Ch. 471..480
Chapter 471
"Zev! No!" Sasha almost ran from the Gateway, almost leaped towards Zev who lay on the ground, gaping like a fish out of water, his hands flailing, head lolling. His eyes kept catching on hers, then rolling away as his body became less and less coordinated. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?" she screamed at Nick. "YOU—"
"Relax, he's just tranquilized," Nathan drawled.
Sasha whipped her head back to look at Nathan. "You bastard. You fucking bastard."
Nathan rolled his eyes, then shook his head. "Make sure he doesn't wake up," he muttered to Nick who had darted to Zev's side and was examining the spot where she could now see a dart protruding from his shoulder. Nick nodded to Nathan without looking at Sasha.
"You asshole, you fucking asshole—"
"Be thankful the asshole is here, Sasha. Without him, you'd be dead already. He convinced me that containing you both was more advantageous than killing you, though you both deserve it—you especially, you lying little bitch."
"I don't give a flying fuck what you think of me," Sasha hissed at him. "You are a fucking psychopath."
"Sociopath, actually. I was made, not born," he said with a sarcastic smile that fell off his face immediately. His eyes grew intense and he took one step towards her. "Now, no more hysterics, please. Zev is still alive, and will be back to normal in an hour or so. At least, he will be if you step out of that Gateway and allow it to close. If you do not, I'm going to shoot Zev dead first, then your son, then you. And before you consider it: Studies have shown it's definitely worse to go after watching others die, so… spare yourself. Honestly. I'm a sociopath, not a sadist."
Sasha gaped as Nathan stared at her calmly.
He was still standing in the wide doorway between the two rooms. The bundle in his arms made a tiny noise and Sasha froze.
"Do I need to repeat the only circumstances under which I will not kill them both, Sasha? Because, I do not make empty threats. And I find I have no patience."
Sasha looked down at Zev, who had stopped moving. His eyes were on her, but hooded. She was uncertain he could hear anything anymore, but just in case, she whispered in his head, I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry.
Then she stepped out of the Gateway and into the room, stumbling towards him. But before she could make it to his side, that tiny noise—a peep, the smallest of cries—sounded again and drew her to a halt like someone had yanked her chain.
She didn't look at Nathan's empty, soulless eyes. She looked at the bundle in his arms. Her son. She would have bet money that was her son.
"What are you doing to him?" she whispered.
"He's just had his bottle and I was about to put him to bed when you two arrived. Would you like to hold him?"
Sasha felt those words in her belly.
between her teeth and she was shaking.
Nathan nodded. "Yes, he is. Unfortunately."
Would she like to? Like to?
"He's my son!" her voice should have been stronger, not so breathless, but she'd spewed the words between her teeth and she was shaking.
Nathan nodded. "Yes, he is. Unfortunately."
Sasha blinked, then frowned. "What does that mean?"
"He's your son, Sasha. Entirely yours. As human as you and I. Do you have any idea how disappointing that is?" His voice was thin, tightly reined fury.
Sasha frowned. "I don't care what he is. He's mine. Give him to me."
"Come get him."
Sasha knew it had to be a trap. With a glance down at Zev that forced her to also see Nick—she bared her teeth at him—she took a step forward. Nathan was going to use this against her, she knew. But if she couldn't save Zev, and she couldn't save her son, she could hold him. She could let him know what love felt like.
So she walked towards Nathan down the aisle of the larger lab room, waiting for the trap. For the mock. For… whatever it was he was going to do. But when she reached him, he only tilted his head. "Hold your arms out. You know you need to support his head, correct?"
The gentle way this monster of a man held her son, so familiar, as if he'd done it a thousand times…. The way he gave her instruction, as if she needed to be told how to do it…
She wanted him dead. She wanted him skinned alive, castrated, then dead.
Instead, she held out her arms the way he'd indicated and bit her lip as her son was placed in her arms.
For a moment, Sasha only stared. A soft, beige blanket had been tucked around his tiny body like he was a little human burrito. His face, angelic in sleep, was completely peaceful, his button nose turned up and eyes closed. His lashes were dark blonde, barely visible in the dim light of the laboratory—why weren't there more lights in here? Presumably because it doubled as a nursery, Sasha thought. But that was as far as she made it, because she was too busy staring at this perfect little bundle… and wondering why she didn't feel something.
