My moment to gawk in the unceremonious introduction to Iota and Vicky’s missing sister was cut short. Madilynn chuckled behind her lips. The malevolent gleam in her eyes accompanied with a smirk. She started a slow pace in front of her flanked wolves. Her attention still on us.

“Oh, dear little sister…” Madilynn feigned a pout, pretending to be hurt by her younger sister’s cold greeting. “Is that really how you want to welcome me after all these years?”

Without a doubt, Iota knew her sister better than anyone, especially with the story that she told me of Madilynn being jealous of the Quail Wolves, which was why the woman I’ve come to trust the past month shook her head and told her sister that after abandoning her and Vicky, Madilynn lost sight of what was right and wrong.

Iota’s eyes narrowed, lip curling. She had a growl in her voice when she huffed, “Now I know who has been on our tail for all these months. It’s nice to put a face to the self-proclaimed ‘Rogue Queen’.”

Madilynn threw her head back, her laugh echoed against the trees.

With that smirk still on her face, Madilynn nodded to the side in acknowledgment. “Ah, yes,” she chuckled. “And it’s a title so well deserved, don’t you think?”

The she-wolf pursed her lips, scrunching her nose and shrugged a shoulder that she felt though that ‘rogue’ was such a stupid word to use. That the word meant ‘abandonment’ and Madilynn didn’t feel she abandoned her pack but more that she deceived it.

“There’s a difference,” she sneered.

The she-wolf shrugged a shoulder, nodding her head to the side again. “Course… I have lived up to the name,” she grinned. “But if we are going to give me a title of sorts then at least make it sound more interesting, Little Sister.”

Madilynn squinted upward like she was pondering for said title. She looked back at us, smirking, that her followers had been addressing her as the ‘Blackguard Queen’.

“Has a darker ring to it, wouldn’t you say?”

Iota frowned, not replying but Vicky snarled at her eldest sister, “I rather much like ‘Devil Bitch’!”

Madilynn’s gray eyes snapped to her youngest sibling. The way her lip curled as she looked the young woman up and down made Vicky growl at her. Madilynn lifted a finger, shaking it slowly in her sister’s direction.

“Why, Vicky, my sweet baby sister. You certainly aren’t the quiet child I saw last. Seems our dear noble sister,” Madilynn glanced at Iota. “Has allowed you to disrespect your elders.”

“Elder or not, Madilynn,” Vicky grounded through her teeth. “You don’t deserve respect! Not after that pack village you destroyed! And don’t forget, you are no sister of mine after abandoning us for your selfish ways!”

The she-wolf across the way was quiet, her smirk slipping off her face. Now she narrowed those gray eyes on Vicky at the reminder of their past.

Madilynn scoffed, lip curled. She raised a brow, sneering that her sister couldn’t be more wrong.

“Let’s not get so hoity-toity, baby sister. I just want every Quail Wolf at its true potential.” Her gaze shifted to Iota, and Madilynn’s brow rose higher. “Someone else… would rather cage them in!”

The she-wolf scoffed that Iota knows all about caging Quail Wolves with the ‘stupid little book’ their great-grandfather bestowed onto Iota. She looked at Iota with so much contempt as she spat with a snarl that their grandfather always saw the good in Iota. Madilynn thought this was her sister’s biggest weakness. She reasoned someone couldn’t be ‘good’ and save thousands.

“But my way,” Madilynn smirked. “Wiping out the weak links in every pack until all that is left are those willing to join my side. As for those against me…” She made it a point to give her sisters a good thorough look. “Well… they are made an example of.”

Iota and Vicky had informed me about the months they’ve been running with Emory because of who he was. But they had stressed there was a dangerous pack of wolves on their tail.

The few times that they had been cornered by these unfamiliar wolves they always wanted one thing: Emory.

Madilynn was such a spiteful and cold individual so determined to get what didn’t belong to her. A life. A child’s life. She must of found out about Emory through his pack once she invaded it.

Iota had mentioned she and Vicky were part of the neighboring pack of Emory’s and happened to have been visiting a cousin of theirs that horrible day Emory committed his parents’ murders.

