The beast charged at us, his angry gaze on Ethan.  I bent low.

“Ethan is mine,” I yelled a moment before I ran at the thing.

It tried to jump over me, but I was too full of energy to let it pass by me.  I jumped up and drove my fist into its soft underside.  It grunted as it twisted and fell.  I landed lightly on my feet and quickly turned, ready for the next charge.  But it didn’t come.  Instead, the wolf stood there, growling its fury but otherwise motionless.

“Stop,” someone yelled.

I turned and looked toward the road.  A group of people stood clustered around the cars.  The woman with the white hair and the man with the bright grey eyes ran toward us.  They were so fast.  I blinked and relaxed my stance, swaying on my feet.

“No,” Ethan said, stepping close to me.  His arms steadied me.  “Let them go.  Now.”

“Boy,” the man with the grey eyes said, “he means to kill you.”

“Hear that, Z?  He wants to kill me,” Ethan said, nudging me.

“No,” the woman said.  “We don’t have time for this.  We need to move.”

Ethan’s slow exhale moved the hair at the back of my head.

“Fine.  Ten minutes.  Please.”

He turned me to face him.

“Just me and you.  Show me what you got.”

My eyes watered.  Ten minutes?  I wished they wouldn’t have stopped Carlos.

“It’s okay, babe.  I’ve got you.”

A tear leaked over the edge as I rolled my shoulders and swung.  I kept the first few strikes slow, so he would get the rhythm, and I stuck with traditional boxing moves.  Jab, jab, uppercut.  Always right then left.  He blocked the first set with ease.

“I’ve got you,” he said again.  “Come on!”

Another tear fell, and I opened myself up.  My hands flew.  Ethan stayed with me as best he could.  I kept my targets the same.  Right shoulder only, until I noticed him favoring it.  Then I pulled back a bit and aimed for the left.  I always pulled back on the left side.  It was too close to his big heart.

“Time’s up,” the woman said.

I immediately stopped punching.  Ethan opened his arms, and I fell against him.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered as I sniffled.

His hand gently feathered over the lump on my head.  It didn’t hurt as much.

“I know you are, Z.”

Four

When I lifted my head from Ethan’s shoulder, I saw it was just us in the field.  The others had moved toward the cars once again.  The mountain was no longer a wolf.  He was a shirtless, angry man dressed in loose black slacks.

I stepped away from Ethan and wiped at my face.

“There’s no point to that,” he said.  “You’re a complete mess.”

I stopped wiping and gave him a look.  He grinned at me.  I almost grinned back.

“Did I hit you anywhere too hard?”

“Not too hard.  Just enough to remind me to keep up with you.”

“I’m—”

“Isabelle,” he said, stopping another apology.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and he completely ignored it to jerk a thumb over his shoulder.

“Get your butt to the car before tall and half-naked goes caveman on you and drags you there by your hair.”

I snorted at Ethan’s description of Carlos.

*    *    *    *

The car was quiet.  Now that my nose wasn’t pouring blood and my head felt less like a drum, I looked around at what we passed—fields, open plains, and occasional wooded areas.

“I apologize,” the woman said suddenly.

I glanced forward and caught her gaze in the mirror.  “For what?”

“For preventing Carlos from helping you.”

Carlos hadn’t wanted to help.  He’d wanted to hurt Ethan.  But I didn’t point that out.

“So, what exactly are you guys?”

She grinned slightly.

“I think you know.  My name is Winifred Lewis, by the way.”

“I’m Isabelle.”

I felt Ethan’s humor a moment before he closed himself off again.  His control was impressing me.  It had been too long since we’d last seen each other.

“Why did you come for me?” I asked.

“Bethi can probably explain better than I can.  However, according to what she has told us, you are one of six women with special abilities.  There is a group—Bethi called them Urbat—that is trying to find you all.  Their leader held Michelle, one of the young women riding in the car behind us, for a time.  And, according to Bethi, he has the last one of you with him.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t really answer my question.  Why did you come for me?”

“Bethi said we needed to protect you.”

I watched Winifred in the mirror and felt a wisp of some emotion from her.  It was sour like regret and anger.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

“We need your help.”

My help?  I was a bruised and beaten mess.  Ethan, my best friend, was more so.  How did they think I could help them?

Ethan’s fingers threaded through mine.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“A friend has a place about an hour from here.  Gabby had been watching the area and thought we should be okay there for a few hours.  Bethi will want to talk to you,” she said, looking at me.

I nodded and glanced at Ethan.  We shared a look, and I wondered if he was hearing the faint chords of dueling banjos like I was.  They wanted to take us to a remote place to tell us why they needed me.  The words of the letter continued to play in my mind.  Were these the people the letter tried to warn me about?

I curled my right hand into a fist and winced.  My sliced palm hurt.  So did my wrist.  Ethan, still watching me, looked down at my hand.  He picked it up and started probing the wrist, somehow knowing the cut wasn’t the issue.

“Did anyone happen to grab our bags from the other car?” he asked.

“I’m sorry, no,” Winifred said.

The bags probably had my spare gloves and some wraps.  Without the gloves, I’d continue to hurt my wrist.  He and I both knew that taking a break from fighting wasn’t an option.  I’d just need to change my style.  Ethan hated kicking.

*    *    *    *

I saw the barn as soon as we pulled up.

“Oh, yeah,” I said under my breath.  Ethan and I had a new hang out.

As soon as the car stopped, I had my door open.

“I’ll be in the barn for an hour,” I said over my shoulder.

“We need to talk first,” Winifred said.

I stopped and turned back to her.  Carlos was already standing beside the car, his gaze focused on me.

“No.  There’s no way I can sit in a room with a bunch of people right now.”

The second vehicle pulled in and parked.  The door immediately opened, and the dark-haired girl jumped out.

“It’s okay, Winifred.  Let her go.”

I didn’t wait for Winifred’s permission but continued toward the barn.  Ethan was right behind me.  The structure was built into a hill, and we were at the top.  I pushed one of the double doors open and stepped into an empty hayloft.

The floorboards held firm as I walked several feet in.  Ethan’s steps scuffed behind me.

“Shirt off, handsome,” I said, turning on him.

His brows rose.

“I’m not lifting a fist until I see what I did to you the last time.”

He hesitated a moment then pulled his shirt over his head, using just his left arm.  That alone told me how badly I’d hurt him.  The blue covering his right shoulder said the rest.  I looked down at the floor for several minutes.  Ethan moved close with a sigh and gently touched the bruise on my cheek.

“It’s the price we pay.  You know that.”

“No, it’s the price I should pay.  Not you.”  I met his gaze, feeling pity for both of us.

“None of that.”  He took a step back and brought both hands up.  “Let’s go.”

Shirtless, I could at least see if I did him any more damage.