She swallowed and took in his perfect skin—darker than hers. His tiny lips, slightly open. The one ear that she could see peeking out from the blanket, so perfectly formed it looked as if it had been molded by the hand of God Himself.
"Zan," she breathed. "His name is Zan." She wasn't sure where it came from. They hadn't talked about names. But something told her—
A cold, hard click sounded right next to her ear and Sasha froze.
"Fucking idiot," Nick muttered behind her.
Sasha would have turned to tell him exactly what she thought of him, and only in the most colorful of terms, but she was too busy staring down the barrel of the pistol Nathan held to her temple.
Chapter 472
Nathan wasn't smiling. He wasn't the cartoon villain who took delight in scaring others. He didn't seem to feel anything at all. He barely looked human.
Sasha opened her mouth, but Nathan pressed the barrel of the gun harder against her temple. "I'd recommend keeping your mouth shut. You've already pissed me off one too many times. I'm still tempted to just kill the three of you and start over."
"Don't," Nick snapped. "She might be pregnant."
"If she is, it's likely implanted by now, so we're screwed."
"Not if you keep her alive."
Nathan rolled his eyes again, as if they'd had this conversation several times already and he already knew the answers.
Sasha didn't move, just watched that gun and held her son as tightly against her body as she dared. Her heart pounded in her ears until she could barely hear the beeping of the equipment in that other room.
"Sasha, give me the baby," Nathan said coldly.
"No."
"He's not your baby. He's a decoy—"
"I don't believe you."
"We're expecting the board to visit tonight and I can't show them your real son, so I needed to—"
"Let's get one thing straight, Nathan: I will do as you say when you have a gun to my head. I will follow instructions. But I will not believe a single word that comes out of your mouth."
Nathan made a small growling sound and shook his head. "Fine, I'll show you."
Then, faster than she would have thought possible, his free hand shot out, grasped her baby by the skull and yanked him out of her arms, throwing him across the room so he was slammed against the wall behind him.
Sasha screamed, "NOOOO!" and leaped after him, but even as the little body flew, she registered the unnatural flail of the limbs—as if the joints didn't bend properly—and when the head hit the wall, there was a tone to the thud, as if something heavy, but plastic had slammed into it.
Sasha froze again as the baby dropped to the ground, face first, it's entire body bouncing like a single piece.
It was a doll. A very beautiful, very realistic looking doll.
Sasha gaped.
"Perhaps you'd do well to remember that not every word that I speak is designed to deceive you," Nathan said, sounding bored.
Sasha was trembling from all the adrenalin. Nathan stood at her side, that gun still pressed against her temple, while she stared at the doll on the ground, trying to breathe.
"You lied to me… and you want me to believe you don't lie?" she said through her teeth.
"I have your son, Sasha. And he's all human and just as disappointing as I described to you. He just wasn't the thing in my arms at the time."
"Fucking bast—"
Nathan cursed and the gun barrel dug in against her skull. "I am losing my patience, Sasha. This has been an extremely trying few months—and it's all because of you. Everything in this program was going brilliantly until you arrived to fuck everything up."
equipment behind the crib—which was where the noises were coming from. But as they approached, 09:27
Sasha's eyes blurred, because laying inside the crib, swaddled just like the doll had been, was a baby.
"I don't care."
"Well, you should," real fury had crept into his tone, "because I am very tempted to simply remove the problem."
"Nathan, she's the only one he can breed with. If you really want to try again—"
"I'm never doing anything to help you. Any of you. If that means never have sex with Zev again, so be it."
"You said you'd be our broodmare, Sasha. You said you'd cooperate!"
"And you said you'd send the rest of the females over. We both lied."
Nathan hissed another curse, but didn't remove the gun. Sasha raised her hands as if she was cooperating, but her eyes darted left and right. She desperately wanted to lean around that doorway and see the rest of the adjoining the room.
"Where is my real baby?" she asked finally.
"He's utterly safe and healthy and thriving. I've been taking a very personal interest in him."
