I nodded in response, but otherwise kept scrunched behind Luke.  Heavy wet snow blanketed the ground.  The wind bit into my skin, chilling it until it stung.  I couldn’t tell if I felt so cold because of the temperature, which barely hovered above freezing, or because of a fever.  My stomach had hurt when I woke and I worried that the moldy air, or dirty clothes I wore, might have caused an infection.

“Shit,” Luke swore and swerved.

I lifted my head from his back, but didn’t see anything.  Turning, I saw a werewolf running behind us.  Before I could panic, Luke opened the throttle, and the bike screamed down the road, distancing us from our pursuer.

“They know,” he yelled back at me.

No kidding.  I clung to Luke, watching our pursuer.  Only three roads into the pack’s territory and ultimately to the Compound.  One came in from the north, one from the southwest, and another from the east.  We’d abandoned the eastern route when we’d run into them last time.  When they’d found me south of here, we’d kept heading north hoping they’d think we’d switch from the obvious.  There was no turning around anymore.  We were too close.  They now knew our direction and would be ready.

The lone wolf stopped running and stood in the middle of the paved lane, no doubt communicating to the rest of the pack.  The bike screamed down the road.  I didn’t dare try peeking around Luke to see how fast we went.  If the wind had hurt before, it really tore at me now.  We rode for another ten minutes without sighting anything.  Then, hell opened its mouth and started spitting at us.

A fully changed werewolf ran in front of us, trying to slow Luke down.  Luke didn’t let up on the throttle.  Somehow, he avoided the beast without dumping the bike.  I locked my hands around his waist and carefully looked back.  The furry shapes of too many werewolves to count in a glance ran behind us. Determined to gain ground.

Luke used his left hand to dig in his right pocket and pulled out his cell phone.  He pressed a few buttons and held it to his ear.  Fearing what driving one handed at these speeds could do to us, I wanted to close my eyes but didn’t think that was too smart.

“Gabby, I have a problem,” he shouted over the roar of an engine.

A problem was a bit of an understatement.  We had an army of werewolves following us, a traitor in Luke’s band of friends, and he was calling for help while driving at breakneck speeds.  I couldn’t decide what to freak out over more.

Something flew from the left, hitting the tank with a loud bang and knocking the phone from Luke’s hand.  As the object had flashed toward us, I’d thought it looked like a chunk of wood but couldn’t be sure.  The phone hit me in the face and fell between us.  A growl erupted uncomfortably close to our right.  Maybe a call for help wasn’t out of order.

I shimmied an arm between us, snatched the phone up, and tried to redial the number.  The first try didn’t go through.  The second time, it went through, and I was so excited the phone almost slid from my fingers.

“Luke?” a female voice answered after the first ring.

“No.  Bethi.  We need help,” I shouted into the phone.  The wind made it almost impossible to hear if she said anything back.  “There are too many.  They can’t take me.  If they do, we all die.  Please!” I shouted which road we raced down.  I closed the phone and kept it scrunched in my fist.

More werewolves started pouring from the trees in front of us.

“Don’t let go!” Luke shouted as he began swerving.  He tilted us so far once, I thought we were going down for sure.  But he righted us and opened the throttle again.

The mass of wolves chasing us had gained too much ground when we slowed slightly because of the swerving.  One caught my jacket, but I held tight to Luke and heard a tear.  Another ran beside the bike, but I caught it—and me—by surprise by kicking out with my foot and connecting with its face.  The blow tripped him up more than hurt him, but it knocked him back into his followers causing several of them to fall back.

Ahead of us, a group of six wolves burst from the woods and raced toward us.  Now that they knew our direction, they were probably pulling their numbers from the other routes.

“If you get us out of this alive, I swear I’ll stop trying to ambush-Claim you,” I yelled to Luke.

I braced myself as the oncoming wolves flew at us...and sailed over our heads into the pack of wolves following us.  I twisted around in surprise.  Help had arrived.

Two moved incredibly fast, taking a chunk out of the mass following us.  The other four raced alongside us, keeping most of the wolves out of our way.

Ahead, a bend in the road obscured our view of what lay beyond.  Luke eased up on the throttle, and I wondered if he had the same suspicion as I did about what waited ahead.  He skidded to a dangerous sideways stop that made my stomach try to crawl out of my mouth, severed the strap connecting us, and leapt from the bike.  Already transforming.

The remaining force chasing us collided with our four escorts.  Luke joined them, fighting savagely, tearing into anyone who got too close to me.  The other werewolves circled us, outnumbering us six to one.  I scrambled from the bike too fast and felt the knitting cut on my stomach reopen.  Wetness trailed down my stomach, and I cringed.  A wave of dizziness washed over me.  All of the wolves around me caught the scent, and the rapid movements slowed.  Their gazes flew to me as I stumbled and bumped into the bike.  It rocked but steadied under me.  I bent toward the ground to catch my breath and shake the murk from my head.

No food, no water, and bleeding.  Not a good combination.

When I lifted my head, seven wolves circled around me keeping the others at bay.  I fumbled in the bag for my knife, relieved when I clasped the handle.  An attacking wolf leapt high trying to clear the circle, but one of my defenders jumped up to meet him. The move knocked them both back into the waiting melee and created an opening in my defense.  Another of the enemy ran forward to take advantage of the break, but a sleek grey wolf spun from the circle and used a swipe of his claws to rip away the throat of the attacker.

My eyes scanned the forms as I looked for Luke’s coppery coat.  I found him in a sea of attackers—Luke had been the wolf who’d blocked the attacker’s jump.  They bit at Luke, tearing into his skin as he swirled, swiped, and savaged those around him.  None of the defenders encircling me moved to help Luke.  Without thought, I shuffled toward him.  My heart hammered and my palms grew cold and clammy as another line of blood marred Luke’s coat.

“No,” I whispered as another attacker sunk his teeth into Luke’s neck.  Luke still hadn’t recovered from the last bite he’d received.  Possessiveness swelled along with anger.

“I have run,” I croaked with an emotion-tight voice. I straightened and dropped the arm protecting my middle.  “I have bled.” I moved forward, determined.  “I have remembered.”  My voice rose and some of those on the outskirts of the fighting angled their heads to watch me.  “I am the Wisdom of the Judgements, and I will not fail again!” I screamed at them, flipping the knife in my hand, and throwing hard through the tangle of bodies.  The blade flew true, sinking into the eye socket of the one attached to Luke.  “Bite him again and I will rip your tongue from your mouth!” I promised.

Two turned from Luke and moved toward me.  I touched the hindquarter of the grey wolf in front of me.  “Pick me up,” I demanded not caring that he fought with several wolves.  He slashed wildly, spun toward me, shifting so his arms looked more human and capable of throwing, and lifted me.  “Throw me to him,” I said pointing at the screaming wolf clawing at the knife in his eye.  I saw the grey wolf’s hesitation to throw me into that mess and touched his face.  “Now!”