good spot. The ground was flat and large trees completely surrounded them. A rock to their right would be good shelter from the winds. And he could hear the rustling of water not too far off in the distance. Now, the only question was would it be safe.

He narrowed his eyes, listening intently to their surroundings. The leaves rustled in the wind. A few forest animals chirped in the distance. He inhaled sharply. “I don’t sense anything other than natural wildlife.”

“Good. We’ll camp on the other side of these rocks.”

***

S
arah pulled the blanket up under her chin and shifted closer to Vincent. Her clothes were damp, and she was shivering uncontrollably, despite the two thick blankets covering them. Thankfully, the backpack had kept most of the moisture from the blankets. It made sense to have a waterproof backpack while camping. She was just thankful it worked.

Vincent slowly—almost nervously—reached out and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer.

Her head rested on his shoulder, and his hand moved up and down her arm. Heat radiated off his body in waves and she snuggled impossibly closer.
Gosh does he feel good.
It was more than just warmth though. It felt good to be curled up against his body. She bit her lip, hating that she felt that way. They were...well she didn’t know what they were, but in this situation it would be easy to complicate things. And mixed emotions and confused feelings were the last things they needed.

Instead of focusing on Vincent, she chose to focus on the night sky. The  air was cold—cool enough to see tiny white puffs with each breath she drew.

She looked up at the bright white stars and relaxed. Crickets chirped around them and she could hear the steady thrum of Vincent’s heart, a comforting sound she could fall asleep to.

“Are you warm enough?” Vincent asked.

“Getting better,” she smiled. Vincent really had been fantastic throughout this whole ordeal. If it weren’t for him she’d have been captured for sure. He’d been with her through all of her torment and she acted like a bitch for the most of it.

She should acknowledge everything he’s done. Maybe they could start fresh. “Thank you...for everything. I really appreciate it. I know I haven’t been easy to get along with...I’m sorry,” she told him earnestly.

“It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot.”

“So have you,” she countered. It wouldn’t be fair for him to let her off the hook that easily. “You were right about me. I tried to keep you at arm’s length because I was afraid. I don’t want to get close to someone and go through that pain again.” She sucked in a deep breath and let it out.

“I can’t imagine what it’s like to lose both parents, a father figure, and your boyfriend. But I know how lonely it is when you shut people out. You don’t have to do it alone. There are people back home that are there for you. I’m here for you,” Vincent assured.

Sarah blinked up at the sky, absorbing his words. She knew Lark was there, and Gene, who was like a brother to her, but they had enough on their plates as it was without having to deal with her, too.   But she wasn’t the only one who had lost someone. Vincent had lost his father, too, she realized. Even though he’d been an awful man, Emmett McKinley was his dad.

“Do you miss him? Your dad?” She bit her lip. Sarah wondered if she’d crossed a line, but they were being honest with each other right now and she wanted to know why he seemed to avoid serious relationships—so she could help him, too.

Vincent swallowed loudly, while his hand simultaneously quit moving on her arm. “No. When I found out he was dead, I felt relieved. He made my life a living hell growing up. Everything I did was never good enough and he made sure to let me know. I remember a few years ago, I started to go to the gym. I thought I could make myself quicker. He used to have us practice fighting against his most experienced men. I finally beat one of them and I was so proud. The only thing he said was I should’ve done it faster. No good job—nothing. In fact, he then ordered the other three men who were there to all spar against me.” He sighed heavily. “Let’s just leave it at, it didn’t end well for me. And with all the stuff that happened with Em. He was a monster. Emmett wasn’t the type of man you negotiated with. He was intent on sending Emily to Juarez and he would have hurt anyone who got in his way. On the bright side, his pig-headiness helped me, Dev, and Em become closer.”