by Viola Rivard
Hand pressed against her back, Alder gave Lark a firm shove, putting her out on display.
“This is Lark,” he called out. “She’s the one responsible for your pack infiltrating our territory. She’ll be staying with your pack.”
“We don’t need her,” Olivia said, stepping forward.
“I wasn’t asking,” Alder replied. “Hale and I have come to an agreement. For as long as you hold my daughter, Lark will be reporting back to us weekly. If anything happens to Snow or Lark, we won’t hesitate to take your den.”
“You’re also not going to be hunting in our territory,” Hale added. “If I catch any wolves on our side of the divide, they’re dead.”
“What kind of terms are those?” Olivia snapped.
“Those are the terms you’re getting,” Hale replied. “And they’re the best ones you’re going to get.”
Alder said, “When you decide to return Snow, you have my word that Halcyon will show you mercy. But I suggest you do so sooner, rather than later. We’re going to be notifying her alpha, and believe me, he makes Hale look agreeable by comparison. Unless you want two strong packs bearing down on you in the middle of winter, you better rethink your strategy.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Taylor wandered the hallways of the den, not sure what else to do with herself. Alder and Hale had left to confront Silas, taking almost everyone she knew with them. The only person who might have been able to keep her company had been Glenn, but the most she’d been able to do was convince him to feed her quail in between his guard rounds. She had wanted so badly to go with him, to get out of the musty cave and return to the sanctuary of her cabin, but she had a feeling it’d be a long time before she’d be surrounded by four walls and a roof again.
A faint orange glow emanated from a room up ahead. Curiosity drew Taylor in, until she was peeking inside the doorway. The light came from a large metal bowl filled with tinder and a crackling fire. A woman with chestnut hair sat beside a pallet. She dipped a cloth into another bowl that was filled with steaming water. After wringing it out, she pressed it to the forehead of the man who lay stretched out across the furs.
He appeared to be sleeping, but didn’t stir from her touch. He had long, unruly hair that reminded Taylor of Hale’s, only black. He had a sharp, angular face that wasn’t the least bit softened by sleep. Though the length of his body and his broad shoulders were that of a full-grown man, he had the uneven beard stubble of an adolescent.
“Can I help you?”
The woman didn’t look up, but her tone was pleasant and sincere. Taylor thought she recognized her voice and stepped inside to get a better look. It was Cammie, the pack member who had stitched Taylor’s cheek up.
She felt instantly at ease. Though she had only met Cammie once, the she-wolf had left a good impression. She had a very calming presence and had somehow managed to keep Taylor from freaking out while a needle was being threaded through her face.
“What’s wrong with him?” Taylor asked.
As she came to crouch beside Cammie, she got her answer. Across his muscular chest was a huge gash that ran down towards his navel. It appeared to have been hastily stitched and the skin around the wound was an angry shade of red.
“Don’t worry,” Cammie said. “This kid is pretty much indestructible.”
“Kid?”
“Don’t let his size fool you. Caim’s only a couple years older than his sister.”
She had only seen Snow’s brother in his animal form—a hulking black wolf. He was nearly the same size as his uncles and she found it hard to believe he was so young.
She glanced at his wound. “He was trying to protect Snow.”
“So were you,” Cammie said, her eyes on Taylor’s cheek. “While you’re here, let me see how it’s healing.”
Taylor gave a slight nod, Taylor allowed Cammie to examine the scratch. It hurt less today, but she still cringed as Cammie ran a finger over it.
“You were very brave,” Cammie murmured.
“Caim’s the only brave one. I didn’t do much of anything and I only helped because I was afraid Alder would be mad at me, you know, if anything happened to Snow.”
“You could have run and you didn’t. That’s all that matters,” Cammie said. Before Taylor could protest, she changed the subject. “Any bleeding?”
Taylor knew she wasn’t talking about the wound on her face. “No. I did bleed a little, though, right around the time my scent started to change.”
“That’s not unusual,” she said. “Nothing to worry yourself with, so long as it doesn’t keep happening.”
“Do you know a lot about pregnancy?” Taylor asked.
Cammie nodded. “If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to come to me.”
“Lark thinks I’m having twins,” Taylor blurted.
It was the first time she’d acknowledge the news aloud. With everything else going on, the fact that she could be having twins fell very low on the conversation priorities, even though it was something Taylor now realized she desperately wanted to discuss.
The fact that she was pregnant had seemed very abstract since she’d gotten the news, but she had given it a little thought. In the mornings, usually as she lay in bed trying to fall asleep, she’d picture what her baby might look like, taking all of her mates’ features and mashing them together with her own to make an adorable child—always a boy for some reason.
Taylor had just started to become comfortable with the idea of this child, maybe even a little excited to meet him, but now, all of the sudden, there could be another child. She hadn’t planned for that at all.