They were the creepiest words she'd ever heard.
"I don't believe you. Show him to me. Show me to him!"
"You think you're in a position to give orders here?"
"No, I think you want me here for some reason, so… if you're going to target me, at least let me meet my son!"
"Why would I ever give you anything you want?"
"Because if I know he's real, and I know he's mine, he's the best power you'll hold over me in this world."
Nathan went quiet. She could hear Nick shifting around Zev—what was he doing to him? But she couldn't see them from this angle, and didn't trust Nathan not to get trigger happy if she tried to turn.
"I can respect a logical argument," Nathan said and she could hear his smile. It made her skin crawl. "Nick, keep an eye on Zev. I'm going to take Sasha into the nursery."
Sasha kept her hands up as Nathan took hold of her arm and steered her towards that empty doorway into the next room. As they approached, it looked like a smaller version of the first, but without the rows of work surfaces and equipment. There were computer monitors and blinking lights, and a rhythmic beeping.
But as they stepped through the wide frame of the door, another area in the room was revealed—a large crib, in white, with yellow and beige blankets and a stuffed, black wolf, there was a lot of equipment behind the crib—which was where the noises were coming from. But as they approached, Sasha's eyes blurred, because laying inside the crib, swaddled just like the doll had been, was a baby.
His skin was light brown, his hair and lashes black. His face was wrinkled and as she watched, he yawned, his little mouth opening so wide it seemed like it might crack his face in half.
But then he closed it and his chin…
It was Zev's chin.
She didn't know how she could tell. But she could. He was Zev's boy.
This was her son.
Chapter 473
Sasha's heart expanded until she thought it might fill the room. Completely forgetting the gun at her temple, or anything else, Sasha made a small cry and rushed forward, leaning over the lowered side of the crib to reach in and scoop him up. She'd only held babies a few times in her life, but she knew enough to support his head and lift him to the crook of her arm.
"Baby, my sweet boy," she breathed.
The smell of him was what she noticed first. Like milk and freshly bathed skin.
He was a lot bigger than the doll had been, an armful for Sasha. When she lifted him, his eyelids fluttered, and his little eyes opened, squinting, and he made a tiny, indignant squawk.
"Oh, baby, my sweet baby," Sasha crooned, and the moment she spoke, his eyes opened wide and he stared at her.
Really stared at her.
He blinked against the light and made more complaining noises, but his eyes never left hers. As if he knew her face and searched it.
That couldn't be right… could it? How could he possibly know her?
Then he yawned again and the little squeaks and whines became a full-throated cry.
Without thought, Sasha lifted his little baby bean to her shoulder and began to rock him slowly, resting her head against him, inhaling his scent, her tears dripping off her nose and onto his blanket.
"My boy, my boy," she breathed. And he settled. He settled for her. Sighing heavily, then going quiet.
Sasha was stunned.
"This is very sweet," Nathan drawled from behind her. "But we have work to do. And very little time. Our negotiations must be finished before your mate wakes up, because if I'm going to have to kill him, I'd really rather do it when he's asleep. It's just a lot cleaner. So let's get to it."
He was still behind her, so Sasha just stood there, stunned, holding her son, her mind spinning. How were they ever going to get out of this?
Nathan didn't seemed disturbed at all. "I want you to be clear that you will not be allowed to bring us all down. I will kill you before I allow you to leave, especially with a baby—or babies, as the case may be."
Sasha shuddered with a wave of hate, but turned her head and gently kissed his fat little cheek. "I understand," she breathed. "Just… let me hold him. I don't want to hurt him."
"If you want to hold him while we speak, I'll ask you to take a seat in that chair over there and I'll strap your ankles to it."
"Strap—what?"
Sasha turned to see what Nathan was talking about and found a thick, wide, metal chair with a faded burgundy seat-pad next to the crib. At the base of the legs, and on the wide arms, thick leather straps with wicked-looking buckles were riveted to the metal.
She shuddered to think why it was there normally. Who had they forced to come here? And for what purpose?
"You'll be glad to know, I'm sure, that we are not unaware of a child's needs. We've been cycling females through every two hours to hold and nurture him. We know that those of our young that are allowed to bond with adults grow up far healthier and more robust. So, I guess you'll take this shift. Take a seat, Sasha," Nathan said quietly.
