Ch. 441..450

Chapter 441

The closer she got to the front of the Chimeran ranks, the more chaos there seemed to be. She found the Alphas spread out through the crowd, trying to manage the clans and keep the females in their own spaces. But they'd had to be broken into smaller groups to make sure they could be spread out among the clans, and now some were beginning to panic.

The shriek they'd heard was because a male had attempted to comfort a female who was breaking down, and all hell had broken loose.

Sasha's head was already spinning—how had she continued to forget about the solo nature of the Gateway? Why couldn't they catch a break? But she didn't have time to analyze it, because Kyelle

—near the front of the cave—was desperately trying to calm the frantic females before walking through herself. She was supposed to be first. They hadn't even begun to cross.

Sasha's stomach dropped. They needed to get moving!

"I'm sorry," Kyelle said when she saw her. "I didn't want to step in until I could make sure they'd heard the instructions. I'm worried they'll focus on the wrong place out of fear or just panic.

Sasha nodded. But something about the female's words, her stance, raised Sasha's instincts. There was a cluster of females off to their right that Kyelle had been speaking to, but her own tension was so high, that Sasha wondered if she'd actually been helping less than she thought.

Sasha looked at the other females who were all watching the two of them, afraid, but attentive. They were calmer now that Sasha was there. It was a balm to her, and also a fear—what if something happened to her? Would Kyelle and Mae be able to care for them all?

She turned back to Kyelle wondering how to tell the female that she was part of the problem. The two of them stared at each other for a moment before Sasha gave up on trying to find the words to explain and just urged Kyelle towards the cave.

"You go," she said. "Go be there. Get there safely. I'll get them ready. And I'll send them through. It won't hurt to let a few males go through first. The most important thing is to have support for them on that side, I think. Because the rest…. We can do this, Kyelle. You go."

Kyelle's forehead wrinkled. "I… are you certain?" she sounded reluctant and Sasha knew her instincts were right.

She stepped up to Kyelle, put a hand on her shoulder, and nodded. "Don't be afraid. I'll make sure he comes through to you. But we need you there to greet them, Kyelle. If I can tell them you're there and they should ask the Gateway to take them to you… it will work. Go. We're about to start a new life. Just…. Go."

Kyelle looked down and nodded. "Okay," she breathed, then looked up and around, scanning the crowd.

"He's at the back, Kyelle, I'm sorry. He's waiting to go after everyone else goes."

She nodded and her lips thinned. "Will you… tell him I was thinking of him?"

"Of course I will," she said. Seeing the grief on Kyelle's face, her yearning, it wasn't the first time Sasha sent up a prayer of gratitude that she and Zev were able to mind link. She couldn't imagine walking through there now, not knowing when she would see him again, and not being able to tell him she loved him one last time.

"I'll tell him, Kyelle," she said gently. "And I'll send the females after you. Focus on finding safety and finding them. He'll be there with more for you before you know it." She hoped. She hoped and prayed that was true.

Kyelle gave her a quick hug, then turned sadly and trudged into the cave.

It took Sasha about twenty minutes to get the first cluster of females centered and breathing and ready to walk through. She took them inside the cave, going back over with them how to focus

—they needed to go to the land that was safe, where the humans could never interfere. And they would find Kyelle there. As long as they kept that at the forefront of their minds, they would be fine.

There were five females in that first group, and when the last one stepped through, Sasha almost cried. This was going to take far longer than they'd thought.

Luckily, a group of males were ready to pass through then, and she greeted them each as she walked back through the cave to find the next group of females.

Her stomach kept giving her the jolt of adrenalin—she'd panic, her mind telling her that Zev was going through without her and she'd missed him—but then she'd remember that no, he was waiting for her. They were going to do this together.

She hoped.

Please, Creator, please… make it possible.

It was a theory she'd had since the last time they spoke of it—that the reason the bond tore at them so terribly was that it wasn't designed to be broken by the Gateway. That it would, somehow, hold them together inside it if they went in unity.

But it was a theory. She had no idea.

What if it just wasn't possible, and they stepped through and were killed? Her son was in that horrible place!

Sasha had to breathe deeply and force herself to think of something else.

There was nothing else that they could do. She couldn't be left in the Gateway unconscious. It would close on her and Zev would be trapped there in the lab.

They were both needed for this.

They had no choice. If God was going to put these barriers in front of them, He was going to have to figure out a way to get them through them, because Sasha didn't have any other hope.

Make it happen, she prayed. If you're real. If you're there. And if you see in him what I see in him… get us through this safely, and together.

 

Chapter 442

As the sun climbed higher and the numbers of Chimera slowly dwindled, Zev began to pace. This was taking hours longer than they'd anticipated. If Nick had been right to be nervous about the Team they could show up at any moment.

But there was nothing they could except wait and hope. And pray.

He watched his brother grow more and more tense—then deflate when he was told that Kyelle had gone through hours earlier.

He watched Sasha, exhausted, move immediately from leading one group of females into the cave to returning, only to walk straight to the next and begin preparing them while the next group of males went through.

He watched Yhet stand guard over the mouth of the cave, his eyes narrow and stance fierce, like he would personally tear any human limb from limb who dared appear from the Gateway.

Then finally, when the sun was high in the sky, Sasha emerged from the cave, her face pale and haggard, but she stopped just outside, scanning the trail.

There were no more females.

She'd done it. She'd gotten them all to go through. She turned to find Zev, her face pleading.

He was at her side in seconds, folding her into his arms and holding her, his heart thudding uncomfortably, but eased a little by being close to her.

They didn't speak—even through the mindlink. They just held each other as the last of the males milled around them, awaiting the last wave with their Alpha.

It was Goats—they'd chosen to send the wolves through first because they could communicate with each other over distances, and hopefully find each other if they were dropped out of the Gateway in different locations.

But Sasha's idea—about sending Kyelle through and having everyone concentrate on getting to her—was Zev's hope that there wouldn't be the uncertainty of that kind of separation on the other end.

