by Bec McMaster
A hint of wonder lit his face, and Eden paused, transfixed by how it made him seem so much younger.
She understood his wonder. Adam would love to see this place. Ever since he'd been transformed, he'd hated his other half, but what she wouldn't give for him to see how he could live with it without conflict.
Children laughed somewhere ahead of them as they entered the caves Nnedi led them to, and all her nervousness fled.
"The main cavern is this way," Nnedi called.
Curious faces began to peep out at them as they worked their way through the cave system. The roof opened up, soaring high into the darkness. She couldn't see where it ended, but there were no stars glittering there, so she guessed the roof was made of rock.
Dozens of people lingered in the main cavern. Several of the women wore brilliant blue outfits similar to Nnedi's, and most of them carried weapons of some description.
Colton moved through the crowd, and pale hands reached out to brush against him. Women's heads turned all across the main cavern, some of them standing to see him better. He looked a little unnerved by the attention, as if he was so used to living a life in the shadows that he'd never been looked at so openly.
"I think you're popular," Eden whispered. "It's those pretty eyes."
"It's the fact I'm not related to half of them," he muttered back, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing. "I told Nnedi about us."
Us? She met his gaze sharply.
"It's okay, angel," Colton muttered, staring at her intently. "No need to hide our relationship here. Nnedi knows you're my woman."
And he squeezed her hand.
Back to the whole "you're my woman" thing. She sighed. Ever since Nnedi arrived, she'd felt the threat level evaporate, but she wasn't certain she wanted to sleep alone. Not with CJ going to the infirmary, and dozens of wargs everywhere.
Plus, they needed to plan.
As lovely as the caves were, time was running out.
"What are we going to do?" she breathed in his ear, looking up as though examining the painted mural on the wall. "We can't stay here."
"We're not going anywhere tonight." He slung his arm around her waist, his hand resting laxly on the small of her back. Just a man hugging his woman. "We have to wait for this pack leader."
"Colton," she warned. He didn't understand. She'd already wasted too much time. Lily would be starting to suffer from the salt plague by now, and they hadn't even reached the other side of the Great Divide.
"I've counted sixty-three wargs," he whispered, brushing a curl behind her ear with his fingertips. "And that's so far. We can't run, angel. We don't know how many of them are out there, but from the sentries I saw posted, there's enough. They know the lay of the land, and Cole's not well. Be patient. We'll speak to the alpha as soon as he arrives and hopefully we'll be on our way come morning."
What if we're not? What if—?
Colton's fingers shivered over her cheek, alighting on her lips. Eden focused on him in surprise.
"I know you hate giving up control," he whispered, "but you have to trust me."
Eden bit her lip.
"Let's get a lay of the land," he murmured. "We need to know where the infirmary is, and how to get out of here. Don't get separated. We might have to leave at any time."
Sounded good to her.
At the end of the cavern, a pair of men waited for them, wearing dove-gray clothes. One of them had a shock of white hair, his eyebrows and lashes the exact same shade.
"Victor," Nnedi said, leaping up onto the dais in a single bound. "Where's Arik?"
"The alpha is hunting," said the albino, bowing his head. "You have found intruders?"
"Guests," Nnedi corrected.
"We will prepare quarters for them, and offer our healers for your friend." He bowed politely in their direction. "My name is Victor, and I am the seneschal of Shadow Rock."
"What about CJ?" Eden asked, watching the stretcher head across the cavern. Without her.
"My healers will see to him," Nnedi assured her.
Colton stepped forward. "Do you know when—"
"Later," said the albino sharply, and then he graced them with a softer smile. "The alpha shall have answers for you, and you can visit your friend after you're refreshed. Until then, friend, relax and enjoy the company of the pack. You are free to wander our caves, but I should warn you: these are dangerous lands, and we have people on watch outside. It would not be wise to leave the caves, in case you are mistaken for intruders. Bobbi shall accompany you throughout the caves, to ensure no harm comes to you within them."
