by Shaw, Leia
He couldn’t keep from chuckling. “Smart-ass.” Gently, he pulled her into his arms. She let her head thunk onto his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
They held each other silently. He buried his face in her hair, letting the scent overtake him. He’d been so close to losing this.
She squeezed him tighter. “I missed you so much, Maddox,” she mumbled into his shirt.
“I know,” he whispered. “But you have me now.”
She peeked up at him with big, hopeful eyes. “Forever?”
“Forever.”
Just then, Keyon stumbled in, interrupting the moment with a shout. “Bad men!”
Felicity jumped out of Maddox’s arms and Maddox moved just as quickly. He tossed her a pair of pants he’d grabbed from the prison. Then he shoved the first aid supplies, food, and weapons into the pack. “I put a cell phone in your bag. Call me every twelve hours.” If anything happened to her, he could track the phone. It gave him some relief about separating. “So tomorrow at eight in the morning. Understand, Felicity?”
“Yes.” When he turned around, Felicity was dressed and motioning to Keyon.
“Come with me where it’s safe,” she told him.
He shook his head. “There’s nowhere safe. Bad men everywhere.”
“They’re coming here and they’ll take you. You’re a smart boy and very brave. Come with me. If you don’t like it in the village, I’ll help you get back here.”
Keyon eyed her suspiciously.
She leaned down to look him in the eye. “I promise I’ll bring you back when it’s safe, if that’s what you want.”
Maddox stepped in when the boy didn’t answer. Using his best alpha voice, he commanded, “Shift.”
Immediately, the boy obeyed. She picked up the bunny and cradled him in her arms.
“Take the bike,” he told her. “Go straight to the colony. If it’s not safe, keep going west. I’ll find you.”
She gave him a sardonic smile. “I’ve heard that before.”
He took her chin in his fingers and tipped her head back to study her one last time. If he died today, or tomorrow, he’d die knowing he did what was right. After a quick kiss on her lips, he buckled the backpack on her then shoved her toward the cavern exit.
“Go,” he said. “I’ll lead them away.”
Night had fallen in the forest when they left the cave. It would help their escape. He held her elbow as they stumbled over the boulders in the dark. When they reached the bike leaning up against a tree, Felicity turned to face him.
“Be careful.” Her voice wobbled, sounding as if she was nearly in tears.
Leaving her felt wrong. Instinct nagged at him to keep her by his side, but he had to ignore it, even though it felt like ignoring the need to breathe. He wrapped a hand around the back of her neck. “If something happens to me…”
“It won’t.”
“If it does… Will you remember me as I was? And not…not…”
“Don’t worry.” She leaned her face against his arm. “I’ll see you again soon.”
Emotion lodged in his throat. He swallowed it down.
“I always remember the good.” She kissed one of the scars on his arm.
Shouts in the distance reminded him of their situation. He let the warrior in him take over and he stared down at her. “Find James. Be safe.” He squeezed the back of her neck once and let go. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
Without another word, he turned and walked away, morphing his appearance as he went. He’d pretend to be one of the soldiers in the search party and return home. Home to Marwolaeth Du. One last time.
Branches whipped past her face as Felicity drove through the forest, trying to stay on the widest trail she could find. Keyon stayed huddled against her stomach. She hoped he was faring okay. The ride was bumpy and her ass was getting sore already. Twice she’d almost wiped out making a sharp turn.
She slowed down when she’d left the soldiers a few miles behind. The trail opened up into a dirt road and the moonlight shined on the path ahead. She knew the area well enough to find her way home.
Home. How long had she been away from the colony? Before Marwolaeth Du, she’d been traveling across Wales, staying in small rebel camps, meeting with other leaders to make future plans. She’d been called home when River had been taken. Had their whole team been captured that night? Fear raced down her spine. For all she knew, there was no home. The sorcerers could have destroyed it by now, or taken every last one of them. How strong was the colony’s defense? She’d seen the fortress now. The small colony wouldn’t have stood a chance if the Council wanted to destroy them.