Her blood running cold, her baby pressed to her chest, Sasha prayed that somehow, somehow they'd get through this. Then she sat down in the chair and held her son as Nathan quickly and efficiently strapped her ankles to the chair legs.
"Now, I'll give you a moment just so you understand your motivation to help me, as you so wisely put it. But in a moment we're going to have a conversation, you and I. We're going to figure out how you can help me. And in exchange, I'm going to let you and your mate and your son stay alive."
Sasha stared at the man with his slicked back hair and bright eyes and sighed heavily. "Okay," she said, her voice dead.
Before he could respond again, Nick appeared in the doorway. Nathan straightened, still keeping the gun trained on her, but turning to look over his shoulder as Nick, looking tense, stopped in the doorway, the tranquilizing gun in his hand.
"He's waking up."
"What? That thing's supposed to last at least an hour!"
Nick's face went tight. "I told you, the Chimera metabolism… anyway, I need to put him under again."
"So do it!"
"You only gave me one dart," Nick said through his teeth.
With a frustrated growl, Nathan dug into the pocket of his pants and pulled out a cylinder that looked glass, and contained another feathered dart. He tossed it across the room to Nick, who caught it in one hand, but scowled.
"Risky much?" he snarled, popping the top on the little tube and tipping it on it's end into his hand, feather first.
"It's in a case, idiot," Nathan growled. "It's not like it's going to stab you through the glass."
Nick's lips thinned and he shook his head, but his eyes were on the gun in his hand as he reloaded it, then checked the chamber, blowing on the feathers of the dart.
"Go for the neck this time," Nathan said as he turned back to Sasha. "If you can hit the jugular it will enter his bloodstream faster and work longer."
Nick raised the gun, his eye on Sasha. "Will do," he said tightly.
Then he pulled the trigger.
Sasha sucked in a breath to scream. But the dart bloomed on Nathan's neck. He clapped a hand to it with a curse, his brows pinched over his nose.
"What the fffff…. Wha' the…."
Nathan glared at her, then his hand holding the gun dropped to his side. It clattered to the linoleum a second before Nathan crumpled to the floor like the bag of trash that he was.
Chapter 474
Zev dreamed that he'd been bitten by a snake and then the world had gone dark. Strange shapes and sounds twisted through his head, taunting him. At one point there was fire. It started in his shoulder, but moved to his chest and became rage.
There was a voice he recognized, but couldn't make out. Something patted his arm.
Then he was blinking and the dream and reality began to mingle.
Zev had woken—at least a little—unable to hear. But a few seconds later, he heard the beep of a machine, and that voice again. His eyes were thick and his tongue slack. His jaw didn't want to move. He blinked again. He was laying on a hard floor that pressed hard into his hip and shoulder. It took a long moment of staring at the forest of metal legs and computer hard drives in front of his face to remember where he was. To remember anything at all. But slowly it all came back.
He and Sasha had left Thana for the last time, and the Gateway had worked.
He was at the compound. In the lab.
He'd been sight-blind.
Something had bitten him…
He sucked in a breath and tried to sit up, but his arm only flailed.
"Oh, thank god," Nick's voice was low and hushed. Zev growled and Nick clapped a hand to his mouth, leaning down to get in his face. "I'm sorry, but he had to believe that I was helping him. They've been suspicious of me ever since I came back. He had to believe that I am on his side. I gave you the antidote. It'll wear off in just a minute, but until I take care of him, you have to stay down on the floor, facing this way so if he looks in, he thinks you're still out. You have to, Zev!"
Zev blinked, struggling to follow what had happened.
They'd come through the Gateway, him and Sasha together.
He'd stepped into the lab, there'd been no one in sight, but he could smell Nathan and Nick.
He'd seen Nathan first, but then something hit him on the back. He winced and tried to roll his shoulder, but his movements were jerky. He couldn't do it properly, and his shoulder ached terribly.
"Just be still, please!" Nick hissed, looking over his shoulder towards the next room. "Please, Zev. I'm sorry, I had to do it. You're going to be fine. And so Sasha. She's already got your baby. We're halfway there."