“Twins are very common among our kind,” Cammie told her. “So I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Is it even safe to give birth to twins out here? What if there are complications?”
“I’ve delivered plenty of twins with no problems. Don’t worry.”
Taylor was still skeptical. “Not to sound like an ass but, um, you don’t really look old enough to have a whole lot of experience with that sort of thing.”
Thankfully, Cammie didn’t seem offended.
“In the pack where I was born, I was helping to deliver pups from the time I could boil water. After that, I lived in Shaderunner for a few years. That’s the pack Caim and our alphas are from.”
Taylor’s eyes widened. “Oh. Did you know Caim’s mother?”
It was a very roundabout way to ask her if she knew Dawn, Snow’s mother and Alder’s former lover.
Cammie gave her a knowing look. “I’m afraid that was before my time. But I knew Sarah, the woman who raised Snow and Caim. I still go back to their pack every spring to help out with the new pups.”
“She has a baby every spring?” Taylor asked, arching a brow.
“At least one,” Cammie said, grinning.
Taylor released a huff of air. “Well, you’re not going to have to worry about that here. After this one…or two, I’m done.”
Cammie simply smiled.
“Is there anything I can help with?” Taylor asked, looking down at Caim again.
“No. He’s on his own now, but he’ll pull through. He always does.”
CHAPTER SIX
The following weeks passed swiftly. The same week that Lark was sent to stay with Whiteriver, Taylor became sick. Cammie assured her that what she was feeling was normal, despite Taylor’s insistence that she must have contacted a horrible strain of the plague.
Night and day bled into one another as Taylor spent her time deep within the den and huddled beneath furs. It was all she could do to capture a few hours of sleep in between bouts of vomiting. She was surprised every time someone mentioned that Lark was back, because it meant that another week had passed.
Although she slept in Hale’s room, she didn’t see him often. On occasion, she’d wake to feel his warm body next to hers. If she snuggled up to him, he’d wrap an arm around her, but never tried anything else.
Some nights, he’d carry
her up to the main room of the den. She enjoyed sitting around the fire with him and the other pack members, even if she didn’t have much to talk about. But as the nights grew longer, even the fire and furs Hale draped over her could do little to dispel the cold. After weeks of barely eating, her body was weak and in spite of her protests, Alder refused to watch her shake and tremble.
In his own way, Alder took care of her, making sure she ate enough every day, keeping the fire fed in her room, and bringing her warm water when she wanted to bathe. These were all things that Hale often overlooked and Taylor was grateful to him.
Although she was well taken care of, there was a new distance between her and the alphas. Intimacy was replaced by duty. She didn’t feel like a mate, but rather like a sick child they were responsible for. She hated it, but for the time being, there was nothing she could do.
It was nearly winter by the time she began to feel better. Nausea subsided, making way for a new and voracious appetite. Her hazy mind also began to lift and she no longer felt inclined to sleep the night away. Renewed strength enabled her to roam the den freely, feeding her need to socialize. As Glenn was usually away from the den, she spent a lot of time with Cammie.
Taylor learned that during her convalescence, Caim had made a full recovery. Alder had sent Caim back to his den to notify his father of Snow’s abduction. She could only hope that the Shaderunner alpha would have an idea of what to do, because Whiteriver was still holding onto Snow. From what she’d managed to glean off Glenn, Snow was safe, but Lark never had useful information for Halcyon. And with each week that passed, Alder became more impatient.
When Taylor wasn’t stalking Cammie and bombarding her with baby-related questions, she was hanging out with Holly, Quinn, Kale, and Beka. Beka and her friends were not her ideal choice of company, but Holly seemed to like them. Rather, she liked annoying them.
On this particular night, Taylor had woken to find a small bath of lukewarm water waiting for her beside the dying fire. She washed up quickly and made her way up to the main room of the den. After scanning the room for the golden hair of one of her mates, her eyes settled on the bonfire where Holly, Fenix, Beka, and Quinn were eating breakfast.
Holly was in the middle of one of her long-winded complaints as Taylor sat down. Quinn gave Taylor a quick smile and passed her a bowl of fresh spinach. Since Taylor had been indisposed, Quinn had taken over the task of managing her garden and feeding the quail. She was a lot nicer than Taylor had thought she’d be and she was damn good at gardening.
“I washed them already. Would you like me to get a pot so you can boil them?” Quinn asked.
Taylor glanced at the bonfire. The others already had meat portions of varying sizes roasting over the fire. She recognized the smell of turkey and her mouth watered.
This wasn’t the first time. When her appetite had returned, it had brought with it a whole host of new cravings. Many of them were things that were impossible for her to get, like mint chocolate chip ice cream, potato chips, and anything with cheese. Although it pained her to do so, she could ultimately ignore those, but her cravings for meat were entirely different.
