Wolf on the Run: Salvation Pack, Book 3 by N.J. Walters

want to wait around until that happened. She was better off alone. It was what she knew, what she was used to.
    She grabbed her knapsack and hooked it over her shoulder before creeping to the door and putting her ear against the wood. She waited for long seconds until she was certain no one was up and about. It was late at night, or early in the morning, depending on how you looked at it. Everyone was either in bed or out patrolling.
    How would she get past whatever wolves were running around outside?
    “You can do this,” she whispered. It stood to reason they wouldn’t pay as much attention to the main road, never expecting an attack to come from such an obvious direction. She’d go that way but still be cautious. She wouldn’t underestimate Cole or his packmates.
    Cherise held her breath as she turned the knob, cringing when it made a slight clicking noise. She carefully pulled the door open and waited. When no one confronted her, she crept down the hallway to the front door. It was locked. It seemed to take her forever to unbolt it and open the door. Cold air rushed in and she tiptoed outside and shut the door behind her.
    The night surrounded her, but there was no comfort to be found. Comfort was behind her in the big bed she’d shared with Cole. “Don’t think about it.” She wrapped her arms around her waist and stealthily made her way down the stairs to the ground.
    When no hue and cry was raised, she relaxed and began to quickly walk toward the road. She had no idea where she was going. Salvation didn’t even have a bus station. She wasn’t sure how she was going to get to the next town that did have one. She was running low on money, but she had to get to a big city. There were shelters there that helped women in need. She hadn’t had to use one of those places in years, not since the early years with her mama. But she’d swallow her pride and do it in order to survive. When she was back on her feet, she’d repay them.
    A tear rolled down her cheek and she flicked it away, angry with herself for crying. She never cried, or rather she hadn’t in years. Being here had wrenched open a part of herself she’d kept locked up for such a long time. She couldn’t afford to be emotional, not if she was going to survive. She shoved aside all softer emotions and squared her shoulders. She would get through this the same way she had everything else in her life.
    But she’d never been truly alone before. She’d always had her mama. The two of them had drawn strength from one another, facing every ordeal together.
    A lump of dread settled in her belly, but she ignored it and kept putting one foot in front of the other. She passed by their vehicles, wishing for one moment she had a set of keys for one of them. She wouldn’t have stolen it, simply borrowed it and left it in town for them to find.
    It was too late to go back and search for keys now. Turning her face away from the trucks, she concentrated on the dirt road before her. It wouldn’t take her too long to get to the main road. She’d run from there into town. She was hungry and still tired and had to conserve her energy as much as possible until she could eat and replenish her strength.
    It was a simple fact of life that she wasn’t quite as strong as most werewolves. Not being able to shift was a huge drawback at times like this.
    “Going somewhere?” A shadow detached itself from the side of a tree, startling her. It was Gator, and there was no smile, no welcome on his face as there’d been earlier. With his cold blue eyes and tattoos, he looked fierce and none too happy with her.
    Cherise jumped back a step and her body immediately went into fight-or-flight mode. And since she knew she was no match in a fight with a full-blooded werewolf male, flight was her only option. With no destination in mind, she went from zero to a full-out run in the blink of an eye. She heard Gator swearing and knew he was on her tail.
    The road. She had to get to the