considered glancing over his shoulder behind him, but decided to keep running instead.
“Ka --” he started to yell before being knocked to the ground from behind.
The pepper spray flew from his hand, but he managed to hold onto the flashlight as he hit the hard, uneven ground before him with a thud. His body no sooner hit the ground before he felt a huge hand wrap around the back of his neck, hauling him upright as he struggled to get his footing so his weight wasn’t being suspended from his neck alone. His right hand darted to the vampire’s grip on his neck as he clawed futilely to pry his attacker’s hand loose.
“That was stupid!” Devon barked. “And now we end this.”
Caleb was frantic, and his mind was a flurry of thoughts. His right hand slipped into his front jeans pocket, and he managed to extract his small pocket knife. The small blade was only a couple of inches long, but was easy to use because it had a thumb release on it.
“You better not!” he yelled, stalling for precious time as he stealthily opened the pocket knife. “Katrina’s an alpha!”
“What?” Devon demanded.
Caleb tried kicking at the vampire’s knees from behind, but he couldn’t get a proper angle to be effective. He felt Devon’s hot breath at the back of his neck, and he tensed his body, bracing himself for the painful tearing of his flesh that he recalled from Katrina’s involuntary attack.
In a last-ditch effort for freedom, he swept the knife blade backwards and slammed it into the vampire’s upper right thigh, burying the short blade to the hilt. The dark, towering figure howled with pain as he abruptly released Caleb’s neck.
Caleb immediately darted up the trail with speed born of a fear-induced adrenaline rush, yelling, “KAT!”
His feet seemed barely to touch the earth as he darted across the uneven ground and around the abrupt turns in the trail. The light from his flashlight bounced frantically in front of him, but he hoped it would provide an additional indicator to Katrina of his changing location. Given that vampires could see in the dark, it was a moot point to avoid using the flashlight to elude his pursuer. Besides, he needed the benefit of seeing the path before him as clearly as possible.
Caleb’s heart pounded as he ran through the night, and for a brief moment he thought he could get free. He wasn’t certain how far or for how long he had been running. Time seemed suspended as the cold winter breeze chilled the skin on his face, and his lungs felt as if they were on fire.
He thought he heard a rustling in the night to his right and glanced in that direction for only a second, though he saw nothing. His body shook to an abrupt halt as it felt like a tree limb fell across his chest. He had only a vague sensation of falling backwards as his body plummeted downwards, and the breath was knocked from his lungs.
His back impacted with the cold, hard ground with a bone-jarring thud, and he thought he heard a gruff chuckle. He realized he was lying in darkness, uncertain as to what happened to the small flashlight. He felt his left leg being hauled upwards, and his body was being dragged across the ground.
He managed to force air back into his lungs, although the effort sent pain coursing through his chest. As the back of his head bounced across the hard turf, he reared back with his right leg and savagely kicked at the figure pulling on his other leg. The heel of his boot impacted with something solid, and a growl emitted from above him. But instead of his left leg being released, his body was lifted into the air and abruptly slammed painfully back onto the ground, again knocking the breath from his lungs.
Pain coursed through his body, and he felt a wave of nausea roll through his stomach. A hard set of fingers grabbed his hair from behind and drew him face-up from the ground, sending a fresh wave of pain through his neck and shoulders. He managed to use his aching arms to push himself up
“Ka --” he started to yell before being knocked to the ground from behind.
The pepper spray flew from his hand, but he managed to hold onto the flashlight as he hit the hard, uneven ground before him with a thud. His body no sooner hit the ground before he felt a huge hand wrap around the back of his neck, hauling him upright as he struggled to get his footing so his weight wasn’t being suspended from his neck alone. His right hand darted to the vampire’s grip on his neck as he clawed futilely to pry his attacker’s hand loose.
“That was stupid!” Devon barked. “And now we end this.”
Caleb was frantic, and his mind was a flurry of thoughts. His right hand slipped into his front jeans pocket, and he managed to extract his small pocket knife. The small blade was only a couple of inches long, but was easy to use because it had a thumb release on it.
“You better not!” he yelled, stalling for precious time as he stealthily opened the pocket knife. “Katrina’s an alpha!”
“What?” Devon demanded.
Caleb tried kicking at the vampire’s knees from behind, but he couldn’t get a proper angle to be effective. He felt Devon’s hot breath at the back of his neck, and he tensed his body, bracing himself for the painful tearing of his flesh that he recalled from Katrina’s involuntary attack.
In a last-ditch effort for freedom, he swept the knife blade backwards and slammed it into the vampire’s upper right thigh, burying the short blade to the hilt. The dark, towering figure howled with pain as he abruptly released Caleb’s neck.
Caleb immediately darted up the trail with speed born of a fear-induced adrenaline rush, yelling, “KAT!”
His feet seemed barely to touch the earth as he darted across the uneven ground and around the abrupt turns in the trail. The light from his flashlight bounced frantically in front of him, but he hoped it would provide an additional indicator to Katrina of his changing location. Given that vampires could see in the dark, it was a moot point to avoid using the flashlight to elude his pursuer. Besides, he needed the benefit of seeing the path before him as clearly as possible.
Caleb’s heart pounded as he ran through the night, and for a brief moment he thought he could get free. He wasn’t certain how far or for how long he had been running. Time seemed suspended as the cold winter breeze chilled the skin on his face, and his lungs felt as if they were on fire.
He thought he heard a rustling in the night to his right and glanced in that direction for only a second, though he saw nothing. His body shook to an abrupt halt as it felt like a tree limb fell across his chest. He had only a vague sensation of falling backwards as his body plummeted downwards, and the breath was knocked from his lungs.
His back impacted with the cold, hard ground with a bone-jarring thud, and he thought he heard a gruff chuckle. He realized he was lying in darkness, uncertain as to what happened to the small flashlight. He felt his left leg being hauled upwards, and his body was being dragged across the ground.
He managed to force air back into his lungs, although the effort sent pain coursing through his chest. As the back of his head bounced across the hard turf, he reared back with his right leg and savagely kicked at the figure pulling on his other leg. The heel of his boot impacted with something solid, and a growl emitted from above him. But instead of his left leg being released, his body was lifted into the air and abruptly slammed painfully back onto the ground, again knocking the breath from his lungs.
Pain coursed through his body, and he felt a wave of nausea roll through his stomach. A hard set of fingers grabbed his hair from behind and drew him face-up from the ground, sending a fresh wave of pain through his neck and shoulders. He managed to use his aching arms to push himself up
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