“Excellent idea!” I blurted as I took off at full speed. Although there was no way I was going to leave a man behind, I also knew that Paul would be able to fight much more effectively as his wolf self if I wasn’t in the way. So, for once, I was going to do the practical, reasonable thing, and get to safety.
I raced for the beer garden, figuring I could either find a weapon or some cover.
“Hey, up here!”
Looking up, I saw the cross-stitch honeypot lying on the canvas canopy, her belly pressed into the dense fabric. “Take my hand!”
I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I ran up the pile of barrels at the edge of the beer garden and grabbed her hand. Oh boy, I hoped she was stronger than she looked so she could pull me up.
Sure enough, she was able to get me up, and I scrambled to my feet as soon as I could. I glanced over the edge. Paul was surrounded by a good number of our followers, biting, kicking, and otherwise being a true warrior while the rest were barreling toward me.
“This way,” the honeypot said, taking off across the canvas—an impressive feat, considering how it moved and bucked with each footstep.
I followed her, but then my mind caught up, and I skidded to a stop.
“What’s wrong?” she asked when she reached a particularly thick vine that I realized she meant to shimmy up.
“I can’t leave my friend.”
I really couldn’t, not after my lies had gotten him into the whole situation.
It’s all your fault!
Not now, brain! Trying to fix things!
“Are you crazy? He’s a wolf. You’re just a human!”
“Not a human, but I can’t just leave him.”
“Your nobility is gonna get you killed.”
“Maybe, but it is what it is.”
The woman groaned and reached into her crafting bag, but what she pulled out wasn’t a crafting tool.
“Here, if you’re gonna be an idiot, use this.” She tossed the thing to me, and it wasn’t until I caught it that I could tell it was a covert taser.
“Why are you helping me?” I asked, sparing precious seconds because it really didn’t make that much sense.
“Ain’t many cross-stitching enthusiasts in this line of work. Besides, don’t really wanna lose my first follower.”
“Fair enough. I’ll DM you if I survive.”
“See that you do.”
With that, she shimmied up the vine. I looked back at the battle below.
Time to test my mettle.
Chapter 10
Paul
In the Lurch
I was surrounded.
I was angry—no,enraged. I was full of bloodlust, and as mentioned previously, I was very much surrounded.