Nick snorted. "You don't trust people, do you, Tom?" He shook his head at his brother, before going to pick up his jacket. He was taking the afternoon off, to go up to the cabin with Jo. A romantic afternoon, apparently. "Dan told me all about Lucas' pack last night. There's no way he's going back."
“Or maybe you’re just too trusting.”
“He won’t hurt her, Tom. He can’t. He’s still recovering from his injuries.”
“Or it’s all put on for our benefit.”
Letting out a long, frustrated breath, Nick shrugged his shoulders. “Look, Tom, if you want to go after them, then just go. But the consequences will be on your own head!”
“What consequences?”
“She’s going to know you don’t trust her,” Nick warned, walking back into the shop. “And you’re going to have to fix that.”
CHAPTER 20
Savannah couldn’t help but look over her shoulder as they walked into the forest, giving Tom one last, long look. He was watching them both, his face set. Silently, she prayed he wouldn’t come after them. They had to talk to Lucas alone.
“Ready?”
Dan grinned. “I’ve been waiting for this!”
Within seconds, they were both in their bear skin. Dan tested his muscles, shaking his legs and pushing his weight onto his hind legs. Throwing himself back down onto all fours, he snorted once. He was clearly still in some pain, but at least he’d been able to shift. Walking forward slowly, Dan tested his weight on all his limbs, before shaking his fur all over, clearly thrilled to be back in his bear. A growl of contentment came from him, and Savannah tossed her head in happiness. Dan was back to normal and, together, they were going to make Nick’s pack a stronger one.
They began to walk further into the woods. Savannah had no idea where they would find Lucas, but was sure that he would be around somewhere. He’d been watching the mechanics, and her, she was sure. How else would he have found her at the lake?
Once the mechanics shop was hidden by the trees, anxiety raced through Savannah. They’d left her safe place, left Tom behind. She just hoped she’d be able to get back there safely.
A sudden growl of warning rattled from Dan, just as Savannah caught a scent.
Lucas. He’s here.
Dan looked at her, before walking further in. Savannah knew she had to follow, had to be brave enough to stand up to her former pack leader once and for all. She couldn’t be a part of this pack any longer, and Lucas had to know that.
He’s here somewhere, she heard Dan say. A shiver of fear ran through her body, but she kept her nose to the ground, following Dan. Lucas’ scent grew stronger as they moved through the woods. The trees grew dense, hiding the sunlight completely and only letting tiny shafts of light pierce through the leaves. They were getting closer to the Northern Wind territory, but Savannah just focused on putting one paw in front of the other.
You’re here.
Lucas’ voice in her head made Savannah freeze, ice filling her veins.
I’m safe, Lucas, Dan said, his head turning from side to side as he searched for Lucas in the trees. I’m not dead.
Savannah’s breath puffed out in a cloud, betraying her fright. She couldn’t see Lucas anywhere, but his scent was all around her.
Did you bring him?
Tossing her head, Savannah pushed herself up on to her hind legs. Deciding that she wouldn’t show any fear or even the smallest amount of respect for Lucas, she pulled back her lips and let her teeth show. No. I didn’t.
Why not?
Dan raised himself up beside Savannah. I’m not dead, Lucas. There’s no need for revenge.
Tom couldn't help but follow Savannah. There was something gnawing at him, an uncertainty that he couldn't ignore. A look had passed between Savannah and Dan, one that he was sure he wasn't meant to have seen. It was like they knew each other, although Tom admitted he could be wrong about that. After all, they had gotten to know each other a little bit over the last couple of days. Maybe they'd talked about more than he realized.
Shaking his head, Tom walked to the edge of the wood, his bones already beginning to snap before he set foot on the forest floor. His bear was nervous, snuffling and snorting. Something was wrong with Savannah and the bear was determined that Tom was going to find out exactly what it was.
