by Abigail Owen
She’d set the pack at the right size, so now it fit snugly round her middle. Time to get behind enemy lines.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
In the dark of night, Gage reached for his mate, only to find her side of the bed empty and cold. A piece of paper crumpled under his searching hand. With a jerk, he sat up. He held back a growl of frustration as he had to fiddle with the light, trying to find the switch and then turn it the correct direction. Finally, he got it, and was able to locate what appeared to be a note on Seneca’s pillow.
Gage,
You know I had to go. If anyone can end this, it’s me. By the time you read this, I’ll be long gone. Please don’t follow. I won’t be able to do my job if I’m constantly worried about you. I will see you soon. I believe that.
Seneca
He crumpled the note and threw it across the room, along with a series of expletives. Then he leapt out of bed and hurried to the window, still bare of drapes, but no sign of her escape remained. No way she’d be able to get the rope undone once on the ground, which meant she’d gone out a different route.
Damn.
Given her habit of sneaking out, he wasn’t too surprised. The question was, how’d she get out? There were four people he could think of who might have aided her escape. One, certainly, who had to have known.
With angry jerks, Gage tugged on a pair of running pants, not bothering with a shirt, then stormed off to Zula’s rooms.
Eddie slept outside her door in his lion form, massive with his black mane fluffed out around his giant head, which he lifted from his paws at Gage’s approach.
“Let me in,” Gage demanded.
Eddie yawned, giving what sounded like a soft roar at the same time. The move hadn’t been a mistake, as he displayed his deadly teeth, a reminder of who was boss here. Then he lumbered to his feet and stared back with uncooperative disdain shining from his eerily golden eyes.
“I’m serious, Eddie. Seneca’s gone.”
In an instant, Eddie shifted. “She knows.”
“And?”
“When she asked Seneca to assassinate Rick, Seneca informed her she already had plans to do so.”
Fear churned then sat like a rock in his belly as Eddie confirmed his worst fears. “So she’s headed to Rick’s camp?”
“Yes.”
“We have to stop her.” Why did no one else see this?
“We have to let her do what she feels is right.”
He pivoted at the sound of Andie’s voice and she stepped out of the shadows behind him. “You helped her?”
“Have you ever been driven by a need to act, particularly to save someone or many someones you loved? That’s what Seneca is doing.” She spread her hands in appeal. “I’ve fought her, Gage, and seen her in action. You should trust she has the skills to do this. More than that, you should trust she wouldn’t be doing it if she didn’t feel compelled to.”
The need to protect his mate still rode him hard. Letting her willingly run directly into danger went against every instinct he had.
He closed his eyes. “Sarai once told me my Fated Mate would die if I wasn’t at her side to save her.”
Silence greeted his revelation. Andie cleared her throat. “She said to tell you she believes it’s her destiny.”
That gave him pause. He had yet to see Seneca’s power proven wrong, but at the same time it could be subtle. She’d believed they were safe from the lions, but the difference was mortal danger. That hadn’t protected her from the lion who’d threatened her. Hurt her.
Could he trust in her belief now? Killing Rick might be her destiny. But Seneca was Gage’s destiny, and he hadn’t told her yet. At the same time, how could he trust in a supernatural power and not in his mate as an independent, wholly capable person on her own. He knew she could do this. Did he hate it? Absolutely. But sometimes a mate’s job wasn’t to protect, but to support. Unconditionally.
He closed his eyes and let out a long breath. Unfortunately, knowing that fact didn’t make the pure fear—pumping through his system, forcing acid up his throat, bitter in his mouth—any less powerful. He was probably giving off a cloud of putrid scent with it.
He ran a hand over his face. “All right,” he muttered.
Andie clapped him on the shoulder. “She also said to tell you she’s proud to be your mate.”
Hi chest expanded. Not a declaration of love, but he’d take what he could get.
Andie led him away from Zula’s room as Eddie shifted and settled back to the floor.
