Ch. 41..50

Chapter 41

Yhet swallowed and it sounded like a cow had been sucked down a marsh. But Zev didn't move, just waited. "Are you… really here, Zev? Are you staying? Oh, if you aren't I shouldn't have embraced you, they'll smell you on me now and—"

"Don't worry about it, Yhet. I embraced you. I'm staying. I am," he said firmly, not letting himself question the decision. There was no way he was leaving Sasha again. He reached for her hand again and held onto it to soothe himself while he waited for Yhet to spit out whatever it was he didn't want to say. "Yhet?" he said through his teeth.

"Yes?"

"I won't be angry, but you need to tell me what you're thinking… about the City?"

"The City is fine, at least, I mean, the City itself," Yhet said, wringing his hands. "But we don't live in it anymore."

"What?! Why not?"

"There isn't enough of us anymore."

Zev stopped breathing. He couldn't have heard that correctly. "You… what do you mean, there aren't enough of us?"

Yhet winced. "Zev, do you know what Xar's going to do when he realizes you're back?"

"Yes," Zev said darkly. "It's unavoidable. But I can handle it."

"What is he talking about?" Sasha hissed at him. He shook his head, not taking his eyes off of Yhet. That male had the best heart Zev knew, but he was guilty of not saying things he thought would hurt people. He was still young enough that he hadn't learned that often the things they didn't want to hear were the most important to speak.

"I don't know," he said to Sasha. "Yhet? Don't be afraid. Just tell me. Whatever it is, I'll deal with it. What do you mean there aren't enough of you for the City anymore?"

"And what are they going to do to Zev because he came back?" Sasha broke in. "I thought you said this was a safe place, Zev!"

He squeezed her hand and cut her a look.

I'll tell you when we're alone, he said into her mind. Right now I need to get my friend to talk. He knows something important.

She didn't know it yet, but she'd soon learn that when Yhet was nervous it was really important to keep him focused, or he might run just to avoid conflict. Her brows pinched but she gave a short nod and closed her mouth.

Zev turned back to Yhet and waited, knowing the tension would be too much for him.

The Sasquatch looked back and forth, nervously, between him and Sasha. Then he threw up his hands. "When you left, the researchers came just a few weeks later. Xar had only just established dominance. He wasn't… he hadn't found his way yet. The researchers removed most of the females and offspring."

"What?!"

Yhet winced, but he nodded reluctantly. "Our numbers… we're down to a couple hundred, I think? Mostly male. And mostly in mourning." Mourning was what Yhet called the loss of a mate that brought any Chimera to their knees within years. "We're dying, Zev," Yhet rumbled quietly. "And Xar blames you."

*****

~ SASHA ~

It was heartbreaking to watch. Zev had been alight since they'd arrived in Thana. Even though she was nervous and off-balance, it had been a joy to see him smile again, to watch him reunite so happily with his friend.

But when the massive man said they were dying, the light in Zev's eyes stopped dancing and began to burn.

All the cold determination and ruthlessness she'd sensed in him the night before when he'd been fighting with those men and trying to get her out safely was back.

His eyes went dark.

"Xar blames me for something that happened when I wasn't here?"

Yhet nodded, though his face was the picture of an apology. "We had been so busy fighting for Alpha and establishing the new way, we weren't paying attention. The humans came and… they just took them."

"How could they take so many?" Zev's voice was hoarse, and almost as deep as Yhet's. Sasha squeezed his hand.

Yhet's chin went down and he shook his head sadly. "I don't know. I wasn't here. I was walking. It was a difficult time. So much tension and fighting. I wasn't here. The others don't seem to know either, or won't tell me if they do."

Sasha watched Zev pull himself together and force himself to offer his large friend comfort. He let go of her hand and stepped forward, speaking quietly and rubbing the man's arm. But his hand was shaking when he reached for him, and she could see the tension in him.

"So, if they aren't in the City anymore," Zev said a minute later, "where is everybody?"

"We made a village," Yhet said and lifted a hand back towards the trail he'd followed to reach them. "It's closer to the gateway and—"

"Why would you want to be closer to the gateway?" Zev hissed.

Yhet looked confused. "Because it's easier for the humans," he said as if that must be obvious.

"Why would Xar make it easier for the humans?"

"Because, Zev. They said if we help them, they'll bring our families back. You must understand how… how important that is. You brought Sasha. After five years!"

Zev turned to look at her then, despair and anger written all over his beautiful face. She stared at him, uncertain exactly what had happened, but clear on one thing: This place that Zev had brought her, this haven of safety, sounded like it wasn't nearly as safe as he had thought.

She took a deep breath as he stepped up and wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't worry," he murmured into her ear, stroking her hair. "I can protect you. Don't be afraid."

Sasha clung to his waist and buried her face in his chest just to feel him close.

But she didn't believe a damn word he was saying.

 

Chapter 42

Zev talked to the huge Yhet for a few more minutes about people she didn't know and things she didn't understand. All she did understand was that Zev had arrived here expecting something to happen as a consequence of him leaving earlier and not returning. But that what he was learning was worse than he'd thought.

Very few females. Very little offspring. The Chimera in Thana dying out.

She'd never seen his face so haggard. It was as if he'd aged ten years in as many minutes.

But soon, Zev was urging them both to wait while he grabbed their bags from the cave. Sasha stood in the cold morning air next to man so tall she eyeballed his navel, and tried not to be awkward.

Which was when she learned that if Yhet hadn't been so large she would have described him as "adorable."

"Zev's heart sings because you're here, Sasha," the man rumbled as soon as Zev ducked into the cave.

Sasha blinked. "That's… that's good."

"When he returned to us, you were all he could speak of at first. It took him longer to climb the hierarchy because he pined. You hold his hope for love and a family."

