Cole managed to sit up a little with a wince. With nothing else available to him, he wiped his stomach off with one of the spare sheets. “Do you think he’s a werewolf?”
Everett looked at the other man. Cole was a new werewolf, but he still knew more about this than Everett did. “If he was infected, would he have been able to survive that kind of attack? You didn’t see it, but that other wolf wasn’t exactly showing him any mercy.”
Cole managed to kick his legs over the side of the cot. “From what I understand, it happens. My alpha, James, he infected his mate when the guy got shot in the chest, and that allowed him to survive.”
“Perfect,” Everett muttered, because now it meant that they might have a wild werewolf out there stalking them. “I don’t like the idea of putting you on one of those four-wheelers right now, but—”
“I can handle it,” Cole said, and he stood up.
Everett had to look at him and realize that he really did look like he would be all right. His skin was hardly pale and covered with sweat like it had been when Everett first brought him into the tent, and he had a nice flushed color to him.
That could’ve been because of the sex, but it was still there. Werewolf healing was an amazing thing, but Everett was human, and he still had all the small wounds and cuts he’d accumulated over the last couple of hours.
“Okay, we should go then.”
“Maybe I should just get into my wolf form. I’ve never been very good at driving,” Cole said.
A long howl pierced the air outside from some unknown distance, and they both froze and looked at each other.
Everett was the one to snap out of it first. He grabbed a spare pair of pants and shirt from one of the luggage bags and tossed it at Cole to catch.
“We’re traveling too far, you’re going to need to keep your energy, and there’s a killer wolf out there. You can ride with me.”
Cole must’ve agreed with him because he quickly shoved his legs into the pants and followed him outside. The keys were still in the four-wheelers, and Everett checked the gas on both ones that were available to drive, and then he and Cole got onto the one that had the most fuel in it.
Another howl sounded. Everett looked behind him. Cole was staring into the trees.
“Cole! Get over here!”
Cole turned around and ran to him. He jumped onto the spot right behind Everett just as he let go of the lever and the wheels kicked up dirt.
“Jesus Christ!” Cole yelled.
Everett risked looking into the little side mirror and saw what Cole was cursing at. A huge white wolf had broken through the trees, and it was larger than even Cole was.
It was shaking dust out of its face that the four-wheeler had kicked up, which was probably the only reason why they hadn’t been jumped on and torn to shreds.
Cole was right to curse. They were getting out of here just in time.
The wolf didn’t just let them go. It started chasing them after that. This wasn’t going to be an easy escape. With the both of them so far away from the help of Cole’s pack, they might not even escape at all. The wolf was actually managing to keep up with the four-wheeler. There were no signs of slowing down because it was tired. That creature was loaded with adrenaline, and it wanted to kill the both of them.
Everett was torn between making the vehicle go as fast as it possibly could or going just a notch beneath that speed so he could avoid the coming trees and giant boulders and large shrubs, anything that would make them crash, really.
Cole’s hands were roaming around his stomach before moving lower to his crotch, and it took Everett a second to realize what the man was doing after Cole’s hands went lower than that and found the bag of guns.
That was why he loved the man behind him. He knew what to do in case of an emergency.
Cole unzipped the bag and pulled out a Glock, which was easier said than done considering the speed they were moving at, as well as the incredibly bumpy terrain.
“Is it loaded?” Cole shouted into his ear.
Everett certainly hoped it still was. He hadn’t actually had the time to check all the weapons before they’d packed them and ran for it.
He made his best guess instead. “Yes.”
Cole had his one arm wrapped around Everett’s shoulders for balance, and Everett felt the way he half turned to point the gun.
Looking in the mirror, Everett’s heart jumped with how close the wolf was to them.
Objects in mirror are closer than they appear. It was really fucking close in that case. Everett could see the yellow of its teeth and the rage in its eyes. “Shoot it!”
Cole pulled the trigger. The wolf stumbled back and released a whine of pain, but it shook itself off and kept right on going.
“Aim for its head,” Everett yelled over his shoulder.
“I’m trying!”
The wolf came dangerously close again, and Cole pulled the trigger again.
This time, when Everett glanced in the mirror, he saw the spatter of blood that erupted from the upper leg area. Again, this managed to slow down the wolf and send him back several steps, but he didn’t stop.
Everett drove on for several yards before the wolf shook itself off and then gave chase again. It looked like there was actually steam coming from its ears.
Screw doing this the safe way. Everett made the machine beneath him go as fast as it could go.
“Shoot him again!” he yelled, watching as the wolf was nearly on them again.
There was no loud bang behind him, and the wolf lunged. Everett made a sharp turn around a heavy set of tall trees, dodging what would have been a killing bite for both him and Cole. The wolf skidded to