Felicity’s body ached terribly as the road went on. How long had she been riding? An hour? Her legs felt numb. The scratches on her face burned. She’d barely gotten a chance to catch her breath after falling from the sky only a few hours ago. Then there was Maddox’s impromptu surgery on her arm that still throbbed.
Finally the turnoff toward the colony appeared on the right. She slowed down to a crawl and switched off the headlight. If the colony had been taken over by the Sorcery Council, she wasn’t about to announce her arrival.
She parked the bike far enough away that the loud engine couldn’t be heard. Hugging Keyon against her chest, she crept toward the front gate. The first good sign was seeing the tall steel door standing strong as it always had. The second sign the colony was safe was spotting the friendly, orange-haired Jax up in the tower at the gate.
With a sigh of relief and a wide smile, she stepped up to the gate. Protected by magic, only the gatekeeper knew the password, which changed day to day. Jax was one of several gatekeepers and a close friend.
Upon seeing what probably looked like a crazed haggard girl walk out of the forest, Jax shot up in his seat. “Name and business with the shifters?” he spoke into a loudspeaker.
Weeks of pent-up emotion – agony about not knowing if she’d ever see home again, her friends or family – it all spilled over. Breathing heavily, she slumped over and half laughed, half cried. “It’s me. Felicity.”
Jax jumped from his seat and gazed at her a moment. Then he flew down the stairs. “Oh gods!” he said as he approached her. “We never thought we’d see you again.”
He wrapped his arms around her and she collapsed into them, shifting the bunny to the side to avoid squishing him. Sobs wracked her body and she wanted to die of embarrassment. She didn’t usually cry in public.
He set her away then looked her over. “Are you all right? Let’s get you inside.” After he murmured the password, the gate creaked open, and there sat her little home.
A tiny town made up of quaint cabins. The streets lit up with lanterns. It was just how she remembered it. Had it really been three years she’d been away?
The gate clanged as it shut behind her. She held a hand over her mouth and tried to clear the tears from her eyes so she could actually see.
“Dalton will want to see you,” Jax said, placing a hand on her lower back.
He guided her toward the town center, where the colony leader, Salvatore, worked. Would he be in his office? It must’ve been at least ten o’clock at night.
Jax mumbled into a walkie-talkie as they moved through the town. The streets were empty, but it still felt warm and cozy. Keyon had lifted his head and his little nose twitched as he took everything in. What was she going to do with him?
“Could you find me some clothes, Jax?” she said. “Something that would fit a seven or eight-year-old boy?”
Jax’s gaze flicked to the bunny then he nodded and barked instructions into the walkie-talkie again. “Salvatore’s been sleeping in his office,” he told her as they approached the town hall. “He’s been worried sick.”
“What happened to the rest of us? Is River okay? And Ezra?”
“Yes. During the chaos, Ezra managed to free him. You were the only one they caught.”
She exhaled in relief. “Oh, thank the gods!” No one else had been su
bjected to that awful prison. Of course there were others there – shifters from other teams, some she knew only by name. Now that she’d been there, experienced fully the nightmare of imprisonment, the reality of the situation sunk in. They all might be dead. Maybe this rescue mission would end up as a body recovery.
Jax stopped at the door and she turned to face him. “Glad you’re back, Felicity.”
She nodded but didn’t trust herself to speak. Tears were starting to well up in her eyes again.
“I’ll go get those clothes,” he said as he turned and left.
With a deep breath, she stared at the door to the place where it all began. She’d changed so much since she’d first bounded through that door, young and idealistic. She’d had no knowledge of the real dangers of the world. Today she felt tired and world-weary. She wasn’t the naïve twenty-year-old wanting to change the world anymore, standing up for truth and justice and all that shit. Now she knew some things would never change. There’d always be greed and people who thought they were better than everyone else, power-hungry tyrants and evil manipulators. She used to think big action by a lot of people was the key to change. Now she knew that sometimes altering the course of just one person triggered a riptide of events that led to big change. And sometimes, the only action one could take was to hope.
