Free Mating Games by Stormy Glenn, Joyee Flynn

glanced up sharply, his heart pounding when Alastar’s face paled.
    “What?”
    Alastar pointed to the image growing bigger in the rearview mirror. “I think they found us.”

Chapter 5
    Dobry glanced through the back window. He could see a car coming down the road. He didn’t recognize the car, but he could see that it was being driven like crazy, speeding down the road.
    “It’s them,” he whispered. Fear spiraled through him until he almost couldn’t breathe. He turned around to look at Alastar, anxiously slapping the top of the front seat. “Go, Alastar, drive.”
    The car lurched forward, tires spinning in the sand. Dobry slapped the seat again and again. “Go, go, go!” he cried out. He clutched the seat and dug his fingers in as if he could will the car to move just through his desperation. “Please, go.”
    “I’m trying, Dobry,” Alastar snapped. “The damn car won’t move.”
    “Out!” Sebastian shouted. “Everyone get out of the car and head toward the water. It will mask our scent.”
    Sheer black fright swept through Dobry. He scrambled out of the car, reaching back in just long enough to grab his blanket. He wasn’t going anywhere without that. He didn’t bother shutting the door as he raced to the edge of the water.
    “Which way now?” he asked as soon as Sebastian and Alastar reached his side.
    “I live upriver from town, so north, I think,” Sebastian said.
    Dobry cocked an eyebrow at him. “You’re not sure?”
    “Big, bad Delta wolf,” Alastar snorted, “lost in his own backyard.”
    “It’s not like I’ve lived here that long, you know?” Sebastian’s face flushed red. The situation struck Dobry as funny. He didn’t know why. It just did. He started laughing, slapping his hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t be heard by their pursuers. Sebastian and Alastar just stared at him like he’d lost his mind.
    Dobry shook his head, unable to speak a word through his laughter. Sebastian rolled his eyes and grabbed Dobry by the arm, pulling him down to the water. They walked in up to their knees, then headed upstream.
    By the time they heard yelling behind them, Dobry’s laughter had ended. At the first shout, though, his fear returned. He picked up speed, hurrying alongside Alastar and Sebastian. If the master got him again, Dobry wasn’t sure he could live through it.
    Time seemed to stand still as they ran. Dobry could see the water splashing around their legs. His heart hammered in his chest. He was starting to get winded, and he knew it. He wasn’t in the condition to run at long lengths.
    “Sebastian,” he said as he reached out for the man, “I can’t—I’m gonna—”
    Dobry yelped as he was instantly swept up into Sebastian’s arms.
    He quickly wrapped his arms around the man’s neck and held on for all he was worth as he tried to keep a hold of his fragile control, which was quickly slipping away.
    Glancing past Sebastian’s shoulder, he could just barely see the edge of the little sandy outlet where their car was parked. Several men milled about, but none of them seemed to be in pursuit. Dobry patted Sebastian’s shoulder to get his attention.
    “Sebastian, they’re not following us,” Dobry said, pointing.
    “Look.”
    Dobry grunted when Sebastian suddenly stopped and looked over his shoulder. He could feel the man’s chest rising and falling with his rapid breaths. He didn’t seem as winded as Dobry felt but close to it.
    Alastar bent over and rested his hands on his knees, his breathing as heavy as Sebastian’s. “I don’t think they saw us.”
    “Well, they certainly seemed interested enough in the car,”
    Sebastian said.
    Dobry suddenly thought of all of his foster mother’s things that he had in the car. His heart ached thinking they might be damaged. He hugged his blanket closer to his chest. At least he still had that.
    “Can you call your friends?” Alastar asked as he stood up and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. Sebastian