Ascension - Laura Hall (books for 20 year olds TXT) 📗

“Hey.”

He leaned against a nearby tree, gazing at me from beneath the hood of his raincoat. “How are you holding up?”

I shrugged. “You know, suffering delusions of grandeur coupled with an inferiority complex. The usual.”

Instead of cracking a smile, Mal said, “Privacy,” and sapphire light flared around him, expanding until it encompassed us both. He took a step closer to me, expression as determined as I’d ever seen it. “I overheard the Prime telling Adam about your dream. The vision of the future.”

A chill touched my neck. “Yes?”

“You saw a bear.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

He glanced toward the distant compound, then, as though he wasn’t sure his privacy spell would hold, lowered his voice even further, “I want you to track Rosie Young for me, so I can find that warehouse and get your dad.”

The chill spread across my shoulders and down my spine. “Are you going AWOL, Mal?”

He nodded, eyes a little wide. “We’re going AWOL. As I see it, with Delilah blocking his location, Rosie’s our only chance of finding Frank. I can’t wait anymore, and I don’t think you can either. What do you say?”

Hope warred with fear inside me. “Just the two of us?”

“No,” said a soft voice. “The four of us.”

I jerked around, my eyes widening at the sight of Ethan Accosi standing between two charred trees. And as if his presence wasn’t shocking enough, beside him was a familiar woman, lean and tanned, with dark blond hair and brown eyes.

“Katrina? What the hell?”

The werelion grinned. “Hey, Fiona. Missed you at work this week.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed on something in the distance. “We have to go. The Alpha is looking for Fiona.”

“Kiddo?” asked Mal tensely.

My heart thumped wildly in my chest as I glanced between my uncle, Ethan, and Katrina. I thought of Connor, of the confusing dynamic between us, and knew that before long, my heart was going to fly to him regardless of my head.

Whether I had Stockholm syndrome or was on the precipice of falling in love, it was an untenable situation. A distraction from the real reason I was here—my dad. Who was slowly dying in a Liberati cage while I toyed with the idea of having sex with the Western Prime.

It wasn’t a difficult decision.

I jerked my head in a nod. “I’m in.”

Ethan snapped at Katrina, “Get them to the car. Don’t forget to trigger the spell before starting it. I’ll be right behind you.”

Mal’s privacy spell vanished. Katrina took off at a run and we followed, ducking branches and dodging brush. Before long, the uncut forest grew dense and dark, and all sense of direction was lost. The werelion’s blond hair became our only compass, our labored breaths and clumsy footsteps the only sounds.

On a good day, the terrain would have been difficult to run on two legs. With a bum ankle, maintaining speed was impossible. I began to slow, wincing at every step, until finally, a sharp pain had me crying out and stumbling into a tree.

“I have to stop,” I gasped, lifting weight off my foot. “Go without me. I’ll find a way to get you information on Rosie.”

Katrina circled back, panting lightly. “It’s another hundred feet to the road. You can make it.”

“We’re not leaving you,” growled Mal. “Come on, get up.”

An eerie howl pierced the forest.

My heart lurched, then pounded anew as a figure burst forth from between two trees. Ethan paused momentarily, his dark eyes wild, before rushing to my side. Despite my cry of alarm, he hauled me up and swung me onto his back.

Miraculously, nothing happened. Unlike Connor, who absorbed my charge, Ethan dispelled it, like a human version of Adam’s bracelets.

“Let’s go,” he snapped, and we lurched into motion just as the single howl turned into the cries of a pack.

I clung to Ethan like a monkey, my face against the back of his neck, and lost track of everything except hanging on for dear life.

“How far?” yelled Mal.

“Here!” cried Katrina, and we burst through the tree line onto a gravel road. A dark sedan waited, as incongruous as the road itself, which cut through thick woods and was barely wide enough for one vehicle.

As Katrina jumped into the front seat and Mal the passenger side, Ethan tumbled us into the back seat, yelling, “The spell! Go! Go!”

Katrina slammed her hand onto a rune burned into the dashboard. Violet light shimmered and the engine roared. The wheels spun, shooting gravel behind us, then found traction. She let out a whoop of victory as we sped forward.

I straightened in my seat, turning to stare behind us just as a huge wolf breached the tree line. Air shimmered around him like heat on asphalt. He blurred, then straightened on two legs, naked as the day he was born.

Declan, his expression tortured, yelled my name.

Swallowing hard, I turned around and buckled my seat belt. I ignored a pang of guilt.

I’m coming, Dad.