by Kristie Cook
As the fog of sleep cleared from his mind, Jonathan remembered that Gabriel had left yesterday to search for the goat herd. They had the room to themselves. He grabbed River’s wrist and pulled her onto the bed. He was under the quilt and she was on top of it, but she still refused to let him kiss her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Reuben’s in his office next door.”
Damn. “What’s he doing up so early?”
“He says he couldn’t sleep.” River gave Jonathan a quick peck on the lips then opened his door. “Get dressed, grab your bow and meet me in the stable.”
“The stable?” The archery range was only a ten minute hike from the house.
“We’re going hunting.” River grinned then stepped into the hall, pulling the door shut behind her.
When Jonathan entered the stable ten minutes later, he was surprised to find Eli’s horse, Old Red, with a wooden frame strapped to his back. Sugar and Hot Sauce were tacked up and ready to go.
River nodded at two leather-bound bundles on the ground. “Can you get the packs on Red for me? They’re a little heavy.”
She wasn’t kidding. Jonathan grunted as he hefted one of the packs and swung it onto the frame attached to Red’s back. “Good grief, River. When you said we were going hunting, I thought you meant for the day. How long are we going to be gone?”
“We’re not coming home until we have what we need. It could take weeks.”
“Just the two of us?”
“Yes.” River averted her gaze and checked Sugar’s left front hoof for the second time.
“Are you sure that’s okay with Reuben?”
“It was his idea.”
Jonathan scratched the stubble on the side of his face. Shaving with a straight razor was too nerve-racking to do it every day. “What about Eli? He’s going to be pissed off if he finds out.”
River guided Sugar’s foot back to the ground then dusted her hands off on the seat of her pants. She turned around and folded her arms over her chest. “Since when do you care what Eli thinks?”
“Since never.” Hope warmed Jonathan’s chest. “What all did you pack?”
“Food, blankets, buffalo hides, extra clothes, a dutch oven, skillet, hunting knives, bows, arrows …”
Not only did they have everything they needed to survive in the wilderness, they had an excuse in case they ran into a patrol of enforcers.
“What about the quarantine?”
“It’s still in effect, but we’ll stay away from the settlements.” River handed him a red bandanna then tied one around her own neck. “Wear this. It’ll warn anyone we meet to stay away.”
Awesome. Jonathan couldn’t have planned it better himself. They were going to escape.
***
The sound of Gabriel’s off-key singing snapped Jonathan out of his reverie.
“The moon is full, the wild wolf calls, oh bring my love to me …”
Gabriel continued to sing, as he dismounted and led Lightning through the open stable doors. “The seasons turn, the fever burns, oh bring my love to—”
Gabriel stopped short when he looked up and spotted River and Jonathan trying not to laugh. His cheeks flamed as he grinned back at them. “I didn’t see you guys.”
River snorted and rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”
“What’s going on?”
“Jonathan and I are going hunting.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Alone?”
River jammed her fists on her hips. “Yes alone. It’s part of Jonathan’s training.”
Gabriel frowned, pulling his eyebrows together. “Does Pa know?”
River’s eyes flashed purple. “Why don’t you go ask him?”
She wasn’t answering the question, but whether or not she’d actually gotten Reuben’s permission didn’t matter. They weren’t coming back.
“Why are you so angry?”
“Did you find the goats?”
Gabriel lowered his gaze—obviously and wisely—deciding to abandon his interrogation of River. He led Lightning into his stall then slid a feed bag over his nose. “I picked up the herd’s trail near the pass, but an avalanche blocked half the canyon, including the tunnel.”
Jonathan felt the blood drain from his face. “What does that mean?”
River handed Gabriel one of the scraps of buffalo hide they used to groom the horses then turned around and leaned against the stall door. “The last time this happened, the pass was closed until the middle of June. No one could get in or out. We’re going to have to rely on venison and elk to get us through the winter. It’s a good thing we’re going hunting.”
