Page 20 of Predator (Stope Packs #4)

After a tense meeting with Philip, Jackson felt more settled than he’d been in weeks as he piloted the helicopter away from the Slate Pack territory. They’d reached an agreement, and Emily wasn’t going to like it—which was why her father hadn’t wanted to tell her. But Jackson would explain it to her later. “I’m sorry we couldn’t stay longer, but the storm is coming in fast,” he murmured through the headset. Thank goodness for the storm.

He banked left, noting the patrolling squads below them. He employed similar methods, but he needed more bodies. Sooner rather than later. For now, he was done with secrets from his soon-to-be mate. “Would you like to tell me now exactly why I had to leave the house? What are the trials? What else are you hiding from me, Em?”

She looked out at the snowcapped peaks jutting through the low-lying clouds and remained silent. “Let’s talk later when we’re safely on the ground.”

He hated secrets. Like really hated them. But he’d give her a little time to gather her thoughts.

Turning the craft, he aimed once more to look at the Embervault Mine, lowering to make sure the fences remained secure. Snow dotted the windshield as the storm increased in force. The wind slammed into them, winter finally arriving.

Emily adjusted her harness, her gaze flicking between the instruments and the landscape beneath them.

“It’s just a little storm, Emily. Trust me, you’re fine.”

She nodded and stared at the quiet mining area.

Maybe he could distract her. “Your father can move his miners into the Embervault Mine this week,” Jackson said through the headset, his voice calm but focused as he scanned the airspace. He gripped the cyclic and collective with expert precision, the hum of the rotors steady above them.

Emily opened her mouth to respond when a sharp ping echoed through the cabin. The radar monitor flashed red.

What the holy fuck?

Jackson had to look twice. “Missile lock,” he barked, yanking the controls and sending them into a steep bank.

Emily gasped and pointed out the window.

He looked to see a streak of smoke slicing through the air. Fast, deadly, and headed straight for them.

Damn it. He forced himself to remain calm and threw the craft into a hard dive. Trees blurred past the windows as alarms blared. “Hold on,” he muttered.

Emily clutched the edge of her seat and let out a terrified yelp.

Another sharp ping. A second lock.

“Another one,” she yelled, pointing frantically out the window.

Out of nowhere, the thought occurred to him that he’d never seen her frantic or even remotely out of control before.

The mountains echoed with the roar of the helicopter’s engines as he twisted the craft through the valley, skimming dangerously close to the deadly cliffs. Snow and ice banged against the windshield as he maneuvered between narrow rock formations, using his wolf senses to keep them alive.

The first missile exploded behind them, shockwaves rattling the frame. Smoke and heat swirled through the air as he wrestled to maintain control.

Somebody had actually obtained fucking Stingers?

Before he could react, a second missile streaked. Too close. The tail rotor screamed as shrapnel sliced into it. Warning lights blazed on the console.

“Damn it.” Jackson fought the controls as the helicopter spun wildly.

Emily went stiff and silent next to him. The damn horizon whirled past in a blur. Pine trees rushed toward them. The metal frame groaned as Jackson pulled hard on the collective, trying to slow their descent.

“Brace yourself,” he ordered.

Emily curled forward, grabbing her knees as the craft dropped through the tree canopy.

Branches and ice shattered against the fuselage, ripping at the rotor blades. Metal shrieked as they clipped a ridge and skidded through the snow-covered ground. The world became a tumbling mass of gray, white, ice, and fire.

When they finally came to a stop, Emily gasped loudly for breath through the headset. The air reeked of burning pine and scorched metal. Gray, mutinous smoke unfurled from the twisted remains of the rotor blades above them.

“Emily,” Jackson rasped, already unbuckling his harness. Blood trickled into his left eye. Was his head cut? “Are you all right?”

“No. Seriously.” Her fingers shook as she fumbled with her harness. “We just got into a fucking crash.”

They had to find shelter. Frigid air blasted into the cabin. Beyond the broken glass, snow pounded through the air, smothering the forest floor.

Jackson kicked open the mangled door and jumped into the snow, scanning the tree line. He calculated the distance between the mine and their crash point. A wolf could cover that in about an hour. “We need to move. Now.” He reached in and pulled her out, careful of the glass. The snow was to his knees, so it reached her thighs. “Can you shift?”

She blinked snow out of her eyes, her backpack in her hand. “Of course.”

He tightened his grip on her arms, forcing her to meet his gaze. “The doctor told you not to shift for a few days because of the silver bullet. You have to tell me the fucking truth. How do you feel?”

She faltered, looking away.