He caught her scent almost at once. She’d shifted not long after walking into the woods, and had begun to head deeper into the woods. Almost towards the Northern Wind pack territory, he thought to himself, just before he shifted completely. His bear pulled itself from its skin with a rush, but Tom kept his mouth clamped shut. He didn’t allow himself to make a single noise of pain, suddenly aware that he had to be both quiet and stealthy. His bear instincts took over completely, forcing him to walk as silently as possible through the woods. Sniffing hard, he caught both Dan and Savannah’s scent. At least they were still together. There was no scent of blood, which was a relief. Savannah was still safe.
Walking slowly, sniffing with every step, Tom felt a swirl of unease take over his whole being. Dan and Savannah’s scents had mixed, but now there was another one on the wind. Stopping still, he sniffed again, longer this time. A lump of fear settled in his stomach. Lucas.
A snarl tore from his jaws as he moved more quickly through the trees. He’d known Dan was up to something, but Nick hadn’t believed him. Now, here he was, taking Savannah in the woods and back to Lucas! They were probably going to force her to join their pack, and he’d never see her again. His chest rattled, but Tom forced the growl back into his throat. His anger was fuelling every step, but the bear remained quiet. He had to find her and take in the situation before he could think about making any kind of attack.
A whisper caught his ears. Lucas’ words, directed at somebody else. His large paws stepped carefully, his ears pricking up to catch every sound.
I wanted Tom. You failed me.
Tom bared his teeth, wishing he could rip into Lucas' skin. Obviously, Dan had been told to bring Tom to him, but he'd brought Savannah instead. What was Lucas going to do to her?
I failed you on purpose, Lucas.
Tom felt his heart almost stop beating at the sound of Savannah’s voice. His anger ebbed away like the tide. Savannah had been part of Lucas' pack? For how long? His strength began to fade, forcing his bear to sit backward in the grass. Twigs snapped under his weight, the sound echoing through the trees, but Tom didn't even notice. All he could think of was Savannah, and how she had betrayed him. She'd come into his life and kept the truth from him. She was part of Lucas' pack, and that could only mean one thing: everything she'd told him had been a lie.
Growling low in his chest, Tom felt as though he were being torn apart. He’d given himself completely to Savannah. He’d shared his heart and his body with her, only to discover that she was part of the Northern Wind pack. Part of the pack that had attacked him and Nick. The pack that had almost killed Nick.
I won't be part of the Northern Wind pack anymore.
His ears pricked up, as his dulled mind slowly registered what Savannah was telling Lucas. She’d been told to take him to Lucas, but instead, she was turning her back on her pack leader. The pain in his heart slowly began to lessen.
I’m done, he heard her say. I won’t help you, Lucas. Not anymore.
Lucas bared his teeth and began to snarl viciously. Despite what he'd heard, Tom's protective instinct came out full force, and he pushed himself back onto his four paws.
Savannah tried to ignore the pulsing fear racing through her, as Lucas growled at her. The more she held her ground, the angrier he became, until, eventually, he'd pushed himself onto his hind legs and roared to the skies. Dread rippled down her spine, but she stood her ground. To lower her head and show deference now would make her lose the fight. She had to show Lucas that she meant what she said.
Suddenly, the sound stopped. Lucas stayed on his hind legs, but his nose was working hard, sniffing the air around him. Afraid of what it was he'd
discovered, Savannah sucked in a breath of air, sorting through the different scents until she discovered exactly what it was Lucas had found.
Tom was here.
CHAPTER 21
Lucas dropped to his four paws and turned to his left. Sniffing once more, he looked back at his two remaining pack members. Kill him.
Savannah rushed forward, desperate to get to Tom before the other bears did, but they were much stronger and bigger than she was. Crashing through the trees, they found Tom almost immediately, and the vicious attack began.
Tom only had a few seconds to prepare before three of the Northern Wind pack members began to attack him. Managing to stand on his back legs, he swiped hard at one, knocking him to the ground. Teeth dug into his shoulder, but he shook that one off, snarling. Only managing to take a single breath before Lucas attacked, Tom felt himself stumble back as Lucas threw himself at him full force. Falling backward, he clawed at Lucas' back, hearing a roar of pain come from the bear. Lucas' teeth dug into his neck, but Tom shoved the pain away, managing to plant one of his huge paws into Lucas' belly. Throwing the shifter backward, Tom rolled onto his stomach, shaking his head. The fall had dazed him and, for a moment, he couldn't see clearly.
