Jaxon’s bare feet hit the cold mud and sharp sticks of the forest floor one after another as he sprinted with Layla in his arms. He clung to her limp, frigid body, willing his own body heat into her with every heavy breath he sucked in. In the distance, he could still hear the wailing sirens of the fire team and the confusion of his pack members as they evacuated into the darkness of night.
But none of that mattered to him. All that mattered was Layla.
He didn't know why he chose to take off into the forest with her at first. It was as if his feet knew where to take her before his brain caught up, but as the blur of familiar trees registered in his mind, he quickly caught on to where his subconscious was leading him.
Deep in the forest, following the winding path of the creek which even
