by Noelle Marie
As Katherine wrapped her arms around her belly and fought not to fold into herself, Melanie climbed on top of her, straddling her around the waist. She held the sharp edge of the knife to Katherine’s cheek. “You know,” Melanie said, breathing loudly from their scuffle, “I didn’t want to do this. Despite what everyone thinks, I have never sought to hurt you.” She shook her head. “But now you’ve left me no choice.” Melanie raised the knife above her head. “Good-bye, Katherine.”
Katherine threw her arms above her head in a desperate bid to protect herself, waiting for the whoosh of the knife cutting through air to reach her ears. But the sound never came.
Instead, a ferocious snarl the likes of which Katherine had never heard before reverberated through the trees, and Katherine lowered her arms just in time to see a huge wolf spring at Melanie.
It happened so fast that the girl didn’t even have time to scream. The slight widening of her dark eyes was the only indication she even knew what was about to happen.
Sharp teeth ripped into her jugular, and blood sprayed everywhere. The wolf jerked Melanie’s body this way and that before tossing it carelessly to the ground, a mere two feet from Katherine. She landed with her face turned towards Katherine, and nausea caused her stomach to churn as she took in the sight of Melanie’s lifeless eyes, and the blood trickling from her wide open mouth.
She was dead. And it had all happened within seconds.
As Katherine tried to wrap her mind around the fact that she’d just seen the second person killed in front of her in as many weeks, the wolf, blood dripping from his snout, took a step towards her. Fear lacing up her spine, Katherine scrambled backward in an awkward sort of crab walk, pain shooting up her arm where her burn connected with icy snow. She backed herself up against the trunk of a tree, where she sat helplessly, heart pounding in her chest as she pictured her throat being torn open next. She clenched her eyes tightly shut, bracing herself to meet the same untimely end as Melanie, but...
Nothing happened.
Seconds passed, and then an entire minute. Resolving herself to look death in the face, Katherine pried open her eyes.
And immediately recognized the ones in the wolfish face before her.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Astonishment bombarded Katherine, and then, elation.
“Markus,” she choked.
Katherine didn’t think, she just acted. Launching herself forward, she threw her arms around the wolf’s neck, burying her face in his thick fur. The familiar, comforting scent of worn leather washed over her. Tears flooded her eyes as disbelief-tinged relief engulfed her. In a matter of minutes, she’d gone from about to be sliced open and left to bleed to death on the forest floor to feeling as safe as she had since she was kidnapped nearly a fortnight ago. “Markus,” she repeated, sniffling and tightening her grip on his fur until she was sure she was pulling it, but the wolf didn’t make any noise of complaint.
He was probably too consumed with shoving his snout into the crook of Katherine’s neck and inhaling her scent to even notice. She winced as his wet nose prodded her, and she pulled back, placing her hands on either side of his face. She ignored the blood – Melanie’s blood – that covered his snout. “What took you so lo-ng?” she asked.
The question had meant to be more of a wisecrack than anything, but her voice broke on the last word as the same tears that threatened to fall from her eyes gathered at the base of her throat.
She really wanted to know the answer.
The wolf whined at the light-hearted rebuke, and insisted on sticking his nose back into her face. He nuzzled his cheek against hers before using his large tongue to lick her from chin to forehead.
“Markus, gross,” she chided, but she couldn’t stop a swell of laughter from bubbling up her throat; it was her first real laugh in weeks. “S-stop,” she protested through giggles as he gave the other side of her face the same treatment, this time making sure to swipe his slobbery tongue over a bit of her hair, causing a chunk of it stick up on end. “Jerk,” she accused with a playful shove that didn’t budge the wolf in the least.
The sound of a branch snapping in the distance made Katherine freeze.
The tiny smile pulling at the corner of her lips disappeared as quickly as it had come, and she shifted closer to Markus, eyeing the suddenly ominous-looking forest around them. She took comfort in the fact that Markus didn’t seem perturbed by the noise, but her muscles stiffened further when the sound of more rustling reached her ears.
A moment later, another wolf bounded through an opening in the trees.
Katherine’s shoulders slumped in relief when she recognized the familiar form of Zane. “You could have told me,” she scolded Markus – he looked as outwardly amused as a wolf could – and swatted him on the shoulder.
He snorted.
Turning her attention back on Zane, Katherine was taken off guard when he approached her slowly – almost cautiously. There was still about five feet between them when he lowered his belly to the ground, resting his head on his paws and staring at her with forlorn eyes.
Katherine frowned, standing and making up the remaining distance between them before kneeling and laying her good hand on his head. She smoothed down the fur between his ears. “What’s wrong?”
He whimpered, nuzzling his snout into her palm, and all at once, Katherine realized he must have still been feeling responsible for letting her out of his sight two weeks ago. It was the event that had led to her kidnapping.
It wasn’t his fault, of course; she’d practically begged him to let her have an hour to herself. Then she was the one who had stupidly gone to visit Melanie on her own, and Melanie and Lukas were responsible for their own actions. “Oh Zane,” she whispered to the usually stoic man – or, wolf, in this instance. “Come here.”
He didn’t need to be told twice.
