Rhylan

by Emilia Hartley

  Savannah could understand the merits of having that kind of information, but it didn’t explain how that would help them today. “How can we use that to our advantage?”

  He looked down at Savannah, an excited glint in his eye. “We circumvent the problem bears, first to the cabin with the most bears. I know a lot of bears there and we’ll probably have the best sway if we go there first.”

  “What makes you think Lucas hasn’t switched all this up and moved the bears in case of his information getting out?” Savannah asked, wary of such a flimsy plan.

  Dan lowered his head and he stalked forward. “Why would he do that? He thinks I’m dead and you’re loyal. He’s had no reason to feel threatened enough to change up the routine he’s had for years.”

  Savannah nodded, agreeing with him there. “So in the event that everything goes right, you’re just going to, what? Preach to them or something?”

  Dan’s chest rattled with mirth. “Well when you put it tha—” Dan’s head snapped up, his voice falling silent all at once.

  “He’s here.”

  Savannah’s heart began to pound almost instantly and her eyes darted over the darkness of the looming forest even though she knew she wouldn’t be able to see anything. “Who? Lucas?”

  Dan gave one slow nod. It was enough to startle Savannah’s body into shivering. She hadn’t realized just how nervous today made her. She thought she’d already mentally prepared for her impending meet up with Lucas, the meet-up that would spell out her resignation. The day was here far sooner than she’d ever expected, she didn’t know if Dan was healed enough, or if she was confident enough. There was too much doubt and all Savannah could see waiting for them was failure.

  “I thought you said he’d be gone,” Savannah said. Her voice was small and weak and she hated it.

  “I thought he would be, which means either one of two things.” He looked down at the quivering Savannah, concern in his eyes. “Either you were right, he worried about me telling all to Tom and Nick so he changed everything up, or he’s grouping in preparation for an attack.” He sniffed the air. “Either way, he’s here, somewhere. He’s probably been tracking us for a while now. This isn’t good for our plan.”

  Savannah closed her eyes, forcing her heart to calm as she sampled the air. It was just the faintest scent, but even she could make out Lucas’s distinct smell on the wind. And Dan was right, he was slightly downwind, a good indicator that he’d probably been trying to track them undetected.

  “Damn it,” Dan muttered quietly before turning behind them. “Alright, Lucas, you got us. Now can you come out of the shadows? We only want to talk.”

  The trees were thick this deep into the forest, almost completely blocking sunlight. It took Savannah some adjusting to see even the massive form of Lucas’s bear emerge from the tree cover and stand before them.

  “You’re alive,” came Lucas’s rumbling growl, but it wasn’t in elation or relief. Savannah could just make out the disgusted curl of his lip, as he looked Dan up and down. The look chilled her to the bone and a small, fast puff of breath betrayed her fear.

  Like a predator locking onto his prey, Lucas’s eyes snapped to Savannah. “Did you bring this trash back to me?” he growled.

  Her body wanted to quiver and shake apart, undone by the terror that Lucas invoked in her, but her bear stood its ground, even going so far as to raise up on hind legs to appear larger. Lucas was no longer her leader. He had no power over her. “No. I didn’t.” she grunted, her voice sounding more sure than she felt.

  She saw Dan rise slowly onto his injured leg, following her lead. “I wouldn’t rejoin you even if you paid me, Lucas. Your pack is a cancer that needs to be eradicated.”

  Lucas snarled. “The strong are only scary to the weak, mongrel. You’ve proven yourself useless, so you’ll be treated as trash when I burn that pathetic shop to the ground.”

  A vicious growl tore from Savannah’s throat. “Like Hell you will.”

  ***

  Tom paced impatiently in the shop, alone and letting his imagination get the best of him. There was something gnawing at him, an uncertainty that he couldn’t ignore. When Savannah and Dan spoke, a look passed between them. A look he didn’t understand. It chilled him to the bone.

  He wandered aimlessly into his living quarters, thinking maybe he was just feeling irrationally jealous after finally claiming her as his mate. Something deep and powerful within him told him he had nothing to worry about concerning their relationship, and he knew it was right. From the moment that they’d accepted each other as mates, all sense of doubt faded away. So then what was bothering him so badly?