"We'll keep that in mind." Colton managed a smile as he grabbed her hand.
Their eyes met.
Trapped, she told him silently.
For now, he returned, with a faint arch of his brow.
CHAPTER TWELVE
JOHNNY PACED the small room they'd been shown to, keeping his back to Eden as she washed. A pile of furs rested in the corner—a bed he presumed—and a washbasin and jugs of water had been set out for the pair of them. A loose curtain hung over the door, woven with exquisite skill. It reminded him a little of some of his mother's craft. Through it he could just make out the shape of the warg who waited out there for "their protection."
"Are these quarters?" Eden murmured. "Or a cell?"
She’d picked up on the same thing he had.
"This place smells like wolf," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I don’t know if I like the sound of this 'alpha.'" As far as he was concerned, the excitement he'd felt earlier was sloughing off as their position became clear.
Nnedi had pulled the wool over his eyes with her talk of guests and being protected. A smile, a joke, a story about the origin of wargs, and suddenly he'd been at ease. She was good.
Water dripped behind him. Johnny squeezed his eyes shut as his cock roused. He'd been on his very best behavior ever since they were shown to the room. The second Eden saw the water her eyes lit up, but with their guard, he couldn't exactly wait in the hall. And she'd had blood and dirt on her skin. He'd seen her excitement fade when she realized he couldn't leave, and hence she couldn't make full use of the amenities.
Until he very pointedly turned around and said, "Soap's in my bag."
Every moment alone with Eden was becoming torture.
Especially now she'd begun to trust him. It made his chest ache a little, for she'd have never allowed him to remain in here with her two days ago.
Which meant he couldn't do a damned thing to destroy that fragile olive branch.
He wanted her trust, curse it. He wanted more than that, if he was being honest, because there was a heat between them he ached to explore. Today's flirtation had gotten out of hand, and it only stirred his hope.
Eden wanted him. He hadn't missed the look in her eye, the way she squirmed when he told her exactly what he wanted to do to her.
Eden Fucking McClain ruined him with but a single sultry glance. He couldn't help feeling like there was a mountain of unfinished business between them.
And if he couldn't ease the tension, then something inside him was going to erupt.
"You done yet?" he muttered, scenting her soap.
Fabric shifted behind him. "Nearly."
He shifted the hard ache behind his jeans.
"Safe," she murmured, and he could make out the sounds of cotton being dragged over skin.
Johnny turned around slowly.
The first thing he noticed was her bare legs. Eden dragged the hem of her clean tank down, black to match her no-nonsense panties. Catching him looking at her legs, she arched a brow and reached for her jeans.
"You might want to make use of the water too," she said, screwing her nose up. "You've got blood on your shirt."
Later.
He had to rein himself back in. They had an escape to plan, and Eden was proving the worst kind of distraction, right when he needed his wits about him.
Glancing toward the door, and the muscular woman stand
ing on guard outside, he stepped closer to Eden. She paused as he caged her against the wall with his arms. "Fancy a kiss? It's been a long day."
Instant suspicion.
Johnny pressed a finger to her mouth before she could say something that might ruin his plan. Eden stilled, the press of her lips softening beneath his touch. He mouthed, kiss me, and her gaze lowered to his mouth as he leaned closer.
Blood rushed right to another area of his body as he breathed in her exhalation. Taking her hand he slid it up his side, knowing the woman outside the door would hear their breathing deepen and the rustle of fabric. Johnny turned his face at the last moment, brushing his cheek along hers. Eden shivered as he nuzzled her hairline.
"Need to get a look around," he whispered, right in her ear.
Eden nodded. She turned her head to his, their faces so close their lips were almost touching. A tilt of the head toward the door said, what about her?
He drew back, encouraging her hand to keep exploring. Their eyes met and he pressed his fingertips between her breasts. Moving his lips silently, he mouthed, Cole.
