He turned to Cyn. Her color wasn’t good. Her face was as pale as the snow around them. The rise and fall of her chest was quicker. As he drew closer, her head popped up. For a moment, her eyes brightened with relief, but then they formed slits. Anger pulsed from her and nipped at him.
So she knew.
Now that a group of hunters had attacked them, she must have had an idea as to what was going on.
Slowly, he approached her. He’d waited too long to heal her, but he didn’t expect a warm welcome. She didn’t move when he poked her shoulder with his nose.
She winced. “Ouch.”
Up closer, he noticed blood on the side of her mouth. Her scent was like black licorice again. Exhaustion and pain. But she’d survived.
She pushed him away with her good shoulder. “I don’t want to look at you right now,” she snapped.
He barked at her—something he rarely did—and he tried to move her again. It was too cold for her to sit out here in her condition. If she were a pup, he’d grab her by the neck and carry her inside Naomi’s cabin.
“You have some nerve showing up like this.” She shivered, so he nestled himself against her side. “If you were a man, you’d come in human form so we could argue.”
She squirmed underneath him.
“You’re heavy,” she protested with a grunt.
She continued to seethe, trying her best to get away. Always the stubborn hunter he adored. “You might as well turn back into a human so I can kick your ass for what you did.”
Go ahead and try, he thought.
Her gaze was toward the tree line. Now that the snow had let up, the night sky began to unfold and the stars appeared. Everything was still bitterly cold though.
Her body trembled again as she tried to push him away. No more games. He tried to let her cool her temper, but he should’ve expected this. He shuffled a few feet away and changed back into human form again. Without a proper meal in the last few days, changing back and forth like this would weaken him considerably. The pain should’ve been brief, but discomfort clawed along his joints, forcing him to breathe through clenched teeth. Maybe that was his due punishment for hurting Cyn.
He extended a hand to her, but she didn’t take it. So he tucked his arms under her legs and back and lifted her up.
“Put me down, damn you!” She was trying not to cry.
He didn’t answer and continued to carry her back to Naomi’s cabin. They’d be safe for a little while to hash things out before they met up with the others.
The door to his sister’s cabin had been kicked in. The furniture inside had been scattered about. The hunters had searched the house for its occupants. Had anyone been here when they arrived?
He placed her on Naomi’s bed and wrapped blankets around her. When she tried to get up, he finally spoke. “Don’t move.”
“I don’t want to look at you right now.”
“I did what I had to do.” Clothes were strewn all over the floor, but none of them were his. He searched one of the boxes in the closet and managed to find a shirt and a pair of jeans.
“You had to lie to me? If you had told me that man was a hunter, you know that would have bothered me, and I would have considered leaving. So you lied.”
He shuffled into his pants. “To save your life.”
“My life is my choice.” She thrust her finger in his direction. “Whether I become a werewolf or not is my choice, and, after looking at all those gutted humans all over the mountainside, I’m leaning toward Team Human right now! What you did was selfish.”
Selfish? “So wanting to save your life is selfish?”
“It was selfish of you to take the choice away from me. All my life, I have followed the rules of my clan. Who to follow. Who to question. Who to kill. But my life has always been my own.”
“I want your life to be with me now.”
“I’m sure it’s because of the bargain.” Her lower lip trembled. “Is that why I have to stay here?”
Now that was a low blow. She was hurt, so he let that slide. “You know there’s more to our relationship than that. If I wanted to heal you and cast you aside, you’d already be in Prince George on your death bed.”
She snorted. “My deathbed is coming all right. Today felt like a reminder that once I make my choice, there’s no going back to my old life. No more Red clan, and I might as well consider myself cut off from Zach and Ty.” When she mentioned her brothers, she choked up a bit.
Suddenly, her fury climbed until she tried to get off the bed. He tugged her into a bear hug and didn’t let her go. “I refuse to let you die.”
“So I’m a prisoner? I can’t trust anything you say at this point.”
He didn’t care. “If I have to make the same choice again, I will.”
She fumed, even trying to head butt him.
Twenty minutes later, and still, she had fight in her.
He chuckled. That was one of the things he loved about her.
Yes, loved.
The feeling was there and tugged at his chest. As difficult as things had gotten between them, he couldn’t let her go. Wouldn’t. The wolf within him wouldn’t let him consider such an idea. He’d wait until she was ready. He told himself the time would come someday. Cyn was stubborn and set in her ways, but when she exposed her softer side to him, he found himself unable to accept anything else but having her by his side.
He opened his mouth and closed it.
Straight up admitting he cared for her after getting hurt in the past was difficult.
She sagged in his arms. Her surrender.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “My heart wants you to stay.”
She drew in a deep breath, but didn’t speak.
He rested his face against the back of her hair and inhaled. He took in her smell. If she was still mad, he didn’t care if she tried to head butt him again.
But she didn’t.
She leaned into him. “I don’t want to leave yet, but I still want to kick your ass for lying to me.”
Slowly, he released her and then used his right hand to unzip her coat. She sighed when his palm slid against the warm, smooth skin of her stomach.