Zane practically pounced on her in his enthusiasm, and soon, both he and Markus were all over her as they refamiliarized themselves with her scent. They pressed their cheeks against hers, sticking their noses into her hair. Markus even poked his snout under her jacket, no doubt trying to check on the baby in his own way. Overall, their behavior wasn’t unlike that of hyperactive dogs greeting their owner after she had been gone for an extended trip. They were even wagging their tails.
Katherine couldn’t suppress a watery smile at the sight. They were never going to live it down; she would hold the tail wagging over them for ages.
Not one of them acknowledged the dead body laying only a handful of feet away. Personally, Katherine was pretending it didn’t exist.
“Ok, ok,” she said, when the forcefulness of their affection nearly knocked her off her knees. “I missed you guys, too,” she assured, pushing them away. As glad as she was to see them, though, a sense of gloom hung over their reunion. Her happiness was bittersweet. She nervously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear before addressing the elephant in the room – or the wolf not in the forest, to be more accurate. “Where’s Bastian?” she asked carefully. “And the others?”
Markus and Zane glanced at each other before the former took the lead and jerked his head in the direction of the western colony.
It was just a confirmation of what she already knew, but the overwhelming relief she’d experienced upon recognizing Markus shriveled away into nothing as fear once again took hold of her. She pulled herself up into a standing position, stiffening as a sharp jolt of pain shot through her. Katherine couldn’t stop herself from giving her discomfort away with a quick intake of air as she braced herself against a nearby tree.
Both wolves immediate began yipping their concern. “I’m fine,” she assured them, straightening when the pain eased.
They didn’t look convinced. Markus whined, nosing the palm of her injured hand, clearly calling her out on the ludicrous statement.
Katherine could hardly blame him. She knew she must have made quite the sight. She hadn’t had a proper bath in well over a week, and dirt and bruises al
ike decorated her skin. Her hair was a wild mess of greasy waves, the recent addition of Markus’s slobber probably the least offensive thing about it.
“Okay,” she acknowledged, “I’m not exactly fine, but I will be, I swear. As soon as we find Bastian.” She took a step in the direction of the colony, but Zane immediately leapt in front of her, blocking her way. Markus went a step further and grabbed hold of the sleeve of her coat with his teeth, gently pulling her backward.
It didn’t take a genius to figure out what they intended.
“What are you doing? We can’t just leave them there to fend for themselves!” she objected. She knew very well that they weren’t completely on their own. From the glimpse of the battle Katherine had caught before she’d booked it into the forest, Bastian had brought most of Haven Falls with him. Still... “What if...?” she started to ask, but couldn’t finish. She swallowed. “What if...?” she tried again, but her voice once again trailed off.
What if Bastian was killed?
She couldn’t even vocalize the possibility aloud. Katherine honestly didn’t think she would survive it.
Markus tugged a bit more sharply on her sleeve and Zane butted his head against her side, clearly trying to steer her in the opposite direction of the colony. Realization dawned.
“Wait... did Bastian specifically assign you two to babysitting duty?” Katherine demanded.
She didn’t even need to see their resulting, sheepish stares to know the answer. She was almost certain that the extent of their job during the raid had been to retrieve and protect her.
That sweet, caring, self-sacrificing... jerk! Sending two of his best fighters to defend her instead of using their skills in combat. Never mind that the whole point of waging war on what remained of the western colony was to get Katherine out of there safely, how could he put himself at risk like that? The other members of his troop at risk?
Another twinge of pain caused her belly to tighten, and Katherine knew exactly how. She laid a hand over her protruding stomach. She, too, had someone she knew she would protect at all costs.
Even if it meant abandoning Bastian to battle.
Markus finally released his grip on her coat to yip at her. Katherine frowned, recognizing the scolding quality of his tone. “I know, okay? I know. You’re right. It’s not like I would be much help in my current condition, anyway. It’s just that...”
It was just so hard to leave him – and the others – behind.
She dragged her good hand roughly over her face. “It’s just hard, okay? But I get it; I wish I didn’t, but I do.” She took a deep breath. “So what now?”
Markus relocked his jaws around her coat sleeve and used his grip on the fabric to direct her hand to his back. Katherine raised her eyebrows. “You want me to pet you?” she asked incredulously.
If wolves could roll their eyes, Katherine suspected that was exactly what Markus would be doing right then.
Zane walked over to Markus, hopping up on his hind legs and placing both his paws on his back.
Katherine’s brow wrinkled in confusion. “You want me to climb on top of you?” she guessed hesitantly, not truly thinking she was interpreting their impromptu game of charades correctly. It wasn’t like it was logical for them to shift into their human forms, though, not when their naked bodies would be vulnerable to the elements.
Imagine Katherine’s surprise when both wolves yipped in approval and began bobbing their heads up and down at her guess. “What? Seriously?” she demanded.
Katherine could only assume that they wanted to take her somewhere – perhaps a safe house of some sort that they’d prepared before the raid – and the fastest way to get her there was to, well... give her a ride, so to speak. Either that or they just wanted to get her as far away from Gerard and his pack as possible. Katherine could definitely get behind that idea, but still... riding on Markus’s back?