“Don’t think you’re forgiven in your part of this,” he grumbled.
“Oh?” She didn’t sound too concerned.
“How do you think Jaxon would feel if you were out there, and Seneca had helped you leave without his knowing?”
She was silent for several steps. “I see what you mean.”
“He’d be royally pissed.”
Her lips twisted. “Given my personality, I suspect, underlying all his righteous anger, he might harbor a certain amount of sympathy.” She stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Seneca is a lot like me that way. Independent. A fighter. Though you don’t see it coming with that butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth front she puts up. I’m a little more…” She searched for a word.
“Obvious?”
She snapped her fingers. “Yes. If you love her, which I suspect you do—it doesn’t come automatically when you learn of your Fated Mate, by the way—then you have to love all of her. Jaxon had to learn that about me the hard way. If you want to keep Seneca as your mate, you’re going to have to figure that out about her, too.”
They were just getting back to their rooms when Sarai and Zac ran out of theirs. Sarai’s blond hair was a rumpled mess, and Zac, like Gage, had only thrown on running pants.
“What’s wrong?” Andie asked, voice urgent.
“It’s not Seneca, is it?” Gage demanded.
Sarai blinked at him owlishly before responding. “No. It’s all of us. Rick’s attack is coming in about an hour, before the help from the Reynolds, Keller, and Callahan Dares get here, or Zac’s Timik. We have to warn Zula.”
As she hurried by, Gage grabbed her by the arm, earning a low growl from Zac.
Sarai covered Gage’s hand with hers. “It’s okay,” she murmured to Zac. The polar bear shifter stood back, but planted his feet, observing closely.
She turned back to Gage.
“You remember what you told me about my Fated Mate?”
“Are you sure about who she is?” Sarai asked.
“I was sure the instant you told me I wasn’t marrying my Fated Mate the day of my wedding to Lareina.”
Sarai hadn’t been sure who his mate was. Her vision hadn’t been clear on that point. But he had known. Despite being latent and submissive, Seneca had always drawn him, a force as strong as the pull of the sun. He just hadn’t believed, because Sarai’s other vision that he would lead, also still held true. When the opportunity to claim his Fated Mate had presented itself in the form of being kidnapped by lions, he’d decided to let fate handle the rest of destiny, and he’d latched onto Seneca with both hands, determined to never let her go.
“Will she die tomorrow?”
Sarai’s gaze went all hazy, like she wasn’t seeing him, but beyond him. Gage glanced at Zac, who appeared both unsurprised and unconcerned.
After a long moment, Sarai gave a slow blink.
“Well?” Gage prodded when she didn’t speak.
“Find her on the battlefield.”
“Or?”
Regret tightened the skin around her eyes. “Or she’ll be lost to you.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
The decision to hunker down inside the castle walls was an easy one. Located on the side of the mountain, it had the advantage of high ground. In addition, the high walls would be difficult to breech and, if that did happen, the pride was on familiar ground. Last time, when the mountain lions had invaded to rescue their captured people, they’d only gotten in
with the help of a couple of deities—one of whom was Tieryn’s mother—and whom Rick didn’t have on his side.
The help coming from the Reynolds, Keller, and Callahan Dares were still on route, as was Zac’s Timik of polar bears. The forces already gathered, including the wolf, bear, coyote, and other allies the lions had gained over the years, were in position. Each waiting quietly for the signal, so as not to give away to Delaney’s mountain lions that they’d been alerted.
Gage was positioned in one of the towers which stood at the four corners of the structure. He, Sarai, Andie, Tieryn, and Zac all sat with their backs against the sandy wall, though Zac, at close to seven feet, had to keep his head bowed over to remain hidden.
“Sarai, can I ask you a question?” Gage murmured, low. Mountain lions, like other large cats, had excellent hearing.
She tipped her head his way. “Sure.”
“Can you see Seneca?” He pointed to his head. “In your visions. What’s happening to her?”
