A Shifter's Curse, Raven Steele [the top 100 crime novels of all time .TXT] 📗

body, and my muscles working again, I sprinted through the forest for a good mile. Then I cut through the woods and circled back from a different direction. Even though I was mostly sure everyone had already left, I was fairly certain one of the witches still remained in the house. She had walked into the back door, her arm linked through Dominic’s. She had leaned against him, giggling, and I got the sensation they were dating.

But ewww. How anyone could see anything sexy in that disgusting man was beyond me. Maybe she liked evil and cheap cologne.

I reached the opposite side of the clearing. My uncle was still tied to the pole. Luke hadn’t freed him.

There were no sounds within the house and no one outside on the grounds. I sniffed the air to make sure. The place was dead. I considered shifting into a wolf to free my uncle, but it would be better to remain human, in case I was caught. I could simply say I had gotten myself free and wanted to take a shot at the old guy like everyone else. They might even like that.

Ducking low, I ran across the clearing toward a shed. I darted behind it, then moved to another small outbuilding. I kept an eye on the back windows of the house, looking for any movement, but all was still.

I reached my uncle and quickly untied the knots on his hands. When they were undone, he dropped to his knees and slumped over. I didn't say anything as I picked him up in my arms and briskly walked away. He was heavy but not unbearably so. He was smaller than the other male shifters I’d seen, even some of the females. I bet he got picked on a lot.

At one point, as I hurried through the forest, he opened his eyes from all the jostling motions and whispered, "Who are you?"

"A friend." Wow. Eloquent. But they were the only words I could think of to say. I didn’t want to reveal my identity until the time was right.

When we were a safe distance from the house, I stopped and laid him in the grass just long enough to assess the knife wound. It had clotted some but still oozed. Being a shifter, he had some natural healing abilities, but with all his many other cuts and bruises, it would take him a while.

He groaned and lifted his arm to his head.

"I think you’ll survive. I know this is going to hurt like a mother, but we have to keep moving."

I scooped him up again.

"Thank you." His eyes closed.

I held still for a few seconds feeling things I hadn't felt since I was a child. I had always loved my uncle. He had been the fun one in the family, giving piggyback rides to the kids or sneaking us candy under the large dinner table. He would also hand out quarters, which felt like a lot of money back then.

But, he’d also been intense. I remember overhearing him fighting with my father. I can't remember what it was about, but I remember being surprised to see that side of him. I guess we all had those sides though.

I took off again, jogging the best I could and trying to think about where to hide him. I had no doubt they would come looking for him. And with my disappearance, they’d suspect I had something to do with it. I had to trust that whatever Luke decided to tell them would keep me out of harm’s way.

The sounds of a river up ahead was music to my ears. Just what I needed to not only wash myself off but to also help cover our tracks.

When I reached the water's edge, I gently set him down on the bank. "I'll be just a second. Believe me, I'm doing this for both our good."

Taking the jacket with me, I waded into the river that spanned maybe thirty feet across. It only reached as high as my waist but that was enough. I dunked under the water and rubbed at my skin furiously. I ran my fingers through my hair and shook the long tendrils out while still under the surface. I also scrubbed at the inside lining of the jacket before rising out of the water dripping wet and freezing, the jacket feeling like a hundred pound weight. It was a lot colder now, but at least I could stand the smell of myself.

I walked back to shore and scooped up my uncle to carry him across the river. We nearly fell a couple of times, and my feet received their fair share of cuts, but we made it. I continued walking for another mile until my uncle stirred within my arms.

"I think I can walk now.”

"You may, but it's still faster if I carry you."

"Where are you taking me?"

"I haven't decided. I could check you into a hotel, but someone might see us. I don't know who in this town works for Dominic.” I bit my lip, thinking. “I don't trust my roommates yet, or I’d take you back to my place."

"I have a place. No one knows about it. It's on the east side of town in the warehouse district."

I cringed. "That's really far away. I don't see me carrying you that far.” Especially halfway naked, but I didn’t say that. “If I let you walk, it would take us all day." I looked up toward the sky, which was beginning to grow light. "I have an idea how we can get there. Someone I think we can trust."

He nodded weakly. “Great.”

Relieved that we’d reached my clothes, I set my uncle down and dressed quickly. I found my phone and called Roma, hoping she would be awake.

I wasn’t certain I could trust her, but I didn’t have much of a choice at this point.

She answered on the first ring, almost as if she'd been waiting for my call. "Yes?"

Weird. "It's your lovely lone wolf, Briar. I need your help."

"I expected as much."

“You did?”

“Sure. Premonitions, remember?”

Oh, yeah. Those. "Can you pick me up where you dropped me off?"

"Sure thing. I'm only a few minutes away."

"How? It’s ten miles from town."

"Like I said, I expected your call." The line went dead.

"Who was that?" My uncle gave me a wary look.

"No one we need to worry about. She’ll take us where we want to go."

He looked up at me and shook his head. "Why are you helping me? I don't even know you."

I cleared my throat. "This is something I do. Go city to city, saving one shifter at a time."

"You joke about everything, don't you?"

"I like to keep things light."

"Because you've had a rough past." He didn't phrase it as a question. He just knew.

I shrugged and shifted my weight, feeling uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation.

"My name is Vincent. Vincent Moretti. It's nice to meet you. You said your name was Briar?"

I nodded and turned my gaze toward the forest. Only darkness stared back, hiding beneath the canopy of trees, and yet, I couldn’t ignore the cold chill kissing up my spine.

“You look familiar. Do I know—”

I grabbed his arm and silenced him with a look. A twig had snapped. Then another.

I pulled him to the ground and pressed my finger to my lips. His brown eyes widened, and his face paled. Whatever I was hearing, he didn’t seem to notice. He kept his focus on me, waiting for instructions.

The sound of a car’s engine sounded not far away. It had to be Roma.

Movement in the forest was followed by hushed voices. This, my uncle heard, and he gripped my hand with skinny, bruised fingers. I pointed to the road, indicating to crawl forward. We had to be quick, if we were going to escape these shifters.

As if sensing our predicament, Roma’s car stopped only feet from the shoulder. She threw open the passenger door. “Get in!”

I shoved my uncle forward, half carrying him to the car. The forest behind us came alive with pounding footsteps and loud voices. My heart beat painfully fast.

Just as I got my uncle seated, two shifters exploded from the trees down the road, fangs and claws shining in the moonlight.

“Drive!” I yelled and did the only thing I could do.

I jumped on top of the car and held on for dear life.