Until she’d been pregnant, she never realized just how much meat the pack ate. Every night her nose was assaulted with a rich array of smells. Turkey, venison, rabbit, and a few equally delicious-smelling things that she didn’t recognize. Her meat craving had become so bad that she actually had vivid dreams about devouring raw meat on a daily basis. Only one thing stopped her from giving in and partaking of animal flesh—her pride.
“Doesn’t matter if you cook it or not,” Fenix said. “Tastes like shit either way.”
Taylor narrowed her eyes. “It tastes just fine, and unlike your dinner, nothing had to die to make it.”
She shoved a spinach leaf in her mouth.
“The plant had to die,” Beka pointed out.
“Spare me, Pocahontas,” Taylor grumbled.
Holly was still ranting, but Taylor now had the others’ full attention. Fenix grabbed one of the wooden skewers and reached over to wave it in front of Taylor.
“You really don’t want to eat this?”
For whatever reason, Fenix in particular seemed fascinated by her vegetarianism. It had annoyed her when she hadn’t been pregnant. Now, it drove her insane.
Taylor swatted at the skewer. Fenix pulled it back, but not before a few drops of turkey juice fell into her spinach bowl. She hastily picked up the affected pieces of spinach and ate them, hoping no one would notice.
As she savored the scant taste of meat, Fenix continued to needle her.
“What if you were starving and the only thing you had to eat was turkey?”
“Then I’d eat it,” Taylor said. “But this isn’t a life or death situation so there’s no reason for me to eat a dead animal.”
She wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince him, or herself.
“I admire your self-control,” Holly said, finally giving up on her tirade and joining their conversation.
Surprised, Taylor said, “Wow, thanks.”
“Yeah, I sure couldn’t eat that nasty spinach shit for a day, let alone a whole month.”
Taylor’s shoulders slumped. She had been so excited when her spinach crop was finally ready, but after several weeks of eat nothing but the bitter plant and the occasional quail egg, she wouldn’t mind if she never ate another piece of spinach again.
The others became silent as she stared down at her bowl, trying not to look forlorn. Her stomach roiled at the sight of it.
As if sent from the heavens, a hand appeared above Taylor. It scooped the bowl up from in front of her.
“What did I tell you about eating this shit?”
Taylor tilted her head up to see Hale glaring down at her.
“Huh?”
He scowled. “I told you, as long as you’re carrying my pups, you’re eating meat.”
Her brow furrowed with her confusion. Hale never mentioned the pups and had never interfered with her diet. Alder had expressed concerns once or twice, but she had no doubts about which alpha was currently lording over her.
“What are you—”
His free hand came down to clamp over her mouth. “I’ve heard enough arguing about this. Either you eat meat or you don’t eat anything.”
As his blue gaze bore into her, she realized what he was doing. Her eyes watering, she gave him a shaky nod.
“Good.” He let her go and turned his attention toward the others. “If I find out any of you let her eat these damn plants again, you’re dead.”
With that, Hale left. The second his back was to them, Quinn grabbed the stick with her turkey and thrust it at Taylor.
“Here you can have mine,” she said, giving Taylor a pitying look.
Hand trembling, Taylor accepted the meat. The others spent the rest of the meal making awkward conversation as Taylor sat beside them, crying tears of joy as she stuffed her face with turkey.
CHAPTER SEVEN
After eating the best breakfast she’d had in months, Taylor went to track Hale down. Fortunately, he was still within the den. She found him near the mouth of the cave, talking with Laurel. As she approach, she slowed her steps, shamelessly eavesdropping. They were making arrangements for picking Lark up from the border that night.
“Has it already been another week?” Taylor asked. “Sure doesn’t feel like it.”
“I wish I could say the same,” Hale said. “We still haven’t gotten anything useful from her and I don’t doubt that Cain will be here soon.”
“He’s your older brother, Snow’s foster father, right?”
Hale nodded. “Yeah and he’s already going to be pissed as hell that we let Snow get captured. When he finds out we don’t have a plan to get her back…”
Taylor frowned. She had been the one to help come up with the plan of action after Snow had been kidnapped, but now she felt completely useless once again.
“I’m sure he’ll be able to help you figure som
ething out,” she said weakly. “Hey, do you think we could talk for a few minutes?”
He took another moment to wrap things up with Laurel before dismissing her. Then, with a heavy sigh, he led Taylor towards the nearest tunnel. He didn’t speak until they were out of sight from the others.
“Look, I don’t know if you’re pissed about the whole meat thing, but I only did it because—what are you…”
Hale’s jaw slackened as Taylor shimmied out of her dress, exposing her nude body to him. She placed her hands on his cheek.