Sasha's mind immediately bloomed with images of exactly what it would take to make a family with Zev, and her cheeks heated. Yhet's nostrils flared, and he chuckled. "It won't be long for you two, I think. It is good that you desire him. We need more young."

Sasha wanted to crawl into a hole with embarrassment. "I… that's… I mean—"

"Yhet!" Zev growled from Sasha's other side. She whirled in relief to find him walking out of the cave, the snow crunching under his boots, a bag thrown over each shoulder and his thick biceps curled because he held each one in place. "I told you, humans don't talk about that stuff as freely as we do. You have to wait until you know them closely."

"But she smelled of—"

"Yhet! Remember: Look and listen to humans, smell and touch Chimera."

Yhet's forehead crinkled in frustration. "I am very sorry, Sasha," he said, tipping his head. "I didn't meant to be rude." He looked so abashed, Sasha put a hand to his arm.

"You weren't rude!" she hurried to reassure him, "I just… I mean… I just wouldn't usually talk to another male about… any of that," she said awkwardly, narrowing her eyes at Zev when he grinned and winked at her.

Her heart fluttered at that smile, but she pushed it down. Zev was here. And she was here with him. And the part of her that wasn't screaming with fear was overjoyed. But she wasn't going to pretend the last five years hadn't happened.

He had a lot of explaining to do before she'd be flirting with him on purpose.

"Oh, so the humans speak of these things within their sex? You would speak of it to other females?" Yhet asked brightly.

Sasha was reminded of a child who hadn't yet learned boundaries and looked to Zev for support. But he just grinned and shrugged.

Sasha sighed. "Yes, that's pretty much it," she said. "I would talk about those things to other, uh, females."

"Humans are so strange. What if the other female invited your male to display? What if you lost him because you wouldn't speak of it?"

Sasha blinked. Her mouth opened, but she didn't even have a clue where to start to answer that question.

Invited to display? What did that even mean?

"I would hope…" she said hesitantly, "that I wouldn't lose him so easily, I suppose?"

"Oh, you should never take that for granted. If you approve of a male, always speak of it, Sasha. Then he knows he can display for you, and then—"

"I think we'll save the mating ritual talk for another time, Yhet," Zev said, laughter in his voice. "We've got some bigger fish to fry today."

Yhet shook his head. "There is no bigger fish than the mating pairs, Zev," he said sadly. "You'll see."

Zev's light mood vanished and his dark brows pressed down as he took Sasha's hand. "Well then, I guess we better get to the village and see, huh?" he said softly.

Sasha took his hand and let him lead her down the trail, relieved that the subject had changed, but now reminded of the other questions that had been raised by Yhet's words.

They walked side by side, the two men taking either side of her. Yhet clearly taking awkwardly small steps for his frame to keep his pace to theirs.

"What is it that's going to happen with this Zar person?" she asked Zev. "Why is Yhet worried about it?"

Zev glanced up to catch his friend's eye on her other side and his lips pressed down, deepening the lines on his face.

"Xar took Alpha when I left. It's not uncommon for a new Alpha to throw their weight around to stifle any threats from among the people," Zev said. "Plus, I left without warning. Everyone will want me disciplined."

Yhet flapped one of his huge hands and Sasha felt the air flutter around her face. "I do not wish to see you disciplined, Zev. I know you would not leave as you did without good reason."

Zev smiled faintly. "Thank you, brother, but you'll forgive me if I trust that your response to my absence likely isn't how the others will feel." He turned to Sasha and winked again. "Yhet is a bit of a wanderer himself, so he disappears a lot. He's got a little different perspective on that stuff."

"I never stay away," Yhet grumbled. "It is just hard. I need to stretch my legs."

"All the way to the cave, Yhet?" Zev said pointedly, but without anger.

Sasha knew she was missing something when the massive man's shoulders hunched. "I wasn't going to go through. I was just… checking."

Zev's eyebrows went up like he was skeptical, but he smiled at Sasha. "Yhet is an excellent male," he said earnestly. "One of the best. You can trust him with your life. Just don't trust him with your navigation."

Yhet made a pained noise and Sasha gave Zev a questioning look.

He chuckled. "Yhet here is the reason the humans found Thana. He's the only ancient Chimera that we know of—"

"You know that was an accident!" Yhet hissed and his lower lip pushed out.

"Don't worry, friend," Zev chuckled, "I won't raise it again in front of the others. I just think Sasha will enjoy the story. I'll tell her another time."

"Story?" Sasha asked.

Then Zev turned to meet her eyes, his own sparkling. "Yhet is a Sasquatch," he said, his voice brimming with both awe and humor.. "So, just in case you were wondering, they are real."

 

Chapter 43

Sasha's mouth dropped open and he grinned.

"You're walking with a living legend," he whispered.

Yhet rolled his eyes, but didn't speak up.

"I… how… that's so cool!" Sasha turned to look at Yhet. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Yhet," she said with a giggle. "I'm so glad you're… here. Alive?"

Yhet groaned with embarrassment. "Your human rumors and legends are silly," he said gruffly. "We are not gorillas or… or… creatures."

"Sasquatch are wanderers," Zev explained to her. "Yhet visited the human—I mean, America, and got himself sighted. The researchers that investigated the sighting followed him to Thana. It's such a great place they ended up using it as a kind of… sanctuary for the Chimera. So here we are."

Sasha looked around. "This is a wildlife sanctuary?"

Yhet gave him a strange look, but he ignored it.

"Something like that," he said. "That's the closest thing you'd think of. The Chimera obviously weren't here naturally—except the Sasquatch. The rest of us were placed here, but we like it. It suits us."

Yhet grumbled under his breath which sounded a lot like a swarm of bumblebees droning nearby, but Sasha just glanced at him and smiled. The smile faded quickly, though.

"So, there's a bunch of Chimera here?" she asked quietly. Zev nodded. "And are they all wolves like you?"

