Chapter Ten

M OD-122101 shifted out of her hawk form as soon as the sun went down over the mountains. She had no idea of her exact location, but from the looks of it, she might be somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains. They looked awfully familiar from a geography book she’d read recently.

So far, she was four days out of the hospital and the Trackers hadn’t found her yet.

Yet…

They were the best of the best, and she was certain her friend was already dead. If she’d only stayed a few days more, she would’ve found out what was really going on there. When she overheard the leader of the hospital talking to a few Trackers, she knew it was time to leave just like the others. It took her two weeks to come up with a plan, using the hospital’s library as a ruse to study geography of the country.

However, with her shifting and taking flight out of the hospital, she didn’t quite know the exact location of where she was born and held captive for the last twenty-four years. Even with her advanced abilities, it sucked that the MODs were so oblivious to the outside world.

She found a great place to hide out for the night. A downed tree had made the perfect lean-to shelter against a rock formation. It didn’t matter about the ground underneath, because she was going to use her human hands to add some cover to the space to keep her out of sight. After she was certain the spot would keep for the night, she shifted into her small fox form so she could tuck herself away in case she was closer to humans than she thought.

As she felt the pull of sleep, her mind went over her plan for the next day. She wanted to at least get further south, and if she reached the coast, she could fly to South America. It was the only decent plan she’d come up with before fleeing the hospital. Thankfully, she had loved her training on survival skills.

A tear fell from the corner of her eye when she thought about MOD-122523. She was a skilled fighter, but she hadn’t been put into survival training, and that could have been the one thing that slowed her down and got her killed by the Trackers.

It wasn’t going to change things. MOD-122101 had to stay on the move until she got out of the country. Then, she would find a way to blend in with humans and hopefully never be found, because if they captured her and took her back to the hospital, she would be as good as dead.

The next morning, her fox woke the moment light filtered into the forest. She’d had a horrible night of sleep and she was exhausted. But she couldn’t stay there. It was time to fly south. If she kept the sun to her left side, she would hopefully be at the coast by the end of the day. At least, she hoped so.

About an hour into her flight, the hawk veered to the right to miss an oncoming storm. MOD-122101 didn’t like them moving more to the east but she knew it was for the best. She had to cover her scent and flying hundreds of miles was going to do the trick.

After several hours, she stopped at a secluded pond somewhere where the land was flat. The mountain landscape had to have been a hundred miles behind her by that point, but it wasn’t enough.

Using her hands, she gathered water to wash her face all the while using her senses to listen for danger. When she found none, she slipped her naked body into the cool water and sat there for several minutes. At that point, she was ready to fall over from exhaustion and her stomach was grumbling for food. She was lucky the weather was tolerable even for the end of the year.

So, instead of flying, she opted to shift into her panther form. It was easier to hunt and capture something of sustenance. A rabbit was all she and her animal could find, and it would have to do. There were still at least four hours left of daylight, and she had to get back into the air to keep from making a scent trail for the Trackers to find.

Thunder off in the distance had her groaning again. The trip to the coast was going to take longer than she expected. Calling on her hawk, she shifted and let the animal take her more to the west…completely off course.

After several hours, she had no idea where she was, but in the distance, MOD-122101 saw what could’ve been the Mississippi River. If she followed that south, she would have her path out of the United States.

Rose woke to the sound of the shower running in the attached bathroom. Kraven was probably getting ready for work. It was the beginning of a new week, and she was a little sad he would be leaving her the morning after their mating and on his birthday. The animals inside her protested his absence.

“What’s wrong?” he asked from the door of the bathroom. He wore nothing but a large, blue towel tied around his waist. She was new to desire, but she wasn’t ashamed of the thoughts she had in her mind. Her mate was beautiful in a rugged way.

“You’re going to work?” she asked, trying to calm her animals. “On your birthday?”

“No,” he stated with a shake of his head. “I’m taking the week off. We just mated, and it’s customary for shifters to stay home together during the first week or so. Plus, you couldn’t separate me from you if you tried.”

She let out a chirp when he lunged for the bed, wrapping his arms around her waist. In an expert move, he rolled them over where she was sitting astride him.

“You’re sneaky,” she chuckled, leaning over to press her lips to his. “I always wondered what this type of affection would feel like, and I have to admit…I think I’m addicted already.”

