Page 64

Xander sucks in a deep breath, his eyes scanning the forest. I clutch the doll tight to my chest, my fingers digging into the twine and sticks. Every instinct within me screams to break it now. To weaken the beast and stop it from doing anything else to Tyler.

A scream explodes above us. It’s dry and curdled with agony. I wince. Cole growls, clutching at his chest as another glob of thickening blood seeps between his fingers. “I was right. It’s holding him hostage.”

Ambrose is gone in a flash, his white hair darting between trees as Cole chases after him. The rest of us follow, my heart pounding in my throat. “Please let him be okay,” I whisper against Xander’s chest.

The air grows cooler as we ascend the slopes of the mountain, and the trees thin. “There’s a cave system at the top of this ridge.” Xander slows, and so does the rest of the group. “It’s likely the Soultracker has made a den in one of the hollows. Tyler will likely be inside.”

“Track him,” Cole spits. His breath coming in short gasps as he shakes, his eyes darting around the ridge.

Xander sucks in a breath, shutting his eyes as he scents for Tyler. I hold my breath, hoping to aid in the process, but as Xander opens his eyes, a solemn look crosses his face. “Tyler’s scent is here, but it’s faint.”

Cole swears and rushes for the clearing at the end of the ridge. The world seems to slow as a high pitch ring echoes through my eardrums. Xander looks down at me, his body shakes, and his grip on me tightens. Dipping his head, he buries his face against my hair and chokes back a gasp.

“I can’t lose you. I won’t.” His voice is gravelly and strained as more shivers course through him. My throat tightens and twangs as my vision blurs. Tears threaten to drip down my cheeks as I cup Xander’s jaw and force him to look at me. Sad chrome irises meet mine.

“I’m not going anywhere. We’ll kill the Soultracker and you’ll turn me. Just one step at a time.” I do my best to spread a smile across my lips, but I'm sure it looks more like a frown.

Xander sighs and drops his lips against mine. His warmth seeps into my skin, and the thrum of his heart beats through his chest. “I love you.”

His words run through me like a gentle breeze, washing away the grime of my anxiety, and I lean into the feeling. “I love you, too.”

Stepping forward with the rest of the colony, we reach the clearing. Xander carefully sets me on my feet as he sniffs at the air. His gaze darts around the many caves that litter the rocky wall of the mountain before us.

“I can’t pick Tyler’s scent from the beast’s,” Xander speaks quietly.

Cole clenches his fists and turns to us. He looks worse and worse by the second. His eyes are so dark they are pitch-black voids, and his tattoos seem to gather a darkness around his body. “Then Noah is bait. We draw it out and I find Tyler while you kill it.”

Xander nods, his hand reaching up and grasping the back of my neck. “I’ll be close, little mate.”

Cole runs for higher ground, where the colony turns to me and gives me small morsels of praise and smiles, each passing by quietly as they disappear into the forest. Xander is the last to leave. He wraps me in a hug as I speak reassuringly to him despite the fear that clings to my bones.

Xander’s voice is soft, barely above a whisper, but his words never reach me. All I can hear is the sharp ringing in my ears.

Still, I feel everything he doesn’t say. The love. The heartbreak. The goodbye. He kisses my forehead, then slowly steps away, his eyes locked on mine like he’s trying to carve me into his memory. A second later, the forest closes around him, and he’s gone.

I’m alone. Completely and utterly alone. Crickets chirp in the distance as the wind whispers through the canopy. My heart beats so loudly I’m sure it sounds like a drum compared to the quietness of the mountain.

Swallowing and clutching the doll to my chest, I turn toward the cave. Each step I take has twigs snapping and leaves crunching, and they sound like gunshots bouncing along the smooth rocky walls.

“T-Tyler?” I call out, stuttering as I shake. Every desire within me is screaming at me to run but my feet stay planted. “Tyler, where are you?”

The forest is quiet. Too quiet. The crickets fade into silence, and the breeze holds its breath. A shiver scratches at my skin, and I fight every instinct to turn and run. With tense muscles and my breath caught in my throat, I open my mouth to call out again. But a shadow darts across the nearest cave mouth, and every idea of making a sound dies on my tongue.

It watches me with human eyes. With human intelligence. I’m tiny compared to it, like an ant against a centipede. With a jaw forced open by its long, crooked teeth, saliva drips from its thin lips.

Then I smell it. Like rotten eggs and something acidic, my eyes water and I cough. Taking a step back, I try to hold my breath, but the Soultracker advances. Matching me like a sinister dance. I step backward; it steps forward.

The early rays of sunlight hit its flesh, and I gasp at the sight. Practically tearing at the seams, its skin shreds and gapes with hundreds of sores and welts. Thick, yellow pus oozes from angry red wounds and, even from its teeth, as it snaps them in my direction. A deep, primal growl fills its chest.

And that’s when I see its hands. With four fingers and a thumb, its mutilated body is so human. Too human.

“Tyler!” I find my voice as I gasp and cough again at the sliminess of the stench that lingers around the creature.

As if my voice was the switch, the beast launches itself at me. Human hands with sharp nails and a mouth wrenched open, ready to shred into me. I scream, unable to move. I’m frozen in place. Every muscle in my body is too tense to let go.

Cole darts past me, ignoring my cries as he disappears into the cave. My heart jolts as a rush of air blasts around me.

Cassius’s hulking form explodes around me, his fangs snarling, and his fist collides with the creature's face. Like diamonds, his fist is adorned with beautiful gems as he slugs the beast. It’s a blow so heavy it knocks me backwards. The Soultracker cries out, clearly caught off guard.