She turned the knob and opened the door. Salvatore was just on the other side.
As soon as she walked in, he scooped her up into a big hug, careful of Keyon at her side. “I thought we’d never see you again,” he whispered in her ear.
Since her parents had died, Salvatore had been her boss but also kept an extra eye on her – like Ezra. He’d paired her with Dalton, knowing she’d be safe with him. Not only was Dalton a strategic mastermind but he was an amazing fighter – especially in his predatory form, a grizzly bear.
“Ow.” She squirmed in his grip. “I love you too but you’re crushing me.”
“I’m sorry.” He stepped back and looked her over. “You need to see a doctor.”
“It’s okay.” She gave him a shaky smile. “I’m just a little sore. Where’s Dalton? Is he okay?”
“Medic. Now. And that’s an order.” Though his tone sounded stern, his eyes were teasing. “I’ll fill you in on the way there. Dalton is fine.”
A rush of relief swept over her. She couldn’t wait to see him, feel him, hear his voice so she’d know for sure he was alive and in one piece.
“He should be back in a few days.” Salvatore motioned to the door but Jax opened it before she could.
He held out a bundle of clothes. “Here. It’s the best I could do for now.”
“Perfect.” She placed Keyon on the floor. Both men watched with curiosity. “Shift, Keyon. You’re safe.”
Fur faded as the figure changed from the small rabbit to a scrawny, naked boy. She handed him the clothes and he slipped them on. As he dressed, he didn’t take his eyes off the two men watching him.
“This is Keyon,” she told them once he’d dressed. He took a protective stance in front of her. She hid her amusement, as did Salvatore and Jax. In English, she told her friends, “I found him by Adfer Falls. He lives there by himself. He can’t be more than eight years old.”
Keyon jumped in, giving the men a fierce glare. “I go back when bad men leave,” he said in accented English.
Salvatore nodded solemnly. “If that’s what you’d like,” he replied in Shifter. “But wouldn’t you like to learn to shift into a bigger animal while you’re here? You could learn to fight bad guys instead of having to hide.”
It was clear Keyon found this desirable though he tried to keep up the tough exterior. He looked up at Felicity with questioning eyes.
“These are my friends,” she told him. “You can trust them. They’ll give you food to make you stronger and teach you how use weapons.” She pointed to Jax. “This is Jax. He’ll take you to eat and find a bed for you to sleep. I’ll come check on you tomorrow.”
He gave Jax an assessing glare then shook his head and clutched Felicity’s arm.
Jax chuckled. “Am I that ugly?”
“I guess he’s coming with me.”
“All right then. I’m headed back to work,” Jax said. They said their goodbyes and he disappeared around the corner.
Salvatore escorted Felicity down three blocks toward the small medical building.
As they walked, she told him everything that had happened the night she’d been caught. Ezra and a few friends had provided a distraction outside the camp while she flew in. River and several other young boys were inside a tent, bound with rope and with arm bands locked on by the time she got there. After shifting into human form, she started to untie them but she didn’t notice the guard in a dark corner of the tent until it was too late.
Salvatore tossed her a disapproving look. “You didn’t even clear the plan with me. You just ran off haphazardly without any help.”
“I know. I’m sorry. But the next day they’d have brought them to Marwolaeth Du and they wouldn’t have returned. Nobody ever does.” She looked down at the ground. “Well, except me.”
“How did you escape?” he asked, as they rounded the corner. The brick building stuck out compared to the wood cabins that took up the rest of the town.
She hadn’t thought through what she would tell people about her time in prison. How would they take it when they learned she was literally sleeping with the enemy? Nobody knew about Maddox. When she’d first joined the rebellion, she’d mentioned a friend she wanted to help, but when the letters had stopped and her own search efforts had come up empty, she hadn’t found it important to discuss.
