Every cell in my body screams to run. Run far, run fast, and never look back.
But my damn feet refuse to move. Goddamn freeze response.
“Go,” the man growls at me, turning his back to me as he focuses on the three wolves as they spread out and begin to circle.
One of the wolves snarls, snapping his teeth as it lunges forward. The man widens his stance, his broad shoulders popping in anticipation.
“Are you deaf? Get out of here.” The desperation in the man’s voice knocks something loose inside my brain.
Who am I? I’m no fucking hero. If anything, I’d be in his way.
A single thought cycles through my mind: Get help.
Without another thought, I turn from the mangled car, the dead man, and the one ready to take on three damn scary wolves. I take off running, racing from the ravine and back the way I’d come.
With any luck, the police and paramedics will be here and they’ll be able to do something about the wolves. If nothing else, the police should have guns...
Loud snarls and the snapping of multiple jaws erupt behind me and it pushes me to run faster. My quads scream as I climb back up the rocky landscape. The whole time I pray the wolves don’t follow me. I’m too old to give up much of a fight. But I also pray that the man in the swim trunks will be okay. He’s barely got a stitch of clothing on to protect him from the ferocity of those wolves.
Numerous times, I trip over my own two feet as I clamber over the loose gravel and boulders on my way up to the road. By the time I reach the top, my body is quaking from the burst of adrenaline and sheer terror.
“Mom—” Avery screams as she kicks open the door to the backseat of our Highlander.
The beautiful sound of sirens greets me as I collapse into my daughter’s arms. Before I know it, Asher is there, too, his gangly teenager arms wrapping around us both.
“What happened down there?” Asher asks, his voice barely a whisper as he squeezes tighter. “Are you hurt?”
“I’m fine. But the driver—” I say, fighting back the fresh tears springing to my eyes as grief and relief mix together. “The driver’s dead and the wolves—”
Avery pulls back. “There were wolves down there?”
I nod. “There’s another man. He saw the whole thing, too, but he’s still down there. He’s trying to...” Swallowing hard, I push up to a stand and wave my arms for the ambulance. “We need to get him some help.”
“There’s another guy?” Asher repeats.
The ambulance comes to a halt right behind our vehicle just as two squad cars pull in.
I nod to Asher but make my way to the emergency personnel.
A female cop is the first to step out, her red hair pulled back into a tight bun at the back of her head.
“Please,” I say, pointing to the ravine, “there’s a man down there and three wolves—”
“Did you say wolves?” A male cop says, hopping out of the driver’s side. His build is slight compared to the man down in the ravine and all I can think about is... Does he have it in him to take down these animals?
I nod. “Yes, he’s protecting the body of the driver. Please, someone needs to help him—”
“Don’t worry ma’am. We got this from here,” the male cop says, holding out his hand and tipping his chin. His blond hair catches the sunlight, turning it golden.
Without another word, the two police officers descend into the ravine. Both have guns strapped to their hips and I can only hope they’ll be enough to scare off the wolves or put them down, if it comes to that. Two more police officers hop out of the other vehicle and descend the hillside without even so much as glancing at me or my kids.
From the back of the ambulance, two male paramedics hop out, carrying some sort of lightweight gurney. One of them reaches inside the vehicle and grabs a briefcase-looking thing. I can only assume it’s some sort of medkit. They also follow after the police officers.
From the front seat of the ambulance, a female driver with dark brown skin and black hair hops out. The woman makes her way to us, while a guy with shaggy brown hair hops out of the passenger side and walks around to the back of the ambulance.
“Are you hurt?” the woman asks as she reaches us. Her dark brown eyes are disarming, and her open expression instantly makes me feel safe. She lifts her hand, pointing to my bloody arm.
“Yeah, it’s not a big deal, though,” I say, still groping at my bicep. The aching from the bite has diminished a little bit, but I know these sorts of things can be deceiving. Humans have some of the dirtiest mouths on the planet—and we’re not just talking about their language, either.
