Ch. 461..470

Chapter 461

Chest still rising and falling as she caught her breath, Sasha was stretched out over his thighs like a cat, her breasts high, hands gripping his shoulders, breath heaving out of an open mouth, and eyes squeezed shut.

She looked so perfect, so… glorious, the moment crystallized for him.

He dropped his forehead to rest right between her breasts, his breath tearing out against her skin as he wrapped his arms around her lower back and pulled her home against him with all the desperation of a man losing his last grip on life.

She was his reason for being. His purpose. He knew God wasn't giving him another one—except his son. His family. The two of them. They were life, to him. Sasha was his life. The fact that he might lose her to those human bastards…

He shivered with the wave of hate that rolled through him and tightened his arms around her. She lifted her head, her hands moving to stroke his back as she whispered to him and even that tiny noise vibrated in her chest, right against his skin.

He wanted to take her, to consume her, to brand her with his love.

The memory of just seconds earlier flashed in his mind—his hands sliding up her sides, then gripping her to pull her against him as he pressed into her, reaching depths he was certain he never had before, as if he'd sought her heart, as if he'd sought to become her.

As if they were one.

She had arched under his hands, gasping, her fingers fisting in his hair to the point of pain as she stifled a cry and tightened so beautifully around him, Zev wanted to weep.

Now she looked at him with worry, fingers combing through his hair to push it back off his sweaty face. Her voice was so quiet, but filled with concern.

"Zev, you're scaring me. Say something."

He blinked. She'd been talking. Asking him if he was okay.

"Thank you," he croaked. "Thank you." It was entirely insufficient. Nowhere near what she needed to understand that she'd broken through. That he could see her again, and not just his fear.

She was, as always, exactly what he needed. But how did he tell her that?

He straightened to lean back against the wall again and Sasha sat up too, both of them groaning as he was still inside her. But then she cupped his face and stared into his eyes, searching them.

"Zev, how do I help you?"

"You just did." It was only the truth.

But her forehead wrinkled. "How can I keep helping you?"

"Keep getting close. Remind me that there's more to this than just us winning, Sash. This is about more than just staying alive. This about living."

She nodded, her thumbs stroking his cheeks.

He hated seeing that spark of fear in her gaze, but it had been there for weeks, and it was only growing brighter.

He knew he had it too.

He pulled her into a hug and sighed. Sasha clung to him, her arms wrapped around his shoulders.

"I'm sorry I'm scaring you," he whispered, then kissed her cheek.

"I'm sorry you're carrying so much. I wish I could do more."

"You do."

They sat there a long time together, but eventually they began to get cold. When they were finally wrapped together in the furs, Sasha lay with her head on his arm, watching him and stroking her fingers through his hair.

It made his scalp tingle was the sweetest, most delicious thing he'd felt in a long time. His eyes began to droop and he fought it. But she leaned in to kiss him gently, then laid back and kept stroking through his hair.

"Rest, Zev. Please. You checked. There's no one around. We're as safe as we can be. Rest. Please. I'll watch over you for a while, okay?"

He wanted to tell her that was ridiculous, that her senses weren't nearly sharp enough, but his body was dragging him down. His mind beginning to fade. The darkness of the cave seeping into his skin, and soon he forgot what he'd been about to say. Then he forgot everything as he sunk into a deep sleep.

She barely dared to breathe, afraid that she'd wake him. For a long time, she just watched the glow of the fire slowly fade behind him. His eyes, those dark circles underneath, were finally closed, his lashes fluttering slightly. But his breath was slow and even and his mouth wasn't dragged into that frown anymore.

Her heart swelled looking at him. She kept stroking her fingers through his hair because he had seemed to like it. But she grew slower with each pass until finally she rested her hand curled up between them and just… watched.

She wondered if this was something like how it felt to have a child. This pleasure to just watch them be. To feel such relief when they were at rest, to know they weren't in pain.

Or was that just love?

All she knew was, something in her was fiercely protective. And even though she knew that if something went wrong and they were attacked, he'd have to do the fighting… just then she felt like she'd stand between him and a tidal wave if she could.

She loved him so much it hurt. But in the good kind of pain. The healing kind. The kind that you chose to endure because you knew, in the end, it was going to take you to a better place than where you'd started.

As the fire slowly died, and the cave grew colder, Sasha still didn't move, except to snuggle even closer to his chest. And when he rolled in his sleep to lay his arm over her waist and rest his forehead against hers, she almost cried just with the simple joy of holding him.

But she knew this peace wouldn't last. So she chose to stay awake as long as she could to enjoy it. And when she did finally sleep, it was with a smile on her face.

A smile that was still there when they were woken by the sound of feed on the stone and a human voice rasping, "I knew it."

 

 

Chapter 462

Zev moved so fast the fur made a snapping sound as it was thrown back. Sasha didn't even have time to register that he was moving before he was on his feet and starting across the cave.

"You know who I am, correct?" Zev asked, his voice dead.

"Yes. It's time to give up, Zev," the guy said, his face serious. "If you don't fight, you won't get hurt. And neither will she." His eyes cut to Sasha, who suddenly remembered she was naked. She gasped as Zev shifted, his wolf hunched and prowling, head and shoulders low as he padded around the fire, a silent threat.

"No need for that," the guy lifted his hands as if in surrender. "I didn't even get my gun out so you'd know I came to take you in, not to kill you."

Bullshit, Zev snarled in Sasha's head. But all the guy heard was a low, menacing growl.

The guy's eyes went wide and he turned on his heel, grabbing some kind of communicator from his hip and pulling it up to his mouth as he started sprinting for the cave mouth. "Code Red! Code Red! I have—"

The guy's scream as Zev hit his back in full flight, teeth in the back of his neck, was bloodcurdling.

Sasha screamed, "Zev! Be careful!" but it was too late.

The communicator clattered across the stone floor unnoticed, as the guy screamed in terror and pain, arms and legs flailing as he tried desperately to flee, but Zev was too strong.

Don't move!

Zev's voice boomed in Sasha's head and she froze, halfway out of the furs as he snarled and shifted his grip on the guy's neck, cutting off the screams with a strangled gurgle.

Sasha stood in shock as Zev, teeth buried in human skin, turned his head enough to meet her eyes once, then bolted from the cave, dragging the guy, who was still alive but fighting weakly now. They were gone in seconds, leaving Sasha gaping at a blood-spattered floor, and smears that followed their path out.

She couldn't breathe.

She needed to breathe.

What the actual fuck had just happened? How had that guy found them?

Zev. Oh, no… Zev.

