Forgotten Wolf

20 Time's Up!

I wake up to Chris's hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me. "Time to get up, little one."

What I wouldn't do for two more hours in bed. My body aches.

He, on the other hand, looks well rested and is already showered, dressed and is ready to go.

Once I begrudgingly sit up, he heads for the door. "I'll meet you downstairs for breakfast. Don't take too long."

I get up, stretching my sore muscles, my legs being the worst. I frown, realizing that I won't be able to run or climb much today. Once I clean up and change, I make my way downstairs.

The kitchen is already a buzz so I slip past the mass of people and move towards the food. My stomach is reminding me how little I've eaten in the last twenty-four hours. Right as I grab a plate to load up, Sara and Claire spot me and sweep me away into another room.

"Time to socialize later," Sara chirps with a determined look that makes me frown. "Eat up. We have a lot to go over and not much time."

'Oh sure, now she wants to strategize.' She doesn't have a choice; I'm all she has left.

"I don't know how we can make a go of this." I happily pause and take the plate that Nat passes me, filled with bacon, eggs, and fruit, making my mouth water. "I can't support you like Claire did, and my body is exhausted. Pretty sure climbing and running aren't in my future."

"That is why I'm the captain," she chides, not hiding the annoyance in her voice. "Yesterday worked out better than I could have ever expected. You, as bait, were the perfect distraction, allowing the teams to work.

Today, however, we need to switch from offense to defense. The game plan will be to outlast."

I can see the wheels turning as she works out the finer points of the strategy, her dark eyes ablaze with determination.

"After yesterday's cliff stunt—nicely done, by the way—Chris isn't about to let Jace take you down." Claire beams as she continues, "So he will send Jace after Sara and go after you himself."

The door opens to Alisa carrying in a pile of clothes. "Got them," she declares triumphantly. The stench hits me as they drop the clothes beside me.

"Your scent will be our secret weapon. We'll help disguise it with these," Sara says as she grabs the dirty laundry. "I'll be wearing some of your clothes, too. Hopefully, we can confuse them enough to buy us some time." She steps back for a minute, her gaze raking over me as if looking at me for the first time in a new light. "How well can you swim?"

A short time later, we are making our way to the starting point. The goal is to keep the guys away from me and Sara. Judging from the looks Chris gives me, it's working. His expression is somewhere between a hungry predator eyeing a steak, and a petulant child watching another kid play with his toy.

The game starts and we take off running. Once out of sight, we put the plan in motion, swapping shirts before splitting up. She takes the easier path towards the rocks I hid in yesterday, while she sends me down a more difficult path that will come out at the river.

Bzzz- defenders have entered the woods.

Shit, I need more time!

I race down the path as fast as I can. Just under two hours doesn't seem like a long time, but knowing two highly skilled, super-sense wolves are hunting me down, it might as well be two days. Relief washes over me as the sound of water reaches me.

Jace emerges behind me with a surprised look on his face. "Well played!"

Shit, now what?!

An angry roar sounds in the distance, grabbing all of my attention.