He shuddered as an explosion of healing energy surged from his body and coursed into hers. Even though his strength was diminishing, he’d give her everything he had.
“I’d expect nothing less than a good fight from my lady,” he whispered.
Chapter 8
Kaden had briefly mentioned there was a safe retreat for the pack a few weeks ago, but he had never elaborated on its size or what was available. Only that she should go west in an emergency and find the others.
No one said anything as Cyn and Kaden arrived at the rendezvous point. Cyn all but expected to see a bunch of wolves gathered around a fire in the snow, or maybe a gathering inside an emergency tent. What she didn’t expect was Kaden taking her to a cave. Beyond the camp, at least a mile to the west, hidden among a thick cluster of evergreens, there was an opening in the mountainside. The crack wasn’t visible from the sky and the curious would have to travel by foot to reach this point.
“What is this?” she asked him.
“This used to be my home,” he simply said.
“Before I discovered the camp,” Kaden added, “I found this cave first while I was out exploring. Actually, it was an accident.”
She glanced back the way they came. The snow added a bit of cover for their tracks, but not enough to keep this place from being found. The wolves would have to be vigilant for a while with a few guards. She followed him inside and walked past the two guards at the door.
Cyn looked around to see that the space appeared lived-in with places carved into the walls for lanterns. The whole space had to be around fifty feet from the entrance to the far side. A few parts of the ceiling were a bit low, but everyone from the camp was there.
Except one person in particular.
“Where’s Sinister?” she asked Kaden. Did her fellow hunter sur
vive? When they’d entered, Naomi had glanced toward the entrance with expectation, but her face fell to see it was only them.
“I’ll need to find out,” Kaden replied.
They weaved around two groups sitting around propane heaters. Those who had escaped from the camp had made themselves comfortable with sleeping blankets. A few pack members were hurt.
Kaden immediately went to each member, checked their injuries, and healed them. He stumbled a bit each time he got up, but he wouldn’t let her stop him as he healed those who needed his care. He gave everything to his pack, even making sure everyone acknowledged her presence.
She’d never seen him with dark circles under his eyes, and yet they were there. He appeared…tired.
“Maybe you should rest,” she suggested.
“I’ll get sleep soon enough. We have to make sure our pack is well.”
Our pack. The words were so simple, but they held a deeper meaning. What had Kaden’s father said to Damien? She was tired, yet the words came quickly to mind: “There will always be a place for you, no matter who you are and what you’ve done in the past.”
Kaden moved to someone else, jolting her out of her moment of reverie. She quickly followed.
“How badly is your leg damaged?” he asked another pack member.
“It’s broken in a few places, but I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll speed up your healing.” Kaden rested his hand on the man’s leg. “You did well protecting the pack.” The man nodded and closed his eyes, most likely pleased with the kind words from his alpha. Cyn remembered feeling such when her father congratulated her. On killing werewolves.
Once Kaden had checked the injured, they headed to the back of the cave where they found Eva, Rhys, and their children.
“Cyn!” Peter called out and started to rise. With one look from his mother, the boy remained where he sat, but he waved nonetheless.
“Hey, Pete,” Cyn said softly.
From her pocket, she plucked the photo album. All the memories were safely tucked inside. Cyn extended what she held to Eva, and the woman’s eyes grew wide. Eva took the album and murmured thanks.
Instead of bitterness, Cyn felt a sliver of grief. Even though Eva had left her behind, Cyn couldn’t help thinking about how important pictures could be when you needed them the most. On the day of her parents’ funeral, they had to use photos because they didn’t have any bodies for a casket.
Cyn sighed as Eva thumbed through the first photos. They were baby photos of her children. Memories were precious things.
Having a family is a precious thing. Especially when your family was taken away. It was time for her to think more about her new family.
“Thank you for finding my son,” Rhys said to Kaden.
Cyn spotted Micah from the farthest side of the cave. He had a blank stare and wore clothes that were bigger than his smaller frame, but he appeared well.
“Will he be all right?” Cyn asked Kaden.
“He’ll be fine,” Eva quickly interjected.
“I honestly don’t know,” Kaden said. “His wolf is strong in him. He needs guidance. Especially before the next full moon.”
“He’s not leaving my side again. Ever,” Eva said with her lips in a straight line.
“Eva, calm down,” Rhys said, as he patted his mate’s knee. A long glance was exchanged between the couple, and Cyn recognized it well. Rhys was trying to placate his jittery wife, but she wasn’t having it.
“During the next full moon, he must run with an alpha and take direction,” Rhys whispered.
“And who will do that?” Kaden asked slowly, his gaze fixed on Eva.
The blonde woman’s jaw twitched, but instead of meeting Kaden’s gaze, she stared down at her hands on her lap. “You will.”
Kaden nodded.
“We need to make some difficult decisions over the next twenty-four hours. If the Cerulean clan knows our position, our pack is in grave danger.”
Instead of a tart reply, Cyn noticed the others fell silent. If the Cerulean hunter had died at their hands before they had arrived, they had no one to blame but themselves. Which made this situation sadder for boys like Peter who’d have to find a new home.
