Something snagged on her shirt and tried to tear her away from him. It terrified her. What if they got separated? She really didn’t know how to swim. Whatever tugged on her ripped free though and she just kept clinging to Veso’s large, firm body. The current wasn’t pushing at them anymore as hard as it had been when they’d first entered the water.

Glen was pretty sure she was going to die. She buried her face against Veso’s chest and tried to keep calm. Drowning wasn’t a good way to go. She felt air again and gasped, right before he went back under. It reminded her of videos of whales she’d once seen, taken from a ship. Veso would take them up for a second, then go back under.

How long could it take to reach the other side of the river? He’d crossed so fast the first time but it felt as though forever passed as he took her up for air about five more times. Maybe having her attached to him slowed him down. Whatever the case, when he finally took her up and wrapped his arm around her lower hips, hiking her higher on his body, she realized they stayed up, and Glen rubbed against his chest to clear the hair from her eyes. She opened them.

“We’re downriver,” he panted. “We’ve lost our supplies. I can’t risk going back for them.”

He hooked her around her rib cage, carrying her out of the water as he staggered up the embankment and into the trees. She used one of her hands to shove more of her plastered hair off her face.

“I can walk.”

He ignored her, heading deeper into the trees until the river sounds faded. She didn’t complain, instead just kept hold of him. He stopped after about five minutes and crouched a little.

“You can let me go.”

She slid down his body and stood on trembling legs. The river had been cold and she instantly missed the heat of his body. Her soaked clothing felt really heavy and uncomfortable.

Veso pointed. “Climb inside that cave.”

She spotted the small split in the rocks. “What if there’s like snakes or something?”

Veso gripped her arm and growled low, his eyes flaring golden yellow. “Hide. I have to check the area. Be quiet and don’t make a sound until I return.”

They were still in danger. She lowered and remembered to just be grateful they were out of the water and she hadn’t died as she crawled forward. It was a tight fit but she knew why he had chosen it. No sunlight reached beyond a few feet inside. She wouldn’t see whatever bit or attacked her, if something else was already hiding there already.

Veso fumed as he stripped out of his clothes. His shirt was torn and useless. He threw it into the crevice he’d made Glenda enter and yanked off the shorts, tossing them out of sight too. He shifted, not caring if she were able to see him. He didn’t hear her gasp so he figured she hadn’t found room to turn around. He used his paws to shove dead leaves and foliage to cover their tracks from the tree line and peeked out at the river.

He spotted the other human pretty quickly, running along the other side of the river, searching for them. He lowered to his belly, keeping in the shade. The bastard had a rifle in his hand, the kind that shot darts. The backpack was gone but he knew it was the other so-called hiker.

It was tempting to go for their supplies but he wasn’t willing to chance the human shooting him with a dart. He waited until the man disappeared around a curve and backed up, rose to all fours, and went hunting to see if there were any more of them on his side of the river. It didn’t take long to discover they were alone, so far, at least within a mile. He returned to Glenda and shifted to skin, crouched down, and shoved his wet clothing forward to follow her inside.

The interior was damn tight, and he scratched his skin along the rock. It wasn’t that deep. Maybe seven feet. His eyes adjusted and he found her along the back, where she’d come up against solid rock. She’d curled into a ball, her arms wrapped around her legs, head down.

“I’m here,” he whispered.

She lifted her head and bumped it, softly cursing. “Is anyone out there?”

He reached out and put his hand on the back of her head to protect it from more accidental hits. She stared at him wide-eyed, blind. It was apparent to him that she couldn’t see a damn thing.

“We’re good for now.”

“I’m freezing.”

He could tell. “This isn’t a safe location. Take off your clothes and wring them out while I’m gone. I need to find us a safer place for the night, away from the river. They know you’ll slow me down.”

“Fuck that,” she muttered.

Her anger surprised him. He figured he was in for another argument but they couldn’t stay where they were. They’d be found.

“Give me a minute until my teeth stop chattering and then I’ll run. They’re trying to tranquilize us, aren’t they?”

“Only me. You don’t pose enough of a danger to them.”

“Tell that to college boy. I took his ass down.”

He actually smiled. He had been impressed when he’d surfaced from the water and saw her straddling the male, beating on him. It had also infuriated him. She’d been attacked. “You did well.”

“I might be small but I was raised in the city. I took some self-defense classes. Muggers and rapists target women all the time. Assholes expect women to run or just freeze up. They don’t expect you to strike first.”

“I’m proud of you.” He gently rubbed her hair, his fingers tangling a little in the wet locks. “Stay here for a few minutes while I dress.”

She tensed, then nodded. “Do I want to know why you aren’t anymore?”

“I move faster on four legs than two and it keeps me lower to the ground, harder to spot.”

“I’m going to have to see that sometime.”

It reminded him of an earlier idea. “Ever ride horses, Glenda?”

“No. Why? Did you see some and think you can catch them? I could probably hold on to you though if you can ride in front of me. I seem to have that down pat. You didn’t lose me in the water. I was like your second skin.”

“You’d be holding on to me alright. As I said…I move faster on four legs.”

Her mouth parted but then she closed it. A second passed. “Oh. You want me to ride you like a horse? That’s kind of crazy. Is that a joke?”

“No.”

She grew quiet.