She stared silently at the ground as they walked up the cement path. At the door, Salvatore stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Felicity.”
His eyes warmed as she looked up at them.
“When you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here.”
She sighed in relief. He was always good at seeing more than what people said. But before he’d get the chance to ask her again, she’d be gone. With that thought, she threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.
“Thanks for everything,” she said, squeezing back tears.
He chuckled. “Well it’s not like I’m not going to see you again.”
Smiling, she nodded her head. Liar.
“I’ll come check on you tomorrow afternoon. We’ll figure out where to go from here.”
She knew where she was going already. If she told Salvatore, he’d have more questions and he’d want to take over the whole mission. It was hard enough for her to direct Maddox – she had a feeling he wasn’t the “works well with others” type.
There was a new doctor working at medic. A young man – kind but a little nervous. Keyon nipped at him when he tried to steer him into a separate room. When it was clear she and the boy were both in decent condition, the doctor let them crash in an empty room. Instead of taking the second bed, Keyon curled up in a ball at the end of hers like a pet kitten.
She tucked her feet up so she wouldn’t kick him and made her plans for the following day. Ditching Keyon would break her heart but it had to be done. Now that she knew her team was safe, and Keyon would be too, she could focus on her task.
Find James and Sage. Burn down Marwolaeth Du.
In the early morning, barely past dawn, Felicity slipped out of the hospital room. Just before she left, she gave Keyon – still sleeping at the end of the bed – a kiss goodbye. Even though she was leaving him in good hands, it felt a little like she was betraying him. Hopefully he’d forgive her.
Cool morning air hit her face when she walked outside and she wished she’d had Jax bring her a coat. Rubbing her arms with her hands didn’t help much so she sped up to a jog, hoping that would warm her up. Maybe she should’ve stopped somewhere for breakfast and coffee. It’d be a long trip to Caerwyn.
“Hey!” someone called behind her.
Shit. She didn’t have time to deal with nosy neighbors.
“Felicity!”
She slowed to a stop and spun around. She knew that voice. A man jogged toward her – black hair, tall lithe body, wicked smile. “Dalton!”
When he was close enough, she threw herself into his arms.
How many nights had she spent wondering if he was alive, afraid she’d never see him again? In her head, she’d apologized over and over for convincing him to help rescue River, knowing they hadn’t been adequately prepared. She’d rehearsed the perfect speech to express how deeply sorry she was, and now she couldn’t remember a single line of it.
He held her tight in his arms for a long while, as if he couldn’t believe she was real. “Salvatore told me you were here. I traveled all night to see you.”
“I’m sorry,” she cried into his shirt, overwhelmed with emotion – relief but also guilt. “I’m so, so sorry.” Though her feelings were platonic, it felt good being in his arms. His smell, the warmth of his body, even his bony shoulder under her cheek was comforting.
“It’s okay,” he said in her ear.
“I’m sorry.”
“I know. Shh…” After she’d calmed down, he released her and looked her over. “I’ve been trying to get to you, Felicity. I’ve been all over the country, looking for someone powerful enough to get me in. I even contemplated giving myself up just to find you in there.”
“That would’ve been stupid.”
“I know. I didn’t do it, but I wanted to. I just felt so helpless.” He sighed, then grabbed her in a hug again.
She chuckled and hugged him back. He released her again.
The night Maddox had visited as Dalton, she’d wondered if it would be awkward when she saw him again. But now that she was standing in front of him, in the daylight, Maddox hadn’t captured the true essence of her partner. His high cheekbones, his jet black hair that always looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, the way his eyes seemed to see into her mind. People used to say they were soul mates. Not in the romantic sense but in the way that they understood each other better than anybody. They could communicate a thought in a single look and often finished each other’s sentences. During a mission, their teammates swore up and down she and Dalton could read each other’s minds.