Page 112 of Scent to the Feral Cowboys

Legs first, I decided.

Rolling over on my stomach, half hanging off the opposite side of the bed, I stuck my legs through. I slowly pushed myself across the mattress, tugging the quilt into lumps and folds as I shifted. As my lower half bent down, following the line of the house, I tried to slow the pace. Too fast, and I’d fall. This was only a one-story, but I hadn’t touched the Earth yet. Theback of the house seemed higher than the front, its crawlspace foundation taller.

Wriggling and twisting, I clung to the sill and lowered myself as far as possible before letting go. I braced myself, hoping I was only a few inches from the ground. I was, yet I still hit harder than expected, my ankles absorbing the shock before I tumbled forward, shooting my hands out to flatten against the siding and keep myself upright.

My wrists screamed at the force, but I bit down on the pain. One of the too-large boots had twisted awkwardly, nearly spraining my ankle. I lifted that foot, shaking out the kink. When I lowered my leg again, boot sole flattening, I was relieved to feel no lingering pain. Not a real sprain, just a twinge.

For a moment, I couldn't move, the sudden reality of what I was doing freezing me in place. I was outside. Alone. In the middle of nowhere Wyoming, with no phone, no money, no real plan beyond"get the fuck away from here, and away from them."

I turned, leaning against the house to catch my breath and center myself for the journey.

But when my head titled back, I gasped.

The sky above me wasn't the murky orange haze of Seattle's polluted night. It was an endless expanse of crystal-dotted, black velvet. More stars were scattered across the landscape above than I'd ever seen in my life. They stretched from horizon to horizon, impossibly bright and clear. It took my breath away. For a moment, I forgot my fear, my anger, and my desperate situation. I became lost in the sheer beauty of this oh-so-different Mother Earth.

Then… the moment passed.

I pushed away from the house, from its solidness that promised safety, if not autonomy, and I began creeping quickly away from where I’d landed. I needed distance, roads,civilization. I found my way to the back left corner of the rambler, and I peeked around to ensure there was no one in view. It was late; it would probably be weird for anyone to be roaming around past midnight, but this was a ranch, filled with Alphas determined to keep me indoors. Better to be careful.

The oversized boots clomped awkwardly with each step, threatening to trip me, forcing me to adopt a strange shuffling gait. My heart jumped when a horse neighed in the distance, then my pulse raced as a dog howled a response. I picked up the pace, trying not to trip. The gravel driveway crunched beneath my feet, each step sounding like cannon booms to my ears. Why was everything so damn loud? I needed it to be quiet. I moved to the edge of the road where grass softened my footfalls, though the uneven ground made balance more difficult.

It was chilly out, and I regretted ignoring the coat and hoodies in Cooper’s closet in my rush to block his scent.

My breath came in pale clouds; the air, so much cooler than it had been the day I’d arrived, made my lungs ache slightly as I breathed too erratically. I was riding the edge of panic and had been since the moment I’d woken up on that damn plane. Yet, I pushed myself forward. I didn’t let myself stop walking.

How far to the main road? How long until they discovered I was gone? Would they come after me?Of course they would.As if I were a work horse or milk cow, they'd paid for me. A lot, if those asshole Eros goons on the plan were to be believed. Nobody let that kind of investment simply walk away. Even if they were acting like they cared… Even if their attitudes gave me hope that they weren’t the type of men to keep me against my well… the sheer fact that I’d arrived here in the way I had proved I couldn’t trust them.

The darkness pressed in around me as I moved farther from the house. The moon was clear and bright, it and the stars providing enough illumination to make the driveway a paleribbon stretching ahead. I didn’t have to think, I only had to follow the landscape rock beneath my feet. Each step took me further from the Alphas, yet deeper into unknown territory. My city instincts screamed warnings about the shadows, the isolation, the wild things that might be watching.

But I couldn’t focus on what might move beyond my scope of vision.

Couldn’t focus on the rustling of grass beyond a fence nearby.

Had to stop thinking that the soft humming sound was something other than crickets singing songs.

One foot in front of the other.

If I just kept my thoughts on taking one step.

Another step.

A third.

Then eventually I’d be in Pinedale.

How long was this fucking driveway?

The same determination I’d always weaponized—the one that got me through grueling rehearsals, through the devastating injury that ended my career, through nights of smiling at handsy men while mentally calculating how much rent their groping would cover—came to the surface and drove me onward. Away from the five men who sought to take away my identity.

The thought of them made my inner Omega stretch. I hated that uncontrollable biology made me unable to stop the visions of each Alpha flashing through my mind.

The adorable tooth gap.

The long, blonde braid.

The deep, honeyed skin.

The lilac eyes.