War: Feral Hearts Book One

by Knight, Gwen

  She’d never felt so helpless and alone in her life.

  “Let me leave. I promise I’ll make sure the wolves hold up their end of the truce.”

  “They’re not a threat any longer.”

  She frowned. “What are you talking about?”

  “Their alpha is dead. I had the blade coated in silver, which, as I’m sure you’re aware, is deadly to shifters. You missed the fun of watching him die because you were unconscious, but trust me when I say that the pack is running around like a chicken with its head cut off because they’re missing their leader. We’ll find where they’re holed up and kill them all. You could make it easy on yourself and tell us where they are. I might let you out of here eventually if you’re helpful.”

  “I’ll never tell you anything.”

  “You’ll change your mind.”

  She hated how sure he sounded. And she doubly hated how her eyes stung with tears, and her body trembled. War wasn’t dead. He couldn’t be. If he were, she wouldn’t feel connected to him. Deep in her heart, she believed he was alive, but she wasn’t about to tell Taylor that.

  Steeling her frayed nerves, she inhaled and straightened. “Go to hell.”

  Taylor chuckled and walked away.

  She didn’t like that one bit.

  The door to the stockade slammed shut and she was alone. She could hear Taylor’s voice outside, but she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She guessed he was telling guards to keep an eye on her.

  She sat on the cot and stared at the stockade door. No matter what happened, she didn’t regret leaving the homestead and stopping the battle. War’s life had been on the line, and she knew she could get the fighting stopped if she could get their attention. She’d been successful, but the soldiers were more cunning than she’d anticipated. Taylor had seen a way to take out his enemy, and he hadn’t hesitated.

  It was powerfully unfair that War was a good and honorable man and had been injured by his trusting nature. Taylor wasn’t to be trusted, that was for damn sure.

  But War was hopefully healing back at the homestead. She’d done what she went into the woods to accomplish, and although she hadn’t planned to get captured, she’d sacrifice herself a thousand times to keep War and the pack safe.

  The door creaked open and a soldier walked in. She recognized him as Paul, one of the young men who’d been drafted into the militia when his family came to the fort.

  She opened her mouth to say something to him, but he put his hand up. “I’m not supposed to talk to you, traitor. Just keep quiet, or the general will send someone else in here to deal with you and trust me when I say, you don’t want that.”

  She didn’t like the threat, but she absolutely didn’t want to deal with whoever Paul thought was a worse person to take over guarding her. Pressing her lips together, she leaned back against the wall and stared through the bars toward the door.

  I fucking need you, War, she thought. I’m in trouble.

  14

  Emma’s butt had long since gone numb from sitting on the horribly uncomfortable cot for who knew how long. It felt like forever, considering Paul refused to so much as look at her. There was a small window in the door, but since the sky was always dark, she had no clue how long she’d been in captivity. But it felt like an eternity.

  Particularly when she couldn’t stop worrying about War.

  Had he been able to get the silver-coated knife out of his back? Had the wound healed?

  The door opened and Taylor strode in. He held a bottle of water in one hand and an MRE in the other. “Take ten,” he ordered Paul.

  “Yes, sir,” Paul said, hurrying out the door.

  “I thought you might be hungry and thirsty,” Taylor said. He approached the cell but didn’t get close enough to hand the items to her.

  “What do you want?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

  “You know.” He shook the bottle so the water sloshed inside. “Some food and water for information. You’ve been sitting in here for an hour. I thought you might be ready to talk.”

  “I have nothing to say to you.”

  He grunted. “You will, eventually. If it takes a day of no food or water to get you to tell us what we need to know, then I’ll wait. But…” He let his voice trail off.

  Taylor’s eyes got a decidedly evil glint to them, and Emma’s stomach churned.

  “I can think of other ways to get you to spill if food and water aren’t the ticket. I’m being nice, you know.” He set the bottle and foil-wrapped item on the table, then crossed his arms. “I could be unpleasant.”