Savannah pushed herself forward, managing to make her way to Tom’s side.
No, she cried, putting herself directly in between Lucas and Tom. I won’t let you touch him.
With a grunt, Lucas stopped the other two bears from attacking Tom again, his breath snorting out of his nose over and over. Savannah growled at him, her lip curling. Shaking her head from side to side, she made it absolutely clear on whose side she was on. She would protect Tom at any cost, even if it meant she’d be killed in the process. Suddenly, there was no more fear. She wasn’t afraid of Lucas any longer, seeing him for exactly who he was – a bully. In one moment, everything became clear. She had made the right choice. Savannah wasn’t sure what exactly Tom had heard, or even why he’d followed them into the woods, but she wasn’t going to stand by and let Tom be hurt because of her. There would be a lot of explaining to do, and she wasn’t even sure that Tom would even want to listen to her, but whether he did or not didn’t matter. She was leaving the Northern Wind pack, no matter what.
You bitch, Lucas shouted, his paws stamping on the ground in anger. You’re a traitor to this pack, and to me. You don’t deserve to live.
Savannah stared at him in shock, just before he leaped at her. He was all teeth and claws, pain ricocheting through her body as he tried to tear her apart.
Barely able to defend herself, Savannah caught sight of two of the other bears from the pack jump on Tom, forcing him away from her. Using all her strength, she shoved Lucas backward, but he was on her again in a moment.
Hardly able to believe what he’d just seen, Dan froze in place. Lucas, his pack leader, the one he’d looked up to and respected, had just attacked Savannah for daring to leave. Knowing that, if he told Lucas the truth, he’d be in danger too, he took a step back into the woods. He could just run away, go and hide out somewhere for a while before going to find a completely new pack, far away from here. Backing away slowly, Dan couldn’t find the courage he needed to help.
Savannah's roar of pain stopped him in his tracks. His eyes flaring, Dan realized that Nick and Tom would never do anything like this. They only fought if they had no other choice and, right now, Lucas was forcing this on Tom. He'd forced them into war for no other reason than to get what he wanted. Anger tore up into his chest, making Dan begin to breathe harder. His lip curled as he saw Lucas swipe viciously at Savannah – and he raced towards her.
Head-butting Lucas, he threw him down to the ground. Lucas was surprised, stunned even, that Dan had chosen to do something like this, and Dan used it to his advantage. Swiping hard, one set of claws tore into Lucas’ chest, while the other crashed into Lucas’ face. The bear closed his eyes, seemingly unconscious from the heavy blow of Dan’s paw. Hearing whimpers of pain from behind him, Dan backed away slowly towards Savannah, seeing her attempt to get to her feet. One of her paws was bleeding heavily, and she could barely put any weight on it.
Tom! Dan shouted, quickly throwing himself into the fight between Tom and the two Northern Wind pack bears. It didn’t take long for the Northern Wind pack to back away, as Tom stood tall, ready for their next attack. Dan stood with him, as Savannah limped her way behind them both, feeling as weak as a cub.
Go, Tom warned, blood dripping from his muzzle. And don’t come back. They belong to my pack now.
The two bears backed towards Lucas, who was only just coming to. Taking their chance, Tom and Dan made their way back into the wood, listening and sniffing with every step. The pack could come back to attack them without warning and, from the look of it, Savannah was hurt.
Savannah was barely able to keep up with Tom and Dan’s pace, knowing that she had to get out of the woods but struggling against the pain. Lucas’ attack had been unexpected but vicious, and the pain in her front paw was growing with every step. If Dan hadn’t come to help her, Savannah was sure she’d be close to death by now. Lucas was much bigger and stronger than she was, and it had been all she could do to defend herself.
Finally in sight of the mechanics, Savannah stopped and sank back to sit down in the grass. It felt as though she couldn’t take another step.
Go get Nick, she heard Tom say, directing his words towards Dan.