For a moment as he held her, the temptation was there to just knock her out and take her through. To get them to safety and never have to think about this particular danger again.

But then he thought of his son—helpless and weak—held in that lab and watched over by Satan himself, Nathan, and… no. He couldn't do it. They couldn't do it.

They had to go get him.

Sasha pulled out of his arms finally, wiping her eyes. "They're gone. They're all through. I just hope… they were so scared…" she whispered.

Zev stroked her hair and just listened as she unloaded all her tension about the females and the fears that some of them hadn't heard her. That they might get lost in the Gateway.

"They've all been through before, Sash," he reminded her. "They'll remember what they need to do. You've done what you can. This is it. Now we focus on our family."

She snapped her head up then to meet his eyes, surprise and joy and fear crowding each other in her eyes.

"Our family," she breathed.

He nodded.

"We have a son, Zev."

He nodded again, but he knew his face was grim. He hadn't communicated his fears to Sasha. He knew from experience that while the Team did everything in their power to keep the young alive—they were precious to them, too, though for all the wrong reasons—there was every chance that their son hadn't survived.

The survival rate in the labs was fifty-fifty at best. And lower for males than females, from what Zev had been told.

He'd tried, while he was waiting for Sasha, to reassure himself that if their son had died, Nick would have been told.

But then as he scanned back through the conversation they'd had with the asshole, he couldn't remember either of them actually asking him right up front whether their son was still alive. He'd said he would take them to him. He'd said where he was being housed. But had they actually asked if he was alive?

Nick had said he was thriving… right? Or had he only mentioned the Team were waiting to see if he was healthy?

Zev growled, he couldn't remember. His head spun with too many questions, too many worries.

"What is it?" Sasha asked quickly.

Zev blinked. Right. He'd growled.

"Nothing," he said, forcing a smile for her. "I'm just feeling protective."

She tried to smile too, but sighed. Yhet, Lhars, Skhal, and Jhon were gathered at the mouth of the cave, while all the others that were still on this side now all fit inside the cave.

It would be minutes until they were alone.

Zev looked at his closest, most trusted friends and brother. And suddenly their power seemed so small.

These four males were all they had? Their forward guard? Everyone else had gone. Everyone else was on their way to safety. Only these four stood between the humans and freedom for the rest of the Chimera.

What were they thinking, sending so few? Why hadn't they made a better plan? With more back up?

He tensed and Sasha, always perceptive of his mood, looked at him sharply. "What, Zev? What is it?"

But he turned away and shook his head. "Nothing but a little panic," he muttered when he realized she wasn't going to relax until he'd answered. "I'm just… I'm just ready for all this to be over."

Sasha sighed again. "Me too."

A few minutes later a pair of guards appeared in the mouth of the cave, looking for him and Sasha.

"We're the last," the dark-haired one said. "Everyone else has gone except for your team."

Sasha clasped her hands at her chest. "Focus, brothers. Kyelle is there with the females. It's the safe place—where the humans can't interfere. Ask to be taken to where they're gathered."

The males both nodded. Sasha walked toward them—was going to hug them, Zev thought, and a growl began to putter in his throat. But both males submitted, saluted, then turned on their heels and walked into the cave.

Watching the shadow climb down their backs until they were deep inside and hidden from view. Zev sighed.

This was happening. This was really happening.

Sasha turned to the other three.

"Your turn."

 

Chapter 443

It had been the strangest feeling saying farewell, first to Yhet, then to the other three males. Standing there, watching them go through one by one, she'd felt… numb.

What's wrong with me? she'd asked Zev in his head. I should be crying.

You already cried, he replied, his voice gentle. Sometimes when there's just been too much, it's like your heart goes cold.

She'd turned then to look at him, terrified that she wouldn't feel anything for him, either. But no… to her relief, her chest pinched and her stomach flipped just catching his eyes.

I haven't stopped feeling for you.

That's because I'm not leaving you, he said with a half-smile. It's the grief and fear that are killers. Not a hunk of burning love.

Sasha had snorted—and to her relief, almost cried—but then Zev's face went serious and she looked around to see what was bothering him and realized…

They were all gone.

She stood there, just taking it in. Or trying to.

It was now entirely out of her control. All of the Chimera, with their respective responsibilities and tasks, had been put through the Gateway.

Only her and Zev were left.

Sasha realized she wasn't breathing and forced herself to inhale.

"So," Zev said hesitantly a moment later. "Are we voting for going straight away? Or waiting?"

Sasha chewed on her lip. She wanted to get out of here. She wanted to get this done. To get their son and get out of this place. Forever.

But she couldn't shake the caution that held her back. The vague, formless wariness that stopped her from simply stepping into the Gateway.

Instinct, Zev called it.

Intuition, she would have said. Or maybe the staying hand of the Creator?

"We need to talk to Nick. We need to get him out of here and back into the human world. I can't shake it, Zev. I know you hate him. I know you want to leave him to die. But… we need him. I'm certain of it."

Zev frowned. "It's not that I don't trust you, Sash. It's that I don't trust him. I feel like anything he's involved in is just steeped in deceit—or at least, ulterior motives."

"I have no doubt," Sasha agreed with him. "But I also know that you're the one who told me to listen to my instincts. So… here we are. We have to talk to him before we go."

Zev sighed heavily and it rolled off into a growl. "You're certain?"

She nodded, praying that she was. That she hadn't just handed them both—and their son—a death warrant.

"Well then, let's get it done as fast as we can."

He shifted into his wolf, hunched down so she could crawl onto his back, then leaped forward into a run that almost unseated her.

It was strange to walk into the Village knowing that the silence there was abandonment. That it wasn't simply the quiet of busy people being in other places.

The Chimera were gone.

Except Ernie, who appeared from behind the Shack the moment they got close enough to be heard.

Sasha slid off Zev's back and he was immediately back in his human form.

"Are they gone?" Ernie asked in that grating voice of his. Sasha shivered, but she nodded and forced herself to smile.

"Does he know?" she asked.

Ernie shook his head. "He's been sleeping. Pouting," Ernie grinned. "Ever since you took his device, he mutters a lot."

