by Viola Rivard
* * *
Rosie paced nervously as the wolves, headed by Caim, quickly filed out of the den. She looked between the exit and Mila, worrying her bottom lip.
“Should we go with them?” Mila asked her.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Lotus said, stalking down from the dais. Mila took in her reddened face and clenched fists and decided not to argue with her.
“Where are they going? Is it the cats?”
Lotus’s eye twitched and she folded her arms beneath her high breasts. “I would not know, seeing as how I have been tasked with looking after you.” Her blue eyes flicked over to Rosie. “Why are you still standing here? Do you think that being useless somehow exempts you from defending your pack?”
It was clear to Mila that Lotus was in rare form. Pursing her lips, she put a hand on Rosie’s shoulder. A small tremor ran through the young woman’s body. Rosie was more apt to run than fight, and when she did fight, well, it was obvious why she tended to avoid physical conflicts. She just wasn’t a fighter.
“Rosie’s staying with me,” Mila told Lotus.
They stared at each other for a tense moment before Lotus relented. “So be it. Let’s go.”
Lotus started toward one of the passageways and Rosie fell into step behind her. Mila didn’t immediately follow; instead, she looked back toward the den exit where the last of the wolves were making their way out. She knew there was nothing she could possibly do to help them, yet hanging back just felt so wrong. After a brief hesitation, she followed Lotus and Rosie.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they entered the passageway. It was a small tunnel that led downward rather than scaling up like most of the others. She hadn’t been down that way before and could hear running water echoing in the distance.
“Somewhere safe,” Lotus replied in a clipped tone.
Cold air bit at Mila’s skin and numbed her extremities. Nothing but darkness lay ahead, and Mila rushed to catch up to Rosie. She hooked their arms together so she didn’t trip. Rosie moved to grasp Mila’s hand and laced their fingers together.
“Do not worry,” Rosie told her. “The cats are prone to these sorts of cowardly tactics, but they would never openly confront the pack.”
From somewhere in the darkness, Lotus said, “They would if we killed one of their own.”
“What?” Mila and Rosie replied in unison.
“Caim killed one of their males,” she informed them. “Likely the one that you encountered at the river but we will never know. He gutted the cat before it had a chance to speak.”
The few bites of venison Mila had eaten hardened in her stomach. She placed a hand over her abdomen and took a deep breath through her nose, willing herself not to be sick again.
Although she would be ashamed to admit it, Caim killing the cat didn’t bother her nearly as much as it probably should have. What concerned her far more was the thought of him being in harm’s way. She had spent the past two weeks harboring a small, but persistent, fear that something would happen to Asch. With Caim dashing off into a dangerous situation as well, she was almost overwhelmed with fear.
She kept walking and tried her best not to let Lotus know how much she’d upset her. The sound of running water became louder, and then she heard splashing.
Rosie came to a stop. “We are going to step down into water now. Be careful,” she advised and helped Mila step down.
Her bare foot came in contact with freezing water, far colder than the river had ever been. She made a noise of discomfort as she fully submerged her foot. The water came halfway up to her knees. “Why are we walking in the water?” Mila asked, gritting her teeth to stop them from chattering.
Rosie replied, “In case the cats breach the den. They may follow our scent down here, but they’ll have a hard time tracking us if we move through the water.”
Mila accepted the answer and trudged upstream alongside Rosie. Jagged rocks bit into her feet, but she barely noticed them over the blistering pain of the cold water. Things only got worse from there. Mila let out a choked cry as Rosie led her under a cascade of water that soaked through her clothes, chilling her to the bone. After that, she just focused on putting one foot in front of the other, rather than screaming.
10
T hey had found Sable strung from the oak tree in her human form, crude twine wrapped tightly around her torso, rendering her unable to shift. Blood oozed from deep lacerations on her back, staining the fresh snow beneath her. The cats had left her alive—barely—most likely to use her as bait to lure the pack.
From their position on the bluff, Caim had ordered the wolves to disperse in groups of three, hoping to ferret out the enemies rather than walk into an obvious trap. As he always did, Caim had gone alone. He was stronger by himself, without having to be concerned about the welfare of others. And yet, today, he did not feel strong.
Not only had the cats dealt him a great insult by mutilating Sable, but he could think of little else besides the fact that his mate was still in the den, virtually unprotected. He trusted Lotus to guard her but knew that if a cat made its way into the den, both their lives would be in jeopardy. Rather than wishing he could be in two places at once, Caim found he merely wished he had exercised more restraint with the male he had killed.
Regret was undoubtedly his least favorite emotion.
Dusk settled in as Caim made his way toward the oak. He heard the distinct sounds of muffled struggles as his wolves made quick work of the cats, holding fast to their throats until the life drained from their bodies.
Efficient as they were, the element of surprise did not last long, and the remaining cats hastily regrouped to retaliate. Trusting his wolves to handle their own, Caim ignored the sounds of battle and sunk down low to covertly reach his destination.
A large male waited in the tree. He stood perfectly still, poised to attack. When he caught sight of Caim, he bared his teeth. His tail whipped back and forth. Caim recognized his scent; it was similar to that of the male he’d killed. As Lotus had postulated, the dead cat had been their leader’s brother.