“Good,” he replied, pulling her back to his lips. “I can honestly say that I might need to quit my job so I can feed your addiction every waking moment of the day for the rest of our lives.”

“You like your job too much,” she reminded him, sitting up again. His cock was hard against her and she didn’t dare move for fear he would not engage her needs.

“I like you more.”

Rose didn’t have to worry about him ignoring his erection or the small movement she made against him. They’d had sex three times the night before, but she wasn’t sore at all that morning.

“You need to eat,” he scolded, but softly. “As much as I want to make love to you again, it’s my job to make sure you and I both have some nutrition if we are going to stay in this cabin for the next week…or two.”

She knew he was right, and her stupid stomach took that moment to let out a growl of hunger loud enough Kraven raised an eyebrow in her direction. With a huff, she rolled to his side and watched him get up from the bed, dropping the towel into a hamper by the door.

“Shower, and I’ll have food ready for you when you’re done,” he offered.

She took her time under the hot spray, feeling joy like never before. Hope and Liberty had been right when they told her mating her male would be like winning the lottery. He was kind and gentle, and he truly cared for her despite where she was born and raised.

Mixed in with the joy of finding a mate was a bit of darkness. No matter what, she was still in hiding from the Trackers even if they assumed she was dead in those woods. If she was ever found out to be alive and breathing at the Shaw pride, it could bring destruction to them.

And she would fight hell to protect them.

Her hellhound bubbled to the surface at her human thoughts, and she pushed him away with a promise they’d wreak havoc and hellfire down upon anyone from the hospital if they came for the pride.

She finally had a home…a home where she was free . Never in a million years would she have expected the turn of events that had come her way. Fleeing that wretched place was the best thing she’d ever done.

Rose shook herself back to reality and turned off the water. The sounds of plates being placed at the table sent her in a hurry to get dressed for the day. Instead of her usual hoodie, she donned a pair of sleep pants and a short-sleeved shirt after scenting a fresh fire burning in the fireplace in the living room. It was quickly becoming one of her favorite scents.

“I hope you’re hungry,” he said with a sexy smirk. “I made pancakes, bacon, sausage, and biscuits.”

“This looks amazing, Kraven,” she hummed as she took her seat.

Kraven shooed her away afterward and tackled the dishes fairly quickly. Rose took to the couch in the living room, pulling a quilt from the back of the chair to cover up with while she waited. She wanted nothing more than to get lost in their bed, but she had questions. From the look on Kraven’s face when he came to sit next to her, she had a feeling he knew exactly what she was thinking.

“Are you worried they’ll find you?” he asked, urging her to lean against his massive chest. She reorganized the quilt before answering.

“I’m always worried about that, but I, and my hellhound, know that I will unleash her if the Trackers from the hospital come here to find me.” She wasn’t lying, and the pride as a whole needed to understand and accept her beast.

“We still don’t understand your hound,” he stated, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Since her back was to his chest, she felt a rumble vibrate against her. “I know you don’t like to let it out unless necessary, but maybe one day, you could show me the full effect the beast has on you. It would help us understand your abilities better.”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “It takes a lot out of me, and I worry she might hurt someone.”

“I won’t let her hurt you or anyone else,” he promised, tightening his hold around her. “My job is to care for you when you can’t care for yourself, Rose. I’m not going to push the subject, but I ask that you think about it, because the more we know about you, the easier it’ll be to care for the other MODs when we find them.”

“I understand,” she sighed. “Maybe in a few days.”

“That’s fine with me,” he replied. “I’m not letting you out of my sight for at least a week.”

She knew exactly what he meant, and the scent he gave off was thick. She turned in his arms and crawled up on his lap, cupping his cheeks with her hands. “Thank you, Kraven, for saving me and showing me a life I never knew existed outside of the books I was allowed to read.”

“Come here,” he growled against her lips, thrusting his hips up where she could feel his erection against her core.

They spent the day tangled up in bed, and if it wasn’t for Hope beating on the cabin door, demanding they come celebrate his birthday, they would’ve never left the confines of the bedroom.

After the feast and celebration, Kraven smiled and thanked everyone, and Rose laughed out loud when he excused them for the night. “I want to spend what’s left of my birthday with my new mate.”