But… if Sasha had the baby, that meant she was out of the Gateway, right?
Zev started to growl again and Nick leaned right down so they were eye to eye. "I'm going to die—literally die—if he realizes I brought you out of that sleep, Zev. Do you get that? I'm putting my ass on the line here to save yours. Again. So do me a fucking favor and shut the fuck up for just one more minute!"
Zev blinked, but he didn't make another noise. Nick stared at him a second, then sighed and pushed to his feet.
"I need to wait until you're able to move on your own and support your own weight, just in case this goes bad," he muttered under his breath, so Zev could hear, but no human would be able to make out the words. "I'm going to try to take him out. But if I'm unsuccessful, you need to surprise him, okay?"
Zev nodded. He was moving a little smoother now. He could flex his fingers and pedal his feet. He could feel his strength returning. He was going to be able to do this very soon.
He glared at Nick, but Nick's jaw flexed and he shook his head. "I told you I was on your side," he muttered. "Wouldn't fucking believe me after all these years."
Zev wanted to spit that he wouldn't trust Nick to light his birthday candles, but all he managed was a low groan.
Nick shook his head again. "You're forcing me to do this and prove this to you before you can move. You better pray I can pull this off. Because if you're still out and Nathan There was a strangled, "What the fffff?"
gets wind of this. She's the only one who'll pay—and she's holding your baby right now, Zev."
Zev blinked. Sasha. Nathan had Sasha? And she was with their baby?
"Yeah, that's right. This isn't just about you and me, Zev. So keep your fucking mouth shut and when you do get up, make sure your legs are steady before you let go of any support. I won't be here to hold you."
As Nick stepped over him, then started for the room behind him, Zev straightened his legs and found they were moving smoothly, that he could grip his hands again. He pushed down on the floor, pushing himself up to a sitting position, though his head spun for a moment.
He could only see Nick's back and the light coming from the other room. But by the time Nick was loading the gun, Zev was on his feet—albeit a little wobbly—and starting down the aisle.
Then he heard Nick say, "Will do," and that strange, popping hiss of the gun that made Zev's skin prickle.
Sasha gasped.
There was a strangled, "What the fffff?"
Then a terrible clatter and thud.
Zev was running, though his head spun. He caught himself on the frame of the opening into the next room, just in time to find Nick kneeling in front of Sasha, who was sitting in a chair holding a bundle of blankets to her shoulder and staring wide-eyed at Nick.
Zev didn't think quick enough. He was so relieved to see Sasha, so stunned to see their son, he didn't take in the room the way he was supposed to. He didn't think it all through. And before he could, Nick darted forward, around Nathan's crumpled body, still twisting a little on the floor as the tranquilizers took hold, and picked up the gun that had fallen there.
Chapter 475
Sasha's heart almost exploded when Nick raised that gun towards her—then again, when Nathan's gun dropped, followed very quickly by Nathan himself. She was still gaping at his writhing form when Nick rushed forward and began unbuckling the bonds at her ankles.
She stared at him, conflicting emotions roiling within her—distrust, fear, gratitude, hope… it was all there.
Nick looked up at her between moving to the next buckle and winked. "I told you I cared."
She shook her head soundlessly.
Then there was a sobbed, "Sasha!" from the doorway and Zev was there, awake and shuffling towards her, obviously still not entirely free of the effects of whatever was in that tranquilizer, but at least he was on his feet.
He rushed to her as she pushed to her feet and stepped over Nathan's prone form, then they were together, their son pressed between them as she sobbed into his chest and he held her, whispering her name, clinging to her head, holding her, his voice choked and rough with emotion.
"You're safe… thank God you're safe."
"It was Nick."
Sasha pulled her head up to look at him at those words. Zev's forehead crinkled into lines like he didn't know what to think of it either, but then the little body between them made a tiny squawk and both of them turned.
Zev's eyes went wide. "Can I… can I see him?"
Sasha, eyes already brimming with tears, nodded. "He has your chin."
Zev's eyes narrowed, but he smiled, looking back and forth between her and the little bundle on her shoulder. Stroking his chest once, Sasha smiled and took one step back. "Hold your arms like this. Don't let his head drop."