  She held her tongue against the retort that she’d never really seen him be anything but unpleasant.

  “I’ll give you an hour,” he said, rubbing his chin. “If you refuse to give me the pack’s location, I’ll use another method to get your cooperation and you won’t like it. Keep in mind that no one knows you’re here. No one is coming to rescue you. If the pack shows up, we’ll kill them, so don’t expect your furry, feral boyfriend to save your life. You’re only useful to me as a means to get to them. Keep that in mind.”

  He stared at her for a long moment and then turned and left. The door slammed shut and her eyes stung with fresh tears. She slumped against the wall, feeling helpless. She’d never betray War and the pack.

  But how could she escape?

  * * *

  Luna squatted against the stockade and listened to General Taylor’s little speech. There weren’t windows in the walls of the building, but there were vents to allow fresh air in, and it was through one of those vents that she heard their conversation. And it made her furious.

  Threaten her bestie? The fuck! Taylor was an asshole of the highest order, and she wanted to hurt him in the worst way. She wasn’t even an aggressive person by nature, but she’d throw a few punches in his direction. Maybe stab him with something rusty.

  Luna rested her head against the rough wall of the small building and closed her eyes. How the hell was she going to help Emma? There was only one door into the stockade and Taylor had assigned one of the soldiers to guard Emma.

  Taylor marched out of the stockade, the door slamming shut behind him. Luna flattened against the wall in case he walked around to the back of the building. She didn’t want to think about what would happen if she got caught spying.

  Hell, she’d probably wind up in a cell next to Emma. And then they’d never be able to escape.

  Holding her breath, she waited and listened.

  “Paul?” Taylor barked.

  “Sir?”

  “I’ll be back in one hour. There’s water and an MRE on the table. See if you can get her to talk and offer her those things.”

  “You want her to tell us where the pack is?”

  “Yes. And how many there are.”

  “If she won’t talk?”

  “Don’t worry about that. Just make sure you explain that it would be better for everyone—especially her—if she cooperates.”

  “Yes, sir,” Paul said.

  The door to the stockade opened and closed. Luna heard the general walk away in the barracks' direction.

  She lifted her wrist and looked at her watch. An hour wasn’t long. She needed to figure something out, and damn fast.

  * * *

  Emma crossed her arms and glared at Paul. “No.”

  He snorted. “You’re being an idiot. You know that you’re fucked, right? I mean that figuratively and literally.”

  Her stomach churned in worry, but she ignored it. She wouldn’t give in to fear or threats, she had to stand tall. “You know that you’re blindly following a man who’s okay with threatening to rape an innocent woman, right? I have done nothing wrong.”

  Paul threw up his hands. “Hello! I heard all about you traipsing into the middle of the battle and threatening our people. Our people! You’re human, not a wolf. You shouldn’t be siding with them, but with us. You should’ve pointed the rifle at the wolves, not the general. Surely you didn’t think he�
�d forgive and forget that, right?”

  “I had to stop the bloodshed,” she said. “It was pointless. Humans and wolves suffered losses. I did what was best for everyone.”

  “I can’t believe you fucked a wolf.” His upper lip curled in disgust.

  She tilted her head with a frown. “You know he was human, right?”

  “That’s not what I heard.”

  “What? Ew! Oh my gosh, I didn’t have sex with War in his wolf form, that’s a horrifying thought.”

  “They’re always wolves. They’re feral.”

  “You’re the one who sounds like an idiot right now. War and I are mates. When I’m with him, he’s human. General Taylor witnessed it, and so did the other soldiers. I didn’t have sex with a wolf in his animal form, that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”

  “I only know what I was told,” he said. “I was also told that you’d deny it.”

  She opened her mouth to argue but decided it wasn’t worth the effort.

  The door to the stockade opened, and Luna slipped in, wearing all black. She was carrying a thermos and had a paper-wrapped package under her arm.

  Paul straightened from where he’d been leaning against the table. “What are you doing here, Luna?”