Sable moaned, drawing Caim’s attention. Her head was lolled back, and he suspected she had caught his scent. His muscles quivered as anger rippled through his body. A growl emanated from his chest. The cat responded, jumping down from the high branch to land smoothly on his feet. He stalked back and forth, his yellow eyes trained on Caim.
He was larger than Caim, but not by much. Caim was not accustomed to being at a size disadvantage, but he did not let it intimidate him. He faced off with the cat, meeting his gaze, unblinking.
While the cat paced restlessly, Caim’s keen eyes searched for weakness in his enemy’s stance. His usual method of attack was a relentless frontal assault, but given his very recent miscalculation, he decided it might be prudent to proceed with restraint. The cat clearly wanted to talk to him, though he likely did not want to be the first to shift and make himself vulnerable. No matter how civil he was inclined to be, Caim was not about to make the first concession.
As he had predicted, the cat shifted first, morphing into a large man with a fierce countenance. All of his instincts told Caim to attack him then—go for his throat before the male could shift again—but he ignored them. If they could somehow negotiate a resolution, they would be able to pull their packs back and avoid further death. And so, Caim shifted.
As he felt his human bones and muscles pop into place, he became vaguely aware of a sound behind him—the soft crunch of snow. Before he could turn to seek out the intruder, a white-hot pain streaked across his back. He was knocked onto his stomach, something sharp pinning him to the ground.
Caim immediately shifted again, knowing full well it might be too late. His enemies already had the advantage.
* * *
When they finally stopped, taking shelter in a small alcove, Mila nearly collapsed. She slowly lowered herself to the ground. Her entire body trembled from the cold. Rosie shifted and curled around Mila in an effort to w
arm her, but the tremor had settled into Mila’s bones and refused to leave her.
Lotus was somewhere nearby, though Mila couldn’t see her. The darkness was oppressive, and she realized that the one good thing about walking was that it had given her something to focus on. Something besides the fact that Asch and Caim were both gone. She was worried beyond belief felt ridiculously sick because she was pregnant—which she still didn’t know how she felt about, because she’d only found out an hour ago.
She tried to think about something else—anything else—but the only other thing she could think about was being eaten by giant cats. Cold, miserable, and afraid, she decided to do the one thing that was sure not to solve any of her problems, which was to cry.
Mila put her head in her hands, trying to hide her tears. Once she remembered they could smell it, she gave up and let herself sob.
“Quit your crying,” Lotus ordered.
“Screw you,” Mila replied and swiped her damp sweater sleeve beneath her eyes.
Lotus huffed before saying, “You cannot speak to me like that.”
“Well, I just did.”
Lotus clicked her tongue. “I pity whatever unfortunate child you give birth to. I have never met such an—”
“Oh my god, will you just shut up?” Mila groaned. “You sound like my mother and it’s seriously getting on my nerves.” Her tears dried up as misery gave way to aggravation.
“I would never have raised such a senseless woman,” Lotus said and gave a dignified snort. “Though I imagine your mother was not much better than you, auctioning her daughter off to live among wolves.”
Mila sighed and wrapped her arms around her body as another tremor wracked through it. Aside from Asch, she hadn’t told anyone exactly how she’d ended up joining the pack. After a few days with them, it had become apparent that many of the wolves, particularly the numerous ones who hadn’t been born within a pack, longed to be part of human society. She’d been too embarrassed to admit she’d volunteered to live the life they were segregated into, so she had let them believe she’d come out of duty to her county.
“I got myself into this,” she said, not wanting to be entirely candid. “If my mother were alive, she probably would have called me senseless too, but she’s not, and she hasn’t been for a long time.”
Miraculously, Lotus stopped talking. Mila had almost forgotten how well the “Dead Mom” card worked, though she immediately regretted using it. One of the best aspects of joining the pack had been that no one knew her. She could put all of her crap behind her and start a new life.
Instinctively, her hand moved to her stomach. Her throat thickened with emotion. She was starting a new life. Not just with the baby, but with Asch and Caim, with her new friends, and her new, stupid cave home. No matter how stressful the past few weeks had been, it had also been the happiest time of her life.
Gathering her maturity, she said, “I’m sorry. I know you’re probably really worried about them too, and you’d rather be out there than stuck down here with a whiney human.” Lotus didn’t reply, so Mila kept talking. “It’s just … I know how easily things like this can fall part. Everything’s fine, so you let your guard down, then the next thing you know, the person you love is getting cancer or being eaten by a giant cat.”
Mila sniffled and dabbed the corners of her eyes. Rosie let out a soft whine of acknowledgement and rubbed her head against Mila’s arm. She leaned back against the wolf, trembling as another shiver ran through her body.
She heard the sound of light footsteps, and then felt the air beside her disturb as Lotus sat down. She pulled Mila into a loose embrace that somehow didn’t feel awkward. Mila let herself rest her head on Lotus’s shoulder, deriving more than just warmth from the hold.
“We are not friends,” Lotus informed her. Her hands moved over Mila’s body, pausing to squeeze warmth into Mila’s chilled flesh. “Caim left me in charge of you. I am seeing to your well-being.”