Trembling so that she worried her knees might give, Sasha yanked on her clothes that she'd left next to the furs the night before. But as soon as she was dressed she froze again.

What was she supposed to do?

Zev was out there killing a guy. Had the guy given away their location? Had he communicated with the others before he came into the cave? He must have, surely?

Then she looked across the bloodied cave to the little black device that lay innocuously on its side on the floor, nearer the cave mouth.

There was a light blinking on it.

She didn't even question, just tore across the cave to stomp her foot down on the thing. The casing snapped and a piece shot out to smash against the cave wall. But Sasha kept stomping. Then, when her foot got sore, she picked the thing up and threw it against the same wall, as hard as she could.

It shattered and one piece of it flew back, slicing her cheek while the other bits pattered around the floor of the cave. Sasha gasped and clapped a hand to her cheek, crouching and covering her face. But a moment later, everything was quiet.

She straightened, wiping the line of blood on her hand onto her thigh, and gulping at the air.

What the hell.

What the hell?

She wasn't sure how long she stood there, but eventually she needed to move or she was going to cry. So she turned on shaky legs and crouched to pick up one of the pieces of the communicator.

A few minutes later she thought she'd found everything. Including the chip or whatever the brain of that thing was. She threw it, along with the other pieces, into the embers of the fire, then ran to get more wood and kindling, throwing the small pieces on first, then putting one of the large logs over the top and blowing like Zev had shown her to make the flames pick up.

It took a couple of minutes and she'd almost suffocated it before the wood finally took and the flames began to crackle and leap, pouring smoke up to the roof of the cave that collected like a cloud that slowly trailed up the cave towards the mouth.

It wasn't until she went outside to see if she could see Zev—and saw the bloody trail instead—that she realized the smoke was pouring out of the cave in a long cloud—and the morning sun was now up.

That smoke cloud was a dead giveaway to their location.

She almost screamed, but swallowed it back and ran back into the cave, picking up the two large waterskins they'd brought, poured them over the massive fire, now roaring, spitting, and crackling, almost three feet high.

The water doused the biggest of the flames but didn't put it all out, and it seemed like there was even more smoke now.

Panicking, Sasha ran outside and grabbed an armful of snow from a bank near the cave mouth, running back inside to dump it on the fire, where it hissed and whined.

She did that three or four more times before there was no more smoke. But now the firepit was a soggy mess of wet black ash, coals, and half-burned wood.

Looking back and forth between it and the haze of smoke in the cave and outside, and the blood on the floor—now marked by her footsteps in and out and around the fire—

Sasha's vision began to blur with tears. She backed up to the wall of the cave and then, in a parody of Zev's crisis the night before, she slid down it, her ass bumping on the stone floor so her teeth clattered.

And even though she knew it wasn't what strong Alphas did, she pulled up her knees, dropped her face into them, and wept.

 

 

Chapter 463

Zev stood over the corpse he'd dragged into the forest, as far from the cave as he safely could. He'd allowed it to bleed out in a creek close to the cave, then dragged it through the water as far up the creek as he could until he reached the place where it poured off a small cliff. Then he dragged it into the trees so there would be no blood trail.

He was going to have to go back now and try to find a way to clear off the blood from the trail between the cave and the water.

As he caught himself analyzing all the ways he could hide his trail and any evidence of the human, he froze.

His heart was thudding hard and his adrenalin was still pumping. But he was standing over a bloodied body—a dead human being—and his hands barely shook. How was it possible that he was more concerned with the trail this guy's blood left to the cave where Sasha was than the fact that he'd just ended a life.

It was so wrong. So sick.

Why didn't he feel more?

He clawed a hand through his hair, then cursed himself. There was still blood on his hands, though most of it had been washed off both his wolf's fur, and his skin, in the freezing water.

He trotted back to the water and winced as he knelt down to wash his hands and forearms in it, even splashing some up into his hair to get out any residue of it there.

He'd just killed a man and he was worried about his hair?

Uneasy and sickened more by the idea of what he'd done, than the actuality of it, Zev found himself in that strange limbo again.

He'd forgotten.

It had been months since he'd been on any mission. But he'd always experienced this strange feeling afterward. Even when he'd been certain the killing was for a good reason. Even when he'd been so sure that he was right to have done it… it was like his body went to war with his mind.

For hours after a mission he'd walked around in a daze, his bloodstream pumped full of adrenalin and shock, but his mind crystal clear and functional.

His wolf was easy in his mind, in his chest. No longer fighting for release.

But his human heart thudded uncomfortably.

As if there were two parts of his entire body and soul, and they were on opposing sides of the war. And so he was frozen inside. Numb. Strangely disconnected from the world, as if he observed himself in it, rather than experiencing it.

He'd just killed a man, and his stomach grumbled.

Something was very, very wrong with him.

He took one last look back in the direction of the body. He'd torn it up with his teeth on purpose—

leaving generalized destruction, rather than feeding behaviors, hoping to throw off any human who might find him into believing he'd been attacked by creatures.

Zev knew that even though they'd seen the creatures dying in Horton's mind, the humans were convinced the Creatures were the true threat here. It wouldn't be a stretch for them to believe that one of them had gotten lucky.

He just prayed it wouldn't bring more wrath on the poor males who only wanted to be left alone.

Suddenly easy, Zev turned down the trail and started trotting. He was miles from the cave and needed to get back to see if Sasha was okay. She was likely very shaken.

He'd heard the sniffing before he reached the cave mouth and his stomach dropped. He felt more in that moment, realizing that Sasha was crying, than he had for the past thirty minutes when he'd killed a man.

Finally, something about his thoughts registered in his gut, and a sudden jolt of sickening dread coursed through him. But he pushed forward and into the cave to find Sasha sitting on the floor to his right, head buried in her hands, with her knees curled up, sobbing.

"Babe, babe," he rushed forward. "Are you okay?"

Her head snapped up and she looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears and face blotchy.

"Zev! Are you okay?" she gasped and leaped to her feet, running to meet him. He pulled her into a hug.

"You're freezing!" she cried but didn't let go of him. "Zev, are you okay?"

Why wasn't he just answering the question? Yes, he was fine. He just needed to tell her that so she wouldn't worry. After all, he was freaked out about not feeling more, right?

He squeezed her hard and opened his mouth. But then his eyes fell on the blood on the floor, and the little footprints she'd left running back and forth between the door of the cave and the fire.

There was a mess in the firepit where it looked like she'd started a large fire, then… doused it? But his eyes kept going back to the bloodstains. Small pools and splatters were everywhere for a six-foot radius—then there were the drag marks that led right under their feet. His bare feet.