Her gaze focused on a spot on the ground. She was silent so long, Gage looked to Zac with raised eyebrows. The polar bear shifter waved at him to wait.
Eventually Sarai shook her head, lips flat. “I’m sorry. I don’t get anything involving her.”
“Does her power block yours?” he asked.
She blinked. “Her power?”
Gage grimaced. “I figured you of all people would know. Seneca’s Kuharte.”
“What’s her power?” Sarai asked.
“She says she’s a Believer. That if she gets a gut feeling that something will or won’t happen, it comes true. She only has to have faith.”
“Well, that’s…” She shook her head. “That’s a new one for me. I’ll look forward to including her in the Kuharte Council.” She shifted her feet out in front of her, trying to get comfortable on the hard surface. “I’m sorry I can’t see her. I’m sure she’s fine.”
“Yeah.” He could still sense his mate through their bond, but the tug on his heart was…muted. As though she’d tuned him out, keeping her emotions to herself. Unlike last time when she’d left, the pain had remained a dull ache, which he hoped meant she’d remained relatively close by. Made sense given how close Delaney was.
They all sat quietly after that, ready to fight when called. For his part, Gage brooded on the fate of his mate. Where was she now? Was she safe? Hurt?
Sarai sucked in a sharp breath beside him, followed quickly by Tieryn, who gasped and put a hand to her head.
“No,” Sarai groaned with a shudder beside him.
“What’s happening?” Zac demanded.
“Oh God. Tieryn, you have to—”
“I can’t. They have to be touching me.”
“You can,” Sarai insisted. “Try—” A low rumble from deep inside the castle shook the rooftop on which they sat, rattling loose some of the sand, which shifted around with a wicked hiss.
“Everyone take hands.” The sheer panic in Tieryn’s voice made it tremble.
His ex-fiancée had a gift of Survival. Her body instantly teleported if she was in mortal danger. Gage didn’t hesitate, taking Sarai’s hand beside him. Her grip tightened, crushing his hand. If he hadn’t already known the situation was bad, that would have told him. She was terrified of the visions in her head and what they portended.
“Take as many as you can,” Sarai yelled to Tieryn.
“I can’t!”
“You can. I’ve seen it. Picture them in your mind.”
“What’s happening?” Andie asked.
“The castle is collapsing.” The grim certainty in Sarai’s voice told Gage exactly how bad this was about to get.
The rumble grew to a terrible thunder, a reverberation of noise accompanying a violent shaking under and around them that rattled the bones in his body. The hard sand beneath him dissolved, and a roller coaster sensation in the pit of his stomach lurched just as Tieryn’s gift kicked in, and she took him with her through space and time to somewhere safer than the crumpling castle rooftop. A sharp sensation of being yanked by the scruff of his neck was followed by a total loss of sight, sound, or any sense of his body, though he remained conscious.
****
Seneca gasped in horror at the sight of the castle disappearing, rushing at the ground in a massive cloud of dust and debris. Gage was in the castle. Rage and terror for him filled her simultaneously, and she leapt into a sprint only to slam to a halt as a large, maneless male African lion jumped into her path.
Beno? What was he doing here?
As she stared over his head at the chaos of where their home had just been standing, panic filled her throat with bile, the taste sour on her tongue. Muscles bunched to run that way again, only to be forced to stop once more when Beno blocked her path and shook his head.
She shifted, though she remained crouched for modesty. “Gage was in there. I have to go.”
He shook his head at her and tipped his chin toward the advancing line of cougars not quite visible through the trees, but there nonetheless. She’d been stalking quietly behind them all night in her search for Rick. Based on the scent she tracked, which was growing stronger, she was getting close when the castle collapsed with a roar of sound that echoed across the mountains, matching the thundering of her heart. Gage.
She closed her eyes, understanding Beno’s message perfectly. She had a job to do here, and she’d be little help there.
She sucked in a calming breath, and the tug at her heart that represented the bond between her and Gage strummed like a guitar string, vibrating inside her chest. He was alive. At least…she thought so.