Jonathan closed his eyes for a moment and swore under his breath. When he opened them, he noticed that not only were River’s eyes purple; they were glowing. In broad daylight. Not a speck of brown remained in her irises.
She fisted her hands and locked her elbows against her body. She shouldered her way past Jonathan, stomping out of the stable with long, jerky strides.
“River, wait.”
She ducked her chin and ran.
Damn it.
Gabriel slowed his rhythmic swipes over Lightning's back and looked at Jonathan with wide eyes. “What’s her problem?”
“I wish I knew.” Jonathan was pretty sure his reaction to the closed pass had tipped her off; but he wasn’t going to confess that to Gabriel.
“Even if you don’t know what you did, you still need to go apologize. River can hold a grudge forever.”
“Most women can.” Jonathan rested his hand on Saucy’s rump as he walked behind him. “Wish me luck.”
Jonathan caught up with River halfway between the stable and the house. The look of betrayal on her face broke his heart. “I wasn’t going to leave without you.”
He’d haul her ass out of there, kicking and screaming if he had to. He gripped her shoulder and leaned over to capture her gaze. “I’d never do anything to put you in danger. You know me better than that.”
“I don’t know you at all.” She jerked away from him. “I thought you liked it here. I thought you liked me.”
“I do like you. I more than like you, but I’m barely surviving here. Do you have any idea how hard it is to mount a horse or wash dishes or even get dressed with this thing?” He held up his claw. “I appreciate the thoughtfulness and all the effort that went into creating this, but it can’t compete with my myoelectric prosthesis.”
River narrowed her eyes. “I’m sorry we can’t compete with all your pollution-spewing, world-killing gadgets.”
“My prosthesis is not a gadget and it runs on rechargeable batteries. It doesn’t pollute anything.” Jonathan’s emotions had hit too many extremes in too short a time. Learning he was trapped until spring was bad enough, but getting the news half an hour after the high of thinking he was going home was devastating. And now River was criticizing him because he missed his prosthesis?
“You’ve never had real shampoo or toothpaste or electricity or toilet paper so you don’t know what you’re missing. I do. I miss movies and television and computers. I miss jeans with zippers and t-shirts and underwear.”
River’s eyes flashed. Normally, her glowing, purple eyes made Jonathan horny as hell. Not this time.
Her lips parted, but only for a moment. She slammed her mouth shut and flared her nostrils. The clouds of steam billowing out her nose into the frigid air reminded Jonathan of a raging bull in a Saturday morning cartoon. If he weren’t so upset, the sight would have made him laugh; but it only added fuel to his anger.
“I miss salads and fresh fruit and vegetables that don’t come out of a glass jar. I miss milk and orange juice and Lucky Charms and peanut butter. I miss Red Bull and Skittles and Midnight Milky Ways. I dream about food every, single night.” Jonathan tilted his head back and yelled at the sky. “What I wouldn’t give for just one lousy apple!”
He could have continued his litany of everything he missed for another ten minutes, but when he glanced at River and saw h
er eyes sparkling with unshed tears, his anger evaporated.
He lowered his voice. “I miss my family. My parents have already lost one son. Do they have to lose another?”
“At least you’re alive.” River blinked. Another tear leaked out of the corner of her eye. “If you run away, the council will kill me.”
“Not if you come with me.”
River lunged towards him.
Jonathan braced himself, expecting her to shove him or pummel him with her fists.
But instead of attacking him, she fell into his arms and buried her face in his shoulder. Her warm breath tickled the side of his neck and tightened his abs.
“I’d go with you if I could. But I can’t.”
Jonathan cupped the back of River’s head in his hand. “Why not?”
“As my guardian, Reuben’s responsible for everything I do.”
“So, you’re sort of like his recruit?”
“It’s worse.” River clenched her fists in Jonathan’s shirt. “If I ran away, the council would rule that Reuben’s failure to control me is proof that his sons aren’t being raised properly. They might foster Paul with another family since he’s young enough to be retrained, but Gabriel is too close to adulthood. They would put him to death.”
