Chapter 8 · The Dead Girl's Second Heartbeat

"Run."

That's the word Cole tears out of his throat. His eyes are full gold now. Not human. Not cursed. Something else.

I don't wait. I grab his arm and pull him toward the gap between two container stacks. His skin is burning under my palm. The kind of heat that shouldn't come from a man who can't shift.

Behind us I hear boots. Voices. Derek's hunters regrouping.

Cole moves fast. Faster than he should. He's still shaking but his legs don't stumble. He pulls ahead and I have to sprint to keep up. My abdomen cramps. The baby kicks once. Hard. Like she knows we're in trouble.

We cut through three more rows of containers. The cargo yard is a maze of rust and diesel fumes. Cole doesn't hesitate. He knows this place. Every turn. Every blind corner.

We reach a chain-link fence at the edge of the yard. Cole rips a section open with his bare hands. The metal screams. I slip through. He follows.

On the other side is a drainage ditch. Concrete. Wet. Smells like oil and rot. Cole drops into it and reaches up for me. I slide down.