He was standing in the mostly-dry blood of the man he'd just killed.

Something inside him shuddered. Then cracked.

He blew out a breath and tried to shake it off. But Sasha hugged him tighter, pleading with him to talk to her, and every time he opened his mouth he was afraid to speak in case something else came out.

"I…."

He swallowed convulsively.

"Zev, it's fine. You're fine. I'm so sorry you had to do that. You're fine, look at me. Zev, look at me, I'm here!"

He finally tore his eyes from the blood and back down to look at her and looking into her gaze, the love that shone there, alongside the worry and turmoil… it broke him.

His chest huffed once, then twice. Then his vision began to blur.

He clawed both hands into his hair and had to look away from her again because it was all going to come out.

But then it did anyway.

 

 

Chapter 464

Seeing Zev so shaky, so off-balance was horrifying. He'd returned to the cave calling her name, wanting to check on her. But his hands were trembling terribly. He was completely naked and had been out in the snow—and the water, he seemed damp all over—and didn't even seem to realize. He was completely freezing but didn't even notice as he hugged her and tried to check in. And then went completely mute.

Sasha, who'd been crying herself, pulled herself together and rushed to reassure him, pleading with him to talk. He was bottling too much up. He was going to lose his mind if he didn't start to find some kind of release!

"You're freezing!" she cried, pulling him closer, trying to give him some of her warmth, but he just stood there holding her, staring over her shoulder. "Zev, are you okay?"

His brows pinched together, but his eyes were darting around the cave. Did he think there was another intruder? Or was it the blood? Or the fact that she'd wet the fire?

She was about to ask when his arms tightened on her and she patted his chest, trying to get his attention. But his gaze dropped to the ground behind her again, and he went still.

"Zev?"

She felt something ripple through him. Then he made a tiny whine, and blew out a breath at the end, shaking his head side to side. Sasha hugged him tighter.

"Zev, talk to me. please. What are you thinking? What's going on? Is he dead? It's okay if he's dead, Zev. Just… tell me… Zev?"

He still didn't look at her, but he opened his mouth. "I…." Then his throat bobbed as if he'd swallowed the words.

"Zev, it's fine. You're fine. I'm so sorry you had to do that. You're fine, look at me. Zev, look at me, I'm here!"

She'd broken through to him, she thought. He finally looked at her—but it stopped her breath because his eyes were so dark. Not in color but in… it was as if he carried a devil on his back and he knew it.

Oh shit, what had happened?

His chest sucked in and out, twice, quickly, as if he was trying to breathe and couldn't. Then his eyes silvered with tears and Sasha's heart broke for him as he let her go and put both hands in his hair, gaping at the ground behind her—the blood, she was sure—

and opened his mouth, and howled.

******

An hour later they both lay on top of the furs. He'd said more than once that they needed to move because the guy would have had a locator on him when he was moving towards them. And if it tracked vitals, they knew he was dead.

But he didn't move when he said it.

Sasha was terrified. Zev had gone from sobbing like a child to laying quietly, stroking her hair and staring at the wall. She wasn't sure whether to push him to move—was it really a risk that they'd be found quickly?—or whether that was only going to make him worse.

"Zev, listen to me."

He lay on his side, but Sasha pushed up to sit over him, to watch the cave opening, just in case. But also because she wanted him to see how serious she was.

"You can't blame yourself for this," she said quietly. "He came. He was going to take us. Take me. You acted in self-defense. Even the law wouldn't blame you for that."

He grimaced. "If it had been a real fight, if he'd pulled a weapon, sure. But when you're a killer anyway, it's not like I can claim—"

"Zev, they turned you into a killer—that was their evil. And now you're using those skills they gave you to protect innocent people and keep them and their fuckery away from people who can't stop it. That's the truth."

His eyes snapped back up to hers. He wanted to believe her, but he couldn't let himself.

"Please, Zev. You have to listen to me. I know you were protecting me. I know if he hadn't threatened us you would have just gotten rid of him. But… you didn't have a choice. I can see that okay? I know you didn't have a choice. And…"

And she was lying to him for the first time, but she couldn't let him fall into this pit that he was fighting. He really believed he was evil. Condemned. Damned. If she didn't let him believe he'd been justified in outright killing the guy, he was going to fall apart. And it really wasn't his fault that they'd given him those deadly triggers. What did they expect?

Zev sighed heavily, but for the first time since he'd broken down, he pushed up to sit. He pulled his knees up and rested his elbows on them and stared at her over his arms.

"This is all ugly, Sasha. Really fucking ugly. And if we're going to get through this for another seven or eight weeks, it's going to get uglier. I can do it. I can get us through it. But… I can't lose you through that. If saving us, doing what's needed is going to turn you away from me—"

"Never," she said emphatically. "Never, Zev. I weep for you. This is all on them, not you. If it gets uglier, that's their sin to pay for."

His face crumpled and he rested his forehead on his braced arms. While he breathed deeply and clearly did his best not to start crying again, Sasha kept stroking his back and whispering her words of love. And hope.

They were going to get through this. They were going to get their son. And they were going to get to the Safe Place. They'd be reunited with their loved ones and give the big finger to the team.

"They'll never find us again, Zev," she whispered, kneading his shoulders. "We'll live a life completely without them. Our kids will never even meet them. Won't know what a human is. Isn't that incredible?"

She hoped he could hear it all. She hoped it got in. Because she didn't have anything else.

"They did this to you, Zev. They made you this way, do you get that? That is the past, and you can't change that. But you can sure as shit change the future. That's what we need to be looking at. The future. Come on, Zev, we can do this."

 

Chapter 465

That day passed in a blur. That entire week, in fact. Zev felt like he didn't really wake from his stupor for several days.

They'd gotten lucky. He'd been in shock and not thinking clearly. They were lucky that the humans either hadn't gotten their location or hadn't had time to get a force over to them before he was able to move.

Sasha had killed the fire already, so they grabbed the few things they had—waterskins, leather straps, the furs—rolled them up and he put them on Sasha's back. It was a heavy load for her, but he needed to get her out of there, and that was going to happen a lot faster as his wolf, with her on his back.

It had been a tough day and night. He'd pushed to move her away from that cave, taking a twisting, turning route through the foothills on the back side of the mountain, then following a low running river until his wolf-toes were numb and he kept stumbling and almost dumping her—and their dry furs—into the river.