I swallowed, shutting my eyes a moment, remembering my promise to the eight year old that I wasn’t going to let the Darkness take him. It was why I worked so much harder during my sessions. Once I had control of myself, it’d be easier to help Emory. Especially now with Madilynn in the picture.

“My, my, my…”

Madilynn broke me out of my thoughts and I opened my eyes to meet hers. There was a glimmer of excitement in them.

The she-wolf grinned, “It’s been quite a while since I last saw you, Quail Wolf.”

Iota and Vicky snapped their gaze to me, startled, but I was too busy staring down their sister. I narrowed my eyes, taking a deep breath to keep calm.

Madilynn raised a brow, tilting her head as she looked me over.

“I meant what I said that day, did I not, Quail Wolf? About where your pack’s loyalty stands when it comes to you.”

My face faltered a little at the reminder. A familiar ache in my heart, remembering about my banishment, my parents unable to help me, and how I was chased out of Carmel. No one came to look for me. Not once.

I swallowed hard, meeting Madilynn’s sparkling gaze again.

“Ah, yes… You now know what it’s like to be so alone. What a shame to feel so betrayed by the ones you love. They were supposed to be by your side.”

The she-wolf frowned, “Until they find themselves siding with those who just want to hurt you. It’s only natural, really, for their human side to give in to the fight or flight response.”

Madilynn turned to Iota, raising a brow.

“I joined my followers in chasing after two females protecting a Quail Wolf boy. You and Vicky gave them a number of slips. I have to give you that much, Little Sister.”

Grinning, Madilynn cocked her head to the side.

“Course… I really don’t appreciate the numbers you’ve killed from my own pack. But I could always use two more wolves with such… skill.”

Vicky growled, drawing her eldest sister’s attention, “Not on your life!”

Iota held out her hand for her sister to not say more. They gave one another deep frowns before Iota faced Madilynn again. Her brows furrowed a bit more, cautiously narrowing her eyes.

“We have a responsibility to the boy and young woman, Madilynn. Your reason to finding them is the very reason we are protecting them. I will not allow you to corrupt them. Not any more than they feel.”

Another laugh from Madilynn made Iota and Vicky tense. The manic she-wolf wasn’t taking her sister’s words seriously.

“Oh my dear sister! How valiant you are! A true characteristic you inherited from our great-grandfather.”

Her eyes widened a bit as she snipped, “Makes me sick to think you were always the favorite to father! To everyone!”

Madilynn sneered, “He always saw such good in you. I’m surprised you didn’t turn bitter when you weren’t born a Quail Wolf. After all, you’re so kind and decent!”

Not that I wanted to side with the crazy lady, but she had a point. Being as kindhearted as she is, why didn’t Iota get chosen as a Quail Wolf? She would have stayed in the light, wouldn’t she?

“I may have a kind soul, Sister, but there has to be a balance between the souls of the wolf and the human. Even kindness can be corrupted in an unexpected way.” Iota narrowed her eyes. “You know that better than anyone. I foolishly fell for your wicked ways. I always tried to see the good in you until realizing you wanted to steal the book. You used my kindness until I saw through it too late once you killed father.”

My eyes widened, looking at Iota’s agitated scowl. Beside her, Vicky’s chin trembled. Her attention on Iota, face pinched with hurt. Something told me that maybe Vicky didn’t know about this.

Whether she could see Vicky’s reaction, Iota didn’t acknowledge it. She was focused on her other sister across the way.

“And the Quail Wolf’s human is chosen, Madilynn,” Iota continued. “They are given to a human soul who is stronger than others. Clearly mine is not, otherwise I would have been picked. Perhaps it was because I would be too close to danger at home for me to be a Quail. The Spirit World isn’t stupid, Sister. It sees things before we do.”

My Caretaker raised an eyebrow, tilting her head. Her next remark jabbed a bit at Madilynn.

“The Spirit World saw you and spared me.”

Grinding her teeth, Madilynn growled and curled her fists inward. Her eyes switched to the shimmering gold, agitation swirling in them.

