Kidnapped by the Werewolf Hunter [DeWitt's Pack 13] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic ManLove), Marcy Jacks [book recommendations for teens .TXT] 📗

he was in shape, and after being recruited to join the hunters, he especially thought that to be true. Running behind Cole, however, was a whole new league that Everett could barely keep up with, and soon the other man was dragging him along, keeping him from falling behind.

After twenty straight minutes of running, his legs finally gave out on him and he collapsed, falling facedown onto the ground.

“Jesus Christ! Everett!” Cole yelled, rushing to his knees to help him back up.

Everett was as good as dead weight for all the help he was getting himself back to his feet. His entire body tingled, and he couldn’t seem to get any air into his lungs. It made him feel pretty damn pathetic considering Cole had even slowed his pace to allow Everett to conserve his energy.

“Here, drink this.” Cole tilted Everett’s head back and put the cool metal lip of the water canteen to his mouth.

Everett had to force himself to drink slowly before finally pushing the canteen away. “We can’t stop here. They were way too close to us.”

Much closer than either of them had thought. The hunters must’ve parked their four-wheelers somewhere before getting back on foot to track them. Likely that was how they’d managed to get so close before Cole scented them and woke up.

Thank God his lover was a light sleeper.

“Still are coming, too,” Cole said. Now that Everett’s night vision had improved, he could vaguely see the faraway look that came over Cole’s eyes as he used his other senses to track the whereabouts of the hunters.

“Where are they?” Everett asked, trying to force his heart to return to a normal rhythm.

“I think they must’ve found our camp because it sounds like they went back to get their four-wheelers. I can kind of hear the engines now. It’s getting closer.”

Not good. Not good at all.

“And we’re still four days away from your pack,” Everett said. He wished with everything inside of him that he hadn’t been so stupid. He wished he’d had the good sense to leave Cole with his pack instead of taking him from it because now they were alone out here being chased by hunters, who were definitely going to catch up to them and kill them because Everett couldn’t go as fast as Cole.

“You should leave me here.”

Cole’s head flew back in shock. “What?”

“Seriously. Go on ahead without me. You can run faster and get your pack. You can be safe with them.”

Everett doubted that Cole’s pack would want to do anything to help Everett from getting his head cut off by his old allies, but so long as Cole was safe, Everett would be fine. He was a hunter, too. Maybe he could even hide himself while covertly making his way back to Cole’s new home, making sure that none of his old buddies would find him before he made it to what would hopefully be safety.

Or maybe the werewolves would cut his head off in revenge before he had a chance to explain himself. He was still a little nervous on that part.

Cole grabbed him around the collar and pulled him close. Everett thought the man meant to kiss him until he heard the snarl in his voice. “Don’t you ever tell me to do something as stupid as that ever again, do you understand me? I will knock your ass unconscious and drag you behind me if I have to.”

Everett tried pushing him away, but Cole’s body was like a brick wall. More and more Everett was being reminded that he was no longer human, and that Everett was no longer the stronger of the two of them.

“They will catch you, torture you, and skin you alive if you stay with me. This way you can run back to your pack faster and maybe come back and find me if I don’t make it back. They must be looking for you within a certain radius. You might not even need to get all the way back before you can find some help.”

Cole didn’t see the logic in what Everett was telling him. If anything, he only got all the more angry.

Everett appreciated the loyalty, but not when it risked Cole’s life.

“Get onto your fucking feet. I’m going to shift and your going to ride on my back. I can get us back to my pack faster that way.”

“Will you be able to consistently run with all the extra weight? Because those men back there won’t need to stop and rest their four-wheelers.”

“Stop arguing with me,” Cole snapped, fidgeting around and pulling off his clothes.

By now even Everett was starting to hear the rumble of the engine. Now that they knew he and Cole were so close, they weren’t going to bother with being all quiet in their hunt.

“Cole, I’m not even saying it to be noble or anything. It’s the truth. I’m slowing you down.”

“If you don’t get onto my back when I shift, not only will I not run away and leave you here, I will let those hunters take me when they catch up to us.”

Everett’s eyes widened. “There’s no way in hell you’re that stupid.”

He heard Luke’s angry voice cutting through the night. “Everett! I’m going to fucking kill you! I’m going to kill you!”

They were really close now, and Cole was still staring down at him, determined like the idiot he was.

Everett got to his feet. “Fine. I’ll climb on your back and think thin or something.”

Cole might be a werewolf, and strength might go hand in hand with that, but there was no way Everett’s two-hundred-and-some-odd-pound body wouldn’t slow the man down, but this argument was slowing the both of them down, and they had to get out of here.

Cole nodded and fell on all fours. This was the first time he’d ever seen a man actually make the full shift into a wolf, and he still couldn’t see it properly thanks to the darkness.

Cole had made fast work out of it,