Shit. They were too far from either of their territories in unclaimed land. His best move was to head straight west into Copper territory and hope Erik was in a good mood. But in human form, they wouldn’t make it before whoever shot them down reached them. They had to shift into wolf form. “Emily?”

Her chin firmed, and she looked up. “We don’t really have a choice. I’ll shift, and you can go on for help if I get too weak.”

His hackles rose. “Sure. I’ll just leave you in the snow and come back later after I’ve had a nice supper.”

The cold turned her flawless skin a bright pink, and her eyes watered. “We don’t have time for sarcasm, jackass.” Her temper reassured him as nothing else could.

“All right. We shift and head due west. Should make Copper territory in about an hour.”

She gulped and nodded. “All right. There’s room in my backpack for our clothing, just in case.”

He shook his head. “We’ll be faster without it. We can find clothing when we arrive.”

Her jaw firmed. “I’m not arguing.” With that, she shrugged out of her jacket, already shivering as she shoved it into the pack.

Neither was he. Quicker than her, he shed his shirt and jeans, followed by the boots.

Snarling, she grabbed his clothes and shoved them in with hers. “Our boots and your jacket won’t fit.”

Did the female sound sad about that? “I’ll buy you new ones. Leave the pack.”

“No.” She shivered almost violently, and now nude, he could see the bruises remaining on her ribs.

He willed himself not to look anywhere else and forced his gaze up to her face. “Emily? Why are you still bruised?”

She sighed. “I don’t know, but I have blood in the pack that should tell me. All right?”

Blood? What the hell? Whose blood was she carrying across pack lines? In the distance, a wolf bayed.

Damn it. “We have to run. Now.” Turning away, he shifted into his wolf form as she did the same. He engaged in a brief tug-of-war with her for the pack, finally ripping it free. Then he launched into a run, slowing to make sure she stayed on his six.

His instincts flared.

Their attackers were coming. Fast.

The cold ripped into Emily’s paws as she struggled to keep up with Jackson. Their breath steamed in the icy air, vanishing before it could rise past their muzzles. Snow clung to her fur, weighing her down, and her pulse pounded in her ears as exhaustion gnawed at her muscles. She could hear the wolves behind them, their growls and panting breaths carried by the wind.

Lifting her head, she sniffed the air and could make out four different scents. She had a gift for smell, and it often came in handy.

Jackson cut a path for her, his powerful frame surging through the snow with a relentless pace. His massive paws barely seemed to touch the ground.

Emily dug deeper for strength, trying to force her legs to move. The icy wind attacked her, freezing her ears as the jagged ground scraped her already frozen paws. Branches whipped past, and the sting of sleet bit into her face. Snow clumps dropped from branches high above, and one hit her on the head.

The impact knocked her sideways, her body rolling through the snow, pain echoing throughout her rib cage.

A growl tore through the air, and in an instant, Jackson stood in front of her. His jaw latched onto her scruff with a firm but careful grip, pulling her upright. Leaning in, his nose touched hers as he scanned her.

In his wolf form, he towered over her even more, with thick fur the color of onyx and those unmistakable blue eyes that glinted with fury and determination.

Emily yipped, shaking off the snow and signaling she could still run.

Jackson’s gaze lingered for another moment before he spun, snatching the pack from where it had fallen. Muscles bunching, he broke into a run again, his paws tearing through the snow with barely restrained power.

She had to keep up with him. Taking a deep breath, she barreled herself forward, adrenaline dulling the ache in her legs.

Their pursuers’ howls echoed through the trees, closer now. Too close.

Panicking, she pushed forward, each step harder than the last. Snow bit into her paws, and her breath came in ragged gasps. Desperation clawed at her chest, but she focused on Jackson’s form ahead, muscles rippling beneath thick fur as he cut through the snow with relentless speed.

Her vision blurred.

The silver in her blood pumped sluggishly alongside the illness, both slowing her down. The wind sliced against her fur like needles, and branches above them creaked, dropping shards of ice that stung as they hit.

She followed Jackson, pushing beyond the exhaustion, but her limbs refused to obey. Each step felt heavier than the last until her body almost buckled beneath her.

They reached an outcropping of rocks offering a shallow shelter, the branches overhead catching most of the falling snow. She lurched into the space, her body trembling as it betrayed her, and she shifted back into her human form. Her knees hit the frozen ground, and she collapsed forward.

“Emily.” Jackson shifted back in a heartbeat, catching her before her face hit. His arms closed around her, heat searing her frozen skin. “What the fuck?”

“I don’t know.” Her whisper trembled from her lips as her body shook violently.

“Damn it,” he muttered, holding her tighter against his chest as if willing his warmth into her. “The silver…it’s still in your blood. It’s fighting you.” His voice roughened, and his gaze swept the woods beyond their shelter.