  A white square of paper on Tom’s freshly made bed caught his eye. That wasn’t there before they left. Tom vaguely recalled Savannah dipping back here before taking off with Dan, and his heart began to speed involuntarily. He snatched up the note, eyes tearing across the page in a panic.

  “Tom, we need to talk. And yes, before you start stressing, it is about Dan, but it’s mostly about me. It’s not a terribly long story, but I can guarantee it won’t be one you like.

  I just need to get it off my chest before we go any further. Let me say in advance that I hope you forgive me.

  I love you.”

  Tom cursed loudly, tearing off through the shop. He barely cleared the office doorway before the bear tore from his skin and bolted towards the scent of the two departed bears.

  He tried to ignore the way their scents coiled around him, beckoning him slowly but surely towards where he knew the Northern Wind was stationed. He didn’t know what this meant, he didn’t know if Savannah was safe or if Dan was an enemy. He didn’t know anything. And that terrified him.

  It wasn’t long before another scent entered the mix as it tangled together lazily on the forest breeze.

  “Lucas,” Tom breathed quietly, abject terror beginning to snake its way up his throat.

  A snarl tore from his jaws as he rocketed through the trees. This all but confirmed his suspicions. Dan had taken Savannah to Lucas. He wasn’t sure how this tied into Savannah’s note, but something felt right about his accusation. The flame of anger burned brightly in his belly as he bolted passed trees in a rush to get to his mate.

  Whispers of speech whistled against Tom ear as he ran, stopping him in his tracks. He listened more intently, trying to make out some of the words.

  “You were ordered to bring Tom. You’ve failed.”

  Tom bit back the instinctive growl he felt bubble up in reaction to Lucas’s words. He didn’t know when Dan had taken time to rendezvous with Lucas, but they’d obviously had a plan. Maybe they’d had this planned since the last attack. Had Lucas predicted them helping Dan heal weeks ago and set him up as a mole for information? Tom shook his head. He didn’t know, and pondering what ifs was a waste of time. He’d deal with both bears later, regardl—

  “I failed on purpose, Lucas.”

  Tom’s heart nearly shattered as Savannah’s pure and beautiful voice passed by his ears. His anger for the two male bears ebbed away like the tide. Gone were the plans to exact revenge on Dan for exploiting their kindness. All he could thing about was Savannah. Everything they’d built, everything he’d sacrificed, his hopes, his dreams, his eradication of doubt all for the sake of love… destroyed with something as simple as words on a breeze.

  Savannah was a part of the Northern Wind pack.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “I won’t be your puppet in the Northern Wind pack anymore,” Savannah snarled at Lucas, relishing in the look of shock that overcame his face. “I’m done. I won’t help you anymore, Lucas... Not anymore.”

  Lucas bared his teeth, snarling viciously in response. She saw Dan move closer to her, preparing to protect against sudden attack. Her pulse tried to fight its way out of her throat. Tough words aside, she knew she couldn’t take Lucas on in a fight, fair or otherwise. He pushed himself onto his hind legs, roaring to the skies, and the sound rattled her bones to their cor
e. She positively quaked under his sheer power, but she didn’t back down. Not now. She had so much to fight for, to show deference now would render all previous efforts useless.

  Lucas’s roar was abruptly cut short, his nose lifting high into the sky and sampling the air. Confusion marred his bestial face as he looked to the dense trees behind them, then back at Savannah and Dan. Slowly, Savannah mimicked his motion, sucking in a deep breath of air. Almost immediately, her heart flooded with equal parts elation… and dread.

  Tom was here.

  Lucas finally dropped to four paws, tilting his head slightly to the left. A ways off into the darkness of the tree line, Savannah could see three figures shifting anticipatorily.

  “Kill him.”