Sasha snorted, but Zev tensed next to her. She put a hand on his arm, then raised her voice.

"Nick! Come out here please. We won't let Ernie eat you, I promise."

There was a snort and some shuffling around, but then the door creaked open and Nick, puffy-eyed, and bruised on his neck, with a swollen jaw and black eye, stepped out of the shack.

Sasha let herself enjoy a satisfied smile.

He stared at her, arms folded, his eyes wary.

"It's time for you to go," she said without preamble.

Nick blinked. "Excuse me?"

"It's time for you to leave."

Nick's brows pinched over his nose and he looked at her like she was crazy. "What is this, a trap to tempt me out where Ernie can get me?"

Sasha rolled her eyes. "No, Nick. You said you were needed back at the compound to help us get our son. So I'm telling you, go. Now. The Chimera have gone. We've sent them away. The Team won't ever harm them again. But we still need our son. So you get to keep your life so you can help us do that."

"What the—you expect me to believe you've just, what… sent the Chimera over there without you? Bullshit."

"You don't have to believe it for it to be true, Nick. You're welcome to waste your time wandering around Thana to discover for yourself that the only Chimera left here are the ones like Ernie—I'll even tell Ernie not to eat you if you want some time to explore. But I can't guarantee the others will listen. The only ones left are those that didn't want their freedom. They wanted to stay here and take their revenge when the humans showed up to prove us wrong—

which they won't, by the way."

"You're lying," Nick said, his eyes dark and fierce.

Zev stepped forward, growling, "She's not a liar like you, asshole."

Sasha didn't respond.

Nick looked back and forth between them. "This is bullshit."

Sasha kept her voice low and calm, but she let some of her anger creep into it. "No Chimera is ever going to subject themselves to your scrutiny ever again, Nick. It's over. You need to go home."

"No. I'm not going anywhere. You need me."

"We'll never need another thing from you," Sasha spat.

"That's bullshit! You can't get your baby back without me."

"Watch me."

Zev made a small noise in his throat as Nick tensed and his eyes went flinty hard—calculating.

But Sasha stood her ground and didn't drop her eyes.

 

Chapter 444

Careful, Zev cautioned in her head. If you're too confident he'll know you're up to something and then he'll get more stubborn until he figures out what it is. Don't give him a hint about the Gateway. At all.

I won't, she replied without looking away from Nick, who was huffing and running a hand over his head.

"This is just a tactic—"

"Nope. We're going to handle getting our baby back without you. If you happen to be around, you can help us—if you even mean what you say about caring about Zev and our baby."

"Of course I mean it. I also mean it that you can't get into that place without me. What are you going to do—storm the place? Send them all over there? Bad idea. Some of them will get away, sure. But they're prepared for that. Most of them will be tranquilized and in a cage before you can say, 'whoops!'

Sasha let herself feel her grief at that idea and shook her head. "So ruthless. That's why we don't need you anymore, Nick. I refuse to need you. I would rather die than be in your debt, do you realize that? Now, leave. Or I really will turn Ernie loose on you."

"But you said you'd protect me!"

"The Team doesn't live by their word, why should I? I'm kicking you out of Thana. The Chimera refuse any more human interaction, at all."

Nick's eyes widened. "You're crazy. Zev, she's crazy. You know this. You know you can't rebel, they'll kill you all."

But before Zev could answer, Sasha broke in.

"Try."

Nick stared at her, stunned. Then his eyes narrowed. "What's going on?"

Neither of them responded to him. Nick turned to Zev and his voice turned pleading. "Zev, please, you know I'm trying to keep you alive, and your kid, all of you! You can't do this. It will be the end of the project and they'll—"

But Zev pushed past Sasha, put himself right up in Nick's face, and snarled, "You should be more concerned that I still want to kill you, and the only reason I don't is that she told me not to."

Nick licked his lips. "You don't understand… you don't have a clue the ripple effect if you kick me out."

"Will they kill you?" Sasha asked with a tone more curiosity than concern.

"No, of course not. But they'll stop trusting me and you need me there, on the inside—"

"No, Nick. We need you and your lies out of our lives," Sasha snapped.

Nick rubbed his hand over his head again. "Look, I get it, alright? I do. I understand that I… deceived Zev and separated you two. But it really was for your own good. If I hadn't, Sasha you would either have been killed or brought into the project—as a test subject—and Zev, you wouldn't have had the freedom you did. You would have been locked in the compound like the rest of them."

"And yet, here we are," Sasha said airily. "I get that you're not used to disappointment, Nick. But you're going to have to deal with this one. The Chimera are gone and they're never coming back. If any humans show up here now they're just going to find an empty world. You're welcome to explore, but like I said, watch out for the creatures."

She turned on her heel as if she was leaving and Nick darted forward, catching her arm.

She didn't even have time to yank out of his grip before Zev was on him, snarling and snapping. Nick, for the first time, didn't seem in any way intimidated by him. He whirled on Zev and got in his face.

"You have got to let me help you! If you don't, you're both going to die—and you think that leaves your kid in any kind of safety, Zev?"

"Tell me what you can bring to this that no one else can, Nick?" Sasha said as the two men glared at each other.

"I have their trust," he said quickly, looking back and forth between them. "No matter what else is going on, I have their trust. I have the keys to the Kingdom. You kick me out and they think you're still here, they stop trusting me. And if you think I'm a bastard, wait until you see who will step into my place!"

"Then keep their trust," Sasha said.

"I… what?"

"You have bruises and it's very obvious Zev tried to strangle you. Tell them that you caught us all trying to leave and you tried to stop them, and now you're sending them back to intervene before we can go. It will take them some time to get through here. They'll think we just managed to leave because we had warning. You still look like one of their guys, and we still get away."

"I… that's…" Nick stumbled, his eyes darting. But he couldn't find a way around it.

"It's simple, Nick. If you really want to help us, you do whatever you can to keep yourself in a place to do it when we show up, okay?"