“Someone needs to clean out this den of vipers.”
“That someone is you.”
“Me?” Jonathan had expected River to rip him a new one for breathing such treasonous blasphemy; not volunteer him for the job.
River licked her lips and took a shuddering breath. Her whole body trembled.
Jonathan recognized her mixed emotions. He’d seen the same look of quiet desperation warring with pride and hope in Dad’s eyes the day he and Franklin deployed.
She lifted her gaze to Jonathan’s and cupped his cheek in her palm. “You are a son of Ephraim.”
Jonathan shook his head. “I don’t know what Gabriel told you, but it’s not true.”
“Gabriel didn’t tell me anything. Reuben did.”
Jonathan felt betrayed, but didn’t hold it against the kid for sharing his theory with his father. Jonathan would have done the same at his age. “Just because some guy at church declares I belong to the tribe of Ephraim doesn’t mean I’m the savior of New Eden.”
“What do you mean some guy at church? I’m talking about the fact that you are a descendant of Charles Ephraim McKnight.”
“That doesn’t prove—whoa. Who told you that?” Jonathan hadn’t mentioned anything about his great-great-grandfather.
“Reuben.”
“How the hell did he know?”
“He knew him.”
“That’s not possible. Charles Ephraim McKnight died over a hundred years ago.”
River swiped tears out of her eyes. “I’m supposed to guide you to the truth, step by step. But I’m messing everything up. It’s all out of order.”
Curiosity was killing Jonathan, but River was shaking like a leaf. He didn’t want to cause her any more stress. He wrapped his arms around her and held her against his chest. “It’s okay. You can tell me as much or as little as you want.”
“Zebulon is our leader. Everyone’s afraid of him. Even the high-council answers to him. My people have suffered under their rule for too long. It’s time for a change.”
“If we can find a way out of here before they open the mountain, we could notify the authorities about what’s going on. They could rescue everyone before Zebulon and the council even know we’re gone. They won’t have a chance to pass judgment on Reuben or Gabriel.”
River pushed away from Jonathan. “And you think Reuben and Gabriel are going to welcome government invaders into New Eden with open arms?”
“If they knew that they were trying to save them … then yeah, I think they would.”
“You’re wrong. They won’t tolerate outside interference from your government.” River’s eyes overflowed. She swiped the tears off her cheeks and threw her shoulders back. “They would fight until their last breath. So would Paul. So would every man, woman and child. There’d be no one left to rescue.”
“My government doesn’t kill children.”
“Even if the children are filling them full of arrows?”
Arrows wouldn’t pierce body armor, but Jonathan couldn’t guarantee that a soldier or an FBI agent wouldn’t return fire just because the enemies weapons were ineffective. The government didn’t exactly have a stellar record when it came to cults. New Eden would be worse than Waco and Ruby Ridge combined.
“I can’t take on all of New Eden by myself, but if I can recruit a few good men, like Reuben, to help me, maybe we can cut the head off the serpent.”
River flung her arms around Jonathan. “I’m scared.”
Jonathan didn’t believe in New Eden’s legends. But he did believe in defending the oppressed.
He’d enlisted in the army to fight against tyranny. He’d gone halfway around the world to do it and failed. And here it was again, right in his own backyard. He gazed into River’s blazing eyes, full of hope, faith and courage and found something he could believe in. Something worth fighting for. Maybe he could even believe in himself again. “All it takes for evil to succeed; is for good men to do nothing.”
River
The fire in Jonathan’s eyes frightened River. It was too easy to get caught up in the excitement of legends, prophecies and promises. What if Jonathan was right. What if it were all nothing but a huge coincidence? What if he was only a man? A fragile human? If he tried to merge with a wolf, the beast would kill him with one snap of its jaws. Why did Jonathan want to risk his life to get rid of Zebulon. He had no love for New Eden. He’d leave tonight if River agreed to go with him. And may the almighty Alpha forgive her, she wanted to. If it weren’t for Reuben, Gabriel and Paul, she’d do it. She’d leave with Jonathan and never look back.