During war, there weren’t any winners.
“Have you seen Sinister?” Kaden asked Rhys. “He wasn’t in his cabin.”
“I haven’t seen him since the pack had a family meeting last night,” Rhys replied.
Cyn touched Kaden’s shoulder. “He was with Naomi, Damien, and me until the attack began.”
At the mention of her name, in a rush, Naomi left the cave entrance to join them. “He told me to take Peter to the rendezvous point. He wouldn’t let me fight with him.”
“I see.” Kaden appeared thoughtful.
Cyn shrugged, an attempt to lighten the mood. “Don’t worry, guys. Sinister’s probably holed up somewhere licking his wounds.” Eating his barely cooked bacon.
“You think he’s hurt?” Naomi snapped.
“Have you seen him get hurt yet?” Cyn asked.
“There was the day I stabbed him…” Naomi remarked.
Cyn rolled her eyes. “He probably let you do that him.”
“Be that as it may, we need to secure the camp and make plans over the next week,” Kaden said.
“It’s not safe. We can’t stay there anymore,” Rhys said. “What do you think, Cynthia?”
Cyn’s gaze flicked to Rhys. Did he actually call her out for advice?
She might as well tell it like it is. “If I was the hunter in charge and I sent in a contingent of men, I’d expect someone to report back. If no one returned, I’d send in a single man to assess and determine if the threat was still present. In essence, they will be back.”
“So what do we do now?” Naomi asked Cyn. “How long do we have?”
“They probably traveled here before the snow began and attacked as the storm moved in for cover. With the deep snow in place, it will take them at least a week to return.”
“That’s how long it will likely take us to get out.” Kaden crossed his arms. “Snow along the mountainside makes the trek to Prince George treacherous. We will make plans and question the prisoner.”
“Prisoner?” Naomi whispered.
“What are you saying?” Eva asked.
Even Cyn’s head spun from Kaden’s words.
“I’m saying that, unlike all of you, I managed to capture one of them alive,” Kaden said. “I overheard him say that they wanted to capture one of us. I will be questioning him once we return to camp.”
Chapter 9
“Why didn’t you tell me we had a prisoner?” Cyn asked Kaden as they made their way back to camp the next morning. She wanted to add the words “what the hell,” but she was supposed to be reining in the crazy at this point.
“You and I had other pressing matters. I planned to tell you when I told everyone else. I promise there aren’t any more dire secrets.” He immediately looked away after he spoke, and Cyn wished she could feel like she could trust him. Didn’t he say he was willing to do anything to keep her with him? Wouldn’t that meaning lying again to protect her?
“When a werewolf attaches to someone, letting go is next to impossible,” he’d said the last time they made love.
She was supposed to be letting go of her past, moving on so she could be happy with him and live the kind of life she couldn’t lead as a hunter. But at this point, happy wasn’t happening. Crazy hot monkey sex, yes, but the happy moments were few and far between.
By the time they reached Kaden’s cabin, Cyn still had her doubts, but she tried her best to bury them for now. The camp was vulnerable, and if she wanted to even consider moving forward in her relationship with Kaden, they needed to be out of danger first.
The Cerulean pack had ransacked the place, so the cabin didn’t feel like home anymore. Neither of them spoke to each other as Cyn tried to pick up a bit. Kaden got a fire going in the fireplace to warm up the space.
A
few minutes later, the other higher-ranking pack members joined them. Uncle Damien, Naomi, Rhys, and Eva with her children came inside.
“So the prisoner’s in the bedroom?” Eva said. She ushered her children to sit in a corner.
“Are you sure you want them around when we question him?” Cyn asked. In the past, interrogations between hunters and werewolves were bloody affairs not meant for kids. “They could sit with the others in Naomi’s cabin.”
Eva fumed. “Didn’t you hear me earlier? My children are never leaving my side again.”
Naomi rolled her eyes. “We get it, Eva. She was just trying to look out for them.”
“Which I will do,” Eva replied.
“So what happens now?” Rhys asked in an attempt to defuse the situation.
“We question him as to why they have come here,” Kaden said. “How many others are nearby? What is their operating strength?”
“And you think he’ll outright tell us this?” Naomi scoffed.
“If he knows what’s good for him, he will,” Eva snapped as she marched to the bedroom door. “I will rip his arms off, otherwise.”
None of this sounded good. Even though he was a hunter, he was still a man, and there were interrogation techniques that could be applied without brute force. She didn’t know who waited inside that room, but if she knew him personally, she’d have to be given a chance to speak her mind before the pack planned to treat him like saltwater taffy.
“Wait a sec,” Cyn interjected.
Eva paused.
“Let me talk to him first,” Cyn said.
“I don’t like this,” Kaden said quietly.
“You owe me.” Pulling the guilt card wasn’t fair, but she did it anyway.
“You’re not going to let it go, are you?” he said.
“Not on your life, pal.”
“I could get him to talk,” Uncle Damien volunteered with a smile and a raised hand. Almost like he was in kindergarten.
“No,” Kaden and Cyn said at the same time.
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