He kept thanking God that she'd thought to destroy the device the male had on him. Maybe that was why they hadn't found them, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that he could barely rest. As soon as they would stop to eat or sleep, he'd be on his feet again two hours later, urging Sasha back onto his back.

For the first couple of days, he didn't really think about the route, just followed his instincts. But over time a plan formed in his mind.

The humans were sight-blind and reliant on their technology to locate any other living creatures. But the technology only worked when it was pointed in the right direction. And he'd observed with humans that there was a tendency to lean into the most likely solution. Which was usually right, but not always.

Over the course of three days, Zev traversed the back side of the mountain across the valley, then during the fourth night, they took the risk and crossed back over the valley—but behind the mountain whose foot contained the Gateaway cave. The forest was thick there, and the mountains craggy and full of rockslides and sheer cliffs. It was a natural barrier, and one the Board laughingly described as a "natural fence." None of the Chimera, that Zev knew of, had penetrated that range. All their settlements and activity had been in front of the cave, for the miles and miles of Thana that spread out before it.

But Zev had heard rumors of Creatures flying into those ranges. That if you could get high enough, there was lush land on the other side of the range.

He'd never crossed and he didn't intend to now. But he was taking a risk, making an assumption about the relative stupidity of the humans.

He was banking that they'd assume the Chimera were never going south from the Gateway cave, only north. For all time that Zev knew of, that would have been true.

Did it mean the humans hadn't guarded their backs?

He hoped so.

It was a hard week, clawing his way up the side of that mountain, far enough back that they wouldn't be seen by anyone in the valley, but then, on the eighth day after he'd killed the man, they finally reached a plateau, half a mile up the mountain, and deep enough that they couldn't be seen from the valley, or from the cave-mouth trail unless they went to its edge.

It was a wild, nearly-barren place. No food sources beyond birds and insects. But Zev didn't care. He could sniff out birds to kill in their nests. They could only use fire during the night—very carefully shielded to ensure it wouldn't be seen if anyone was on the opposite mountain.

He needed to be positioned close enough to the cave to monitor it, but far enough away that the sight-blind humans wouldn't detect them.

He needed access to those coming and going without them realizing that he was there.

And he needed a place for Sasha to rest.

When they finally bedded down that first night, it was with a huge sense of relief. Sasha had terrible red burn marks in her shoulders where the leather straps had cut in from the heavy load on her back being jiggled around by his movement.

He was so sad when he saw them.

He'd found a shallow cave in the rock of the frozen mountains and dragged a shield of scraggly, stunted mountain trees that normally clung to the crevices between rocks. There was a tiny stream—little more than a thin waterfall down the side of the rocky mountain, with a puddle and trickling creek wending away from it. But it would keep them hydrated and relatively clean.

They had six weeks. And Zev was going to use them. But he needed Sasha in a place he could get to her easily—and keep her out of sight.

So that night, after he'd run for days carrying her, then made their little cave safe and hard to see, they both lay down in the furs, side by side and he kissed the marks on her shoulders.

Sasha's forehead crinkled and she pulled him into a hug.

She was cold. He'd been right that their furs really weren't enough to keep her warm when they were higher up. But they didn't have a choice. He'd try to get his hands on some more trees and foliage to block the entrance to the cave and hold in more heat at night when they were able to make a fire safely.

Until then, he rolled over to cover her body with his own, tucking her feet under his legs, wrapping her in his arms, and laying his face in the hollow between her head and shoulder.

"Rest," he whispered, kissing her temple softly. "Just rest. We'll figure it all out tomorrow."

She sighed deeply, but she was asleep in minutes. He didn't move until she started to sweat, then he curled her onto her side and spooned her all night.

 

Chapter 466

A few days after they moved positions, Sasha sat in their little cave-hollow, shrouded by tree branches and bushes Zev had found and pulled closer to give them more insulation. He'd gone hunting—he was always so scared to leave her, she had to promise not to move from the cave until he came back.

The humans still hadn't found them, though there continued to be daily arrivals of new people, and others leaving. Hundreds of humans were in Thana—and the glimpses Zev had gotten of those leading the mission, they were frustrated and angry.

It was beginning to become clear to them that the Chimera really had escaped, either leaving Thana or hiding successfully.

Though the activity for searches continued, both Zev and Sasha felt like the Team were losing their intensity, and hoped they would soon stop. They'd cleared the land for miles around the village and City. Zev grieved the Creatures, but prayed that his message to Horton had gotten through and those that were being stubborn had decided to leave. He couldn't risk moving into that area and being discovered.

Though he knew he could evade a person or even large groups of people. Their technology could see and detect things that their human senses couldn't. Though Zev doubted this many people all had the technology to detect him, he couldn't know which of them did. It was just too risky.

So, they'd hunkered down on this little plateau above the Gateway cave and were waiting the humans out.

Sasha got tenser every day when the number of humans using the Gateway didn't ease. Zev was almost certain that they had guards posted in the cave itself, out of sight. He was concerned that when it was time for them to go, he'd have to kill again—

and even if they avoided other eyes and got into the Gateway, their presence would be noted as soon as the bodies were discovered.

Sasha had told him not to think about that yet. That they'd face it when the time came. But it niggled at her more than she wanted to admit.

Zev still wasn't himself. He was doing better than he'd been doing the first couple of weeks, but she was aching to get him away from all this danger and all these people. Other than the time they had to wait, getting through the Gateway was their only barrier.

She had curled up in the furs next to the embers from last night's fire. Zev had shown her how to bank them so that they didn't really burn, but kept their heat through the hours of the day and could be used to more easily start the fire at night.

Pulling the furs tighter around her neck as the warmth of the cave from the night slowly seeped away into the chill of the winter day, she wished Zev was there.

While they were too close to the humans to risk actually speaking out loud—Sasha didn't think she'd used her voice in days—the advantage to this position was that it was near impossible for anyone to approach without Zev smelling or hearing them. When he was at the cave with Sasha, he wasn't relaxed, exactly. But he was far less tense than he had been when they'd been buried in the forest.

He'd started touching her again.

For a moment her mind tripped back to the night before when they'd been eating their cold food—it was risky to make cooking smells unless the humans nearby were also doing it—and she'd complained about the temperature dropping.

He'd looked up from his food, chin still low, his eyes finding hers in the half-dark. His hair was growing longer, but the first thing she noticed was that he was losing weight.

They weren't getting enough food.

The nerves that thought brought had initially blinded her to the look on his face. He'd raised an eyebrow when she hadn't responded and she'd realized he had that delicious, lopsided smile that she loved.

She hadn't seen that smile in weeks.

Is someone feeling saucy? she'd said in his head.