"Of course I will, but can't you see?" he pleaded, hands open toward Sasha, "You have to come with me. They need to believe you're still trusting the plan too—"

"Nope. No way. No how, Nick. Either you go alone, or you get eaten. Those are your choices. But you're a smart guy, I'm sure you'll figure out how to spin that to your advantage in the end."

"But—"

"No buts, Nick. This is your only chance. I've called Ernie off. He'll follow you to make sure you actually leave, but other than that he's not going to get in your way. Because we want you out of here. So you grab your stuff—except for the device—and you leave."

Nick shook his head. "It's a death sentence for both of you—and your kid."

"Well," Sasha said breezily, though her blood ran cold, "I guess we'll see if that's true. But it's not changing my decision. So… goodbye, Nick. Goodbye and good fucking riddance."

 

Chapter 445

They left him standing there, staring, in front of that awful shack. If it had been anyone but Nick, Zev would have felt bad. But instead he wished they could have hurt him more.

They turned back towards the trail, holding hands, Zev's heart thrumming too quickly, but not hard. Sasha didn't mention him shifting, or them rushing back, so he walked on with her while she obviously processed everything that had happened. Everything they were about to do.

"How long do you think it will take for him to realize we're serious?" she asked several minutes later when they were down the trail, walking with purpose, but not fast.

Zev shrugged. "Probably only a few hours. However long it takes him to figure out what he's going to do, whether we told the truth or not. He's kind of impatient—and terrified of the Creatures. He's not going to go wandering around Thana. But he'll know that we know that. That'll stop him from believing us quickly. Because he's always playing games, he'll assume we are as well."

Sasha shook her head. "It's the truth, isn't it, that people always expect from you what they do themselves."

Zev huffed. "The Team definitely does," he said darkly. "They're always lying and manipulating, so they always expect others to do it too."

"But I feel like I'm thinking everyone's lying because I've been lied to. Not because I lie."

Zev sighed. "Yeah."

She squeezed his hand.

He was going to ask her if she wanted him to shift and carry her quickly, but she seemed content to just walk, though he could feel the tension rising in her.

"I'm scared, Zev," she said quietly a few minutes later.

"I'm here," he said simply.

She shook her head. "No. I'm scared of getting this wrong. Of getting our son hurt—or worse—

because I judged wrong. Like, if I didn't know the Gateway would travel time for us, I would be rushing to get there, but now I'm scared and I'm hanging back and it's because I'm afraid of screwing this up. He pays, Zev. If we get this wrong, he pays."

Zev nodded. "I know, me too." And he did. In fact, he wasn't sharing his thoughts with her because he didn't want to scare her.

He knew the cold emptiness of a lab as your bedroom.

He knew the uncertainty of nights alone as a child.

He knew the quivering fear of a child with no one to turn to—and a life lived in a vacuum.

He didn't want Sasha to see that because he knew she'd panic. But his own blood chilled every time he thought about possibly leaving his son to that kind of existence.

Please… he prayed. Please… help us.

He blew out a breath as they walked. Sasha, sensing his sadness, leaned into his side. He put his arm around her shoulders and they walked together. And he prayed. He prayed that they would get their son early enough that he would never know a world that didn't love him.

And he prayed for their safety, so they could make him safe.

He prayed for the Chimera, that they wouldn't panic, or be in danger, but that the Safe Place would be… so much better.

Everything… it was overwhelming the number of things he wanted. The number of things he yearned for. Ached to possess, ached to see in the world.

How the hell were they going to do this?

"Hey," Sasha said, squeezing his waist. "We're in this together, remember?"

And that was the other thing. How were they possibly going to do this?

"Tell me your theory," he said gruffly. "About the gateway. How is it do you think that we're going to be able to do this without knocking you out?"

Sasha tensed under his arm. "It is just a theory," she said cautiously. "But I hope I'm right. I just… did you notice that when we went through the Gateway it took a couple of seconds for the bond to hurt? Like… like for that first step we weren't separated?"

He hadn't really thought about it, but he shrugged. "Yeah."

"Well, other mates go through the gateway separately all the time and don't have that right? So there's got to be something different about our bond. It could be because I'm human and you're not. But… I think it's because we're Ardent, Zev. I think it's a specific kind of bond and I think… I hope that it means that if we step in together, the gateway won't separate us on our own journeys like it does with everyone else."

"I hope you're right. You've been right about a lot of stuff, Sash."

"I've been wrong about a lot, too," she muttered. "But yeah… I just… can't you feel it? Like we have a piece of each other? I'm praying that whatever's going on there, whatever connects us will keep us together in the Gateway. Just to be safe, I think we should walk in actually touching. I mean, we don't know, right? It seemed to break when we walked away from each other when one of us went into the Gateway. So… so let's not do that, okay?"

"Sure," he huffed.

When they made it to the cave, Zev couldn't help checking to see if there were any Chimera nearby, or in the cave itself. He even reached out with his mind and felt suddenly, achingly lonely. He realized at that moment, that he'd never been in a world that didn't have other wolves in it. Whether he could reach them or not, he'd always been able to sense them. Now… there was nothing. Just an echoing hole.

He immediately turned for Sasha's mind and found her—already open to him—just to soothe his heart.

When they stepped into the cave and the shadows engulfed them, Zev took a deep breath.

They stood in front of the Gateway together for a moment, then he turned to her. "I think I should carry you."

She half-smiled. "Okay."

He leaned down and lifted her into his chest. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder. They both sighed.

Then before he stepped forward, Sasha whispered.

"Please," she prayed. "If you're really there… if you really care… make this possible. Make it safe. Help us get our son back."

He looked down at her, kissed her fiercely while she gripped his neck, then he broke the kiss and turned back to the Gateway.

"Let's do this," he muttered. She nodded, her eyes wide.

"I love you, Sash."

"I love you, too."

Then he tightened his arms around her and stepped inside.

 

Chapter 446

She held her breath when Zev stepped in, clinging to him. And as they passed through that unseen barrier, she felt as if her entire skin was being pulled, as if some intangible force tried to tear her away from him.