"No, we have several species, plus all the creatures, like I said. But don't worry, most of them are harmless, and the ones that aren't won't touch you when you smell like a wolf."

She looked up at him sharply, and he flashed a smile. Their gazes held for a long breath and his heart began to pound again. But she was the one to break the gaze, and he didn't miss that she pulled her hand out of his a few steps later.

His chest ached, but he couldn't tell her that whole story in front of Yhet—or any of the Chimera for that matter. So he gave her a pleading look and said into her mind, My promises are true, Sash. I will keep you safe. Don't be afraid.

She sighed then and he wished he could untangle all the feelings that rose in her scent. But just then they reached the bottom of the slope they'd been following down to the valley floor. The trees opened ahead of them in the same moment the clouds shifted behind the peak in front of them and a shaft of sunlight pierced the half-gray of morning, bathing them all in golden light.

Sasha's breath caught and she stopped walking, staring at the beauty that surrounded them, her hands to her mouth.

Zev took a long, deep breath and his chest fluttered with joy.

He was back. He was finally back in his beautiful home, and this time with Sasha. It was going to take some time, but she'd come back to him, he was sure of it. She was his mate—he was sure of that, too, though how it had happened, he had no idea. All he knew was that the air smelled better here. The beauty around him seemed to glitter. And it was all because she stood in the middle of it, smiling.

*****

~ SASHA ~

This was the most beautiful place she'd ever seen… and the most overwhelming.

When they were higher she'd see the peaks of the mountains above the trees, and the distant view of the valley floor with the river running through it. But much had been covered by the thick trees around the trail. Here… here she felt as tiny as an ant. Yet somehow, utterly peaceful.

The trees spread out and opened up from the spot where the trail sloped down into a grassy plain. Directly in front of them grass and bushes rippled forward to meet the bank of a swiftly flowing river. On it's far bank the grass began again, but quickly sloped up to foothills of a mountain that rose, purple and white, above them, the sun beginning to peer out from around it as it rose.

Above them, some kind of hawk drifted on the early morning airflows, the sun outlining its feathers in gold.

It looked like a postcard. It looked like a painting. But Zev called it home.

She turned to look at him, to share this with him and found him beaming with joy, watching her look at his home.

"This is so beautiful!" she said.

"You should see it in spring," Zev said with a lopsided grin. "Actually, I can't wait for you to see it in Spring," he corrected himself softly.

Their eyes caught and held and Sasha couldn't breathe. For a moment images flashed in her mind—put there by Zev—of the two of them walking down a dusty trail to the valley, finding a secluded clearing. She could see the rocks that overhung the water, a tiny waterfall off to the right, and trees and bushes hugging the edges, hiding them from the world.

Then she saw him, smiling, reaching behind his head to pull his shirt forward and off, revealing the broad planes of his chest and the rippled muscles of his abdomen. Then Sasha joining him, both of them stripping off to dive into the cool, clear water and coming back to the surface to find each other… Sasha curling her legs around his waist as he tread water to keep them both afloat—

"You know, if it's rude to talk about desire, perhaps you could stop thinking of things that make you stink of it," Yhet grumbled to Sasha's right.

She startled.

Zev laughed and teased his friend to cover for her while she blinked and tried to rid her mind of the images.. But she couldn't quite cool the fire he'd lit, low in her belly.

 

Chapter 44

They walked the length of the valley, Zev scanning for anyone else they might meet, but also trying to keep one eye on Sasha, who was overwhelmed, but enjoying the discovery of his home. He was glad she hadn't gotten cold yet. That was likely going to be her greatest struggle here. There would be no air-conditioning, no electric heaters. And unlike him, her body didn't regulate to the season.

Then they turned away from the river to rejoin another trail up into the trees and the rise of mountain and Sasha's fascination with the beautiful valley was overshadowed by the darkness under the trees, and the questions that she had. He could feel her, turning things over in her mind, readying herself to ask questions.

He wanted to answer. He did. But there were some things they needed to keep between themselves.

When she looked at him and opened her mouth, he gave her a warning look, glancing up at Yhet behind her. Her lips thinned, but she obviously changed what she'd been about to say.

"Tell me what's going to happen when we get to the village? Who's there? Do I need to do anything to… not offend people?"

"I think it's more that you need to work to stop yourself being offended by them," Zev said dryly. "The Chimera here have spent only limited time with humans. They function differently. It will feel to you as if they invade your space and proper boundaries. But… just remember that for them, these things are normal."

"What things?" she asked.

"They'll sniff at you a lot," he said with a grin. "And they may stand close, or brush their bodies against you. They've been taught not to do that with humans, but depending how long it's been since the team visited, they might forget."

"Brush… bodies?"

"You'll see," Zev said, forcing a smile. "It's nothing to be worried about. They're putting their scent on you, and letting you put yours on them. It's a sign of… togetherness."

Yhet snorted.

Zev frowned. "What?"

They were passing through a small gully—high, rock walls on either side of the trail as if it had been cut through the mountain by generations of Chimera walking it day after day. When Zev questioned Yhet, the sasquatch opened his mouth, but suddenly a shadow fell over the gully and all three of them froze, Zev whirling to put Sasha behind him.

But she gasped and grabbed the arm he threw back to keep her hemmed in. "No, no, look! He's beautiful!"

On the tiny edge of the rock wall above them, a massive, gray-brown Ibex stood, staring curiously, his eyes slit-pupiled, and nostrils flaring. A pair of huge horns curved forward over his forehead, then curled back towards his muscular shoulders.

Then, just as Zev turned, he snorted the air from his nose, shaking his head.

Zev's heart dropped. Well, shit.

Sasha gasped as the goat leapt from the ledge above them into the gap—taking his human form as he landed easily on the dirt, facing them.

Facing Zev.

"Hello, Dunken," Zev said, keeping his chin down, but meeting the male's eyes.