He'd answered by laying aside the handful of berries and strip of dried meat and leaning towards her, taking her mouth.

I'll warm you up, he breathed in her mind.

She'd smiled a genuine smile because Zev was flirting and it felt so normal. So him. She hadn't felt that from him in so long. They'd made love since they came to this cave, but it was always with a desperate edge, as if it might be the last time.

It was such a relief to see his playful side emerge again. It gave her hope.

And then he'd turned his attention to playing her body like a musical instrument, and her attention had shifted to keeping herself quiet.

Sasha blushed, remembering. Then shook it off. There was nothing but frustration to be found sitting there, alone, in the dark, with that train of thought. She needed to wait until he came back before she let herself fall into that.

But she would. She hoped he came back in a good mood.

Sasha sighed. They'd had so much time alone the past three or four weeks, it should have been such a special time. Time truly in private. If there hadn't been so much danger, if they didn't have a baby to save, she'd never want to leave.

As always, that thought gave her pain in her chest.

They had a baby. And he was utterly alone. Growing and developing without the safety of her body. Without her voice and Zev's to orient every new awareness.

The Team had stolen that from all of them, and Sasha grieved it. And it made her rage.

But they were going to do something about it. She set her jaw and glared at the dark.

Those bastards, Nick, Nathan, Horace, the rest of the Board… they could all suffocate in their own urine as far as she was concerned.

Nothing was going to stop her from getting her child out of their hands. Nothing.

 

Chapter 467

Sasha knew focusing on the anger of it all only put her off balance and made her unhappy, so she tried for a while to focus on the good.

Under the furs she put a hand to her belly, wondering how it would feel if she'd carried him to whatever size he was now. Whether she'd be able to feel him kick yet. Whether anyone in that fucking lab ever touched him through the technology so he knew what love felt like.

Then she shook her head again. She got fearful and sickened every time she thought of it. What were they doing to him? Or not doing?

She got mad at God every time, too.

But, she reminded herself, so far they were safe. And they knew about their son. And they were going to get him, she was certain of it.

And they knew where the Safe Place was now—and the Chimera were there! She had to hold onto that. They knew at least Skhal and Jhon had gotten away from the compound, presumably with the females with them. She'd been praying every day that Lhars had gotten his out too. That all of them were nestled safely in their new home, wondering where she and Zev were.

Their worry was an ache in her chest, too. She knew by now they'd be giving up hope. She prayed it wouldn't cause too many disruptions for the hierarchy when they showed up in a few weeks. But then she realized, they could go back to the time close to when the others arrived, couldn't they!

That made her feel better.

Sasha turned her mind to the day to come. Zev had said if he was successful finding some food, he'd take her to bathe and wash that night. They hadn't done that since they'd traveled from the other mountain. He'd been watching the human routines and he was becoming confident that they bunked down at night, and beyond their guards

—who didn't move, were just positioned to see if others approached—they weren't searching or hunting at night.

They didn't trust Thana's inhabitants not to surprise them, it seemed.

Sasha hoped they could do that. Her furs felt like they'd stand up on their own. But she couldn't take them off because she'd get too cold. She knew it would be a cold night after bathing, but she was looking forward to feeling clean, even if it only lasted a day or two.

Then she remembered what happened the last time they were at the pools, and that made her smile and blush again. If they got some time tonight, she definitely wanted to make the most of it—

Sasha!

Zev's voice in her head was quiet but urgent. The bushes at the front of the cave rustled. Her heart throbbed, but she got to her feet as Zev appeared, empty-handed, his face darkly serious and beckoned for her to come.

Bring the furs. The humans are coming. They aren't close enough to hear us yet, but we need to get out of the way.

Sasha's eyes widened, and she leaped towards him.

*****

An hour later, they were crouched in another hollow hidden by trees and an outcropping of rock just a hundred feet or so above the Gateway cave, waiting for it to be safe to return.

There had been teams criss-crossing the face of the mountain now and again while they'd been there. But Zev said those patrols were pathetic—not expecting to find anything, so ignoring all signs of movement or the presence of anyone else. That sight-blind didn't even cover it.

Zev had insisted that he'd found their blind spots—that there were areas so close to where they gathered, the humans just assumed they were clear of intruders. While Sasha's heart pounded at the idea of being so close to them, she couldn't fault his logic as they watched a group of guys walk a trail that Sasha was unfamiliar with.

Where does this trail lead? she'd asked Zev.

Almost due west, Zev replied, his eyes never straying from the gaps in the trees where they could see the men walking the trail below them. But then they stopped, and soon the forest reeked of cigarette smoke.

It was a smell that Zev's sensitive nose hated. Sasha didn't like it either. But Zev had told her it was one more screen for them—with serious smells like that around, the humans were even less likely to detect something subtle.

Then the wind shifted, bringing the voices of the men with it, and all other thoughts tumbled out of Sasha's head. Because the men were discussing Nick.

"…thinks he's such a fucking hotshot, then comes crawling back, beaten like a pussy. I swear he was going to cry."

"You were there?"

"I was security for the Board that night. I was the one who had to hold him while they got the others there to hear him."

"Shit. Was it an act, do you think? Some of them are saying he was in on it. He's got some fucking obsession with Zev."

"Probably," the first guy replied.

The wind rose and the leaves rustling stopped Sasha from hearing them. But Zev shared what he could catch.

Nick hadn't been himself after he'd returned. He was staying in the labs. Suffering PTSD.

These guys were mocking him. They thought Thana was beautiful, and the Creatures were easy to kill. They wanted to go camping here.

They were going to get a chance if Nathan had his way…

Then Zev's thoughts went silent in her head.

Zev? What is it?

Zev was blinking, frowning. He raised a hand to quiet her—it was harder for him to hear when she spoke in his head. Sasha watched his face—which paled—and the way his eyes darted left and right as if he was trying to remember something.

She took his hand, afraid he'd sink into that awful, dark place he'd gone earlier. But his attention never wavered from the males on the trail below them.

It took twenty minutes for them to move along, then another five before Zev felt like they'd gone far enough away that it was safe for him and Sasha to move.

Then another half an hour to creep back to the cave to make sure a second lot of humans hadn't found their plateau.

It was lunchtime by the time they were back in the cave, and Zev could finally fill them in.

I can't believe… it never even occurred to me. Zev raked a hand through his hair.

What? she asked. What were they saying?

Zev took a deep breath and finally held her eyes. The guy who'd held Nick when he arrived back in the human world was showing off, saying he was finally going to get to go through the Gateway. If it was open.