  Luna didn’t look Emma’s way. Instead, she gave Paul a sultry look. “I heard you were in here, and I thought I’d bring you a snack.”

  “You can’t be here. Emma’s a prisoner and isn’t allowed any visitors.”

  Luna gave Emma a dismissive glance. “I didn’t come here for her. She’s a traitor. It’s all over the fort how she cavorted with wolves and tried to bring them inside our walls and kill us all.” She sidled up to him, pressing her body to his. “I just wanted to bring you a snack to keep your strength up and thank you for watching out for us.”

  Emma wrapped her hands around the bars. “Luna! What the hell?”

  “Shut up, traitor,” she said, sneering.

  Emma’s heart cracked at the sheer menace in her best friend’s voice.

  And then she caught the wink. Relief spread through her knowing that Luna was planning to help her.

  Emma cleared her throat and banged her fists on the bars. “I should’ve known you’d turn on me. You were always jealous of my relationship with War.”

  “Yeah, right, like I’d ever fuck a wolf. I prefer my men human.” Luna turned her attention to Paul.

  Emma spun away from the bars and pretended to stifle a sob. She flopped onto the cot and angled herself away from the bars, so it appeared that she was feeling hopeless and not watching what her bestie was doing. From her vantage point, she saw Luna unscrew the lid of the thermos and pour the contents into the lid that doubled as a cup.

  “I remembered you liked green tea with honey,” she said. “And I brought you some of my mom’s pear tartlets.”

  “No shit?” Paul asked.

  Luna giggled. “No shit.”

  Paul opened the paper package and took a large bite of the tartlet, groaning with happiness. “Damn, this is good. I haven’t had anything sweet in forever. How’s your mom, anyway?”

  “Still sick with a fever. The doctors don’t know what’s causing it but think it’s an infection of some kind.”

  “That sucks. You’re feeling okay, though?”

  “Yeah, of course.”

  He took a long drink of the tea and sat on the edge of the table. “I could move into your place, help with your mom.”

  “You’d do that? After I told you I didn’t want anything serious, and I was kind of mean to you?”

  He shrugged. “I hate the barracks. It’s fucking noisy all the time. And there isn’t anyone in the fort I’d rather be with than you. I get that you wanted your space in the beginning. I probably came on too strong, so I’m sorry about that.”

  “You called me a bitch after the last time we hooked up, and I wouldn’t let you come home with me.”

  “Sorry!” he said, chuckling. “You’re not. I was just frustrated.”

  “It’s okay, I promise. Forgiven and forgotten.”

  He finished the tartlet in two bites and drained the cup. She lifted the thermos and said, “Refill?”

  Paul swallowed loudly and blinked a few times, shaking his head. “I feel weird.”

  “Oh no? You do?” Luna asked incredulously. “I wonder if someone put something in the thermos to make you go to sleep? And maybe also laced the tartlet?” She put her hand to her lips in mock surprise.

  “You bitch,” Paul said and then groaned, sliding off the table, unable to catch himself as he slumped to the floor. He fumbled at his waist for the walkie, but she grabbed it from him.

  “Ah, ah,” she said, waggling it at him. “Stop calling me a bitch, seriously. Did you really think I’d turn against my best friend? For you? You couldn’t find my clit with a map and a flashlight.”

  “You won’t get out of the fort,” he said, his voice went soft and his head slumped to the side.

  “Yeah, we will. And I’ll be back before you wake up. The good news is you won’t remember any of this. It’ll just look like you fell asleep at the post.”

  He snorted a sound that turned into a snore which made Emma let out a sigh of relief.

  “Is he unconscious?” she asked as Luna grabbed the keys to the cell off the table.

  “Yep. The last time I was in the medical tent, I looked through the medicine locker to see if I could find some sleeping pills. I found tranquilizers and swiped some. I ground up a few and put them in the tea and the sugar coating on the tartlet. I figured it would take twenty minutes to knock him out, so maybe I gave him too much.” She looked at the man. “Well, he’s still breathing, so that’s a good sign, I guess.”