"It is you. You clearly have balls of steel, showing up here again now," the male said, his near-blonde hair cut short and glinting in the sunlight. But he stood, feet shoulder width apart and arms at his sides, making himself as tall and broad as he was capable of, his body burnished and proud—and apparently untouched by being in the cold naked.

Naked.

Right.

Sasha—

"Omigosh," she blurted, then raised a hand to her eyes—but Zev didn't slow himself, whipped out a hand to catch hers before she could hide behind it—she had no idea how weak that would make her look to a Chimera. He really needed to teach her.

She gaped at him for a moment, but he couldn't drop Dunken's gaze without submitting, so he just muttered, "No one is embarrassed but you. Carry yourself with strength. Meet his eyes if the rest makes you uncomfortable."

Her head jerked back a little, and she licked her lips. But she didn't yank her hand out of his, or try to turn away. Instead, her throat bobbing, she turned to look at the male, keeping her eyes on his.

"Zev," the male ground out.

Zev let go of Sasha's hand and put his up, palms forward. "I did not come to fight you, Dunken."

"The fact that you come at all blows the horn of war."

"No, it doesn't."

But Dunken just turned his head to meet Sasha's eyes, then Yhet's. "You come with a female—a human female—and the rebel."

"I come to keep the female safe because the humans are trying to hurt her," Zev said earnestly. "And Yhet just found us when we arrived. As he usually does."

Dunken snorted. Zev fought a smile. He couldn't afford for Dunken to think he wasn't taking this seriously.

How the Guardian decided to receive him would influence the others a great deal. It was poor luck that the male had found them this quickly—but perhaps it was meant to be. If he could win the warrior over, the others would submit to Zev's presence more easily.

Then the male stepped forward until he and Zev were almost toe-to-toe, tilting his head menacingly.

 

Chapter 45

Zev had an inch on the goat-man, yet they were both broad and strong.

But Zev was a predator.

"You enter Thana again without permission," Dunken said softly, "bringing a weak, human female. You could not have made a choice that would be less likely to throw the clans into battle."

Zev shook his head. "There will be no battle. She's mine."

Dunken snorted again. "Oh, you are sorely misinformed, brother," he said.

Relief.

Zev relaxed and finally let himself laugh. "Brother? What was all that shit about war and battle? You scared me!"

The sharp light in Dunken's eyes didn't go out, but he clasped Zev's arm and leaned in to embrace his old friend, both of them clapping the other's backs.

He didn't miss the way Dunken's nostrils flared again as they were pulling apart, though.

"You idiot," his old friend said, shaking his head. "I wasn't joking about battle. Bringing a female into this shitshow right now is likely to ignite the entire mountain. Especially one so—" Dunken cut himself off when Zev shot him a warning look.

Dunken cleared his throat and glanced at Sasha, choosing his words carefully. "Especially one so… accessible," he said tightly.

Zev grunted.

As a human female, Sasha was considered weak stock. But if the Chimera were short on females, she would still be desired. And being physically small and weak meant a greater number of males would believe themselves suitable for mating her.

He wanted to bite something just thinking about it.

"I told you, she's mine."

"That remains to be seen," Dunken growled.

"Um, actually, I believe I don't belong to anyone," Sasha said, her voice sharp. She folded her arms as Zev shook his head, trying to warn her off. But she was too busy challenging them both to understand that her words had far, far more meaning in this world than in her own. "I make my own decisions about who, or what, I belong to. So you can both to go hell."

Dunken turned back to Zev and raised an eyebrow. "See? Shitshow. Battle. I told you."

Zev growled and closed his eyes for a moment. "She doesn't realize what she's saying. She's never been around Chimera before."

"Well she better figure it out quickly," Dunken said, "Or I'll challenge for her and kick your ass all the way to the river."

Zev forced himself to grin, but his upper lip wanted to curl back and his teeth wanted to snap.

Sasha has just opened her mouth—probably to lecture Dunken about speaking to her directly, rather than about her in her own presence—when he turned and gave a sweeping bow, his head rolling back and forth as if he shook his horns in her face.

Zev bristled.

"Please be welcome here, uh…?" Dunken straightened and smiled, one eyebrow up in a question.

"Sasha," she said carefully, obviously uncertain whether he was mocking her. She glanced at Zev who just rolled his eyes, but his gut was twisting.

Dunken's head snapped to Zev at her name. "Sasha? The Sasha?"

Zev nodded. "I did tell you."

"Clearly not enough!" Dunken snapped, but when he turned back to Sasha, it was with a cool smile and offering his hand in the tradition of the humans. "It's very nice to meet you, Sasha. I have heard many, many things about you."

She shook his hand, but was obviously off-balance, looking between him and Zev. "All good things, I hope?" she said.

"Yes," Dunken said, then flashed a grin. "Though he never did your beauty justice. Shame on you, Zev. We might have fought harder to get her returned to you if we'd known."

Zev snorted and Yhet, standing behind Sasha, gave another frozen smile.

He'd always found humans comically unattractive, since sasquatch females had sideburns and were only marginally smaller than their male mates. And his female had been, by all accounts, a beauty among their people.

"Uh… thank you?" Sasha said. Zev sighed. She wasn't prepared for this. He needed some time with her, to explain… everything.

"Does Xar know you're here?" Dunken said a moment later, turning back to Zev.

"No. I didn't know ahead of time that we were coming."

Dunken whistled. "You really do want to start something."

"No, I don't," Zev said firmly. "But there was nowhere else I could take her and be certain she'd be safe."

"Oh, she'll be safe," Dunken said dryly. "It's you I'm worried about."

Zev shot him a look, but the male just grinned. Until Sasha turned on them both. "Okay, what the hell is going on? What are they going to do to you Zev?" she asked, her voice too high again. "What aren't you telling me? I thought this place was supposed to be safe."