“I believe that’s enough chit chat of the past for one day, Little Sister.” The she-wolf’s lip curled, demanding, “I want the Quail Wolves, and I want them now.”

“Why?” Iota shot back. She grit her teeth, growling again why Madilynn wanted the Quail Wolves so badly. “You just want to kill them! You’ve never liked the idea of a Quail Wolf because your selfishness blinded you! Have you forgotten they are more powerful than you are?! Than you’ll ever be?!”

“I don’t need to explain myself to you!” Madilynn shouted.

Her followers lowered their heads, narrowing their gaze and growled our way. Their leader was upset and so now they were offended. Idiots.

Madilynn bared her teeth, giving her younger sisters a glower. “You two have clearly chosen your path in this upcoming war, and that is death!”

The three of us were startled at her words. Iota and Vicky looked at one another and my eyes widened, my wolf side now alarmed.

With our stunned silence, the she-wolf across the way grinned. She took a moment to take in our rising panic before cackling. Her gray eyes looked over each sister.

Madilynn elaborated that for years since her departure, she’d been seeking out a way to kill off any Quail Wolf found out about. That is until she thought about what a waste it would be to kill such a powerful species.

“It’s in their DNA to make everyone cower,” Madilynn raised a brow. “but it starts off dormant. Which is why I knew they needed someone to teach them how to unleash that exquisite part of them.”

“And that would be you?” Iota narrowed her eyes.

“Precisely,” Madilynn grinned, shrugging her shoulders.

Madilynn claimed she could relate to the Quail Wolves being looked down on because of what they were. Not given a chance to be something great.

The she-wolf shrugged again.

“But with me, they can be unstoppable! The Quail wolves will be the ones running this God forsaken country, you know this, Iota! They just need to show their dominance by killing off humans here and there. The Quails will have their rightful place in the world.”

I swallowed hard, frowning.

Madilynn wanted to use Emory and me to kill people. She was planning on killing humans. The very people who we coincided with, who fought their own government for our freedom so Werewolves didn’t have to hide out in the woods anymore like our ancestors.

Sure, there were still some humans living in the past, but they weren’t all like that!

Vicky scowled at Madilynn as she scoffed, “That is bullshit! You don’t want the Quail wolves to show dominance to help them! Since when have you ever put others needs before yours?! You just want the Quails to think they are in control but you will be stringing them along! You’ll be the puppet master.”

Madilynn rolled her eyes, sighing in a monotone, “Fine. Bravo, baby sister. You’ve caught on to me.”

She shook her head that it didn’t matter what came out now since she wouldn’t have to worry about her sisters ever again after today.

I tensed, glancing warily at the wolves behind Madilynn. They took their leader’s words as a hint of getting ready to carry out any commands. Their jaws dripped with saliva, gold eyes taking us three in.

A shrill scream broke out in the far distance.

I turned in the fading scream’s direction just as Iota and Vicky had. Our eyes widened, alarmed by the shrill that gave us goosebumps. Iota and Vicky snarled back at Madilynn, demanding what she was up to while I was still staring off in the direction of the scream.

My brows furrowed, squinting when hearing the shrill scream again. But this time… this time it was accompanied with another… and then another… and then another. Another scream came from the opposite side of the State Park, this one male, and it echoed all the way to us.

What was happening?!

Madilynn was in the middle of leaning forward, a hand cupping her ear as she looked upward and smiled, “Ah, yes! What a beautiful sound of a fresh kill awakening the woods!”

She looked at us, smirking when she clicked her tongue against her teeth and mocked, “Quite a shame, really, for that bus load of children to pick a day like this for their field trip.”

My eyes widened, lips parted. Oh, God…

“Course…” The corners of Madilynn’s mouth tugged down, slowly shrugging in a nonchalant manner. Not a care in her words of, “They are tiny humans… and it’s best to rid them now at this ripe age than later on when it is more difficult.”

Iota gasped before she growled, “You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh, ho ho! But I would! And you’re not hearing things either. Every shrill, agonizing sound is from a human being shred apart as we speak. My followers have orders to seek out every man, woman, and child in this fucking park and to kill them all!”