“Well, let’s take a quick look at it before the others come back,” she offers, tipping her head toward the back of the ambulance.
Nodding, the kids and I follow behind her. The other paramedic is busy getting various things pulled out and in place, clearly thinking there will be something other than a body to treat. I can only hope that’s true for the man left down there. My stomach rolls and I turn to face the woman again. I take a seat on the floor of the ambulance, my feet dangling over the edge of the vehicle.
“Let me take a look at that,” she offers, reaching out for my arm.
Avery and Asher stand back, their dark eyes wide and fearful as they watch us. Nodding to the woman, I extend my arm as she pulls out some cotton balls and a bottle of some sort of cleaning solution. The odor is terrible as she cracks open the bottle.
“Wanna tell me what happened?” The woman asks, wiping gingerly at the wound, which sizzles as it comes into contact with the liquid.
“A man got run off the road. His vehicle is down at the bottom of the ravine there...” I begin.
“No, I mean with your arm,” the paramedic says, her voice soft and even as her eyes stay glued to her work.
“Oh, right.” I shake my head. “Well, the man wasn’t in his right mind. He was pinned by some metallic something or other. He bit me,” I say, remembering back to the horror of the moment.
Her eyebrows tug in and she looks up. “He bit you?”
Again, I nod. “Yeah. Right before he died.”
The dark-haired guy stops his work and the two paramedics exchange a significant glance.
“But I’m really worried about the other guy down there. He saw everything from the woods and came running. But three wolves came out of nowhere—”
“I wouldn’t worry. We’re trained in this area on how to deal with the wolves,” the male paramedic says, kneeling down beside me.
“Well, it doesn’t look like this wound is too bad. Should heal up just fine in a couple of days,” the woman paramedic says.
“Are you sure?” I say, eyeing my bicep. Coulda fooled me with the amount of blood that flowed from the bite. I thought for sure I’d need a tetanus shot or something.
Weird.
“Yeah, look,” she says, wiping away the crimson remnants. Bite marks are there, sure, but they barely look like they punctured the skin. “You were lucky.”
Maybe all the blood was from the dead guy’s mouth. I mean, he had to be bleeding internally with that metal spike through his body. Right?
“Huh,” I mutter.
The paramedic places a bandage across my bicep and pats my knee. “You should be good to go.”
I sit up straighter, my gaze drifting out over the broken guardrail. “Should we stay here until...”
She shakes her head. “No need. We have the emergency call on file. If the police need more, they’ll be in touch. I’m sure they’ll have enough to deal with right now.”
I inhale sharply. I’m sure dealing with dead bodies and families definitely comes first, but I could have sworn from all the cop shows I’ve watched, they’d want the eye-witnesses to stay until they’ve taken their statement. But that’s television and this is real life.
“Yeah, okay,” I say, hopping down from the ambulance.
She shoots me a reassuring smile as she steps back.
Both Asher and Avery rush forward, invading my personal space like they’re two and four years old again.
“Can we go now?” Avery asks, wrapping her arm through my non-bandaged one.
“Yeah, let’s go. I could use a hot bath and a glass of wine,” I mutter, wanting to put this entire thing behind me. But before I can help myself, I twist back around. “What about the man down there?”
The woman’s forehead crinkles. “What about him?”
“How can I find out if he’s okay?”
A smile graces her face, lighting it up. “Oh, I’m sure when the police follow up with you, they’ll be able to fill you in. Right now, what’s important is clearing the scene so we can all stay focused.”
“Right, right...” I say, her words tumbling around in my head. Shouldn’t they at least be taking a statement from me? Maybe grab my name and address?
As ready as I am to get the hell out of Dodge, my thoughts are pulled to the half-naked man in the ravine. I don’t know what it is about him, but I feel responsible for him—like I need to make sure he’s okay. But it’s not like I have any control over what happens to him from this point forward.
I’ve done all I can. Help is on its way.
So, why do I still feel so anxious?