But her chest throbbed. Literally throbbed. Not with pain, but with heat and a prickling sense of grip. Traction.

She'd wrapped her arms around his neck, closed her eyes, and leaned into that hollow under his chin, so it took a few seconds for her to realize when they'd actually made it.

Sasha blinked her eyes open. Zev's breath was heavy in her ear. Panting, almost. But from stress, not effort.

She looked around. The rippling walls of the Gateway, curving over her head like clear, aqua-colored diamond surface, each facet a ripple as if in water, but unmoving. And it pulsed. A low light, dim and general—from the center of everything—rose and fell within it, like a heartbeat.

In time with her heartbeat, she realized—which was in time with Zev's.

"We did it!" she breathed, ecstatic.

Zev nodded and carefully dropped her legs so she could stand, but he was very careful to keep contact between them, taking her hand and holding it tightly as if someone was trying to pull them apart.

There was the slightest sensation still, she realized. A tugging. Not painful, but insistent. As if she would be torn from him if she let down her guard.

Sasha swallowed.

"We did it!" She put her free hand to her mouth and looked up at Zev, beaming.

He nodded, but his eyes were darting—his whole expression looked serious, his face pale and hard. He never stopped examining the walls.

"What's wrong?" she said, looking around. Was there some kind of threat he could sense that she couldn't? She leaned harder into his side.

"There's no light," he said. "I've been thinking about our son, about getting to him since we stepped through. But there's no light," he said. "There's always a light. Always—even if it's going somewhere you don't mean to go."

Sasha looked around, realizing he was right. Under her feet that soft glow rose and fell with their heartbeats. But there was no lighted path.

What was going on?

"Well," she said, licking her lips, "There's two of us. Maybe… maybe we have to be really specific and Sasha frowned, a niggling fear beginning in the back of her mind. Were those circumstances impossible? Had something happened to their son? Was he not—oh, Lord, was he—

make sure we're focusing on exactly the same thing?"

Zev's throat bobbed. "Okay. So… I'm thinking we want to arrive in the lab when our son has already been delivered. When the drama is done, but not a moment later than we have to. When the lab is empty if that's possible. And if not… when Nathan's there."

Sasha's stomach dropped to her toes. "Yes, yes, that's… that's exactly right."

They both stayed quiet, focusing, but no path lit up.

Sasha frowned, a niggling fear beginning in the back of her mind. Were those circumstances impossible? Had something happened to their son? Was he not—oh, Lord, was he—

"Zev, why isn't it lighting up?"

"I don't know. We're both here. But… maybe it won't let two people go through at the same time even if we can answer?"

"Do you… would you know the way to get to the human world? Even if it's wasn't the right place?"

"No, Sash. Never walk into the Gateway without a path. Never."

"What happens?"

"We don't know. But that's the point, right? We can't get lost—we can't lose each other. We have to… figure this out."

"Okay, okay, let's try again," she said. Her voice was getting higher, more desperate. She clung to his hand and turned to fully face the Gateway tunnel.

"Ten weeks from now, or close to that… our son is going to be independent of the… the technology they grew him in. We need to reach him as soon after that as possible. At a time when he's alone, or only Nathan is there. A time when we can take him without raising the alarm. Please!" she added instinctively but felt ridiculous. It seemed unlikely the Gateway was sentient.

They both held their breaths, but nothing happened.

Zev swore. Sasha wanted to weep.

"What are we going to do?" she cried. "Zev, if we can't reach him together, what are we going to do? If one of us dies—"

"We aren't dying today, Sasha. We'll figure something out."

But they both stood there, at a loss.

Sasha raked a hand through her hair and bit back tears. She refused to give in to despair, but it was clawing at her. How could they save their son if they couldn't get through the Gateway?

For the first time, she realized just how vulnerable their position really was.

Was this was Nick had been trying to warn them about? Was there a way for the humans to close it to them? Had Nick gone into The Gateway and gone ahead of them somehow and made…

She didn't even finish the thought. She couldn't let herself think they'd been thwarted that easily. The humans didn't know about the time-travel or the free Gateways.

Did they?

"This sucks!" she cried, looking up at Zev. "How… I mean, what are we…"

Zev's hand tightened on hers. He didn't meet her eyes, just glared at the Gateway. "I told you, Sash. I'm cursed," he said finally. "This obviously isn't meant to be. I'm going to go back. You go get him and bring him to me. And if… if the bond is broken by the Gateway, maybe…. Maybe we don't die, right? If we can't feel each other, maybe—"

"Stop!" Sasha screamed at him, yanking on his arm. "Just stop! You are not to blame for this!"

His jaw flexed and he looked down at their hands, obviously disagreeing with her, but unwilling to upset her more.

"Fuck, I hate this! I wish we could just go back to before all of this started and change everything! Change the whole damn thing!" she sobbed.

"Me too—" Zev started to say, when suddenly the Gateway lit up around them, blazing near-white.

 

Chapter 447

Sasha gasped and Zev tightened his arm around her when she immediately began to take a step forward. Then he hissed and yanked her back.

"What? Zev?! Don't you see—I wanted to go back, to change it all and it's giving us a chance to do that—"

"Wait, Sash. Just wait. You don't know what that means. The Gateway is dangerous. They trained us in this. We have to be really careful."

"But, Zev, we could stop this whole thing!" she said, turning to him excitedly. "Can't you see—"

"No, Sash, you were too vague. We have no idea what we'd be walking into—just because things would be different, doesn't mean they'd be better. We can't… please, we can't risk it."

"But—"

"You said to a time when you could change everything—but that would still be a time we've already lived. It doesn't mean you could change anything. We could just end up stuck, reliving this hell—"

"But—"

"What if it meant we didn't have a son anymore?"

Sasha froze.

Zev stared at her, hard. This had been pressed on him—and not in the way of the Team trying to control. The first time he'd been taken through the Gateway to Thana he was only a child and they'd been terrified he'd get distracted and get lost. They'd put the fear of God into him—he had to be specific. He had to be focused. He couldn't let his mind stray.