  ***

  Tom heard the terrified roar of Savannah’s bear before a pounding on the forest floor rushed directly towards him. He only had a few short moments to prepare before three Northern Wind bears descended upon him

  He rose up onto his hind paws, swiping viciously at the first attacker, knocking him to the ground. Sharp teeth dug into his shoulder, and with a snap of his jaws, he whirled and shook that bear off. Before the third bear could attack, Lucas lunged right for Tom’s throat. He noticed the blur of the leader’s fur too late. He wouldn’t be able to dodge.

  Lucas collided with Tom in an impressive tackle, teeth latching on like a vice to Tom’s neck. Tom had just managed to hook one of his huge paws into Lucas’s underbelly, his claws digging in angrily when Lucas’s body fell on top of him with the force of the fall. Lucas threw his head back, roaring in pain as he rolled off Tom’s bleeding frame.

  As both bears recovered from the fall, the third bear that Tom had forgotten about took his chance to make an eager attack. He sprang up on powerful hind paws, closing the distance between himself and a felled and dazed Tom with alarming speed. Just as Tom was sure the bear would tear his throat out, a brown blur tacked the beats from the air.

  “Dan!” Tom heard Savannah cry as the massive bear tore at the one that’d nearly finished off Tom.

  The first two strange bears had recovered, poised to fight once more. Tom’s gaze slid over the three beasts before him, considering his odds. He was an alpha, strong like his brother, but he wasn’t ashamed to admit that he was ill equipped to fight three-on-one like Nick had done only a few short weeks ago. He likely wouldn’t survive if they all attacked him at once.

  Savannah rocketed herself in front of Tom, cutting off the direct path between him and the Northern Wind bears.

  “No!” she roared, staring Lucas down. “I won’t let you touch him.”

  Savannah was terrified; Tom could see it in the way her hind legs quivered, a low whine rattling her chest quiet enough that only he could hear. But still, she stood her ground, glaring hate and anger and protection for Tom at her cruel leader.

  In that moment, despite all that he heard, Tom loved her more than she’d ever know.

  “You bitch!” Lucas shouted, his paws stamping the ground in anger. “The weak have no place in my pack,” he snarled, his lip curled in revulsion at the display before him. “I’ll deal with you like the trash you are after I tear your precious boyfriend apart.” He made a slight motion before the two bears on either side of him descended upon her.

  It all happened too fast for Tom to react, they bit and tore into Savannah as she leaped backwards out of their reach, already bleeding. Before he could jump in to aid her, Lucas pounced.

  “You’re mine, alpha!” he roared, narrowly missing Tom as the alpha bear rolled out of the way.

  Savannah roared in pain, pinned by one of the bears as it ripped claws down her back. Tom batted away Lucas’s claw as it swung towards him, watching with relief as Dan jumped into the fray and tackled the bear from Savannah’s back. For the moment, she was safe.

  Lucas lunged for another attack, jaws snapping. Tom managed to get under him, closing the distance with a tackle. Lucas fell to the ground with a grunt as the third bear Dan had been fighting latched down hard on his shoulder. Tom roared in pain as the bear’s teeth sank into a wound, eliciting bursts of agony washing across his vision.

  He shook the bear free as Lucas recovered, turning to swipe viciously at the bear as he backed off. Lucas snarled, his claws sweeping out and catching Tom on his hind legs. Dan was suddenly back, tearing at the nameless bear so that Tom could focus on Lucas. He allowed himself a glance at Savannah as she lashed out at one of the remaining bears. The other one was a way off and nursing a wound that was spilling a good amount of blood onto the forest floor.

  Lucas growled in hatred, his hind legs coiling for another leap. Anticipating his attack, Tom did the same. With a loud roar from both sides, they both sprang into the air, colliding in a flash of tooth and claw. Lucas went for the throat. Tom dipped low, digging both of his front paws deep into Lucas’s torso. He tore angrily at Lucas’s underbelly with his jaws, using the force of the collision to head-butt the leader backward while swiping a deep rent in his flesh.

  Lucas cried out in both anger and agony, landing hard on his shoulder as he hit the ground. The Northern Wind bears looked to their leader, stopping their battles at once as they heard the change in Lucas’s voice.

  Tom had one cold moment to contemplate ending Lucas’s life right there with his subordinates looking onward. He could finally be free of the Northern Wind.