Chuckling, Madilynn’s eyes swept to me at that moment.

I narrowed mine, curling my fists at my sides while my jaw clenched. The humans were suffering at the jaws of these horrid wolves, I could tell that Madilynn was enjoying this. She could see that I didn’t like what I was hearing and she was taking advantage of that.

“Now, now, Quail Wolf. What’s done is done. It’s necessary to start over. We need a world where our species rules as the more dominant, the more… perfect… species, if you will. My idea of perfection for our kind will flourish once we breed stronger pups every year.”

Madilynn tilted her head with a grin, those golden eyes locked on me and teased, “And just imagine the all-powerful offspring from a Quail Wolf. Especially when such pups have two Quail Wolf parents.”

Growling, I stepped back. No one was going to touch me like Ridge does. No one but my mate had a right to. I wouldn’t stand for that.

“You forget,” I snapped. “Quail Wolves are infertile!”

Madilynn raised a brow, smiling wide enough that her teeth showed. “Is that what you were told?”

I blinked, frowning and she saw this so she laughed again.

“Oh, my dear Quail wolf! Whoever has been telling you about your kind clearly was blowing smoke up your ass!”

Madilynn snorted, “Being infertile is not true at all. As a matter of fact, Quail Wolves are very much fertile. I know this because the very first Quail Wolf to father a child happened to be the very same Quail our great-grandfather was Caretaker for.”

I looked at Iota, her gray eyes narrowed at her sister. She looked disturbed at what she was hearing, more than Iota already was, I’m sure.

Looking to Madilynn again, she continued with a shrug, “Grandfather told me all about it after I tricked it out of him. He thought he could trust me as he did you, Little Sister, but little did he know…”

Madilynn smiled, giddy at confessing that at that time she had been determined to do one thing, and one thing only, and that was to get rid of Quail Wolves. Any trace of them.

The she-wolf pursed her lips, looking upward and shrugged, that she quickly learned from her grandfather that his Quail Wolf companion had fathered a daughter. And with a human. Their grandfather had confided in Madilynn that the ‘Halfling’, as she called the daughter, resided with the human mother and where such location was. It was a secret location due to the child’s father succumbing to the Darkness and had to be put out of his misery by the Caretaker. This was the deal forced on the Caretaker by the Quail Wolf when he was sane enough to think over this.

“And so when I left home, abandoning my sisters, yes…” Madilynn gave a pointed look at the horrified sisters. “I made sure the old man wouldn’t tell any of this to Iota. That’s why he suffered a heart attack after I poisoned his morning tea.”

Iota’s growl reached my ears and my heart went out to her. I remembered how close she said she was to her great-grandfather.

Madilynn sighed, rolling her eyes at the hurtful confession about their grandfather. She carried on, explaining while the screaming, panicked humans made me wince.

The she-wolf had spoke of leaving the pack that day of her grandfather’s death and went in search of the ‘Halfling’.

Madilynn’s chin lowered, golden eyes darkened.

“On the fortnight of her twenty-eighth birthday, Annalese D’Argo was gutted out and decapitated, along with her filthy mother.”

The manic she-wolf ignored our horrified stares and frowned that she realized her grave mistake in killing the only female Quail Wolf ever known to exist. Even if it was a Halfling, Annalese had her father’s DNA. DNA that could have transferred to her offspring.

Madilynn huffed a growl, scolding herself out loud that she’d never forget that day. October 13th would always set as a reminder to what could have been so much easier than the path now.

My eyes widened, lips parting as I hoarsely whispered, “October 13th?”

The she-wolf raised a brow, obviously put off by my odd question. She narrowed her eyes, slowly replying, “Yes. October 13th, nineteen years ago.”

My breath caught in my throat. That was too much of a coincidence that this ‘Halfling’ and I would have something linking us. Annalese and I shared a day that she had been taken out, and I brought into, this world. That couldn’t mean anything… could it?

Rolling my shoulders back, I tried to keep the look of panic hidden. With Madilynn now telling us that she wanted for Iota and Vicky to hand both Quail Wolves over to her, I kept thinking about all these other coincidences that occurred a few months ago.