Shame heated River’s cheeks. The people of New Eden deserved better than that. So did Jonathan. He had no idea what he was getting into. He didn’t know the true nature of his enemies. Or even his friends. It wasn’t fair to let him make such a commitment until he did know.
River wanted to tell Jonathan everything, but she knew in her heart he wasn’t ready. If he were a son of Ephraim, why hadn’t the almighty Alpha given him a better sponsor? Someone like Reuben, or even Shula? She was scary, arrogant and manipulative, but she’d know how to turn a naive recruit into a general. River did not. And her ignorance could cost Jonathan his life.
He tucked a strand of hair behind River’s ear then trailed his fingers down her neck. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. Everything.”
She tried to ignore the sparks Jonathan’s touch ignited and studied his face. He wasn’t ready for this challenge. Neither was she. But something had brought them together at this time, in this place and under these circumstances.
Whether it was part of some divine plan, or nothing but pure dumb luck, River and Jonathan were in this together. And isn’t that what she wanted? River smiled as she recalled the words she’d used to persuade Reuben to let her mate with Jonathan. I won’t sacrifice the happiness I have today because of an uncertain future. I’ll cherish every second of my time with Jonathan—no matter how short that time might be.
Jonathan kissed River’s forehead. “Do you still want to go hunting?”
“More than anything. Get the horses and meet me at the house. I want to get something before we leave.” River couldn’t replace Jonathan’s fancy, mechanical hand or his family, she couldn’t protect him from the dangers of her world, or let him return to his own, but there was one thing she could give him.
She hid the surprise in Old Red’s pack while Jonathan was distracted; trying to mount Saucy from the right. Something he tried—and failed—to do every time they went riding. Reuben had warned him not to use his golden claw to mount Saucy. If it got tangled in his mane, it would spook the horse and Jonathan wouldn’t be able to free himself.
Saucy was just as stubborn as
Jonathan and refused to let him mount from the wrong side. River had offered to help him train the horse, but Jonathan’s stubborn streak prevailed. He’d insisted he could do it himself.
Jonathan finally gave up and climbed onto the porch railing so he could mount from the left. He nudged Saucy into a trot, moving with the horse instead of bouncing all over his back.
River rode up next to him and smiled. “Your riding skills have improved.”
“I still can’t believe you guys don’t use saddles.”
“Some of the wealthier citizens do. But it’s an unnecessary barrier between the horse and rider.”
“At least you use hackamores.”
River tied her reins in a loose knot and dropped them onto Sugar’s neck. She held her hands out to the side and used her heels to guide Sugar in a tight circle around Jonathan and Saucy. She edged Sugar closer to Saucy, matching his pace exactly. “Not when I’m hunting.”
Jonathan’s eyes widened. “Why not?”
“It’s a little hard to draw a bow with one hand.” She pantomimed the action.
“Tell me about it.”
River laughed. “I keep forgetting you only have one.”
“I’ll take that as a complement.” Jonathan’s grin flashed his dimples. “So, where are we going?”
“East. There’s a shepherd’s hut on the ridge. You can see the city lights from there. It’s amazing.” And she was definitely feeling a pull in that direction.
“We can see Denver?”
“Red Cliff.”
Jonathan coughed, obviously trying to cover a laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You’re so cute. Red Cliff isn’t a city. It’s hardly even a town. If you blink when you drive through it, you’ll miss it.”
“Well, at least I’m not so cute as to believe I could see all the way to Denver.”
***
Neither of them said much during the long ride, but it wasn’t surprising considering all they had to think about. They arrived at the eastern ridge just before sunset. River slid off Sugar and dug the sack containing the feed bags, oats and grooming supplies out of the pack on Red’s back. “Go fire up the stove then get these packs off Red while I take care of Sugar and Saucy.”
