still alive. She decided what came next. And while that part was still fuzzy, she felt better about being in charge of shaping her future.
She wasn’t defined by what happened to her.
She lifted her face to the sky above and slid her eyes closed. The pang in her heart beat stronger than before. What she wanted, truly, was to go back to those precious minutes before the other lion appeared in the darkness. She’d been filled with hope for the same, fuzzy future when Seth said he wanted her to stay and that she made him whole.
“Lilah?” Sage asked softly.
Lilah turned, nostrils flaring at the slightly acrid odor wafting through the clearing. She’d missed it when they first arrived, but it’d steadily grown stronger. She scanned the horizon for signs of smoke, but no plumes rose above the trees in a telltale sign of a fire.
“Lilah?” Sage repeated. “I don’t think we’re alone.”
The door of the shack punched open, revealing a large, broad-shouldered man. He stumbled forward and caught himself against the frame, making the whole decrepit building shudder with the blow. The acrid odor puffed in the air around him with every exhale. Bleary eyes blinked at them in surprise before a slow smirk spread over his unshaven face.
Drew, she recognized. One of the Bennett cousins. He’d been mean when she knew him and she doubted the years had made any improvements.
“Well, well, well, what have we here?” he slurred, taking a pull from his liquor bottle. “Pretty girls like you don’t have no business being out in these parts. Guess it’s just my lucky day.”
“We’re leaving,” Lilah said. She took a step backward, but Sage didn’t move. She grabbed for her hand and dragged her away from the drunk bear shifter.
“I don’t think so.” He took a wobbling step forward and swirled the bottle. A spark of intelligence flashed in his dull eyes and he pointed at her with his bottle. “You.” He took a deep breath and let it go with a dark chuckle. “I know you. You were the slip of a thing Lorne chased after.” Turning to the side, he spat on the ground. “Fuckin’ bastard.”
Shit. Lilah met Sage’s wide, wild eyes. The other woman’s quick, panicked breaths matched her own. She thought she could even hear her heart hammering away with the same furious, terrified beat as what sounded in her chest.
His eyes narrowed and he inhaled again. “Why did someone get to make you better while my clan fell apart? Where’s the justice in that?”
The words thickened with each syllable. His eyes brightened from the unfocused, watery brown. Bright gold flared in the irises as a growl leaked out of his chest.
“Sage,” Lilah whispered. “We need to go.”
“Go?” Drew laughed. “But you just got here! Why don’t you stick around? We can have all sorts of fun. You remember that, don’t you, Lilah?”
Pops and cracks shattered the quiet of the clearing, but did nothing to cover the inhuman noise his laugh turned into. Drew threw himself forward as his bear ripped out of him.
With a roar, he lunged right for them. Lilah threw herself to one side as Sage tumbled to the other with the bear right on her heels.
If ever there was a time for her newly formed shifter to appear, this was it. Lilah squeezed her eyes closed and willed the beast to take over, but nothing happened. She was on her own.
Her eyes shot open and she looked around for anything to use as a weapon. The rusty bike was promising, but Drew still advanced on Sage, so she didn’t have a whole lot of time for picking through for something sharp. That left the thick branches. Lilah streaked across the clearing to the nearest tree and heaved a long, broken limb off the ground.
“Leave her alone!” she yelled. With all the strength she could muster, she swung the branch against the bear’s side.
Drew spun around with a savage roar and charged right for her.
Seth grunted when he spotted Sage’s car. Jackpot.
Lilah and Sage hadn’t tried very hard to cover their tracks. He’d had a clear line of purchases only a few hours after Trent let him loose. Each stop for a gas station, fast food, or motel offered him a clearer picture of where the two headed. Their final overnight at a place twenty minutes away from her tiny hometown was the final clue he needed. Lilah was going home.
Not a big surprise. She’d faced down shifters and death,