Free Dauntless by Shannon Mayer

know which way we’d come in and I could hear the Nevermores in the bush around me. Were they herding me? My breath was coming fast and sharp and Nero quickly became a weight in my arms.
    Fingers grabbed at my hair and some of my long brown locks were ripped out of my head. I kept running, the pain only spurring me on. They would do far worse than pull my hair if I was caught.
    The bush clawed at me, and I gave a final burst of energy and stumbled out onto the open road. I’d come out about twenty feet south of the gate; between me and safety was the pack. I backed up as fast as I could, angling towards the fence line while still keeping an eye on the stalking pack. I could toss Nero over the fence and then climb it, but I wasn’t sure I could make it in time. The pack was advancing steadily and I held Nero tight. Tears started to trickle down my cheeks as the realization hit me. I couldn’t save us both. I’d been stupid to run out of the safety of the farm, right into the Nevermore’s trap. Either way, Nero was going to die. I kissed the top of his once downy head, my tears dripping onto his fur.
    “I’m so sorry Nero,” I whispered.

 
    12
     
    I started to put him down on the road, his big brown eyes staring up at me. Dark pools filled with trust that broke my heart.
    “Get over the fence woman!” Dan yelled. I looked up to see him inside the gate, his gun propped up on the top rail. I clutched Nero to me, spun and ran for the fence.
    The pack screamed and howled as Dan fired into them, their attention completely diverted away from me and Nero. I stumbled through the ditch and found myself at the old barbed wire fence first, the nice, clean, easy-to-climb page wire another 6 inches in.
    Holding Nero by the scruff of his neck, I reached over as far as I could and only had to drop him two feet instead of four. Then it was my turn. I started up the barbed wire, the rusty points digging into my hands, my back crawling with the fact that I couldn’t see how close the pack was behind me.
    I didn’t need to.
    A mouth clamped onto my upper thigh, my jeans the only thing to keep them from slicing into my flesh. I couldn’t stop the cry that slipped out past my lips. Her teeth cut clamped on tight and the pain rocketed through me. I was caught with one leg on the farm side of the fence and one leg in the mouth of a Nevermore.
    I pulled, but the Nevermore (one of the women) growled around her mouthful of my leg. I rode the edge of the two fences. The barbed wire bit into my inner thigh while I pulled on the brace that ran along the top of the page wire, trying to free myself. It was no use; there was no way I could pull my leg out of her mouth. I steadied myself with my left hand and cocked my right arm.
    “Let go!” I yelled, snapped my arm forward and landed a solid blow, hitting her square on the nose.
    The moment slowed as cartilage crunched under my fist, blood flew from her nose and a howl erupted out of her mouth. Unbalanced, I rocked in my precarious position and found myself thrown forward.
    A breath, then another, as I struggled to keep myself from falling between the two fences. The Nevermore had stumbled away from me, shaking her head, dirty blond hair splattered with blood.
    “I’ve got you.”
    Sebastian.
    He helped me down from the fence and, though my legs were wobbly, I managed to stay upright.
    Bending down, he picked up Nero and cradled him in his arms. “I heard the screaming. It woke me up.” His eyes were fuzzy and I could tell he was uncertain. Did he wonder if he was still asleep, caught in some strange fever dream?
    Words caught in my throat and I gave up trying to speak. I reached up and touched his cheek, the hollows so prominent from the sickness the cure brought on. His skin was clear of any hint of yellow and the images of broom plants under his skin were gone.
    His eyes, though, remained golden, giving evidence to the fact that he had indeed been a Nevermore.
    “I’m sorry