Chapter 9

It was close to midnight by the time we had crossed the endless valley, traversed a couple of mountains, and stood at the base of a rusty-red rocky hill.

I was spent, but I hadn’t bitched about it. Jason had offered to carry me, but he was very tired too, as he was unable to fully recover from the sun without replenishing his strength by taking in blood.

We overlooked a terrain of low bushes and hard red dirt.

“That’s the border,” Jason said, looking ahead, then glancing at me to check my state again.

“We’re going to make it, sweety pie.” I grinned at him. “Let’s race for the final few miles.”

Once we crossed the red terrain and reached the other side, the shifters wouldn’t be able to track us as easily, and they might just give up. As for the witches and other hunters, they wouldn’t be in their element in the western wilderness.

“Halt,” Jason called before I sprang, ready to put the past behind me forever.

The wind stirred, then stilled, then picked up again.

A sheet of red dirt asce