The wind carried the sound of paws scratching over ice. The wolves were closing in.

“All right. Okay.” He shifted his hold, pulling her fully onto his lap. “We need to get clothes on you.”

He reached into the pack and yanked out her sweater, pulling it over her head in one swift motion before grabbing her jeans and jacket. “Put these on.”

Her fingers fumbled with the fabric, stiff and clumsy from the cold, but she managed to tug them up over her trembling legs. He crouched and slid socks onto her feet. First hers, then his thicker pair, before zipping up her jacket and tugging the hood over her damp hair. Her breath puffed out in shaky clouds, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably.

His eyes narrowed. “Okay. If I shift, can you ride me?”

She tried to snort at the innuendo, but it came out as more of a shaky exhale. Still, she managed a nod. Heat radiated off his body, even though he stood completely naked in the freezing air, snowflakes melting the second they touched his skin.

He brushed snow off her face. “Hold on tight. We’re not far.”

A crash echoed through the trees behind them. He took several steps away from her, and his body shimmered and shifted into his massive wolf form, fur bristling, eyes alert.

She swung the backpack over her shoulders, her fingers fumbling with the straps before she leaped onto his back. She clutched his thick ruff, leaning forward until her face pressed against the warmth of his neck.

He launched forward, paws pounding against snow-packed earth as the forest blurred past in streaks of white and gray. The wind slashed at her face, icy and sharp, but she clung tighter, tucking her fingers deeper into his fur. Beneath her body, his muscles moved with power as each of his long strides carried them closer to safety.

He ran gracefully between trees, with some branches snapping back and breaking off. She squeezed her eyes shut and went limp so he could move them both. His heart beat steadily beneath her palms, and she counted each one, trying to hold on.

Her arms shook, and her legs went numb.

All she had to do was hold on .

Something collided with Jackson, and they both flew through the air into the forest. Emily tumbled off his back, snow bursting around her as she smashed into a snowbank. She rolled wildly, gasping for breath, and clawed her way to her feet, waist-deep in snow.

Four wolves advanced.

Jackson skidded across the icy ground, hit a tree with a sickening thud, and dropped. Blood splattered against the white snow.

Her pulse pounded in her ears as he leapt back up in wolf form, snarling with lethal fury. He lunged at the closest wolf, claws slashing through fur and skin as he clamped his jaw on the attacker’s throat. Bones crunched, and blood sprayed hot against the snow as Jackson wrenched his teeth from the wolf’s neck, and the lifeless body dropped. The other three wolves attacked in unison.

“No!” Emily screamed. She flung the backpack aside, heart hammering as she sprinted forward. One of the wolves pivoted and leapt at her, jaws snapping. She kicked hard, connecting with its head, but the impact barely slowed it down. The snow clung to her legs, slowing her down as the wolf lunged again.

Jackson tore into the other two wolves. His claws raked through one’s skull, and blood splattered in arcs across the snow. He spun to the last wolf, jaws clamping around its hind leg, bones snapping.

Emily ducked as the wolf attacking her surged again, its teeth grazing her shoulder. She dropped into a low stance, fingers curled into fists. The icy air burned her lungs as adrenaline surged through her veins.

Jackson roared.

She tried to scramble back as the wolf came at her, slowly herding her toward the rocks.

Her body froze, movements sluggish as the wolf advanced. She fell onto her back.

The wolf climbed her, yellow canines flashing, dripping saliva and blood. A sharp yelp echoed through the trees. Jackson? Was he hurt?

Fear surged through her veins as she tried to punch up. The wolf pressed its massive paws against her shoulders, pinning her as its hot breath blasted her face. Its dark eyes gleamed with malicious curiosity.

It sniffed and inhaled deeply as if committing her scent to memory. She coughed against the stench of the Ravencall member. She didn’t know this wolf, but the scent marked it as one of them. A claw traced her cheek, deliberate and slow. Panic flared, and she shoved upward with both arms, striking its muzzle. The blow glanced off, barely registering. Its lips curled, almost like a smirk.

A blur of fur and fury crashed into the wolf, knocking it sideways. Jackson’s growl vibrated through the air as he slammed the attacker into the trees with brutal force. Snow exploded in a spray of white. Branches cracked. Emily pushed herself up, shaking with cold, her vision swimming. She tried to stand, but her legs buckled beneath her.

She gasped Jackson’s name, her voice thin and weak. The cold wrapped around her, dragging her down. The world tilted, narrowing to a pinpoint as warmth blossomed somewhere deep within, slow and steady like a heartbeat.

Then everything went wonderfully warm…and dark.