"Apologies if I was unclear," Dunken said before Zev could respond. He glared at the male, but Dunken ignored him. "Sasha, you do not need to fear for your safety in Thana. Females here are prized. Every male in the clan, whether he has a chance to mate you or not, will see to it that you're kept safe. Do not worry."

Zev winced.

"Mate me?" Sasha cried. "What the hell are you talking about? I'm not here to… mate anyone!"

Dunken gave Zev a look, but his tone was soft, if firm. "I'm afraid in Thana you will have no choice, Sasha. The survival of the Chimera depend on it."

 

Chapter 46

Sasha gaped at the strange, naked man who stared at her like he was only speaking sense. "What are you talking about? I don't have anything to do with the Chimera."

Zev stepped forward, between her and the man. "Dunken, please don't frighten her. She's new to all of this. And she's mine. There won't be any challenges."

The man turned to Zev, shaking his head. "I don't know what they told you out there, Zev, but I wasn't joking when I said you were sorely misinformed. You have to know that the tigers won't roll over for this?"

"Tigers?!" Sasha cried. "What tigers?"

Zev tensed, putting a hand back to stop her from pressing forward.

He and Dunken glared at each other, that tension she'd felt back at the house with Rob shimmering in the air. It seemed like they were poised for violence. She cursed, realizing her gun was in the duffel bag on Zev's shoulder and she wasn't likely to get to it quickly.

"Please don't be scared, Sasha," a low, gentle voice said from behind her, taking her arm and tugging her back away from the two males. "The Tigers are really mostly safe—and you're human, so they'll listen to you."

"Yhet, stop filling her head. Let me handle this please," Zev snapped without looking away from Dunken.

The goat-man smiled at Zev. She'd thought by what they said that they were friends. But the his smile was cold. "You didn't prepare her?"

"There was no time," Zev growled.

"Prepare me for what?!"

"Sasha, relax," Zev said. "Dunken's going to fill me in on all the… new dynamics, and then we'll figure it out. We still have a walk ahead of us. So just… don't worry. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

The words were spoken with calm reassurance. Once again she wanted to just sink into Zev's voice and pull it over herself like a soft blanket, to give her heart over to it.

But he left! She reminded herself. He left. He left her alone and without word. And now he was… this.

She started to drop her face into her hands, but Yhet took hold of her wrist and shook his head when she looked up at him in surprise. "That will make Dunken think you are only weak, and I can see your heart. You are not weak, Sasha. Do not let them undervalue you. Those who fight should be the biggest and strongest—"

"There will be no fighting! She is mine!" Zev snarled.

Dunken took a step forward, his foot landing on the dirt between them with a shuddering thud and even though he was shorter, he leaned into Zev's face. "Brother, you have been cocky. You have arrived without the knowledge, without the position. And you have brought her—which puts you both at risk. So either listen and prepare, or I will step aside and let you walk into the bloodbath that will await you. The choice is yours."

Sasha's blood ran cold at the sheer certainty in the man's voice.

Zev shoulders rose and fell once, then his hands unclenched. "Tell me," he said. "I will listen. But we have to keep walking. She needs a slower pace than we're accustomed to."

Dunken nodded, then turned on his heel and began to walk as if nothing had happened. Sasha stared between Zev and the man, but Zev turned once to put a soothing hand up to her. "Walk with Yhet," he said quietly. "Let me figure this out. And don't worry. I'll take care of it."

So… she did. Shaking her head. Not entirely certain any of this was real. She walked the trail, pushing herself to keep up as brisk of a pace as she could, painfully aware that every male was slowing his natural pace to avoid leaving her in their dust. And that Yhet, with his huge feet and long strides, probably could have crawled faster.

"Don't worry," he kept saying, too brightly. "Zev is very clever. He will figure it out."

Sasha walked with her arms folded just because she felt tense and vulnerable, and uncertain what to do. Zev and Dunken strode ahead, their voices too low for her to hear what they were saying, but obviously Yhet could hear them. Because he kept wincing and pursing his lips. And then every time he'd catch her watching him, he would gently pat her shoulder and force a too-wide smile.

"It's going to be fine!" he said. "You don't have anything to worry about!"

And the more insistent his reassurances became, the more nervous Sasha got.

But there was nothing she could do except follow and marvel at this place.

Zev had to have flown her to Colorado, or Canada, or something. She couldn't think where else the mountains would be so remote that there was no sign of any life at all—no road sound, no lights or marked trails. The entire place seemed utterly natural and, when she looked at Yhet, she realized that's what it had to be.

This man couldn't possibly function anywhere within miles of any human settlement. He would have been discovered.

Although it sounds like that might have already happened.

"Have you ever been to New York? Or Philadelphia, Yhet?" she asked at one point in a desperate attempt to get him to stop trying to reassure her.

"I… no. I haven't," he said sadly. "I have only been in your world once and that ended so poorly… well, it would be very unwise for me to go back," he said with a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his neck. His massive arm curled up when he reached back and Sasha swallowed hard. His wavy hair fluttered around his face and neck with the movement of the wind of his passage.

Suddenly struck with bone-chilling fear, Sasha murmured something meant to be agreement, then fixed her eyes on Zev's back.

Zev was here. That was what she had to focus on.. All the rest… all of the rest they'd figure out.

 

Chapter 47

"How long did it take Xar to get to the top?"

"Getting to the top wasn't the problem," Dunken muttered. "It was keeping it once he was there. His darkness has started and he's… I don't know, Zev. Sometimes I think he's fine, and other times I wonder if he's going to snap. Remember that Hare that—"

"Yes, yes, I know what you mean." Zev cursed under his breath. Darkness, or mourning, was what they all called the debilitating grief that followed a Chimera after the loss of their mate. In rare cases the Chimera didn't waste away, but their minds broke. There had been a hare a few years ago… Zev shook his head. "How is he holding Alpha if he's that loose?"