Mila nodded into the crook of her shoulder. Lotus hugged her until she stopped shaking, and then she simply held her.
11
A long with River, Brae, and Fern, Asch had spent three hours hashing out a strategy to rescue Sable. They had carefully calculated the locations of each of the fourteen cats—significantly more than previously predicted—and had been making their way down the far mountainside, toward the den, when they heard the sounds of fighting.
Just like that, his hours of careful planning had turned to shit.
Instead, he was forced to rush into the middle of an obvious trap to save his reckless friend—not that it came as much of a surprise to him. He’d been covering Caim’s ass for years now.
When he arrived in the clearing, Caim was fending off two male cats, the larger of which had its jaws locked on Caim’s neck. With no time to strategize, Asch darted forward. He sprung onto the larger male’s back and sunk his teeth into his throat. The smaller cat tried to make a go for him from behind, but Asch kicked up with his hind legs and sent it hurtling toward the oak.
The cat hit the tree with a satisfying crack as its back broke. In its shock, the large cat released Caim and attempted to go to its fallen partner. Asch raked his claws across the cat’s abdomen, never giving it the opportunity to rescue its comrade. He was a great believer in diplomacy, but circumstances had escalated beyond that point, and he wasn’t about to leave any loose ends. Its innards spilled to the ground. The cat took a few shaky steps before slumping over, lifeless.
Asch shifted, looking to Caim, who followed suit. He quickly assessed Caim’s injuries: a few deep lacerations, but nothing likely to be fatal. He turned his attention to Sable, who was in a much more precarious state.
“Mila’s in the den?” he asked. Caim nodded. He thought she would be but was relieved nonetheless. “Help me get Sable down.”
Striding over to the oak, Asch stepped over the dead cat at the base of the tree and hoisted himself up. He nimbly climbed from branch to branch until he reached her. He carefully unbound her, letting her fall into Caim’s waiting arms, then jumped down. He resisted the impulse to check her injuries, knowing there was nothing that could be done for her out here.
“You all right?” Asch asked, taking in Caim’s somber mood. Caim nodded without meeting his gaze. “Good. Let’s get her back to the den.”
He shifted to allow Caim to climb onto his back. Once Sable was secure, Asch took off in a run. He didn’t want to leave while the others still fought, but he would have to trust the betas to take point. He had no idea what the fuck was happening, but he needed to know that his mate was safe.
* * *
It was impossible to know how much time had passed in the underground caverns. With nothing but darkness to look at, Mila kept her eyes closed. She was exhausted but too afraid to sleep, so she lay awake, focusing on the sounds of Lotus’s heartbeat and Rosie’s breathing.
The splashing of water, followed by footsteps, put them all on alert. Mila tensed anxiously, her sense of vulnerability amplified by her obscured vision. Lotus put a hand on her back.
“Calm down. It is okay.” She stood and pulled Mila up with her. Addressing the newcomer, she said, “Are they all right?”
“They’ll be fine. The others were returning as I came down. We’ll know more when we go back up.”
Mila had to stop herself from crying again. She let go of Lotus and blindly staggered toward the voice. Not trusting herself to speak, she didn’t make a sound as Asch’s strong arms closed around her.
“We’ll go on ahead,” Lotus said, excusing herself and Rosie.
Asch murmured his acknowledgement, but Mila was too overwhelmed to respond. Her hands roamed over him, taking in every achingly familiar plane of his body. Asch lowered his head and inhaled her scent. She pressed her forehead to his chest and breathed deeply, taking in his cedar scent.
When she finally felt like she was in control of her emotions, she said, “You smell incredible.”
His embrace tightened. �
��So do you.”
He picked her up and silently carried her through the yawning darkness. She put her arms around his neck and squeezed her eyes shut. Asch was back, Caim was okay, and yet she still felt uneasy.
The whole situation had been a reminder of her human limitations. Their world was dangerous, and she had very little control over it. She didn’t have superhuman strength or speed. She couldn’t see in the dark or smell blood on the wind or hear a predator approaching. Like a child, she’d had to rely completely on the wolves to protect her. The most she could do was stay out of the way and hope for the best.
“I feel so pathetic,” she whispered. It was easier saying it when she couldn’t see the disapproval, or worse, the pity, in his expression. “How am I going to take care of a baby if I can’t even take care of myself?”
“No one expects you to take care of yourself,” he replied. He gave her hip a reassuring squeeze. “I can’t promise you that things like this won’t happen again, but I don’t want you to ever be afraid of being harmed. Your safety is more—”
“I’m not that selfish,” she said, her hand curling into a fist. “I wasn’t sitting down here worried that a cat was going to come and eat me, mostly not. I was afraid that Caim would be hurt and that you wouldn’t come back, and all I could do was cry about it.”
Asch stopped walking and rubbed his nose against the top of her head, then heaved a sigh. “You’re just going to have to trust me, Mila.”
He didn’t give her any false promises, and she found that oddly comforting. They would never have a safe or secure life. She had left “safe and secure” back when she’d chosen to join the pack. For now, all she could do was trust the men she loved.
“Okay.”