Scientists had tested and researched the Gateways for years, and all of them had either disappeared, or discovered the same thing: The Gateway would find the place that fit your focus, whether it was a good place for you, or not. Whether you would die there, or not.

The Gateway didn't take your safety or intention into consideration. It simple existed.

"I can't… what…" Sasha licked her lips.

"If he exists, I don't want to be in a world where he doesn't anymore," Zev says. "What if his world doesn't cease to exist just because we go back, Sasha? What if he's still there and we just never get him because we're off in some alternate existence…"

"But… but I talked to Vayl in different times but the same place. She knew me. She remembered!"

He shook his head. "But you're talking about changing everything. The Gateway doesn't lie, Sasha, but it also doesn't think. And we can't know for sure what it's taking us to!"

Her face crumpled. She bit her lip and nodded. "You're right. You're right," she said a moment later, her voice catching. "But… why would it take us there and not to him now? Do the humans have a way to block it or something?"

"I don't know. I don't think so?"

Zev frowned. Why would it take them to such an incredible place—

good or bad—but not take them to their son. There had to be some kind of barrier, right?

Zev looked around.

By now Lhars and the others had been through and travelled both to the human world, and to the safe place. He hoped. Was it possible they'd raised the alarm somehow and the humans had a way to block it?

"I want to go and make sure Lhars and the others got the females out. I want to see the compound empty after they left."

The Gateway flickered, lighting and falling, the path glowing then going dark, like a light when the electricity was shorting out.

Sasha frowned and stared at the Gateway. "Have you ever seen it do that before?" she asked breathlessly.

Zev shook his head. "The only thing that comes close is when I've changed my mind while I've been here, but it doesn't… not with a single destination, it's never done that. Only when the destination was changing—oh."

"Oh, what?" she asked nervously.

Zev swallowed. "What if some of them are out, and some of them aren't?" he said. "I was thinking about Lhars and Skal and Jhon. What if…" he cleared his throat. "I want to go to the compound after Skhal go Vayl and the others out."

The gateway bloomed with light, blazing again, the path solid and sure.

Sasha heaved a sigh of relief. "I want to go see them after Lhars got his females out," she said confidently.

The Gateway went dark.

Zev cursed under his breath and his heart sank.

"Oh, no," Sasha whispered. "Oh no, oh no, poor Kyelle."

"We don't know," Zev said. "We can't know. Maybe it just hasn't happened yet."

"But it can go to the future. Zev. If that world is possible to be in, it would take us—unless they've blocked it somehow, right?"

Something about what she'd scratched at the back of Zev's mind. He frowned harder.

"I want to… I want to go to Thana when I was a child. The day that Skhal was kind to me," he said clearly, and the pathway blazed again, immediately. A short journey around a corner.

Zev took a deep breath. But he had to check. He swallowed hard. "I want to go to my fortieth birthday party… or the celebration that—"

Once again, the Gateway went black.

"I don't think it can take us to the future, Sash," he whispered. "I think… I think when there's a place that we want to go we have to wait for it to actually exist."

"We… what?!" Sasha cried, looking around frantically. "But I traveled time!"

"Yes, but always to things that had happened in the past. You were always going back to things that had already happened. I just tried, Sasha. We tried to go forward and it always doesn't work."

Sasha stared, her brows and forehead pinched into lines of anguish.

Zev rubbed her arm with his free hand. "Sasha, we're going to have to wait. We're going to have to wait until it's been long enough that we know he'll have been delivered. Then we can go back to the time when he was. It's our only choice."

Sasha sobbed.

 

Chapter 448

They stood there together in the Gateway, staring deeper into the indigo tunnel, and Sasha felt like something had been stolen from her.

"Are you sure?" she murmured.

Zev demonstrated again, calling for different places or times they'd been before, then for something they knew was in the future, and always, the Gateway darkened.

She couldn't resist it. She hated it. Felt that her hope had been stolen. But she knew there was no point fighting it because they couldn't change it.

"You're right, Zev. You're right," she said sadly when he offered to try again. "Let's… let's go home."

She turned around to the gateway at their back that they'd never stepped away from, but Zev caught her.

"Just wait, just a second," he murmured. Then he looked at the Gateway again. "Take us back after Nick has left Thana," he said clearly. But once again, the gateway was dark, not even lit up under their feet.

Sasha sighed. "He hasn't gone yet."

"I didn't really think he would have. But I wanted to check," Zev said. "Let's go home."

Sasha nodded, and the slick stone—or whatever it was—under their feet lit up as they turned and stepped back through.

To Sasha, stepping back into that cave felt suddenly very dark, and very cold.

They hadn't let go of each other. But when they go through, he folded her into his chest and they held each other for a long time.

Sasha fought tears—she was so sick of feeling sad and angry and just defeated. She'd been so certain she had the answer to this!

It was the biggest sense of an anti-climax she'd ever felt as they finally pulled away from each other and started on their way out of the cave.

Thana remained cold and beautiful and… not where she wanted to be. Blinking back tears as a cold wind blew up—as if the land had felt her sadness and chill and given it voice—she stepped out of the cave and onto the trail back to the village. But they'd barely gone down and around the curve towards the valley floor when Zev grabbed her arm.

"We can't let Nick know we're still here. He'll think we were lying about everyone else leaving."

Sasha immediately realized he was right. Wiping her face to rid herself of the last of the frustrated tears, she looked up at him. "Where should we go?"

Zev looked around, his face pensive. "I'll shift and run you through the trees. There's a place I know that will give us a view of the cave mouth—we need to know when he's gone and I can't communicate with Ernie in the mind link. Or I can take you to the City and just patrol, in case he does get brave. I don't' think he will. I think he'll be figuring out what to do whether we were lying or not. And once he does… he'll leave. He heard you about the bruises. He'll want to use that."

But if he does, they'll come back here, guns blazing!" Sasha said nervously.