"It's not all the time. The humans come and they do something. No one knows what. Some kind of medication? He always settles down after they've been here. But then a few weeks passes and he's on edge again."

"And he blames me for all this?"

Dunken gave him a quick look. "Yhet told you?"

"Barely. I didn't want him to talk about it in front of Sasha. She doesn't understand it would have just frightened her."

"She doesn't know that you were Alpha?"

Zev huffed a humorless laugh. "She didn't even know I could shift until a few hours ago."

"What?! Zev—"

"Look, we can't change it now, okay? She's strong. I'm telling you, she can handle this. But I thought I was walking into the City to take my stripes, then go back to my life. What you're describing…"

"The darkness was taking the males faster in the city. Being so spread out and isolated in our homes… it wasn't good for us. We moved to the village two years ago and it's improved things."

Zev shook his head in disbelief. "This is incredible. I knew they were lying… but this?"

"Why did you leave, Zev?" Dunken said through his teeth, his hands clenching to fists at his sides again. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"I wasn't thinking, I was forced," he said. "But… but he had me convinced it was going to be better for all of us. They told me that the females were volunteers. And none of them ever told me."

"For a chance to mate with the Alpha? Of course not!"

"No, Dunken. You don't understand. Their world isn't like ours. The females aren't free like they would be here. It's not healthy and… I told them. When I noticed how pale everyone was, and how listless… I told Nick that they were killing them. He said there was no choice. They couldn't risk any of the humans learning who, or what, they were. So they were all… contained. But this? I had no idea!"

"But you were obviously free?" Dunken asked.

"More free than that. But I had the training and practice in the human world. They were all too… Chimera. They would have been noticed. Not to mention that they wouldn't be used to controlling the shift. And if the human's saw any of their animals in the city, they'd shoot them. I know they would."

Dunken shuddered. The only thing the Chimera feared in the humans were their weapons. But those weapons made humans the strongest predators. They'd proven that more than once. Zev thought he'd done a good job of smoothing lines of communication and alliance between the Chimera and humans, but if they did this after they took him out…

"You should never have left," Dunken rumbled.

Zev sighed. "If I'd known, I wouldn't have done it. But truly, I'm not lying to you Dun, when I left I believed it was going to save Thana, not hurt it."

Dunken snorted. "Always the na?ve believer. I told you Nick cannot be trusted."

"I believe you. Now," Zev said reluctantly. "But quickly, you have to paint the picture for me so I can figure out how to play this with Xar. He took dominance, but he's had to keep fighting for it? The Tigers haven't backed him?"

"Of course they have, but their numbers are so few now—and many of them would like to see one of the twins take the staff. But Xar is still physically so strong… it's been very difficult, Zev. And not good for any of us."

"How often are the humans coming through?"

"Sometimes every month. Sometimes five or six weeks. But never longer."

Zev growled. When he left the humans had only entered Thana once per season—every three to four months. And they never ventured off the trail.

"Have they lost their fear of the creatures?"

"No," Dunken spluttered. "They have killed most of them."

"What?!"

"You have no idea, Zev. We are a people in chaos. Food resources are low. We have only a handful of females—the weakest in mind or body, and all of them mated, or unable to reproduce. Only two that aren't soon going to be too old to bear offspring within a couple years. We have tried to hide the offspring, but the humans come too often now—they always know when one of the females is pregnant. And even if they miss the birth, they track them down when they arrive—and if the babe is strong, they take it. Especially if it's female.

"We are losing numbers. And the tensions between the males is increasing as more and more of them sink into the darkness. Even those that were too young to have mated, or who hadn't found their mates, are affected.

"Xar has kept the humans happy so that they will continue to help us. I do not like it, but I understand why he does it. And they have helped him a great deal. I suspect without them we would already have lost him to the darkness. And many others without the food and medical supplies they bring. But even though I am grateful for that… I cannot help being angered because they are the ones who put us in this position."

Then he looked at Zev from the side. "Them, and you," he said quietly. "I know you did not mean for it to happen, Zev. But there is no denying that your actions brough us here. And Xar has already declared that if you ever return, you will be punished."

Zev shrugged. "I can take a flogging."

"No, Zev," Dunken said with a quick glance over his shoulder. "He means a true punishment. I fear that if he sees you… he may welcome you as a brother, Zev, because he does not want you to challenge him. But watch your back. His anger is an evil thing now.. If he gets the chance, I believe he will kill you."

 

Chapter 48

It took as long to reach the village at Sasha's pace as it would have taken him to get to the City alone. He was carrying both bags, but they weren't overly heavy. On his own he would barely have been slowed. But it was no matter, he reminded himself. Having Sasha here was all that was important.

When they were within a mile of the village, he'd stopped talking to Dunken—it was only depressing and worrying anyway—and dropped back to walk with Sasha, urging Yhet to go forward and join Dunken.

She held onto his arm, her eyes wide as she examined the forest around them. But she didn't say much, letting Yhet and Dunken tease each other, and Zev call the occasional comment.

It wasn't like her to be so quiet.

"Are you okay?" he asked her at a whisper. The others would be able to hear them, but she likely didn't realize that yet, and he didn't want her to cover. They would be polite and pretend they couldn't hear.

But when he asked, she laughed a stuttering little laugh. "Of course I'm not okay!" she hissed. "It's just occurred to me that by this time I was supposed to be at work. Rob will be beside himself—probably calling the Police. I know how that feels, Zev. It's horrible!"

Zev winced. "I'm sorry for his worry, but there's no way around it. Any word we might have passed to anyone to reassure them would only lead those men to us."

She nodded, her lips twisting. "They were really trying to kill me?"

"They would have killed you," he corrected. "Their first goal was to take you. To interrogate you. But towards the end there, once they realized we might actually get away, they would have killed you rather than let that happen."

"Why?"

