CHAPTER 6
I woke to the steady hum of the road, the vibrations of the tires against the asphalt a rhythmic lull that pulled me between wakefulness and exhaustion. My body ached, my ribs burning with every breath, but I was alive. That had to count for something:}
Damon was silent beside me, his hands gripping the wheel so tightly his knuckles had turned white. His jaw was set, his dark eyes locked onto the road ahead. The headlights cut through the night, but I felt no sense of relief. Only the suffocating weight of everything that had just happened.
Marcus had found me. Ivan had known I’d run. He was probably already sending his men after us, determined to drag me back into that hell.
I pressed a trembling hand to my stomach, a thousand emotions crashing into me at once. Fear. Desperation. But most of all, something fierce. Protective
My child.
A secret I hadn’t even known I carried until Helena had wielded it like a weapon against me.
The thought of Ivan knowing…
I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. He couldn’t. He could never know. Because if he did, he would use this baby the same way he had used me as a pawn, a piece in his twisted game of revenge.
“Where are we going?” My voice came out hoarse, fragile.
Damon didn’t look at me. “Somewhere safe.”
Safe. The word felt like a foreign concept now. I didn’t know what safety was anymore. My home had been destroyed. My mate had betrayed me. And even now, as I sat beside Damon–the only person I could even begin to trust–I knew we weren’t out of the woods yet!! I tumed my head to him, studying the sharp angle of his jaw, the faint bruises along his cheekbone. “You stayed behind,” I whispered, the memory of gunfire still ringing in my ears. “I thought you..”
Damon’s grip on the wheel tightened. “I told you to run.
I clenched my fists, anger and something dangerously close to grief curling in my chest, “I didn’t want to leave you.”
His eyes flickered to mine for a brief second before returning to the road. “You had to ”
The weight of his words settled heavily between us. I wanted to argue, to tell him that I hadn’t been ready to lose him, that for a few temble moments I had thought I had. But I bit my tongue. Now wasn’t the time.!!
Silence stretched between us, theck with unspoken words.
I leaned my head against the window, exhaustion pressing down on me. My body was still weak, my muscles sore. Every breath reminded me of how close I had come to losing everything
I closed my eyes.
Then a loud bang shattered the quiet
The car jerked violently, throwing me forward as Damon cursed, struggling to keep control of the wheel. The tires screeched against the pavement, the vehicle swerving dangerously before he managed to regain control.
“Shit” he spat, slamming his foot on the gas.
I twisted in my seat, heart hammering. Headlights glowed in the distance, getting closer.3
They had found us.),
“Damon-
“I see them,” he bit out!
Another shot rang out, hitting the back of the car. Damon veered off the road, cutting through a dirt path leading into the dense forest The vehicle bounced violently as we tore through the trees, branches whipping against the windows.
Panic clawed at my chest. “We can’t outrun them like this.“|||
“We’re not outrunning them” Damon’s voice was grim, his knuckles white on the wheel. “We’re going to lose them.”
The forest thickened around us, the darkness pressing in from all sides. The roar of an engine behind us grew louder, closing the distance. My pulse pounded in my ears.
Then, out of nowhere-
The road vanished
Damon slammed the brakes, but it was too late. The car lurched forward, metal screeching embankment. We plunged downward, the world spinning violently.X
For a moment, there was only weightlessness. Then–impact
it
tipped over the edge of an
The crash knocked the air from my lungs, pain exploding through my body as the car flipped, the windows shattering, glass slicing my skin. We hit the ground hard, rolling twice before coming to a brutal stop.
Silence.”
I gasped, the taste of blood sharp in my mouth. My vision swam, pain radiating from every part of me. My fingers trembled as i reached for Damon.
He wasn’t moving.
Panic surged through me. “Damon-
12:12 PM et
A groan. Then, slowly, he shifted, his head lolling against the steering wheel.
“Still alive,” he rasped, voice tight with pain. “You?”
I let out a shaky breath. “Alive”
He exhaled sharply. “Then we need to move
I turned my head, peening through the shattered windshield. The forest loomed around us, dark and endless. But we weren’t alone
Shadows moved at the top of the hill, figures silhouetted against the moonlight.
Ivan’s men,}
Fear crashed into me. They’re coming.”
Damon pushed open his door with a wince, turning to me, “Can you run?”
I forced myself to move, biting back a cry as pain shot through my leg. Tll manage.”
He didn’t hesitate. He reached for me, his arms wrapping around my waist as he half–lifted me from the wreckage. His touch was warm, grounding, even as terror threatened to consume me.
We stumbled into the trees, the sound of approaching footsteps growing louder behind us.
“Damon,” I gasped, my vision swimming. “We’re not going to make it
His grip tightened. “Yes, we are ”
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust that we could escape. But I knew Ivan. I knew what he was capable of
He wouldn’t stop. Not until he had me. Not until he had my child