Sasha blinked. They've closed the Gateway somehow?

No, Sasha. There's a second Gateway. Apparently, it's the whole reason the human teams have been coming into Thana all this time.

Sasha's mouth dropped open. Another Gateway?!

Zev nodded. But apparently, the other one's been closed for a while. That's why they used this one with us. I just couldn't believe I never saw it. remember I told you how weird it was that whenever the teams came through, Xar would pull all the Chimera back to the Village, and the team would go into Thana by themselves?

I thought that was because they were trying to avoid getting attacked?

Zev shrugged. Maybe. But these guys were saying it was so the Chimera didn't find the other Gateway and the work they were doing there.

Listening to those males laugh and tease each other—and Nick—about this second gateway had been a punch in the stomach.

Zev's only reassurance was that the males seemed to think there was some kind of block on it, or a problem with it.

The youngest among this group, a red-haired guy who looked like he barely had to shave, had stared at the others. "Has it ever been open when you've been around?"

The others all guffawed. "That one hasn't been open in our lifetimes unless Nathan's lying—which is entirely possible."

But the youngest wasn't giving up. "Do you really think it will be open this time?"

The dark-haired guy who'd been bragging at the beginning had sucked on his cigarette and shrugged. He'd made a lot of noise and empty words about his mission, but Zev had been able to see and scent the skepticism on the others.

Zev was frustrated that none of them expected the second gateway to be open. It was a potential help to him and Sasha if that second gateway was less guarded than this one. Though the way they were talking about it, that seemed unlikely. And that was assuming the bragger's insistence that there was a chance the Board had found a way to do it was even true.

In the end, the guy admitted he was just looking forward to spending a few days in Thana without having to patrol.

So… Sasha asked him an hour later when they were still going back and forth about it. Do we try to get through this new gateway? Or stick with our original plan?

Zev bit his lip. That was the big question, wasn't it? But the truth was, he didn't trust gossip.

No, babe, he murmured in her head, pulling her into his chest. Unless I hear something more concrete before it's time… I think we stick with our plan. And we pray that by that time they're relaxed enough that we can get into it without raising the alarm.

But neither of them had spoken much that day, both of them turning over all the possibilities in their minds.

If the humans had another Gateway—if they were able to open it—would that one take them to the safe place?

Zev set his jaw and shook his head, mentally eyeing the Creator.

He better not be setting them up for failure.

 

Chapter 468

On the fifth week of the humans being called into Thana, the patrols were finally called off and both of them could breathe easier. There'd been a very difficult week where the humans had brought in dozens of drones to search the forests.

Zev knew that the exercise was a last-ditch effort. But the beauty of it was that the drones could only identify living creatures from positions directly above, or directly facing. By hiding in the cave, he and Sasha had successfully evaded every set of digital eyes that passed over the mountain.

It had been a hungry week, but by the end, Zev's mood was noticeably improved. They'd thwarted the humans at every turn. If the guy Zev killed had been discovered, he'd never been spoken of within hearing of Zev.

Zev admitted to her one night in the furs that he was actually feeling hopeful for the first time.

Thana still crawled with humans, but they'd pulled all their sentries in from all over the valleys, apparently finally convinced that the Chimera had either escaped, or hidden themselves so well that they weren't going to find them.

By week seven, with the humans still not moving during the nighttime hours, Zev convinced Sasha they were safe enough to go to Yhet's cave.

Her heart had fluttered with both hope and nerves. Was he certain?

Zev had smiled.

"I've been circling the trails every day. Several times a day. They believe they're alone. They're not even trying to find us anymore. I'm sure they found Yhet's cave, and it might be stripped out. But what reason do they have to go back? They aren't going that deep into Thana anymore—not in that direction. Their interest is to the west, not that far north. They aren't even going to the City anymore or the Village, except for the ones who are using the buildings for shelter. Once we pass the City, I think we won't see them."

The idea of humans sleeping in her bed, in Kyelle's, in the medical building, had made Sasha's skin crawl. But she shook it off. She knew there was no point fighting it. The Chimera were gone. And she and Zev were leaving. She just prayed Yhet's cave hadn't been destroyed.

So, deep in the black of night at the beginning of the eighth week, they'd said what they hoped was goodbye to their little hollow on the mountain, and Zev had run her all the way to Yhet's cave.

She'd only thought of the sanctity of that place. Of the beauty and peace they experienced there. She hadn't thought about how it was going to hit her when she walked inside that Yhet was gone.

But it had.

When they finally reached the cave, Sasha exhausted, and her shoulders aching, she'd walked through the ice tunnel and waited for Zev to light a fire…

When the warm glow appeared in the fireplace and the room was illuminated—stripped, like Zev had said, but the furniture still there because it was all too big and heavy to move—for a split second, Sasha thought about how Yhet was going to be so angry when he saw that they'd stolen all of his things.

Then she remembered.

The tears had come thick and fast, and Zev had pulled her into a hug and held her for a long time, both of them grieving their friend.

"I hope… I wish…"

"I know," Zev whispered, kissing her hair, his hand trembling as he cupped her head and held her. "Me too."

They hadn't made love that night, though Sasha had been looking forward to it. she'd been too sad.

There was too much sadness! Too many defeats! Too many losses!

They'd spread their furs on his massive bed, curled into each other, and slept even without eating.

The next morning Sasha still had an ache in her chest with grief for her friend, and she knew Zev did as well. But when she opened her eyes to that ice-blue glow and high, arching ceiling, her heart leaped with joy.

She didn't even turn to see if Zev was awake yet, just stared at the sunlight seeping into the ice above them to make the walls glow and thanked God that they were safe and warm and… and that their beautiful friend had been a part of keeping everyone safe.

She prayed he'd taken out humans as he went. Made them shit their pants.

She snorted with the idea of Yhet scaring people—though she now knew he absolutely could—and Zev rolled over next to her.

"What's funny?" he croaked, his voice deep and rough with sleep.

Sasha turned to him, beaming. "The idea of Yhet making Nick—or others like him—shit their pants."

Zev's lips curled up at the sides, putting those gorgeous smile lines into his cheeks. He nodded. "Yeah, I like that, too," he said roughly, then pulled Sasha close and rolled over to cover her, kissing her slow and deep.

Sasha hummed in her throat as he nudged his knees between hers, then let himself sink down between her thighs.

It was the most beautiful, calm morning they'd had in weeks, and Sasha almost wept with joy just because he was there, and she was there, and they were safe.

The kiss deepened quickly and he began to rub himself against her, slowly at first, gently. But adding pressure with every rock, until Sasha was beginning to gasp and shake and plead with him to take her.