  Or would he?

  Would someone worse not come along to avenge their fallen leader? That’s how Lucas had taught that pack to operate. Should he risk it all anyway?

  He clenched his jaw, cursing inwardly. As much as he hated to admit it, this wasn’t a decision he could make on his own.

  Tom stood tall on his hind legs, staring outward to the Northern Wind bears as Lucas bled. “Your leader is injured!” he roared. “Either continue fighting in his name and I finish him now, or cease your fighting, take him, and leave.” Almost immediately, the bears chose the latter. They gently nudged and shoved a growling and vicious Lucas, stealing fearful glances at Tom as he stood nearby, glaring fiercely at their departure.

  It wasn’t until the sounds of their heavy and frantic footfalls of the retreating bears faded that Tom finally sank back down to the forest floor. He took the time to assess everyone.

  Tom seemed the least injured. His wounds would heal in a day or two, though his shoulder was still dripping a steady stream of blood from being latched onto twice.

  Dan was limping hard on his already hurting hind leg, setting his healing back days—maybe a full week, Tom couldn’t tell yet. He likely reinjured it in the fight, in addition to the gash on his neck that appeared to be the result of a wayward slash of claws. He’d need medical attention back at the shop, but Tom didn’t think it wasn’t anything Dan couldn’t dress on his own.

  Finally, he turned to Savannah. She was cut and bleeding in too many places to count, her paw raised off the ground as she limped weakly over to the two other bears. He didn’t know how bad she was hurt, but she was up and walking, and for now that was enough. He needed to get her back to the shop as quickly as possible before the blood loss and mangled paw made travel difficult for her. Making sure she was close behind, Tom turned with purpose and took the first step towards the mechanic’s shop.

  Savannah’s breathing grew more labored as they walked, and though Tom knew there was nothing more he could do at the time, her pain stressed him out beyond belief. As the garage slowly came into view, Savannah looked as if she could barely walk another step.

  “Go get Nick,” Tom ordered tersely at Dan.

  Dan gave one obliging nod, turning in the direction of the cabin. “Don’t be too hard on her,” he said softly. “You don’t know how cruel a leader Lucas was.” With that, the large bear loped off.

  Tom watched Dan as he left, then finally he stole a glance at Savannah once more. She had her gaze averted, still panting and favoring her uninjured paw. Medical attention was still a priority. Everything else could wait until after. With a shudder, the
first bone snapped, instigating the shift back to human.

  When he finally stood as a man, he could see the defined bruises along his skin, even in the dimness of the forest. But he’d live. “Can you shift? He asked, glancing down at her bloodied paw. “That will be easier to clean if you’re human.”

  Savannah snuffed her reply, and he watched a violent quake rock her frame before the muscles began to tear. Her bear began groaning in agony, the growls of pain turning slowly and torturously to whimpers from human vocal chords. The shift was slow, and Tom’s heart broke at the way her increasingly humanoid face contorted as she suffered. When it was finally over, she lay curled with her knees to her chest, clutching her injured hand as she cried.

  Tom stood just out of the way, watching as she wept. Her body shook with every gasp, her wail full-bodied and filled with anguish. It was obvious that the pain she was letting out wasn’t caused by the injuries she’d sustained; as much as Tom’s bear urged and growled at him to go to her, he thought it best to let her handle this part on her own.

  Only when she finally settled to soft sniffling did Tom take one tentative step forward. “Hey, that looks pretty bad,” he murmured, indicating lightly to her hand. “Let’s get back to the mechanics.”

  They walked slowly enough that Tom noticed the limp in Savannah’s stride. She’d sustained more injuries than he’d originally estimated. Despite his better judgment, he slowly moved to her, wrapping one protective arm gently around her shoulders.

  She flinched hard, fearful eyes glancing frantically up at him. He wondered briefly what she was thinking about; how she thought he must feel about it all. How did he feel? There was anger, yes, and his familiar distrust had flared brightly for a moment, but mostly he was just hurt. He shook his head, freeing his mind of the thought. Medical now, feelings later.