Zane hopped off Markus and used his head to nudge Katherine towards him. She threw her hands in the air in surrender. “Okay, okay, fine.” She pointed a finger at first Zane and then Markus. “But you two are never to speak of this.”
Markus’s nose twitched, and his mouth formed something that looked suspiciously like a smirk as she approached him.
Katherine wasn’t sure exactly how to climb on top of him, but eventually just decided to approach the task how she would approach ascending a horse. Markus wasn’t that large, of course, but his back was still higher up from the ground than her waist, so Katherine firmly grabbed him by his scruff before using her hold on it to pull herself up enough to swing a leg over his back. Once she was sitting, she draped herself over him, awkwardly pressing her pregnant belly to his back as she wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed her legs around his torso. Realizing he was waiting for a signal that she was settled, Katherine took a deep breath before announcing, “I’m ready.”
And they were off.
It felt like a betrayal as Markus and Zane took her further and further from battle – from Bastian – but Katherine knew that disregarding Bastian’s wishes for her to stay out of the skirmish would have been the real betrayal.
Trees flashed by in her peripheral vision as Markus sprinted through the forest, his powerful legs easily supporting her weight. He was fast, and the natural motion of his movement was somewhat jostling. Combined, the speed and roughness of the ride made Katherine feel a bit woozy. She buried her face into his fur in an attempt to both protect it from the whipping wind and control the lightheadedness.
She shifted uncomfortably when she experienced another burst of pain in her lower belly.
Now that she had much less to occupy her mind with, concern for her unborn baby threatened to consume Katherine. With everything else going on, she hadn’t been able to properly obsess over the intermittent pain she’d been experiencing ever since Gerard had shoved her stomach-first into the wall, but now...
Worry gnawed at her insides.
They hadn’t been on the move for more than ten minutes when another spark of pain shot down her spine, this one so strong that she nearly lost her grip on Markus. Her stomach clenched involuntarily, her entire middle becoming incredibly tight. “Stop,” she moaned into Markus’s fur.
Either he didn’t hear or he was outright ignoring her.
Keeping one arm looped around his neck, she tugged on his ear. “Markus, let me off! I don’t feel good.”
Markus seemed disgruntled by the order – he clearly didn’t want to stop, or even slow his pace – probably on the off chance that someone was following them. Something in her voice must have convinced him to listen to her, though, because he slowed to a stop.
Katherine released a sigh of relief when her feet hit the ground, and she waddled over to a nearby tree, laying her forehead against the rough bark of its trunk and attempting to compose herself.
Katherine was glad that Markus and Zane were preoccupied with checking to make sure no one was pursuing them, their ears perked and eyes bright as they took in their surroundings, when another burst of pain overtook her. She bent over at the waist, hugging her belly with her arms, as she finally forced herself to acknowledge the possibility that she might be going into early labor.
Nearly as soon as the disquieting thought broke free through her shield of denial, however, Katherine dismissed it. That couldn’t be it. She was barely five months along, another whole month away from giving birth.
Almost as soon as she banished that theory from her mind, though, another jolt of pain – this one nearly crippling – had her desperately swallowing back a whimper. She fought to remain standing, and when the pain finally passed, Katherine noticed a warm trickle running down her inner thighs. Embarrassment flooded her as she assumed she had wet herself.
It was way more embarrassing than the tail-wagging material she had over Markus and Zane.
...But the fluid didn’t stop leaking from between her legs, and soon her underwear was completely soaked. Slowly, irrefutable understanding dawned.
“Uh, guys,” Katherine said, voice quivering as she took in the stain slowly spreading across the seat of her pants. “I think my water just broke.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Within seconds, where two shell-shocked looking wolves once stood, appeared two lumbering, stark naked men. Both Markus and Zane had concern etched across their features, neither even acknowledging the icy snow that bit into their feet, or the bitterly cold wind that beat against their bare chests as they hurried over to her.
“Are you sure?” Markus demanded.
Terror at the prospect of giving birth in the middle of the frozen forest caused Katherine to lash out at the question. “What? Do you think I pissed myself or something?” she snapped. Never mind that a minute ago, that was exactly what she had thought. “Of course, I’m sure!”
Katherine knew she must have looked in even worse shape than she felt when Markus didn’t bark something equally as insulting back at her.
“Have you had any contractions?” Zane asked, marginally calmer than either of them.
Katherine ran an agitated hand through her tangled hair before shrugging. “I think so,” she admitted.
Markus stiffened. “What?” he cried. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I wasn’t sure what they were until now, okay? I’m not even due for another month!” Saying it out loud only made the fear buzzing under Katherine’s skin that much more tangible. She buried her head in her hands. “Oh God.”
“Katherine, just... stay calm, alright?” Zane said, running his hand in soothing circles on her back while shooting a glare at Markus over her head.
The other man huffed, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration.
“Everything will be fine,” Zane assured. “We didn’t know what condition we would find you in when we invaded the western colony this morning so we made sure that Gabriela was waiting to meet us at a nearby safe house – an abandoned hunter’s cabin not far from here.”