Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 157(@200wpm)___ 126(@250wpm)___ 105(@300wpm)
But then he remembered Nolan’s smile. His enthusiasm. His pure joy at knowing they got to experience something magical for the first time together.
Worth it.
All of this was worth it.
He’d give Red a piece of his mind if anything happened to this vest, though. It was one of his favorites. All the more special now that it was his “first date with Nolan” vest.
Sky plunged into the woods, following Nolan as best as he could. Every once in a while he would pause to listen. The wolves were silent except for the occasional howl that would be answered in an insane cascade through the woods. The thrashing through the underbrush was definitely Red. Earth witches might be comfortable in nature, but neither Red nor Mad were fleet-footed or quiet when walking through the woods.
Of course, no one could match a shifter in their natural habitat.
He shouted his friend’s name over and over again. Nolan was using the flashlight on his phone as well. The twin beams cut through the night but didn’t reach far. Thankfully the leaves on the trees weren’t too thick yet, allowing some moonlight to illuminate the woods.
It took several minutes for them to finally locate Red. Sky was covered in sweat, his nice clothes sticking to him, and he was pretty sure he now had a tear in his slacks from getting snagged on some thorns. But as frustrated as he felt, his heart fractured to see Red pale and frantic. Sweat streaked down the sides of his flushed face and left his hair sticking to his temples.
“Sky!” Red cried out, his voice cracking.
“It’s okay. The wolves know Damon is human. They’re just going to herd him to the house,” Sky immediately reassured.
Red collapsed against him, staggering Sky back a couple of steps to get his balance again. “Thank you. Thank you so much,” Red panted in his ear.
He patted Red’s shoulder a few times. “Don’t worry. I know some of the wolves. They’re good people. They’ll get Damon headed in the right direction.”
“Sky? Is Red hurt?” Nolan called out. The rustling through the brush grew louder in Nolan’s rush.
He lowered his flashlight so he didn’t blind the poor man as he got closer. “He’s okay. Just worried and exhausted.”
As Nolan came to stand with them, he dropped his light to the ground. “It’ll be all right. We’ll get Damon back safely. Why don’t we start for the house? We’ll call for him. Maybe he’s worn himself out and willing to return on his own.”
Sky wasn’t so sure Damon’s human brain was going to be able to overcome scared piggy instincts, but maybe they’d get lucky.
Red nodded and straightened, releasing Sky. “Yeah, I’m sure Damon is more than ready to be human again.” The earth witch turned toward Moon’s house and trudged slowly through the woods while both Sky and Nolan held up their flashlights to guide him. As they walked, they shouted for Damon, hoping their voices would draw him to them and out of the woods. Not that Sky really expected it to work.
His stomach was still in knots. The wolves knew that the pig was a human, but were they in complete control of their wolf during a full moon? Was there a big chance of an accident?
Sky mentally flinched. Please let Damon come back to them on his own. This was not how his rescue was supposed to go. It was bad enough that he’d run afoul of a wicked witch boyfriend but to get eaten by a werewolf while stuck as a pig was even worse.
A soft, small rustling as they reached the edge of the woods and the house came into view slowed Sky’s steps. He stopped and turned, sweeping the beam over the brush, trying to locate the source of the noise while his heart leaped into his throat. All this time he’d been worried about a pig in the woods with a bunch of wolves. He forgot to worry about being a yummy human target to a pack of dangerous predators.
“What did you hear?” Nolan inquired. His light joined Sky’s in the search.
Just when Sky was about to brush off the noise as the wind or maybe a rabbit, he heard a very soft grunt and saw a flat snout poke out from under some bright-green leaves.
“Damon!”
He kneeled and an exhausted pig stumbled out to him only to sort of collapse in Sky’s open arms. Sky tried to lift him up, but his knees immediately replied No! He dropped to the ground with a chuckle. That was fine. Red was on Damon in the next heartbeat, wrapping him up and cradling him against his chest. The witch cooed sweet things to him, calling him a good pig and other things. Sky cleared his throat to hold down his laugh. It sounded as if Red had forgotten that Damon was really a human.