As they came closer, she saw her cabin burning. There was a lone shadow in front of it, but she couldn't tell if it was Zarek or Thanatos.
Terrified, she held her breath, hoping it was Zarek who was still alive.
It wasn't until Sundown pulled to a stop that she could tell for sure.
She went weak with relief. It was Zarek silhouetted by the fire. Letting go of Sasha, she opened the door and ran toward where she had seen him.
Astrid had no idea how he had survived Thanatos or where the Executioner was. All that mattered was getting to Zarek.
She wanted to touch him, to make sure he wasn't hurt.
Halfway there, a fearful, masculine scream rent the air.
Astrid slid to a stop as she tried to pinpoint where it came from.
She heard the snow crunching to the side of her and she assumed that was Sundown, heading for Zarek. Sasha came up from behind and nosed her hand with his muzzle.
It didn't seem to have come from any of them.
Then all of a sudden, an explosion sounded.
She dropped to her knees and used Sasha to see what was happening.
Her house had blown apart. Fire and debris shot high into the air, blending ominously with the aurora borealis.
Out of the midst of the fiery remains came Thanatos. Unmarred and undamaged.
Not even his hair was singed.
It was a horrifying sight.
Zarek cursed. "Don't you ever die?"
Thanatos didn't answer. Instead, he moved to slug Zarek who ducked the blow and delivered a staggering one back.
Sundown moved toward her. "I've got to get you-"
She took off running before Sundown could finish the sentence.
"Sasha," she called. "Attack."
"Like hell!" Sasha snapped. "I may be your guardian but that is Artemis's pet. I can't kill it. I'll be lucky to even faze him. And you know what people do to injured wolves... They shoot them."
Astrid panicked. She couldn't see. She could only hear the grunts of the men fighting, the sound of flesh striking flesh.
Someone grabbed her and threw her to the ground, then covered her body with theirs.
She screamed.
"Stop it!" Zarek snapped.
He rolled with her, then pulled her up and pushed her forward.
"What's going on?" she asked as he kept moving her forward.
"Not much," he said in a bored yet breathless tone. "Some invincible asshole is trying to kill me. And you're not supposed to be here." He let go of her. "Get her out of here, Jess."
"I can't."