I remembered how desperate Madilynn was to having me join her side. How she had known to pin-point Ridge as my True Mate.

This woman already knew about there being a female Quail wolf. But how?

Narrowing my eyes at the blonde, I reminded her of Ridge’s wedding day. That she knew who he was to me, and that I existed.

“How? How did you know about me?”

There was a pause. Madilynn was mulling over whether or not to answer. But I knew she was going to. Only because she needed me on her side. I was the one who could make it one-hundred percent possible to have Quail Wolf offspring.

Madilynn lifted her chin and a brow simultaneously. She eyed me as she carefully relayed, “I happen to have an ally near your parts, Quail Wolf. A man… a man whose own want for power is almost as great as mine. I can assure you he knew all about my surprise visit. I later learned he had his own sneaky plan up his sleeve and well… well, I had to make sure he remembered his place trying to take what is rightfully mine.”

She obviously could see me thinking about what she said of this ‘man’ and she grinned when my eyes widened. Only one person I knew wanted to make me his because of what I was.

“Ahhhh…” Madilynn grinned, tipping her chin up. Holding up a hand with her fingers outspread, she panned it in the air. “The name George Hannibal must be flashing through your mind. And you’d be correct. By the way, Hannibal is out for blood.”

She scrunched her nose, craning her neck towards me, “Your mate’s.”

My snarled growl only made her laugh. Madilynn patted the air telling me to calm down before she sighed, “I realize he’s a sensitive topic. But I’d be rethinking my romantic loyalties to the alpha heir, Quail Wolf. Regardless of what you may think, your mate is going die. Whether it be by your hands or Hannibal’s. Honestly, I’d rather be the one to kill my mate just to show Hannibal I’m not some dainty female easily controlled.”

She raised a brow, glancing my way when I narrowed my eyes at her.

“That… is what he wanted to do with you, is it not?” Madilynn pried.

I didn’t answer. I wasn’t going to let her know that she was right. But with the impending death threat on Ridge, I knew that banished or not, I was not going to be able to stay away from Carmel anymore. I had to go back.

With Alpha Hannibal in alliance with Madilynn, they were going to combine forces and with the small town of Carmel, the humans were in danger, along with my pack.

“Well now, I feel as though we are getting off schedule,” Madilynn frowned, looking up at the direction of the sun.

With a soft sigh, Madilynn looked at me. She raised her hand like the last time we met.

“Come now, Quail Wolf. And bring your small companion with you. It is time for you to begin the process of bearing young pups with full DNA.”

Scrunching my nose and narrowing my eyes, I shook my head and growled that I was not going to be mating with anyone. That I was not some Pez dispenser popping out kids left and right.

“And mind you, you sick twisted bitch, but the only other Quail Wolf around here happens to be a child!”

Madilynn glanced at her followers, their response with baring their teeth and huffing out panting breaths. The she-wolf pursed her lips and nodded as she faced me again.

“Hm. That’s fantastic actually. Your female offspring will have a male counterpart to mate with once he’s of age too.”

Iota, Vicky and I frowned looking to one another, thrown off by Madilynn’s words. She saw our alarm and Madilynn grinned, leaning forward as she mustered with so much amusement, “Oh! Did I not mention…?”

Oh, shit...

Madilynn laughed. She straightened after a moment, sighing with a shrug.

“I completely forgot to tell you about your new mate, Quail Wolf. He’s tall, blond, blue eyed… the works. Gorgeous from head to toe, and believe it or not, he’s a Quail Wolf.”

My nose automatically scrunched and the blonde across the way was enjoying this way too much.

Another Quail Wolf? And apparently one that was old enough to mate with me? Three Quail wolves? All in one time period?

Iota had to know something!

Once we had a chance, I was going to make sure she gave me every little detail that she knew of my species. I was not going to continue walking around ignorant when others knew more of my species than I did. I was tired of being a lost puppy.

Madilynn shrugged, “But… you’ll meet him later tonight once he arrives here with the other half of my followers. He’s eager to meet you, Quail Wolf. The idea of a mating peaked his interest.”

