Lynn found what she was looking for. Mr. Avery might be blind, but he kept his porch lights on to keep critters away. She spotted his cabin. It wasn’t as far away as she’d thought it would be. It was possible that she could make it on foot without weapons.

She took her time climbing down, watching and listening for any sign of the coyotes returning. She checked on the man one more time. He was out cold. Two other branches next to the one he sat on would keep him upright if he tilted to the side. It meant he wouldn’t fall.

“No choice,” she muttered. He needed a hospital. He might not survive until morning otherwise. It meant she’d have to run through the dark woods. She stared at his strange light source, wondering what had made that alarm go off. It was tempting to take it with her but it would help her find him once she got a rescue team to Mr. Avery’s cabin.

It wouldn’t be easy to reach the ground. She was barefoot. She got to the lowest branch and then swung out and dropped to the ground in a crouch. Nothing came at her out of the darkness. She straightened and sprinted off toward the cabin. It was tough to see without a flashlight but she was motivated.

She made it a short distance before a howl brought her to a halt. The last thing she needed would be to run into that pack. She looked for trees close to her that were easily climbed but most of the branches were out of her reach. Another howl came from behind her and she knew she was in deep shit. They were hunting her.

She turned, saw movement in the darkness.

“Fuck me,” she hissed and sprinted forward.

A snarl sounded to her left, telling her instantly that it was as bad as she’d feared. They were trying to surround her. Lynn frantically looked up for a low branch to grab while she ran for her life. She saw one ahead and heard something crash through the brush behind her. She jumped, grabbing for the limb.

Harsh bark scratched her palms but she caught the branch, swung and jerked her legs up. Her foot hit the trunk and her heel snagged on something. It hurt but she managed to use that foothold to throw her other leg up, hooking her calf over the branch she gripped. She used all her strength to pull up, her chest slamming against the limb. It made it easier to lift her other leg and hook the branch.

A scream tore from her throat when something brushed against her back. She twisted her head, seeing the shadow of a coyote below her. It jumped and managed to snag part of her jacket in its jaws. Material tore and she was almost ripped off the branch. Lynn screamed again, releasing the branch with one hand to hook her arm over it, then the other, hugging it tightly. Adrenaline and panic were great motivators.

The coyote jumped again but missed her. It was close though. She could hear his ragged breathing. She squeezed her eyes closed and started to pray. There was no way she could switch positions so she was on top of the branch instead of hanging from the bottom of it.

She could hear more coyotes and knew when another one lunged, attempting to tear her from her precarious perch. He missed and hit the ground hard. They were going to tear her out of the tree, rip her to shreds and eat her as though she were a deer carcass. Hot tears filled her eyes.

I’m animal control, damn it. Control those fuckers.

Her mind drew a blank on how to save herself. She was too afraid to think clearly and growing tired. Her arms and legs burned and ached from gripping the rough bark and holding her body tightly to the branch.

Something hit her back where her jacket had already been torn open. It was wet and cold as it brushed her exposed skin. The animal dropped to the ground, crushing dead leaves under its paws. A whimper pushed past her tightly compressed lips. One good yank and she would be torn down to the ground. She knew they’d be on her in seconds, attacking her en masse.

An ear-splitting roar sounded.

Oh god, just what I need. A mountain lion on top of it? Are you kidding me?

At that point, she was pretty sure someone in charge of fate hated her. If there was such a thing as karma, it was about to make a late-night snack out of her one way or another for something bad she’d once done.

The coyotes whined loudly. She heard leaves crunching as if something were running at them, so she turned her head and opened her eyes. The pack fled in the opposite direction. She stared after them, shocked that they were taking off, but then she realized they were running away from the mountain lion.

Bright light had her whipping her head in the other direction and she openly gawked at the four big men who came at her. They were tall, all dressed in black leather. It was their faces that alarmed her the most. They looked a lot like the guy she’d left in the tree. They had those same flatter, wider noses and one of them had his mouth open. She could spot his fangs.

They trudged closer and Lynn hugged the branch tighter. She didn’t feel saved. The leader lifted a hand and they came to a stop about five feet away. One of them held a round disk just like the one she’d seen before. It put off a lot of light. The men were scary—a foursome of terror with their leather clothing and big bodies.

One stepped closer and growled, holding up a small, flat device like the one that had reminded her of a cell phone. It was lit up along the seams, just as the other one had been. He growled again.

A cold, computerized voice followed a heartbeat later.

“Where is Coto, woman?”

Lynn stared at it, then at the guy’s face. He growled a third time. “I am Holion. You are safe, woman.” The box spoke again in a mechanical male voice as he made those inhuman sounds. “We will not harm you, so you may come down. We have chased the local animals away.”

Lynn hesitated and then unwrapped her legs as she eased her hold on the branch. Pain shot up her arms as she dropped ungracefully to the ground. She winced a little as her feet hit hard-packed dirt. She swayed, in shock, staring at the big leather-clad men. She swallowed hard, speechless, unsure what to say. She was afraid, and the urge to flee for her life clawed at her insides, but she didn’t scream or run.

They weren’t normal guys, that was for sure. The men openly stared at her legs, making her aware of her lack of clothing. She reached down and tugged the jacket lower, holding the seams together so they didn’t glimpse that she only wore panties under it. Holion stepped closer.

“We are looking for Coto. He called and said he was with a woman. You must be her. Where is he?”

He growled as the box translated it into words. It was freaking her out. It reminded her of one of those foreign movies she sometimes watched late at night. His lip movement didn’t match what she was hearing. Only he wasn’t speaking any known language that she was aware of. Her supposed DEA agent had growled too.