Evans, Gabrielle - From This Moment [The Moonlight Breed 7] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic Ma by Gabrielle Evans (best desktop ebook reader txt) 📕

Zavion  rubbed against his chest with his cheek. “I know you’re worried for  me, but this is my choice. I can die at home doing nothing, or I can  die out here trying to find this antidote. At least out here there’s a  chance I might actually survive.”

“Then I guess we better get movin’.”

“See?” Zavion purred. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Actually, it had been like pulling teeth without Novocain. Still,  Cian could admit defeat. “You’ll not be walkin’, though.” Besides, if  he and his brothers shifted, they could cover more ground more  quickly.

“I’m fine with that. Let’s go kick some ass.”

“Easy, RoboCop,” Devlin said with a wave  of his hand. “There  will be no  Murder-Death-Kill unless absolutely necessary.”

“That’s  Demolition Man,” Flynn said with a snort. “Get your

movies straight, Dev.”

74                        Gabrielle Evans

“Whatever.  We just have to find the place. Then I make a phone

call, and this area is swarmin’ with Enforcers. Hopefully, we can

avoid casualties.”

“Is there anyone on the inside who could be an ally?”  It would  much better if they could get what they needed and actually trust the  person giving it to them. How could they be sure what The Hive  offered them was truly an antidote to the poison and not something  more sinister?

“Hmm.” Zavion rubbed at the back of his neck as his brow

furrowed. “There was this one Doctor.”

Even better. “Why do ya think he could help?”

“He was always a lot nicer to us than  the others.” Zavion’s lips twitched at the corners. “I think he had the hots for Oscar.”

“We’ll be leavin’ that part out when we tell Demitrius later.”

Zavion chuckled and bobbed his head. “Good thinking. Dr.  Woods is probably our best bet, though. He always apologized when  he had to do tests on us, and I’d see the Trainers yelling at him all the  time. I don’t think he really wants to be there, but I get the feeling this  isn’t the kind of place where you just put in your resignation, either.”

“Why do you ask about allies?” Flynn pulled his shirt off and  kicked his boots to the side, obviously planning to shift along with  Cian.

Cian wiggled his eyebrows as he began stripping out of his clothes in preparation to shift. “It could be helpful to have someone actually willin’ to share information.”

“Aye,  correct ya are, brother. Would make our jobs right easier as

well.”

“It’s a ninja attack,” Zavion  mumbled tiredly. “The force is strong

in this one.”

“You’re all just a barrel of laughs.”  The movie references were entertaining, but not anywhere in the vicinity of helpful. “Let’s go.  We’re wastin’ time.”

From This Moment                       75

How much longer did Zavion and his friends have? There really was no way to know for sure, but judging by the swiftness in which their symptoms had appeared, Cian guessed it wasn’t long. Zavion was positive that they were going in the right direction and felt they were getting closer. How much farther, though? How long would it take to get there?

Most importantly, would they make it in time?

76                        Gabrielle Evans

Chapter Nine

Riding on the back of a chestnut-colored Thoroughbred in the moonlight would have been weird enough. Doing it naked was just downright bizarre. Cian had made a good point, though. If  Zavion needed to shift quickly, his clothes would only impede his movement.

All night and most of the day, they’d been walking. Well, Zavion hadn’t done much walking, but his thighs and butt were sore from riding atop Cian’s back.  They’d stopped only once to eat and catch a few hours of sleep, but with each passing hour, Zavion was  growing weaker. If they didn’t find The Hive soon, he didn’t know how much longer he’d make it.

Coughing fits were coming  more frequently and with increasing violence. He hadn’t been able to  eat much, but what he’d managed to

choke down only came right back up. His body felt overheated, his  muscles cramped, and even his fucking hair hurt. To say he was  miserable would be an understatement, but he was also determined to

reach their destination and remain alive.

“We’re getting closer,” he mumbled to the Thoroughbred. His  senses were dulling  as he became sicker, but he could detect scents  that he hadn’t smelled in months. “It shouldn’t be much farther.”

Squinting into the moonlit night, he tried to remember which way they’d ran when they’d fled The Hive. It had been daytime during their escape, though, and everything looked different in the dark.

In the distance, he caught sight of a large boulder silhouetted against the horizon. It reminded him a little bit of a turtle stretching his head out of his shell to look up at the stars. More importantly, it

From This Moment                       77

was familiar. “That way,” he said through more coughs, extending his  arm to point toward the south. “Just beyond that rock.”

Musical chimes and chirps cut through the silence of the night.  Zavion sighed as he rested his temple against the back of Cian’s neck  and wound his fingers in the thick mane. “Devlin, your butt is  ringing.”

Stopping in the middle of the open field, Devlin shifted back to  his two-legged form and dug around in the pouch that had been tied

around  his waist but had fallen to the ground during his transition.  “Devlin,” he answered. “Aye, the runt thinks we’re gettin’ closer.  Another few miles, maybe.”

He was quiet for a long time, occasionally bobbing his head or  grunting as he listened to whoever was on the other end of the line.  “Got it. We’re about twelve miles inside the Tennessee border.”

Zavion giggled at the way the state name came out in Devlin’s accent, earning him a sharp glare from the Irishman. “Sorry,” he mouthed.

“Right.  I can do that. We’ll keep movin’ southeast, and I’ll call

when we find something. Thanks, Blaise.”

“That was Blaise?”

“No, it was Santa Claus.”

“There’s no need to get snippy.” Zavion was far too tired to argue.  “What did he say?”

Devlin tapped at the screen of his smartphone for a few moments  before he answered. “Cicero started havin’ seizures, and they can’t

get Zuriel to wake up.”

“No,” Zavion moaned heartbrokenly before another bout of  coughs wracked his body, and the coppery taste of blood filled his  mouth.