Katie panted as she ran through the forest, her speed had decreased significantly, thanks to the poison she inhaled causing her to abandon the need to be stealthy.
"That fucker!"
She cursed holding her bleeding arm.
He had dug his nails into her wrist before he leaped out of the smoke to safety leaving her injured.
The wrist wound was deep and it bled leaving a trail, allowing her pursuers to easily track her.
Though she tied it with a ripped piece of her shirt, but little drops of red were still seeping out and with a wolf's sensitive nose, tracking her was quite easy.
She ran faster after hearing a step from behind; but her steps were starting to get heavier, and she took that as the poison beginning to take effect.
Wolfsbane was a poison that weakened shifters' immune systems and could lead to death if not treated early. Even if she had inhaled a small amount, it was still just as deadly.
Hearing one of her pursuers closing in from behind, she drew her gun and fired. The bullet struck its target, but it didn't stop the others. If anything, it only made them more aggressive.
More of them were approaching quickly, and panic surged through her.
Her plan was to leap into the flowing stream and let the current carry her away, but she knew she wouldn't make it in time. Desperation set in as she tried to shift, but her wolf refused to emerge.
It must be the wolfsbane.
The poison had weakened the bond between Katie and her wolf, making the transformation harder to achieve.
She tried to force it, but her wolf resisted.
"We're going to die if you don't come out!" she shouted, desperation in her voice.
She urged her wolf again, but it refused.
In a last-ditch effort, Katie pushed harder, and with a final yell, after much resistance, her wolf finally yielded.
Her body twisted painfully as she shifted, her clothes ripping as she transformed into a sleek, slender brown wolf.
But her slender form didn't dull the fierceness in her green eyes.
Her speed increased, and she sprinted toward the flowing stream ahead.
Her pursuers snarled behind her, gaining ground.
Just as they neared, she leapt into the rushing water, letting the current pull her downstream.
The pursuers hesitated at the edge as it was too dangerous to jump in to follow.
Katie's wolf eyes glanced back, watching the pack stand still, unable to follow her across the water.
They could only chase on land, but soon they reached a dead end.
None of them followed her into the water.
Relieved, Katie continued downstream pulled by the current, but her escape didn't come without cost.
They were rocks beneath the surface jutted up, and she slammed into them, her body battered by the force of the current.
With no way to fight the water, so Katie endured the pain, struggling to stay afloat.
Half an hour later, she finally reached the shore, her wolf form collapsing as she shifted back into human form.
Bruised and battered, she lay on the bank, her body aching from the ordeal.
Her body throbbed in pain and she coughed up a mouthful of blood.
She could tell she had broken a number of bones.
Katie knew she wasn't going to be shifting into a wolf anytime soon as she had forced the shift earlier despite the resistance,and that had slightly harmed her connection with her wolf
She felt exhausted and thought to remain on the ground but she knew if he she did, she may never stand up again so she forced herself up and kept moving.
Katie stumbled through the forest, her steps heavy and unsteady.
She clutched a stolen gray coat tightly around herself, trying to stave off the cold that had penetrated her body.
As soon as she had got out of the water, she swiped a coat from some humans camping close and had intended to use it to cover her nakedness, but now it was serving as a source of warmth only it offered close to no relief for the chill she felt deep inside.
Werewolves catching a cold wasn't exactly normal, as they had great immune systems thanks to their regenerative properties.
But she was poisoned, and it was messing with body's natural processes.
If she doesn't quickly get the antidote, then it was only a matter of time before her regeneration fell behind, and then her heart stopped, unable to handle the poison.
Luckily, she had a cure in the hideout.
Katie knew she should have carried one with her the moment she wore the ring, but she didn't think she'd use the ring the way she didÂ
For some dumb reason, she wondered how Bryan was dealing with the poison, but then she remembered he was in a pack and would certainly have a healer who would be able to deal with this pretty easily.
You worry about yourself, Katie.
Katie shook her head not believing her herself, why was she worrying about someone who she was supposed to kill in the first place.
It didn't make sense.
Now close to her hideout, Katie was no longer walking, but dragging her feet towards the log house.
On reaching the entrance, she took out the keys to open the lock, but her hand kept trembling, and she couldn't find the keyhole.
Pursing her lips, she grasped the lock and yanked it downwards hoping to break it, but it stood firm.
She took a deep breath and tried once again pulling it down with all her might, and it broke, but then she fell on her knees and coughed out blood.
Her condition was getting worse.
She couldn't sense her wolf at all which told her the situation was bad.
The antidote was in just her room waiting, but she needed to take several more steps to get there.
She floundered ungracefully to her room, falling multiple times.
Halfway there, she tried to stand, but her leg had given up refusing to budge, so she went on all fours, crawling half naked.
It was idiotic for her to bother about covering herself when death was fast approaching.
She dragged herself across the dusty floorboard, her wet body causing dust to glue to her skin.
She wasn't going to die like this, not this easily, not before getting enough money to treat her brother. With pure grit, she pushed herself and managed to reach her destination.
Breathing heavily, she brought a small box out from under her bed and tried to open the lid, but which her hands trembling she lended up hitting the box, causing it to fall.
All the content inside spilling to the ground.
"Goddammit," she cursed.
The antidote was shaped like a ball and had rolled away when the box dropped.
Katie followed it, crawling towards the shrub like a worm.
Her strong will, and desire to save her brother was the only thing fueling her movement at this point.
Her eyelids were getting heavy threatening to pull her into unconsciousness.
If she closed it, she was probably never going to open it again.
Luckily she reached it and tried to put it in her mouth, but she didn't even have the strength to do that, and her vision was starting to see blurs.
Katie didn't have much energy anymore, so she left it on the ground, using her teeth she picked it off the ground and began to chew.
But even that simple act was draining.
After three to four bites, she couldn't fight it anymore, so she immediately swallowed the half-chewed cure before her eyes shut close.
Her only hope was that the antidote was fast-acting, and would take effect before the poison in her system killed her.