"Because they know that killing you would have stopped me. I wouldn't have left you in their hands. And they also know that running with you will keep me away. I'm sorry, Sash. I know I should have told you all of this sooner, or… something. But there really wasn't another way. When I saw you last night…" he sighed and squeezed his arm tighter against his side, pinning her gloved hands to his ribs. "Knowing I was going to talk to you, to touch you, that was the best moment of the last five years," he said, then looked at her from the corner of his eye.

Sasha's face softened… then tensed. "If that's true… why did you leave?"

"I don't have time to tell you the whole story," he said, his voice heavy with regret. "But please believe me, I wouldn't have gone if I'd known what it would cost you—and me. I was… lied to, and pressured. And I was too young to realize that's what was happening. I thought my entire people depended on me and… and I thought it wouldn't be for so long. I thought I would have you back after a year or so."

"What did they say? What could have made you leave? Zev, we were in love! That was real!"

"It's still real, Sasha. At least for me," he added, turning to look at her face, her forehead lined with grief, her eyes narrowed and flashing with anger.

"I… I want to believe you, Zev. I do. But… you have to see. It's been five years!"

"Yes, I know," he said, his voice heavy with regret. "But just know, I haven't wavered in that time."

"Please, you've been sexing yourself silly with hundreds of women."

He shook his head, grimacing as his mind took him back to the horrific conditions of some of the recent females that he'd been forced to pretend he didn't notice. "No, Sasha, believe me. There was nothing… nothing emotional in those… interactions." His stomach felt sick. "Especially lately. The whole program… it's sick, Sash. The only reason I hadn't come for you sooner was because I was convinced you were safer without me. But recently that changed."

"What changed?"

He looked down at her and his heart expanded. She had what the humans described as a heart shaped face—wider at the temples, narrowing to a chin just shy of sharp. He used to joke that her face was the shape of his heart. Her eyes always went soft when he said that.

Her eyes, catlike and flashing followed his face as he lifted his other hand to catch a strand of her mahogany hair that had stuck to her cheek and returned it to the rest to ruffle around her shoulders.

The truth was, it wasn't just her face. Sasha was the shape of his heart.

As they took the final corner in the trail before they would reach the outskirts of the village, he tried to find the words that would describe what he'd experienced in the past few months, but he couldn't.

Did it matter? Did any of it matter except his feelings for her, and hers for him?

"My life without you has not been full, Sash," he said hoarsely. "And lately… lately I realized that without you I was dying inside. Maybe not literally, but… it was like my heart was shriveling. I had to be closer to you. I didn't know when I went out last night that that would be the night. But I am so glad that it was."

She looked like she was about to respond, raised one of her hands to put it to his chest and he hoped—prayed—that the words that came out of her mouth would be the beginning of their return to each other in truth.. But just as she opened her mouth, an echoing howl rose from the trees to their right and Zev froze.

 

Chapter 49

Despite the subject, everything Zev had said was so sweet—and so tinged with doubt about her and what she would think.

She knew that look on his face—a combination of love and concern, the prickle of desire and butterflies of nerves—and it touched her heart that she still knew. It was moments like this that she saw the old Zev, the sweet, thoughtful young man who had set her heart and body aflame. Hope took her in its arms when he got that soft smile.

She'd put one of her hands to his chest and was about to tell him so, when a haunting howl rose from very close in the trees off to their right and Zev froze like he'd been shot.

Then he cursed under his breath and turned, putting her behind him.

"What is it?" she asked, peering around his arm, expecting to see some creature prowling out of the forest—one of these 'failures' of the experiments he had mentioned, that were going to give her nightmares, she was sure.

Zev tipped his head, listening as the howl faded, then cursed again. "Lhars," he muttered.

"Who is Lhars?"

He turned his head, looking at her over his shoulder. "He's one of my brothers."

He didn't use the word like he had with Yhet, or even Dunken. She was about to ask what he meant, when a tall form appeared, seemingly out of nowhere and Sasha's stomach tingled.

She turned with a gasp as the shadowy form of man slipped between the trees. Then she blinked and he was there, standing just inside the last line of trunks, staring at them.

Zev pulled out of her grip to drop the bags and stood with his hands at his sides and posture loose, but she could feel the tension in his back.

Which was when she realized she might have been clinging. Forcing herself to put space between them, to stand on her own two feet, she shifted her weight backwards.

But one of Zev's hands came back to cup the side of her thigh and keep her there.

Something in Sasha warmed, even as she swallowed nervously.

The guy standing just off the trail, one hand to the trunk of a tree, was tall and dark like Zev. In fact, she realized, his features were similar enough that he could have been Zev's actual brother. Except Zev didn't have any of those.

Did he?

"That's not a face I expected to see when I woke this morning," the guy said quietly, his face expressionless.

"You and me both," Zev said warily.

"What are you doing here?"

Those little muscles at the back of Zev's jaw flexed, but he didn't move. "I'm home," he said.

The man's face didn't change, but she had the distinct impression that he was shocked—and not happily so.

"Does Xar know?"

"Wouldn't he have told you if he did?"

"You never can know with a cat."

Both their mouths twitched as if this were some kind of inside joke. Sasha looked back and forth between them, confused.

Then the man's eyes snapped to her face. His nostrils flared and the tiny smile was gone. "You brought a human to Thana?" It was the first real tone he'd used—shock, and disgust.

*****

~ ZEV ~

Yhet and Dunken had stopped further up the trail and turned to watch the brothers reunite. They wouldn't step in, he knew. It was up to him to navigate this. He was the one who'd abandoned the Chimera three years earlier. He would face the consequences for that. It was only right. At least Yhet would look after Sasha if something happened to him.

Zev took a deep breath, reminding himself that this had been his land, his people three years ago. They had moved on in his absence because they hadn't had a choice. But he hadn't been challenged. He was not… reduced.

"She's not part of the team," Zev growled. "But even if she were, from what I hear that wouldn't be a problem?" he said pointedly.