Eden's gaze grew thoughtful, and she made a complicated gesture he thought meant, I'll go check on CJ and take her with me?
He tapped his chest. They'll be watching me.
As far as they were concerned, Eden wasn't the threat. If he drew their eyes, then she might get a good look at this place.
It was dangerous, sending her out there alone.
But he suspected she'd be safe, especially since Nnedi's scent had held no trace of a lie when she promised nobody would touch Eden.
You need to look around, he told her with a flick of his hand and fingers.
Got it.
She leaned up suddenly and kissed his cheek, her mouth making a loud smacking noise. Johnny stilled, breathing in the scent of her soap.
"I want to check on CJ," she said out loud.
He played along. "Not alone."
"I'll take Bobbi."
"Watch your back," he murmured. "I'll have a quick wash, then head back to the main cavern and see what I can discover. I want to know more about this alpha."
And his pack.
Because, while Johnny could protect her from the wargs running wild in the night, he wasn’t certain if he could take on what seemed like an organized pack.
Especially if they had no intention of letting him and the others leave.
"I will," she said softly, slipping through the door.
URGENCY PRESSED upon her as Eden made her way to the healing room.
They didn't have time for this.
But there wasn't much either of them could do right now. She was so frustrated she could have screamed.
"Here's the infirmary," Bobbi said, gesturing to a small door. A lot of the carved doors bore only curtains, so it was surprising to see sturdy timber.
"Thank you." The infirmary wasn't too far from their room, and she'd managed to map out the landscape as she went. Not much to go by, but a start.
Easing open the door, she slipped inside. A candle burned in the corner, and a form melded out of the shadows. Nnedi. The other woman looked up when she entered.
"Couldn't stay away." Nnedi shook her head. "He'll be fine."
"Would you stay away, if this was one of yours?" Eden asked, slinking onto the bed beside CJ.
They'd stripped him of his shirt, and a yellow stain marked his skin where the single scratch bloomed against the swollen flesh. She still couldn't believe such a tiny mark had felled him.
"No." Nnedi snorted.
"You're a healer?" Eden asked, looking at the pestle and mortar the other woman was working.
"My mother was a healer," Nnedi replied. "I'm a warrior, but she taught me what she knew, and I'm the one they turn to when we need field dressings or combat medicine. Wargs don't get sick, in general, but there are a few humans among the pack—those who don't want to be infected, or those who are too young—so we have a few healers here. I volunteered, however."
CJ twisted on the bed, wracked by fever dreams.
Eden soothed his sweaty dark hair off his forehead. "He should be getting better."
Wargs could heal from almost anything.
Nnedi ground something into a paste. "It’s the poison in the shadow cat's claws. It kills a human instantly, but it takes longer to kill a warg. Most of the time we can push through it, but occasionally it’s too strong. I need to draw it out."
"But Colton was hurt too." And his claw marks faded, once she’d bandaged them. "His injuries were deeper than CJ’s, and yet they seem to have healed by now. Completely."
"This," Nnedi said, pointing to the reddened flesh around CJ’s claw marks, "is from a female. The male’s spurs are laced with enough poison to wound and irritate, but the female’s poison is lethal. It’s so they can protect their cubs. Your man must have been slashed by a male."
"How long will it take for him to heal?"
Nnedi shrugged. "A couple of days. I need to draw the poison, and give him a chance for the wolf within to heal him."
Days? Eden looked up in dismay. "But…."
Nnedi seemed to read her mind. "You cannot force him from his bed any earlier, or you might kill him. Even now, it might be too late. He needs time and rest."
They didn’t have time. But she couldn't allow CJ to suffer. Eden sat on the edge of the bed, and tucked CJ’s hand in hers. What were they going to do? "How far is it to the other side of the Divide?"
"The Confederacy side? An hour. Then half a day to the top."
The timing was growing tight.