He teased, nipping her neck and whispering to her to wait, but then as he rolled, she tilted her hips and braced against his shoulder so he slid into her.

A strange, guttural gasp broke from him and his mouth opened with shock, as Sasha made a cry that should have been embarrassing, but she was suddenly too frantic to care.

"Ze-ev?" she asked, her breath catching.

"Yes?" His voice was so low it seemed to drag from the furs beneath her, his chest vibrating against hers. But he was bracing on his elbows so he didn't squash her, and it felt like he was putting distance between them, even as he kept a slow, relentless pace that dragged desperation from her.

"I love it when your weight is on me," she whispered, leaning up to kiss his jaw when he let his head drop down. "It feels good. Like you're close. And I'm safe."

Zev groaned and let himself rest on her, moving his elbows to the furs on either side of her head, fingers clasped over her head, and he kissed her, as his lips danced, and his tongue teased, his breath fluttering across her cheek and in her hair, he didn't stop, the roll of him inside wringing sensation from her as his body rippled into hers.

Despite the urgency to be close, there was no thunderous pounding, or screaming cries this time. Only whispered promises, slow rolls, his broach back arching in a graceful roll as he sipped at her lips and nudged at her neck, murmuring her name.

And even as they climbed, together, to the crest of that glittering wave, she wrapped her arms around his neck, hands pressing into his shoulders, so he couldn't move away. Even when he grunted and sighed her name, she never stopped whispering how much she loved him, until he trembled and thrust into her and a deep, resonant call tore from his throat.

Sasha was so overwhelmed, so desperately in love, that a tear escaped, sliding down her cheek.

Zev's brow furrowed, and he dropped his chin to kiss it away, then down her cheek, to her jaw, until he buried his face in her neck and sucked, and kissed, and made every promise and vow to be there for her.

Please, don't cry, Sasha. Please.

All she could do was breath and cling, and thank God that they were together.

They rolled together so perfectly, that she felt as if they truly had become one, and it made that piece of him inside her glow and fizz in her chest. But it was when they crested the wave together and tumbled over the edge of pleasure at the same time that her joy was complete.

*****

They dozed together. Sasha didn't know how long. But when she woke, she was still blanketed with him, and his breathing was long and slow. Hugging his back, she prayed he'd stay there a while so she could just enjoy him.

Laying there with only her own thoughts, though, and replaying the beauty of it all in her mind, it hit her then that the last time they'd been there in Yhet's cave, she'd conceived.

It shouldn't have been possible, and yet… she knew it was.

What had the humans done to her to make that happen? And were they somehow still doing it? She'd never taken the pills they'd sent for her. But she also hadn't started a cycle yet since she'd returned. It had been two months.

Was it possible she was pregnant again already?

Did she want to be?

No, she couldn't answer that, and she wasn't going to let that question steal away the simple pleasure of being there with Zev.

She stroked his back slowly, letting her fingers play up the ripples of muscle on his back.

They had a baby, and they were going to get him in two weeks. That was the important thing. That was what she had to hold onto.

They had less than two weeks to go. So, the remainder of this… their time here… it was just rest. And one she planned to make the most of.

 

Chapter 469

In the end they waited almost eleven weeks from when their baby was stolen. While the Gateway seemed to be less guarded, Zev didn't want to risk trying to go through, only to find that their baby still hadn't been delivered, so they would have to step back into Thana without know who was there.

"But we can't leave him with them, Zev! Not even for a few days!" Sasha had cried.

"We won't, babe. We'll make it take us back to the first day after he's delivered that we can get in there."

That had soothed her somewhat, but the sudden shift of her expectations had been hard to swallow. When they'd made the decision, it was only three days away from ten weeks. To have to wait another ten days had almost killed her.

But the morning before the night that they would travel dawned bright. Sasha had barely slept, and woke before Zev again, her body already humming with adrenalin.

She was going to meet her son tonight.

She couldn't quite take it in.

She also couldn't wait.

The day crawled by.

Mundane things like eating, making sure the fire was completely out, bathing…. She wanted to rush through them all because it seemed like completing tasks would make the moment to leave come faster. But in truth, it just left her with longer gaps of time to fill.

But finally, finally the bright glow outside the ice cave began to fade and Zev started packing up. They were taking their bags and furs, just in case. They didn't know what they would face in the Safe Place

—or if they'd get stuck somewhere. Zev was insistent that they not make the same mistake as last time and leave themselves stranded.

When they'd gotten everything together and stacked in the middle of the cave, when the fire was cold, and there was no light in the cave except from a single candle Zev had found rolled under the huge dresser, they stood there, staring at each other.

It hit Sasha then, just how much of a toll this had all taken on him.

He had to have lost at least thirty pounds since this started. He was leaner, which made his muscles even more defined. But it also hollowed his features.

Staring up at him, her mate, Sasha felt a rush of love, and of fear.

Dark circles cut under Zev's eyes like bruises. With the hard light of the candle in his hand, the shadows in his hollowed cheeks made them look gaunt—his eyes sunken. The yellow flame warmed his skin, but in daylight he was paler than he had been, she knew. Whether that was the lack of sun because of their need to hide, or a health problem, she wasn't sure. But she prayed that when they finally made it to the safe place, he'd fill out again and find his joy.

"Are you ready?" he asked softly.

Sasha nodded, though she wasn't sure at all.

Zev took a deep breath, his shoulders rising and falling once, then he took her hand in his free one, bowed his head, and began to pray.

Sasha blinked, but clung to his fingers.

"We need help," Zev said bluntly. "If you're real… if you've been making all this happen… we need help. We need to get past the humans without being caught. We need to get through the Gateway to the right time and place to save our son. And we need to get him out of there without leaving a way for them to follow. We need to get to the Safe Place together, all three of us—"

Sasha's breath caught. She hadn't thought of that—neither of them was bonded to their son. Would they even be able to bring him?

"—and we need to reach the Safe Place with him, to find our friends, and food and… we just need a life again. A life that isn't being manipulated or full of deceit. Please… please…" he breathed. He opened his eyes like he was done, but Sasha jumped it before he could say anything else.

"And please… show Zev that you love him. Show him that all of this is… it has to be for a reason. Show him that you're helping him, not hurting him. That he's not condemned. Whatever we have to do… please… bring us all home together and with confidence. Please?"

She bit her lip, watching for his reaction. Zev didn't look at her, but he nodded. Then they were done.

Then Zev picked up the large burden and hooked it over Sasha's shoulders before shifting into his wolf.