The she-wolf smirked, raising a brow that this other Quail Wolf knew all about my mate. She added that this Quail wanted to ensure his path to me remained clear.

Madilynn smirked with a small chuckled, “Ridge Beaumont will be his ultimate kill.”

Baring my teeth, I let out a low growl. The growl itself wasn’t like anything I’d made before. It was more animalistic than I was used to but I didn’t care. A threat had been made to my mate and I was having none of it!

A few of Madilynn’s wolves took cautionary steps back while glancing at her. I could feel my eyes changing to my wolf’s.

Iota had turned to me, still guarding me and shouted, “Gigi! Gigi, you can’t do this now!”

I growled without looking at her.

Madilynn was planning on killing my mate, that was something I was not going to let happen. If I could stop it right here and now, why not?

But Iota lowered her voice for my ears only, whispering for me to remember about Emory. I closed my eyes, shutting them tightly and then opened my eyes again.

My wolf was fighting for control, that was clear, but I kept having to repeat the eight-year-old’s name over and over again which reminded me of my promise to him. To keep him safe.

Iota glanced at me and I at her. Her gray eyes gave me a silent order that I barely nodded at as to not alert Madilynn we were up to something.

With a glare in her sister’s direction, Iota shook her head that she was not going to allow Madilynn to take either Quail Wolf. Iota was going to make sure that Emory and I were going to remain in the light.

“Not for long, dear little sister. Not after I get through with them,” Madilynn snapped back, baring her elongated teeth.

Iota swallowed, giving a quick scan of the wolves behind Madilynn and then snapped her head in my direction.

“Run! Run, Gigi! Now!”

I turned on my heel, sprinting into the woods, in the direction Emory had run earlier. I could hear Vicky and Iota behind me. They panted for me to speed up.

Honing in on my hearing, I could hear the footfalls of Madilynn’s wolves. They weren’t too close, but they weren’t too far either. I picked up my pace, pumping my arms and legs and jumped over logs or dodged branches. I was getting closer to the large nook in the tree Emory would be hiding in.

With having picked up speed, I miscalculated my steps and jumped too quickly over a log that caught the end of my shoe and had me slam to the ground. The air was knocked out of me and I groaned, struggling to push myself back up to keep running.

Iota helped me, looking over her shoulder as she heard the howling of the wolves signaling that they were gaining on us. It was just a fucking game to them.

Turning back to me and Vicky, Iota’s eyes looked into mine as she breathed heavily, “Gigi… I’m about to ask something of you, and I need for you to agree right here and now.”

“Wha—?”

“Agree, Gigi! Say you will!”

“I—I—” My eyes widened, glancing around at the echoed howls of the wolves. Swallowing hard, I panted with a nod, “I will!”

Iota took hold of my face, nodding, “Get to Emory! Take him through the back pathway we showed you until you get to the mountain terrain. Keep running from that point until you get into the city and get to a safe place.”

My eyes widened at what she was asking of me. I shook my head, holding her wrists. My lip trembled, shaking my head again.

“Iota! No, I can’t!”

“Gigi! You already promised me you’d take care of Emory for me! It is up to you now—no one else!—to show that boy he does not take on the Darkness on his own. He needs you just as much as you need him!”

“But I—!”

She shook her head, “No! I will only be able to buy you so much time, but not much. You need to get back to your home and keep Emory safe! You are a Quail Wolf, Gigi! The only strength you need is within you! You just have to stop fighting yourself to understand what I mean!”

Another round of howls broke through the woods and Vicky’s panicky voice warned that they were getting closer. I looked back at Iota who hadn’t stopped staring at me.

“She will not win, Gigi,” Iota promised. “Not when you stand in her way. If there’s anyone capable of winning this war, it’s you. Now is your time to prove why you were chosen as a Quail Wolf.”

I swallowed, my chin and lip were starting to tremble and my vision blurred but Iota wiped my tears with her thumb. She shook her head, smiling weakly as she leaned forward to kiss my forehead.