Zev nodded. "We've got no choice, Sash. We're going to have to hide from them and hope that with just two of us they won't catch the signs. They really are quite sight blind. Even their tech doesn't do as well as a good scent. We'll have to be careful to stay out of their way. They can find us with their drones if they're really determined. But I think once they accept that the Chimeran population is gone, they'll just leave. I mean… what do they have here without us? Nothing."

Sasha hoped he was right. "Okay, but I think we should stay out of the City and the village until we're certain he's gone. I just don't want to risk anything."

Zev agreed. He looked like he was about to step away and shift, but instead he leaned down, cupping her face, and kissed her.

"We can do this," he murmured. "We can do this, Sash. It's a delay, not the end. We'll go into the gateway every fucking day if we have to until we can reach him. Just… don't give up, okay?"

"I'm not!" she exclaimed, feeling guilty suddenly for her self-pity when he was heartbroken about this as well. "I'm sorry, Zev. You're right. It's just time. We just have to wait. We'll get him. We will."

Zev nodded and kissed her one more time, then he shifted then and she crawled onto his back again, suddenly utterly exhausted. As he darted through the trees, she was grateful to hide her face in his ruff and hold him tightly. But she was so tired, too. All she wanted to do was crawl into the furs with him and sleep until they could get their son.

But she knew it wasn't going to be like that.

Gone would be the conveniences of the city and the population around them who served their Alphas. Gone would be the warmth and friendship of their friends.

They were alone.

Sasha almost laughed. Under different circumstances she would have been ecstatic. Two months alone with Zev in a beautiful land with no interruptions? She couldn't think of anything better.

But deep in her gut curled a twist of fear.

The humans weren't going to take this lying down. They likely had only hours until the danger arrived at their doorstep.

She curled her fists even tighter into Zev's fur and held on to him. It was instinct. No matter where she was, or what storm she faced, it was always him that she wanted close. His strength she trusted. His smile she sought for comfort.

Which quickly reminded her of his words.

He was right. They would do this. They would succeed. The Creator had answered their prayers about being able to get through the Gateway together. When the time came, that would be invaluable. Why would He have given them that if He didn't intend for them to succeed?

The thought was niggling, but as much with encouragement as fear.

She couldn't know the future. She couldn't know the danger that was coming. But she could know for certain that she was with her mate. That their hearts were aligned, and their goals. And that they would both do everything in their power to save their son.

Or die trying.

 

Chapter 449

When the Gateway opened before him, Lhars sighed with relief.

Once again he stood in an archway, the light of the Gateway's guidance flashing and pulsing around him. But he left one foot in the Gateway itself as he leaned out.

He was back in that sterile, human habitation that he remembered from his life as a cub. And he was once again grateful that he hadn't had to live there as an adult. The smell alone…

At first he thought the room was empty. He saw only the couches, chairs, a television on the wall, and that wide, low coffee table between the seats. But as he leaned further out, the females appeared, one by one, staring at him, bleary-eyed, their faces puffy. They'd obviously been asleep.

"Are you ready?" he whispered?

They stared at him, different faces peering around two doors at the end of the room.

"We have to go as quickly as we can!" he urged them. But none of them responded, they only stared, blinking, or looked at each other to measure their friends responses.

He had to remember they were children—at least some of them. He wanted to growl, but he didn't want to frighten them. He tried to smile.

"Sasha-don sent me," he murmured, trying to keep his voice calm and quiet. "She said the prophecy is fulfilled today. You can come with me and meet with the other females, and with Sasha-don. We're going to take you away from here so you'll never have to face the humans again. You'll be safe. I promise."

It had taken over an hour to convince them to come out from behind the doors, then almost another of conversation to persuade them that he wasn't lying. Lhars became increasingly nervous, asking over and over when they expected to be interrupted by the humans.

"They don't come in the mornings. We have food."

Lhars was relieved to hear it, but unwilling to rely on a simple routine to keep them safe.

"Please," he said, for what seemed like the hundredth time. "Didn't Vayl or Sasha or someone tell you about this?"

"Yes, but it was never supposed to be a male. We talked of it after you left last time. We're scared that you might be a trap."

"I'm not a trap!" he hissed urgently, then closed his eyes to calm himself when the two closest jumped. He put his hands up, as if in surrender. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. It's just very important that we get moving so we aren't discovered. Tell me… what can I do to make you feel more confident? I won't be going through the Gateway with you—that's entirely in your control. You choose where you go, and you will go without me. You'll meet Kyelle—my female—on the other side. And Sasha will come too. But… we have to get there if you want to see them. If you want to be free! Your mothers… if you have them, they'll be there too." He hoped.

There was another long interlude while one of them claimed to scent him for truth, but it had the air about it of a child mimicking adult behavior.

The female cleared him, though, which seemed to make the others more comfortable.

"Have you packed?" he asked urgently. "Are you ready?"

Three of them produced bags which they walked across the room to drop on the floor near where he stood, but none of them approached him.

"I can't leave the gateway to help you, it will close. This is the only safe way to—"

Adrenalin shot through his system as loudly, but in the distance, screaming alarms began their eerie cry—the kind that wound up from a wail that chilled, to one that pierced even through the secure buildings.

The females' eyes all went wide and they gripped each other.

"That's the alarm!" Lhars hissed. "We have to go! Please! Come with me. We'll find you clothing or food or anything you need on the other side, but you have to come before they realize we're taking you. We can't come back after this. This is our last chance! Please! Focus your mind on the safe place—where the other Chimera have gone. Where you will never have interference from the humans again. Lock your mind on that place and run—follow the lights that guide you. PLEASE!"

The females looked at each other, some of them visibly trembling. Then finally, the one that he'd spoken to last time picked up a bag and threw it over her shoulder. "I'll go," she said quickly. "I'll go first. You all follow me."

Lhars nearly wept with relief.

But then, as the female was breathing and blinking at the cave, gathering her courage, another alarm, closer this time, began to wail.

Lhars gestured at her frantically. "Please, we have to move, now!"

Then he heard a roar that raised the hair on the back of his neck. So loud, it careened over even the alarms to reach his ears.

Yhet, he thought with dismay.

