Rabid (Kingdom of Wolves #6) - Ivy Asher Page 0,20
as I go. The awkwardness of our exchange earlier in the salon still hangs heavy in the air between us, and I get the impression they don’t care that I don’t want to change in here with them. They’re just happy I’m gone so I don’t continue to dampen their moods.
A delta waiting outside starts in surprise as I open the door and walk out. Straightening up, he looks over at me with confusion when he sees my robes draped over my arm instead of being on my body like they’re supposed to be.
I shut down any nervousness and fix a sheepish smile on my face. “Is there a bathroom I can change in?” I ask awkwardly.
“Four doors down on the right,” he answers, an understanding look in his eyes.
Luckily, my request doesn’t seem to be all that strange. Yes, once we start shifting, regular nudity isn’t taboo at all. But none of us have shifted yet, so I was hoping the shy card wouldn’t be all that unusual.
“Thanks. It’s just so loud in there, and I really want to take my time and mentally prepare,” I explain, hoping the lie helps to buy me just a little more of a head start.
The delta offers a grunt and nod as I walk past and hurry to where he said the bathroom was. I open the door, locking it behind me, and flick on the light. I shove my robes in the sink and quietly move to the window on the back wall just left of the toilet. Biting my lip, I turn and shove my robes aside before turning on the water to help drown out any sounds that could give away what I’m really doing in here.
Adrenaline spikes through me as I pull the lever that locks the window. A small click sounds off when I flick it open, and then slowly, I start to push the pane up. The smell of trees, sap, and soil greets me, and I quickly bend to the side and flush the toilet so I can knock the screen out undetected. The delta isn’t standing right outside the bathroom door, but I can’t dismiss his shifter hearing.
As soon as the toilet whooshes with a loud flush, I jam my elbow into the screen as hard as I can, inwardly celebrating when it pops right off and falls outside. I stick my head out of the window and listen for a beat, waiting to hear any indication that anyone has heard or noticed what I’m doing, but nothing happens.
I pull my head back in, grab onto the upper sill of the window and kick my legs out into the open space, swinging my body out. I drop to the ground with an audible thud on the balls of my feet. Breathing hard, I stay frozen, not daring to move as I try to clear the beating of my heart in my own ears so I can hear if anyone is coming.
All that greets me are the sounds of the forest, but I don’t let excitement or victory wash through me just yet. This is just the beginning of what I know is going to be a long and terrifying night.
I move stealthily away from the pack house, out into the tall trees, while working through the best option for how to get to my bag and then where to go from there. I won’t go to town this time. They’ll expect that. Maybe my previous trek will work in my favor and my scent from earlier will be a trail that leads a good portion of the hunting party astray.
Instead, I’ll run for the rivers tonight. I’ll douse my scent in their waters and ride them as far down as I can until I’m closer to a safer civilization. It’s a risky plan, but the only one that will work. I won’t be able to outrun the pack all night, and they won’t immediately think I’m in the freezing cold water until I have a solid lead on them. There’s got to be another human town I can reach, and then I’ll stuff myself into a bus or cab and put as many miles between us as I can.
For a second, I consider abandoning my bag in the bushes, but it has everything; my clothes, my money, and my mom’s hairpin that I stuffed in the front pocket at the salon. I can’t leave that behind. It’s all I kept that was hers.