Dan gave her a long look, before turning his eyes back on to Tom. Don’t be too hard on her, he said to Tom. You don’t know what Lucas is like.
Savannah didn’t think Dan’s words would make any difference to Tom, watching as Dan turned and began to run through the woods towards the cabin.
With a heavy heart, she looked up at Tom, watching him shift as soon as Dan was out of sight. His eyes looked at her with a strange kind of gentleness, as though he was hurt by what she’d done but grateful that she’d tried to save him. “Can you shift?” he asked, glancing down at her bloodied paw. “We need to get that cleaned up.”
Shifting was agony. Her whole body screamed with pain, as the muscles shrank and bones snapped before reforming. Completely naked, she tried to cover herself with her good hand, utterly ashamed of what she’d done. She’d hidden the truth from Tom and he’d ended up getting hurt.
"That looks bad," she heard Tom say. "Let's get back to the mechanics."
She followed him slowly, trying to keep her arm as still as possible by holding it steady with her good hand. Once they were free of the forest, Tom wrapped an arm around her shoulders, even though Savannah jerked in surprise at his touch. She’d expected him to be angry, furious, even. Instead, he was treating her with a love and tenderness she’d not expected. It made her even more ashamed.
“Let me just go pull some clothes on,” Tom murmured, taking Savannah into his small bedroom at the back. The scent of their lovemaking was still on the sheets, filling Savannah’s nostrils almost immediately. “I’ll get something for you too.”
“Why are you doing this?” Savannah asked, unable to stop herself. “I betrayed you and -”
“Hush,” Tom replied, putting a gentle hand on her shoulder and looking down at her with a soft smile on his face. “There’ll be plenty time for talking. Let’s just get your arm seen to first, okay?”
Despite the pain in her arm and the agony in her soul, Savannah managed to smile back. "Thank you," she whispered, hardly able to believe how good he was being to her. "I don't deserve any of this."
CHAPTER 22
Tom squeezed Savannah's shoulder, a little surprised himself at his reaction. At first, he'd been filled with rage over what Savannah had kept from him, but the moment she'd stepped in front of him to protect him from Lucas, everything had become clear.
He'd felt the fear rippling from Savannah, almost seeing just how scared she was of Lucas, but she'd stood there anyway. She was defending him and making her stand. Dan had told him that he didn't know what Lucas was like, and, while that was true, it wa
sn't hard to guess. A pack leader didn't attack their own members, even if they were leaving the pack. It just wasn't done. But then again, Lucas wasn't exactly a good example of what a pack leader should be. He'd engineered the attack on Tom and Nick, and tried to kill them when they wouldn't join his pack. He couldn't imagine what it had been like for Savannah to be a part of that pack.
Helping her into some clothes, he saw the way she winced with almost every movement. She was in pain from more than just her arm, he realized. She'd really taken a beating. He'd have to thank Dan for going to help her. A wave of nausea rushed over him as he remembered just how little he'd been able to do to help. He'd seen Lucas go for Savannah, but had been immediately attacked by the other two bears of the Northern Wind pack. It took everything he had to defend himself, but hearing Savannah's roars of pain had speared his soul. He wanted to get to her, but couldn't. Thank goodness Dan had made the choice to come back and help. Without him, Savannah could have been killed.
A shudder ran through him at the thought, as he eased the sleeve over her arm. Her face was contorted with pain as she rested her arm back down on the rolled up towel on her lap. “Sorry,” Tom murmured, buttoning up the top.
“You’re not hurting me,” Savannah replied, attempting to smile even though her face was growing paler by the minute. “Thank you for doing this.”
“This might hurt though,” Tom warned, getting up to get a bowl of warm water and a clean cloth. Sitting back down, he looked into her eyes for a moment before wiping the cloth over her arm. Her breath caught.
“You might need stitches,” Tom said, a little worried. “This gash looks bad.”
“Can you do it?” Savannah asked, her eyes finally meeting his.
He shook his head. “I’ve got some adhesive strips that might do the job, but if it doesn’t work, it’ll be a trip up to the hospital.”
The Dragon's Mate (Elemental Dragons Book 1) Page 120