Winter Wolf (A New Dawn Novel Book 1) by Rachel M Raithby Page B

him two minutes to come back around the front. Two minutes she’d have to climb out the window and make it to the cover of the woods. She wasn’t even sure she could make that with her new wolf speed.
    “He nailed the window shut while you were sleeping, Kat,” Toby whispered.
    Katalina turned and looked at Toby with wide eyes. “While I was sleeping? Are you for real?”
    “The body takes the first change hard. I slept for more than twenty-four hours after mine. There could have been a riot outside and you wouldn’t have noticed.” His voice was a gravelly whisper.
    “What is my best chance of escape, Toby?” she whispered.
    Toby looked at the door, the window and then back at Katalina. Taking a deep breath, he whispered, “If I can slip away, I’ll open the door. You’ll have to then sneak out, wait for Cage to be out of sight, and run. I’m not even sure if I’ll be able to get the door unlocked, and then you’ve got to get through the house and past Cage. Kat, it’s going to be pretty hard. The best chance you’ll have is turning wolf. You’ll be quicker. Jackson has all four enforcers patrolling around the pack’s perimeter too. He’ll come after you straight away. You’ll have to keep running and pray you can get enough of a head start to outrun them.”
    “You’d do that for me?”
    “It’s only unlocking a door.”
    “No, Toby, it’s going against your alpha to help me.”
    “This isn’t right, Kat. I can’t just sit back and do nothing. Cage has gone insane. I’ve no idea why he’s siding with Jackson.”
    There was a bang on the door. “Toby, time to come out.”
    “See you, Kat,” Toby smiled.
    Katalina spent the next hour pacing. She’d given up trying to open the window; it was well and truly nailed shut. She’d watched Cage for a while; his constant marching drove her mad. Arne was still running around free, which made her feel better, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to sneak out and get his attention.
    She froze as the door clicked softly. Rushing to the door, Katalina listened for any sounds and when she heard nothing, she crept out. It was time. Halfway down the stairs, the front door opened. Karen rushed in, slamming it so hard behind her the glass in the tiny rectangle window cracked. Katalina stood frozen, her heart in her throat, but Karen didn’t notice her as she marched into the kitchen. Jackson started shouting and then Karen started shouting back. For a second, she didn’t move. She’d never heard Karen so mad, but then she realized her advantage; their fighting would distract them as she escaped.
    Running the last few steps, Katalina waited until Cage was out of sight and then ran. Luckily, Arne was asleep on the porch. He woke the second she leaped off and ran after her. Halfway to the woods she remember Toby told her to change, having only done it once without wanting to, she wasn’t sure what to do. Pulling her clothes off as she ran, she tripped, landing face first in the snow.
    “Fuck it!” she swore, dragging her jeans off and then jumping back to her feet. As she started to run again, she heard Cage yell.
    “Here goes nothing,” she muttered.
    Katalina closed her eyes. She pictured her wolf in her mind’s eye, instinctively knowing this was how to take control of her wolf. The pain of the change ran up her spine. She screamed, falling forward as her wolf burst from within her.
    Cage had already closed the distance between them, but she didn’t look back. The woods became a whole different world as a wolf. She could see and feel the best path through the trees. Her paws easily glided over the uneven earth, but Cage had been a wolf longer than her and he was soon snapping at her heels.
    Arne was already far behind them, not able to keep up with the wolves, but she couldn’t think of him now; she had to think of herself, no matter how much it hurt her to leave him behind.
    Cage jumped onto her. They tumbled to the ground, a ball of snow white