Eden swallowed the lump in her throat and squeezed CJ’s hand. She needed him with her. When she'd set out on this quest, he'd been her voice of reason, her shadow. Without him....
She'd be alone with Colton.
And judging from the tension between them today, that would be disastrous.
"What's the rush?" Nnedi asked.
Eden took a deep breath. "Have you ever heard of the salt plague?"
Nnedi looked up from her pestle. "No."
"It's a bacterial infection that was genetically engineered by the Confederacy, according to one of their defectors. One of their generals was testing it on human subjects when another general found out. The project was shut down, I think, but... it somehow found its way to the Wastelands. According to the defector, there might be a cure in Cortez City.
"Nnedi," she pleaded, grabbing the other woman's wrist. "We can't stay here. If we do, then my family and friends will die and there's no hope for the rest of my settlement. We're not a threat to your pack. I promise we won't breathe a word of you to anyone. But we have to get moving. I need to find that cure."
Nnedi's lips thinned. "That is not an answer I can give you."
A knock sounded at the door, and a stranger poked their head inside. "Nnedi? Arik's back."
"Arik?" Eden asked.
"He's the one you need to convince to let you go," Nnedi said.
But she didn't sound hopeful.
EDEN FOUND herself back in the main cavern, though now it had come alive. Packed with people, torches ringed the walls, and everyone seemed in a celebratory mood. Laughter echoed ahead of them loudly as Nnedi wove her way through the crowd. It parted around the tall warrior, and Eden scurried along in her wake, looking for Colton.
There was a natural stone dais at one end of the room, and that was where Nnedi led her. A pair of enormous men embraced on top of it, and Eden recognized Lincoln, whom Colton had put a knife to the throat of. She didn't know the other man, but when he drew back, clapping a hand on Lincoln's shoulder, she blinked.
Had to be Arik.
He towered over the others, his long chestnut-colored hair in a knot on top of his head, and a thick beard trimmed neatly across his jawline. A large tooth hung on a leather thong around his neck, and she was pretty sure it was from a shadow cat. The guy was ripped, with the kind of heavy, bulky muscle that had to come from hard manual labor.
His chest was also b
are and oiled, with a gold handprint pressed over his left breast—a tattoo, she suspected, as it looked like someone had crushed pure gold and inked it into his skin. The only thing he wore was jeans; even his feet were bare.
Someone gave her a nudge from behind. Colton materialized out of the crowd, his body heat warm as he brushed against her.
"You want to be alone with him?" He tipped his head toward the man on the dais.
"No. Doesn't mean I'm not aware the guy is hot. I'm not blind and contrary to popular opinion, I'm not a prude."
His eyes grew sleepy-lidded, the dark of his pupils burning. He turned back to the front, his lips pressed tightly together.
What was that? She nudged him back, but Colton ignored her, and all she could think about was the heat of his eyes when he'd turned around and seen her in just her tank and panties.
A little shiver ran through her at the memory. Oh, shit. She was in trouble, she knew it. Keeping her hormones under control had been easier before she and Colton signed a truce.
Now?
It was becoming ridiculously easy to be around him. They'd somehow started leaning on each other, making plans, joking....
Even as that tension between them threatened to boil over every damned time he looked at her with those smoldering eyes.
Hate sex.
The problem was, she was pretty sure that wasn't the right way to describe the way she felt about him.
Eden didn't quite glance his way, though she couldn't help being aware of the heat that existed in the air between them. She could remember that long-ago day he'd kissed her. The hunger. The fierce need.
The betrayal.
Ouch.
Getting involved with Colton again was the last thing she should be thinking of, but a part of her couldn't resist being aware of him.
A part of her heard the words "hate sex" and thought that was an excellent idea. Which was madness. Or was it?
Be honest. A) Johnny Colton's an extremely fine example of a man. B) There's unfinished business between you. You've always known that. C) He might not be as guilty of hurting you, as you've always believed.
D) How can you ever move on, if you don't confront everything that lingers between you?
