Forbidden Love by Natalie Hancock Page A

bring in the food, I’ll attack and run. If you follow, you follow. I plan on escaping whether you’re following or not.” Those who didn’t would surely be punished.
    “How will you get out? We’re underground in the middle of an island.”
    Katrina smiled. “Swimming. I’ll be a wolf after all.”
    The brown skinned woman glanced around at the others. “Shit. We’re in. You better be sure about this.”
    It didn’t surprise Katrina that the women were less afraid of her than they were of the vampires. She knew first-hand what they were capable of. “Run and don’t look back. We should be able to escape.” Katrina rolled her head from side to side while she paced. The sun had already set and the anticipation of being able to change to help the success of being freed made her heart pound against her ribs and her stomach writhe.
    When she heard footsteps on the other side of the door, she stilled and waited for the deadbolt to unlock and the door to open. When it did, Katrina attacked, knocking the vampire into the wall and covered his mouth. With a hard twist and a crack, the vampire dropped to the floor, his neck broken.
    “Run!” She headed down the hall, knowing the vampire wouldn’t stay down for long. She pounded up the stairs, hearing the others behind her as she sped up. She knew exactly where she was, having escaped before. So she knew which door led directly outside.
    The cold, fresh air felt good against her bare skin as she searched the grounds while the women spread out nearby.
    “Okay, what now?”
    “You run through the trees until they fade out. At that point, you’ll be able to hear the sound of running water. To the left there’s a pier. Take one boat, but push the others into the water as far as you can before setting off. It won’t stop the men, but it’ll give you a head start.”
    “What about you?”
    Katrina cast a sideways glance at the brown skinned women. “I’ll take care of myself, don’t worry.”
    “Oh I wasn’t. I meant what if you attack us?”
    “You’ll be safe. It’s the bastards who tortured us I’m after.”
    “I’m so glad to be on your side right now.”
    Katrina shivered as the clouds uncovered the moon for just a second. “Yes, well you better get running then. If I don’t make it to the water in time, it will be you I attack.”
    The women glanced at her with wide eyes and ran.
    Katrina turned back to the door, slamming it shut as the vampire charged at her. His arm caught and before he could scream, Katrina jumped on him, wrapped her strong legs around his neck and twisted while she pulled with her hands. The crunch of breaking bone echoed into the night as blood squirted up the wall and over Katrina when she ripped his head clean off his shoulders.
    Katrina inhaled deeply, taking in the scent. Her inner wolf quivered, hungry for blood, before she shot through the trees as fast as she could, ignoring the temptation before it became too much. Weaving around the trees quickly, she caught up with the others. “Come on!” Ignoring the sting of stones and twigs when they dug into her skin, she pushed her legs faster. I will escape.
    Yells echoed into the night, stopping Katrina instantly.
    The other women had stopped, too.
    The vampires knew they had escaped. They were being hunted.
    “You lot, run now.”
    “What was that?”
    “Vampires.”
    “Vampires?” Marie’s squeak echoed through the night.
    “You need to run. Now!”
    They did.
    The vampires would keep on Katrina’s tracks. They would follow the scent she left behind, a call that just screamed come and find me . Katrina couldn’t have hidden her scent if she tried. Sweat covered her entire body—not from exhaustion, but from fear. She was terrified even though she was a wolf and was strong. There were more vampires than she. She was way outnumbered, unless she could turn into a wolf.
    Still running fast, Katrina checked the dark sky. Not only was it going to rain, but thick clouds