Lhars' eyes went flat and Zev's heart sped. His brother was cunning and ambitious. A deadly combination. What he didn't know was whether Lhars was working with the humans, or against them. The thick disgust in his scent didn't mean he wouldn't hold his nose and use them for his own ends. Lhars was a firm believer in the ends justifying the means.

Then Lhars pushed off the tree and started towards them, and Zev braced, stepping to the side so he was fully between Sasha and Lhars and praying she'd take the hint. She'd been peering around him to stare at his brother. He pushed away the niggling thoughts that she might be liking what she saw.

"What's her name?" Lhars asked as he prowled closer.

"Sasha," Zev said tonelessly.

Lhars stopped walking. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"This is the infamous Sasha?"

"Yes, and if you so much as sniff her without her permission, I will take your throat, Lhars," Zev said quietly.

Lhars didn't like that at all. Immediately the air zinged with the electric crackle of males on the edge of violence.

"You leave us, abandon us, then show back up without warning, and you think you can threaten me? As if I am the one with answers to give?"

"No, Lhars. I left and I have returned. And I know you. She is mine. If you so much as force a meal on her that she doesn't want, I. Will. Have. Your. Throat.." Then Zev smiled—another thing he knew his brother hated—and set his weight on the balls of his feet, just in case.

 

Chapter 50

Lhars stood in the middle of the underbrush, just feet from the trail, and gave a low growl. But thankfully, he didn't pounce. Zev didn't want to have to fight with Sasha still so vulnerable.

Then Lhars stalked across the last of the space between them and stood, eye-to-eye with Zev, because they were so similar in height and strength that from the back they were virtually indistinguishable.

Because Lhars was their maker's attempt at replicating the success of Zev.

But they hadn't succeeded, and it burned in his brother's gullet every day that he was measured as somehow inferior.

Lhars had burned with jealousy for Zev for as long as either of them could remember. He'd been driven since he was old enough to understand hierarchy to do everything in his power to beat Zev. Trying, and failing, again and again. Not because he was weaker. Or less intelligent. No. Zev knew their bodies were equally matched. It was their faces and hearts that differed. And in a pack, how you were regarded by others in your group was as important as how you regarded yourself. Taking power came with your strength of mind, even more than strength of body. And knowing that those around you stood with you… that was any dominant Chimera's primary power.

The thing Lhars had never figured out was that the way you treated others affected how they thought of you—how they respected you, or didn't. And that causing others to fear was never going to seed the same kind of respect as loving them.

What Lhars saw as Zev's greatest weakness, was in fact, his greatest strength. He loved people. Especially his own people. And they knew it. And their belief in him had always given him the edge over his brother.

That and the fact that he was a year older—something else that angered Lhars no end, because among the Chimera it meant that if the choice between two males was unclear, the older would always be chosen.

Zev knew he shouldn't provoke Lhars—who was formidable, despite his flaws—but there was no doubt he found a petty pleasure in pissing his brother off.

They faced each other, each of them feeling their strength and skill and eyeing the other as Alpha strength ricocheted off the trees and underbrush. Zev's smile grew, though silently he prayed that the wind would stay in their favor and those in the village wouldn't catch the scent of their face-off. They'd already been notified someone was coming since Lhars howled. If they caught Zev's scent before he was done dealing with Lhars, it could get dangerous.

"You left," Lhars snapped. "You abandoned us, then you show back up with a human mate and a grin on your face?"

"I can't be happy to see my brother after three years?" Zev asked easily.

Lhars sneered, shaking his head. "Your charm doesn't work on me, Zev," he growled. But then he smiled and Zev's stomach went cold. "Although, I should stop delaying you. I mean, you're going to the village, right? I think you're going to discover a very different welcome than you've had in the past. By all means, be on your way."

He half-bowed, opening an arm towards the trail and his grin growing.

Zev didn't move.

Lhars straightened and gave him a falsely innocent look. "What's wrong? You don't want to turn your back on me?"

"I don't want you at my back, or my front, Lhars. But I'll make do with keeping you away from Sasha. You're Sentry, right? If you're so eager for me to see the people, why don't you run ahead and let them know I'm here? That is your job, right?"

Lhars' upper lip twitched toward a snarl. They both knew Zev was reducing his role in the pack by sending him to run a message to others, even to the Alpha. And in front of Sasha—a female that held no place in the hierarchy. Yet.

Yet, Zev reminded himself. She didn't have her place yet. He put a hand back just to reassure himself that she was still there.

Then Lhars' smiled again and leaned even closer. Behind him, Sasha flinched.

Good, she still had instincts.

"I'll run your message, Zev," Lhars said, his eyes flashing with rage. "I want to see Xar's face when he decides to kill you."

Sasha made a little noise behind him. He tightened his fingers on her thigh for a moment to reassure her, then shrugged. To Lhars he forced another, easy smile. "Thank you, brother. You honor me."

With a growl, Lhars turned, twisting into beast form, his clothing exploding as his body became a massive, black wolf, then with a lash of his tail he tore down the trail towards the village, shoving past Yhet and Dunken on his way.

"Well, that went well!" Dunken called from further up the trail.

Zev snorted. "It could have been worse."

He turned to face Sasha who was staring down the trail in the direction Lhars had disappeared. "What was that all about?"

"That was my younger brother… or at least, genetically he's my brother. The same DNA strands were combined to make us."

Sasha turned to face him, her expression worried. "You two don't like each other?"

Zev sighed. "Thing between us have never been easy," he admitted.

"Why?"

But then a cacophony of calls, barks, growls, and roars began not far away, telling Zev his brother had wasted no time sharing the news.

Sasha blinked and looked towards the noise, then back at him. "What was that?"

"That was the end of my element of surprise," Zev sighed. Then he took her hand. "Come on, there's some people I want you to meet.

He prayed she couldn't sense his fear as easily as he could sense hers.