  “Yeah, let’s not add accidental death to the list of problems tonight. You’re the best!” Emma said.

  “Duh.” Luna unlocked the cell. The two hugged tightly. “We gotta jam, girl. They’re coming back for you in a half hour.”

  “How will we get out?”

  “The tunnel. No one realized you escaped that way, so it’s not being guarded.”

  “Come with me.”

  “I can’t. My mom’s sick.”

  Luna led Emma to the door and peered through the window. “It looks clear. You ready to get the hell out of here?”

  Emma nodded. “Lead the way.”

  Luna opened the door and hurried to the left, and Emma followed. They plastered themselves against the stockade and moved swiftly and silently to the back. They paused and listened, and when they were sure the coast was clear, they moved across the street and melted into the shadows. They only ran into the patrols once and stayed hidden until they passed by. Emma and Luna continued to the cellar where they lifted the door and hurried inside.

  Luna pulled the door shut behind her.

  “You’re sure you’re okay?” Luna asked.

  “I’ll be fine once I’m out of this place and back with War.” She quickly told her about the battle and how Taylor had betrayed the pack.

  “Oh my gosh,” Luna said. “Do you think War’s okay?”

  Emma rubbed the space over her heart. “I think so. I think I’d know if he was dead, and I don’t feel like he is. You could get out of here with your mom. We could meet up somewhere in a few days.”

  “She can’t travel. She’s basically bedridden with this fever. I wish I could get her away from here.”

  “When she gets better?” Emma asked.

  “I’ll figure a way for us to get away from here.”

  As they embraced, they heard footsteps coming down the tunnel, and the sound of a man humming off-key.

  “Go!” Emma whispered. “I’ll deal with him.”

  “What if it’s more than one soldier?” Luna asked. “I won’t abandon you now.”

  “You can’t get caught. What about your mom?”

  Luna opened her mouth to answer, but then the soldier appeared. “Hey!” he yelled, putting his hand on the butt of his gun. “What are
you two doing here?”

  Emma looked at Luna, who looked like she was two seconds from barreling into the man. He was older, maybe in his mid-forties, and was one of the men that Emma knew had been using the tunnel to sneak supplies in.

  Emma gave Luna a push, and she stumbled forward into the soldier who caught her. Emma took the distraction to grab a nearby empty wooden crate, lift it with both hands and swing it at him. He didn’t have time to shield himself from the blow, which spun him around and into the wall. Luna dropped to the ground with a grunt.

  “Shit, warn a girl next time.”

  “Sorry,” Emma said. “Let’s go.”

  “I can still go back home,” Luna said.

  Emma put her hands on Luna’s shoulders and gave her a hard look. “We’ll come back for your mom and get her out of here, but you can’t go home right now. This asshole will wake up and tell Taylor that you helped me escape, then they’ll figure out you drugged Paul. Taylor could order you killed for aiding an enemy. At least this way, you have a chance to come back and save your mom.”

  Luna looked like she’d protest, and Emma was ready to argue. But then Luna said, “I know, you’re right. I just hope she’ll be okay until we can come back.”

  “She will be,” Emma said. At least she hoped she would.

  Emma took the unconscious soldier’s gun, and she and Luna raced toward the end of the tunnel. Emma lifted the hatch and looked around. She didn’t see any soldiers or hear any sounds of alarm, so she didn’t think anyone had discovered she was missing from the stockade.

  She looked at Luna. “Ready?”

  “Promise the pack won’t try to kill me?”

  “I swear. I’m the alpha female.”

  “I don’t know what that means, but it sounds kickass.”

  Emma grinned. She climbed slowly from the tunnel and kept close to the ground, watching the guard tower. When the soldier on duty turned away, she motioned for Luna and the two hurried into the woods. She wasn’t sure how long it would take to find the homestead, but she and Luna were free of the fort and that was what mattered. She was very serious about helping Luna get her mom out, and she was certain that War would help.