Iota looked me in the eyes, her own brimming with tears before whispering, “Give my love to Emory. And please…” She whimpered, looking down for a moment, then swallowed when she looked back up to me. “Don’t let him forget how beautiful his soul is.”

I nodded, whimpering back that I wouldn’t.

Iota nodded firmly then turned to her sister who narrowed her eyes out to the open, keeping watch.

When Iota instructed Vicky to go with me, the latter frowned, scoffing, “You don’t think I’m going to leave you all alone, do you?”

Iota nodded, a scowl on her face now.

“You are. Because they need you to protect them, Vicky.” She gave a nod in my direction. “As their Caretaker now, you have to go with them.”

“No! Iota, no!”

“Victoria! There is no time to argue! You need to get them out of here and do it now! NOW!”

The elder sister quickly kissed her sister’s head and shoved us both in the direction she wanted us to run.

We looked over our shoulder as Iota shouted, “GO! AND DON’T LOOK BACK! GO!” while she was sprinting the opposite direction of us to throw the wolves off our trail.

Vicky whimpered, struggling whether to obey her sister’s orders or break them. The she-wolf pulled herself together, frowning and wiped at her eyes. She grabbed onto my wrist and started off in a run.

I ran as quickly as I could, my mind set on getting to Emory. We ran for only a few minutes when the woods echoed with the howls of victory.

Iota had been caught.

Vicky cried out, her face pinched painfully and she stumbled a bit. I grabbed onto her, pushing her forward. I shouted at Vicky to keep running and to not stop.

At a short distance from Emory’s hiding spot, Emory poked his head out and spotted us running towards him. His eyes widened, asking what was going on.

I shook my head, panting, “Come on, Emory! No time to explain, hurry!”

I scooped him out of the hiding spot.

“But where’s Iota?!” he whined as I dragged him along by the hand and headed towards the terrain Iota told us about. I ignored his cries at the moment and kept telling myself that he needed to get somewhere safe.

Vicky looked torn but I kept panting for her to keep running.

We reached the terrain after what felt like forever. The trees started to fade away and we were now out in the open where we could be easily spotted.

I shoved Vicky forward, bending while I was running to swipe up the eight-year-old and toss him on my back to help me run a bit faster without him slowing me down. His weight put pressure on my endurance but I still kept up with Vicky’s fast pace.

I had Emory wrap his arms around my neck as Vicky and I started our descent of the steep rocky wall.

“Hold… Hold tight, Em,” I gritted through my teeth, my fingers becoming painfully sore from the grip I had on the rocks.

Once at the bottom, I set Emory down and took his hand again, motioning for Vicky to follow. I kept my eyes peeled for any sort of hide out, just in case, but so far there was nothing. But then I spotted a red pickup truck that two older men had stepped out of. They were parked by the side of the road, looking through their binoculars and pointing out parts of the scenery.

I licked my lips, pointing out the truck to Vicky who gave me an incredulous look. I rolled my eyes, mouthing to her that it was the only way to get Emory to safety. She closed her eyes, nodding and we whispered for the child with us to keep silent. Emory frowned, nodding in understanding before following us towards the truck.

Vicky was carefully and quietly putting Emory into the bed of the truck between all the camping gear while I was trying to open the driver’s side door without too much noise. I glanced at the older men who were still enthralled with the scenery and their conversation.

Once the door was opened, I glanced to the bed of the truck where Vicky was seated with Emory. Vicky was giving me a thumbs up that they were ready to go. I nodded, slipping inside the truck and locked the passenger door manually before quickly starting up the engine.

The two men spun around, shouting in alarm. They began running towards us. Putting the truck in drive, I slammed my foot on the gas pedal and maneuvered onto the road, the tires screeching from the sharp turn.

I glanced in the rear view mirror to see Madilynn standing at the top of the terrain. There was no way she’d get to us at this point. Just to spite her, I stuck my hand out the window and stuck my middle finger in the air.

Madilynn could take that as my answer in ever thinking that I’d join her Goddamn ploy.

‘Now…’ I sighed, ‘Next stop… Carmel.”