Chapter 239+25 BONUS

“So we’ll be extra careful not to get caught,” I said, a plan already forming. I extended my hand to Noah. “Come on. Don’t you want to see her one last time?”

The memory faded, and I found myself back in the present, watching Jake hang up. The roar of the waterfall drowned out my thoughts, a constant reminder that soon, regardless of Noah’s payment, I’d plunge over the edge.

“Well done,” Jake sneered, pocketing the burner phone. “Your husband seems willing to pay. Now we wait.”

My throat was dry from fear and thirst. “So, what now? Will you kill me?” I whispered.

Jake laughed, the sound echoing. “Not yet, sweetheart. We need you alive for the next call. But after that…” He mimicked slitting his throat, his eyes gleaming.

My stomach churned. Thirty minutes. That’s all the time I had left of this second chance. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t grant a third.

“I need to use the bathroom,” I blurted, fearing I’d vomit.

Jake eyed me suspiciously, then nodded to a man. “Take her. And watch her closely. No funny business.”

The guard roughly pulled me up, his grip painfully tight. As he led me toward some trees, I scanned the forest, searching for hope, for escape. The woods were dark and dense, shadows dancing in the moonlight. Even from a distance, I heard the waterfall, now mixed with owls and rustling leaves.

“Hurry up,” the guard growled, shoving me. “And don’t try anything stupid.”

I stumbled, pretending to squat behind a bush. I focused on awakening my wolf. To my surprise, I felt a stirring, a faint echo of my power returning.

I could shift and run, I thought, my eyes sharpening.

But even if I could, I wouldn’t get far. My head was fuzzy from the chloroform, my body ached. Besides, it had been years. I wasn’t sure I could transform quickly enough.

As I pretended to finish, a breeze carried the scents of pine, damp earth…and something familiar.

My heart leaped. Noah. He was close.

Chapter 239+25 BONUS

“Time’s up,” the guard barked, yanking me to my feet.

“Hey!” I protested. “I could have been peeing!”

“But you weren’t. Now move,” he growled, shoving me.

As we walked back, I fought to suppress a smile. Maybe Noah was coming.

Jake looked up, his eyes narrowing. “Everything good?”

The guard nodded. “No problems.”

I settled back down, my mind racing. Noah was close. But how close? Would he find us in time?

“Twenty minutes until the next call,” Jake announced, checking his watch. “And then…” He whistled, dramatically pointing over the waterfall, then made a sound like an explosion.

I bit my lip. We’d see who went over that cliff tonight.

Chapter 240