Desperate, aching for his friend, as the female finally stepped up to the Gateway, Lhars met her eyes and bowed his head. "Focus on the safe place, where the other Chimera are. Focus on Kyelle. She'll get you there. Just… don't change your mind."

The female nodded once, then licked her pale lips and stepped in past him.

One down, ten to go.

While Lhars cajoled and persuaded, reminded each female of their goal, and finally ushered them into the gateway, his mind was only ever half on the scared faces around him. He tried desperately not to hear what was going on outside, but even at this distance, it all reached him.

Voices shouting over the loudspeakers of an attack at the gates.

Vehicles roaring past the building where Lhars stood, stealing females out from under their noses.

The whap! whap! whap! of helicopter blades in the air overhead.

And those terrifying roars.

 

Chapter 450

Lhars had only seen Yhet truly angry once. But it was a sight he would never forget, and one that had made him wary around the male for a months afterwards.

It was early after the females had been taken and there were still a dozen or so unmated females remaining in Thana. The males had become desperate and some—

especially the tigers—had started trying to dominate the females into taking mates.

When Yhet, his own grief over the loss of his mate smarting even more after watching other males go through the same separation, had stumbled on a male trying to force a female to accept his display, he'd snapped.

Right there in the courtyard, Yhet had torn a tiger limb from limb without barely breaking a sweat.

His calls and growls and roars during that conflict had been gut-clenching.

But this… Lhars had never heard anything like what he heard echoing across the compound now.

Voices came over loudspeakers positioned on every corner of every building, screaming codes to inform their colleagues that there had been a breach at the gates, and that a "dangerous animal" was now loose and approaching the compound.

Vehicles sped past the building, their tires crunching and engines whining as they were pushed to their limits. But the roar of more vehicles with deeper engines, and boom of guns, came across the loudspeakers as well, whenever one of the Team reported in.

And over it all, Yhet could be heard in the background, screaming in a guttural roar that tore Lhars' heart in two.

"…took her from me! You took her—all of them, from all of us! You will pay you bastards! You will pay!"

A man who'd been listing units engaged, screamed and the connection cut off.

Lhars shuddered, but there were still three females, all shrinking away from him.

He wanted to weep. "Please," he breathed. "That is my friend, and he's come here to take their attention so they won't know we're reaching you," he said hoarsely.

There was a deep boom that vibrated the building, and Yhet roared again.

"Remove yourself. Surrender. We know you can understand orders, Ancient. Your presence is not required here. We will return you home. Stand down. Stand down!"

There was another deep boom and Yhet's roar turned to a scream of pain that sent a shiver up Lhars' spine.

Lhars tried to get a grip on himself, beckoning to the females. "Please," he croaked. "Please. That is my friend, and he's doing what he can to save you. If they come in here, if they interfere, I have to leave. I don't want to leave you. Please. PLEASE!"

One of the females, sobbing in fear, her body shaking from head to toe, inched forward. Lhars gave her as much room as he could while he made sure she understood how to pass through the Gateway safely, he tried not to hear the deep booms outside, or the screaming voices, but his mind conjured the images of his friend, hair flying, teeth bared, tearing anyone and anything apart as he clawed his way closer and closer to the compound buildings.

The final pair of females finally approached, clinging to each other.

"We'll go through together," the taller one said, her teeth chattering.

"You can't," Lhars said. "Even if you enter holding each other, when you step through, you'll find yourself alone. I'm sorry. You need to stay focused, to remember where you're going and do everything in your power to reach that safe place. If you do, I promise you, it will be worth it. Please… please honor my friend's sacrifice. Step in. Please!"

He yearned to step out and grab them—they were barely out of his reach—but he knew the gateway would close if he did, and he couldn't be left here on this side. Not with the army of vehicles and alarms outside.

"Please!" he repeated lamely.

Crying, one of the females hugged her companion tightly, then stepped into the gateway, nodding at Lhars' rushed instructions. He prayed she had caught them all when he was filling in the others, because he wasn't done when she blinked out of sight in the Gateway.

Then there was only one.

Lhars rubbed his face with his hands. What else could he say to convince this female who was terrified and kept being distracted by the vibrations and sounds from outside? She'd heard his every argument, his every plea.

In the end he just stared at her, wincing against tears as one of the human voices crowed over the loudspeaker that they had the ancient down, though still conscious, The female's eyes went wide. "He is truly your friend?"

15:08

Lhars nodded. "And he's truly giving himself up to save you and the others," Lhars said. and a team was being dispatched to tranquilize him.

Lhars' stomach dropped. "Please, don't let him be captured," he prayed.

The female's eyes went wide. "He is truly your friend?"

Lhars nodded. "And he's truly giving himself up to save you and the others," Lhars said. "If you could… if you could step in here and come with us, you'll be safe. And no other Chimera will ever have to make this kind of sacrifice again. Please. Please. What's your name?"

"Erda," she said quietly, barely more than a whisper.

"Erda… please," he breathed, reaching a hand out, palm up, towards her. "I know this is frightening. But it's the best decision you'll ever make. You'll never be trapped again. We'll care for you. Teach you. Help you to grow. Please, Erda… come with me."

Yhet's roar ripped through the compound, then the loudspeakers crackled as a human cried, "He's down! He's down! We have him!"

Lhars grunted and the female sucked in a deep breath and her tears spilled over, trickling down her cheeks. But she laid a trembling hand in his just as the door into the apartment banged open and they both startled.

There was a split second where Lhars stood blinking right at a large human male, almost as broad as he was, though not as tall, gaping at him, frozen in shock. The male was dressed all in black and held some kind of strange gun or weapon in his hand.

"Go! Now!" Lhars screamed, throwing the female into the gateway and diving after her as the human raised the weapon he held.

Lhars tumbled into the rippled floor of the gateway panting, shaking… and utterly alone.

He felt the cold on his cheeks before he realized he was crying. Then, as he pushed slowly to his feet, checking himself for injuries and finding none, he wept in truth.

"Thank you, brother Yhet," he whispered to no one. "Thank you."