“Will you go back and find him for me?”
She opened her eyes to see Beno shake his head. He nodded toward her now.
“You can’t help me. You’ll stand out like a sore thumb.” Not that she didn’t.
He cocked his head now and gave her a patient look from golden eyes full of wisdom…and irony.
Right. He must’ve followed her all this way and not been noticed by the cougars or by her. Doubt about her ability to do this mission assailed her once again. What kind of trained assassin was she if she couldn’t detect a lion following her?
“What about Eddie?” she prompted. The bond between the brothers was one of the strongest she’d ever witnessed.
He swiveled his head around to observe the castle, before turning back to her and giving it a shake before nodding at her again.
Her chest expanded. Even though he should hate her, given his history with tiger shifters, as well as the history between her mountain lion people and his, Beno had come to help, and maybe even protect her. After so many years with no one, other than the occasional visits from Daje, Beno’s loyalty touched a place in her heart she’d thought had shriveled and died long ago. But between Gage, and Zula, Eddie, and Beno, and all the others, she could finally claim the love of a family. A gift worth fighting for now.
“Let’s go.”
She shifted, silent and swift, and stood before him as an equal, roughly the same size. He nodded for her to go ahead before he melted into the scenery, a shadow, invisible unless you knew to look for him there. Seneca’s faith in reaching her goal brightened in her mind, growing to a golden glow of confidence. All because she had someone she trusted at her side.
Guilt stabbed through her. Gage could have been at her side. He would have come if she’d asked, and she’d taken that choice away from him. After all this was over, if they both survived, was it possible her life could always be with someone she trusted at her side? God, she hoped so.
She pushed that hope aside to concentrate on the task at hand. She needed every ounce of her focus here and now, or she and Beno would both be dead.
****
Gage’s stomach jumped into his throat as they fell, or floated. Teleporting was the oddest sensation he’d ever experienced. Thankfully, it lasted only a second before they landed, hitting the ground hard. He lost his grip on Sarai when they touched down because he had to put his hands ou
t to brace his fall. His vision and hearing apparently needed a second to catch up as he lay on the ground in a dark, soundless world being pelted by a sharp, gritty substance, which stung his skin in thousands of tiny pinpricks. Then his other senses returned in an unsettling whoosh—a blinding light accompanied by a scream of sound.
Only he couldn’t see through the cloud of dirt and debris that filled the air. His throat burned with each inhalation and sand layered the insides of his lungs, grit coating the inside of his mouth and throat. On instinct he covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his shirt. Sand continued to rain down on them, in stinging bursts, making a shooshing sound all around them.
He tried to call out to Sarai, only to croak out a raspy noise, followed by a painful bout of coughing. He spit out a mouthful of sand and dirt, the taste earthy on his tongue. While he tried to rid his lungs of grit, he groped around for Sarai, but couldn’t find her.
“Sarai!” Zac’s voice boomed through the air.
“I’m here.”
The faint reply came from a few feet off to the right, and Gage pushed to his feet and moved her direction. “Where’s Tieryn?” he called.
“I have her. She’s still out,” Zac said. Tieryn always passed out when she teleported.
Light started to penetrate the haze around them as the dust settled and he could make out the forms of his friends. Sarai’s bright blond hair was now orange from the dirt covering her in a thick layer. He was sure he was in the same sorry state.
Zac’s tall bulk appeared first as a shadow a few feet away. He materialized through the cloud of suspended dust as he moved closer until Gage could discern that he held Tieryn in his arms.
“Where’s Andie?” he asked.
“I’m here.” She popped up around Zac’s bulk.
Zac knelt and gently deposited Tieryn on the ground before standing to pull Sarai in his arms. Gage gave the couple a moment of privacy as he knelt beside his ex-fiancée to check her pulse, which was fine.
“What the hell?” Andie spluttered as Sarai and Zac pulled apart. She shook her long hair, and sand and dust went flying.
