Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95748 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 479(@200wpm)___ 383(@250wpm)___ 319(@300wpm)
Emily adjusted her harness, her gaze flicking between the instruments and the landscape beneath them.
“It’s just a little storm, Emily. Trust me, you’re fine.”
She nodded and stared at the quiet mining area.
Maybe he could distract her. “Your father can move his miners into the Embervault Mine this week,” Jackson said through the headset, his voice calm but focused as he scanned the airspace. He gripped the cyclic and collective with expert precision, the hum of the rotors steady above them.
Emily opened her mouth to respond when a sharp ping echoed through the cabin. The radar monitor flashed red.
What the holy fuck?
Jackson had to look twice. “Missile lock,” he barked, yanking the controls and sending them into a steep bank.
Emily gasped and pointed out the window.
He looked to see a streak of smoke slicing through the air. Fast, deadly, and headed straight for them.
Damn it. He forced himself to remain calm and threw the craft into a hard dive. Trees blurred past the windows as alarms blared. “Hold on,” he muttered.
Emily clutched the edge of her seat and let out a terrified yelp.
Another sharp ping. A second lock.
“Another one,” she yelled, pointing frantically out the window.
Out of nowhere, the thought occurred to him that he’d never seen her frantic or even remotely out of control before.
The mountains echoed with the roar of the helicopter’s engines as he twisted the craft through the valley, skimming dangerously close to the deadly cliffs. Snow and ice banged against the windshield as he maneuvered between narrow rock formations, using his wolf senses to keep them alive.
The first missile exploded behind them, shockwaves rattling the frame. Smoke and heat swirled through the air as he wrestled to maintain control.
Somebody had actually obtained fucking Stingers?
Before he could react, a second missile streaked. Too close. The tail rotor screamed as shrapnel sliced into it. Warning lights blazed on the console.
“Damn it.” Jackson fought the controls as the helicopter spun wildly.
Emily went stiff and silent next to him. The damn horizon whirled past in a blur. Pine trees rushed toward them. The metal frame groaned as Jackson pulled hard on the collective, trying to slow their descent.
“Brace yourself,” he ordered.
Emily curled forward, grabbing her knees as the craft dropped through the tree canopy.
Branches and ice shattered against the fuselage, ripping at the rotor blades. Metal shrieked as they clipped a ridge and skidded through the snow-covered ground. The world became a tumbling mass of gray, white, ice, and fire.
When they finally came to a stop, Emily gasped loudly for breath through the headset. The air reeked of burning pine and scorched metal. Gray, mutinous smoke unfurled from the twisted remains of the rotor blades above them.
“Emily,” Jackson rasped, already unbuckling his harness. Blood trickled into his left eye. Was his head cut? “Are you all right?”
“No. Seriously.” Her fingers shook as she fumbled with her harness. “We just got into a fucking crash.”
They had to find shelter. Frigid air blasted into the cabin. Beyond the broken glass, snow pounded through the air, smothering the forest floor.
Jackson kicked open the mangled door and jumped into the snow, scanning the tree line. He calculated the distance between the mine and their crash point. A wolf could cover that in about an hour. “We need to move. Now.” He reached in and pulled her out, careful of the glass. The snow was to his knees, so it reached her thighs. “Can you shift?”
She blinked snow out of her eyes, her backpack in her hand. “Of course.”
He tightened his grip on her arms, forcing her to meet his gaze. “The doctor told you not to shift for a few days because of the silver bullet. You have to tell me the fucking truth. How do you feel?”
She faltered, looking away.
Shit. They were too far from either of their territories in unclaimed land. His best move was to head straight west into Copper territory and hope Erik was in a good mood. But in human form, they wouldn’t make it before whoever shot them down reached them. They had to shift into wolf form. “Emily?”
Her chin firmed, and she looked up. “We don’t really have a choice. I’ll shift, and you can go on for help if I get too weak.”
His hackles rose. “Sure. I’ll just leave you in the snow and come back later after I’ve had a nice supper.”
The cold turned her flawless skin a bright pink, and her eyes watered. “We don’t have time for sarcasm, jackass.” Her temper reassured him as nothing else could.
“All right. We shift and head due west. Should make Copper territory in about an hour.”
She gulped and nodded. “All right. There’s room in my backpack for our clothing, just in case.”
He shook his head. “We’ll be faster without it. We can find clothing when we arrive.”
Her jaw firmed. “I’m not arguing.” With that, she shrugged out of her jacket, already shivering as she shoved it into the pack.