Before she climbed onto his back, Sasha looked around one final time and that terrible ache began again in her throat and behind her eyes.

"Thank you, Yhet," she breathed. "Thank you for loving us, and helping us and… thank you for being so brave." Then she looked skyward, though she felt kind of silly doing it. "I know he's there, with you. Please… give him a hug from me?"

Zev made a strange huff, but Sasha just sighed, then climbed onto his back and buried her hands in his ruff to keep them warm, then they were on the move.

That was… really sweet, Zev said in her head as they walked out of the cave and onto the trail that would lead down to the crevasse, then the valley. He would love that if he heard that. He would have been tickled.

Sasha gave a little sobbing laugh. "I miss him so much."

Me too.

He walked down the trail, keeping his steps careful because it was difficult for Sasha to balance downhill with the large bundle on her back. But then they were in the crevasse and Zev began to trot, then lope.

This is it, he said in her mind. Do you want to stop at the City, or just cut straight through to the Gateway?

It's time, Zev. I'm done waiting.

He gave a little huffing woof.

Me too, Sash. Me too.

 

Chapter 470

It took longer to reach the cave than he'd anticipated, because a new group of humans were camped a mile from it, right in their path. He'd been distracted—and frustrated with himself when he realized he'd been distracted. They'd almost been on top of the camp before he realized the wind was blowing in the wrong direction and he was about to step into a human encampment.

He'd slid to a halt, still in the trees, soothing Sasha's hurried questions in his mind. But he'd had to wait and make sure they hadn't been seen, then figure out the best way around the substantial encampment.

He should have patrolled this area in the previous days. But Sasha had been worried about the risk of him being caught—and he'd been loathe to leave her alone.

Now he wondered what else they might find before they reached the cave.

But, thankfully, though he went more slowly through the forest, they didn't run into any other groups of humans. And the guards were easy to find by their small fires or lights from devices. It wasn't until they were within half a mile of the Gateway that Zev slowed to a walk and began to creep between trees, always checking around every corner and scenting the wind for any threats.

He'd resolved that if there were guards in the cave he would kill them. He knew it was unavoidable. The devices they all carried to communicate with each other didn't leave them any room for allowing people mercy. But his stomach was sick at the thought.

So when they were finally in the final steps up the trail—following the treeline, though they'd have to step out of it to get to the mouth of the cave—he was relieved to find only one male slumped at the front of the cave.

He was supposed to be guarding, but he'd fallen asleep, his head slumped forward on his chest, the glow of his device making his skin turn blue.

I'm going to try and sneak past him, Zev told Sasha in his head. Stay as still as you can, but stay on my back unless he wakes. I can be quieter than you. But if he wakes up, jump off and let me deal with it, okay?

Sasha nodded, clutching his fur.

When he'd checked the wind again and scanned the entire area, he stepped gingerly out of the treeline and onto the packed snow and stones of the trail to the Gateway Cave.

Twenty feet. That was all. Twenty feet to pass the guy on the ground and step inside the cave, and as long as there was no one else inside, they'd be free.

It seemed to take forever. Step by cautious step, Zev crept along the short feet to the cave opening, then stepped carefully past onto the stone floor of the cave, which was even quieter, giving a wide berth to the guy on the ground.

They both turned their heads to watch him, Zev freezing when the guy sucked in a deep breath. But then he began a low, rolling snore and Zev's heart stopped threatening to actually beat through his ribs.

Zev kept up the silent walk until they'd cleared the round corner in the cave and could see that there were no more guards inside. Then he trotted forward as quickly as he dared.

When he made it to the Gateway, Sasha slid off his back—almost losing her footing at first because the heavy furs dragged her to the side. But she grabbed him to steady herself, then he shifted back to human.

They stared at each other.

Are you ready? he asked her.

Yes, are you?

Definitely. Let's do this.

He offered her a hand, and Sasha took it with a deep breath, then together, fingers twined, they stepped into the Gateway.

Just like before, there was that terrible tugging sensation, as if something suctioned to his skin and tried to pull them apart bodily, from every angle at the same time. But the feeling passed quickly and then they were standing in that rippled, sapphire tunnel that looked like frozen ocean-water.

And once again, there was no light.

Zev took a deep breath, holding Sasha's hand so tightly, his knuckles were white.

"Take us to the compound, into the lab where our son was delivered. Take us there at a time when he's alone, or if that's not possible, when Nathan is with him."

Sasha sucked in a breath as the tunnel lit up around and above, the blazing light rolling down the tunnel and around the corner like water in the walls.

They looked at each other, then started walking as fast as Sasha was able.

She'd almost cried when the tunnel lit up. Her last fear had been that they wouldn't be able to get to him, their son. That he wouldn't have been delivered, or Nathan would have stopped visiting him alone.

But then they were walking, hearts pounding, breaths fast and shallow. Walking, and walking, and walking.

The journey seemed longer than she'd expected, but with every sense tuned to the tunnel, perhaps it was just that she was hyper-aware of every passing second.

Then finally, finally, the light led them around a corner into a side tunnel, and they faced another Gateway.

Sasha rushed forward, but Zev held her back. "Let me go first," he said quietly. "Just in case. You stay in the gateway, keep it open. I'll go in and get him—no matter what, you don't leave the gateway, okay?"

Sasha looked at him but nodded. He was right, of course. He could take Nathan, but that didn't mean there was no threat. So, she followed, almost crying out with joy when he stepped through the Gateway first and then she was in the opening and the lab appeared in front of her—a dark wall full of monitors and equipment. Tables and machines and equipment in neatly lined rows in the center of the room. An adjoining room that had beeping and other digital noises emanating from it, as well as a soft light.

Sasha bit her lip. He was here. Their son was here!

She was about to step out, when Zev looked back at her over his shoulder and squeezed her hand, indicating that she needed to stay there in the doorway so the Gateway wouldn't closed.

It took everything within her to stop, but she did, forcing her hands to fists at her sides so she wouldn't reach for Zev as he continued forward, towards that door.

But between one step and the next, the shadow in the adjoining room shifted and to Sasha's horror, Nathan stepped into the wide, open doorway, holding a bundle in his arms.

His eyes widened and he froze. "Zev," he said.

Zev snarled and leaped forward. And from almost behind them, the other side of the lab, another figure stepped into view, raising a gun.

"Zev! Watch—" Sasha screamed, as Nick pulled the trigger.

The gun made a strange popping hiss. Zev took one step, then dropped to the floor like a felled tree, groaning, his arms and legs flailing weakly.

"NO!"