Then she laid their son in his father's arms for the first time.
And deep inside her, Sasha felt the bond tug, tighter and tighter, as if it drew them together. Tugged so tightly, she couldn't resist. As Zev stared, awed, into the face of his son for the first time, and his son blinked back up at him, Sasha stepped right back into him, holding Zev around the waist, her chin only barely above the level where he held their baby.
"He's…"
"Zan," she whispered. "Don't you think it fits?"
Zev blinked, then looked back down at their baby. "Yes," he breathed, then he huffed a half-laugh, half-sob. "Yes, it does, Sash. It's the perfect name for him."
They both looked down at him then as his eyes began to droop again. Sasha brushed the top of his head while Zev reached in the blanket and drew out the tiny, perfect little hand that clutched at the seam of his baby burrito.
Zev's mouth dropped open when their son's little fist closed around his finger and held tight. Then he yawned and his eyes dropped closed completely.
But he didn't let go.
Sasha was weeping tears of joy already, but Zev's eyes welled then, and he shook his head.
"My boy," he rasped, his voice deep and heavy with emotion. "My boy. Zan."
"I'm sure he's great. But if we don't get you all out of here pretty damn fast, there won't be any more happy reunions."
Zev looked up with a growl and Sasha turned to face Nick. "The gateway closed," she said quickly.
"So, open it again with whatever little trick you've used to get here."
Sasha shook her head. "I can't. It was our last shot," she lied.
Nick looked over her shoulder at Zev, clearly skeptical. But Zev growled again. "You really think we wouldn't just leave if we could? Especially now?"
Nick raked a hand over his head and cursed. "Fine. Then… we have to get you to the other gateway and pray to God they aren't sending a shift back tonight. It's not the usual day for it, but there's been a lot of random stuff over there—where the hell have you two been? Why didn't they find you? And where are all the others hiding? This little Gateway trick is obviously how you got the females out—that was a power move, by the way. Sending Yhet to distract them. But fuck… even I liked Yhet."
"You didn't even know him," Sasha said coldly.
"I knew him enough to know he was sweet. And that's not a word I usually use for a guy."
Sasha's anger about all of it, everything these people had done, came rushing back. But, she reminded herself, Nick had just saved them both. They did owe him, no matter what else had gone on. Nathan wouldn't have let any of them out of here, she knew that.
So, while Zev and Nick argued about the best way for all of them to get out safely, Sasha continued to stare at her son's fist wrapped around her husband's finger—that little fist so small the fingers didn't even quite meet around it.
And when they still hadn't finished arguing, Sasha turned to look at Nathan, lying unconscious on the ground.
In her mind, his was the face in front of everything that had happened—her and Zev being separated. Her being taken to Thana and almost losing Zev. Her being brought here to the compound and their baby stolen. All those females who were sterilized and broken. And now this…
Her chest burning with rage, Sasha squatted at Nathan's head and looked at him there, completely vulnerable. She picked up his wrist, and his limb was entirely limp.
"I wish you hurt," she said through her teeth. "I wish you were laying here writhing in pain. I wish you experienced an ounce of the torment and fuckery that you caused in the lives of these people—and they are people, Nathan, whether you can see that in your sociopathic fog or not. They're people and they don't deserve this!"
Behind her, the voices of Zev and Nick went quiet.
Sash?
Zev's quiet query rang in her head. He wanted to know if she was okay. He wanted to know if she needed help.
Sasha swallowed.
Could you hear? Or feel? When they tranquilized you? she asked him.
I think I felt some of it, he said hesitantly. At least, I remembered feeling some of it. It was subdued, but it was there.
Sasha grimaced, that coil of heat starting right at the core of her and lighting in her veins until, without thought, her hand flew out and slapped him on the cheek.
"That was for violating me… and you deserve so much worse," she hissed. Then she remembered the few lessons Zev had given her about self-defense and how to hit. Her hand shot out again, this time the heel of her palm, right into his nose.
He didn't react, but a second later a trickle of blood began to drop from one nostril.
"That's for violating all those poor women."
She snapped that hand into his jaw next, and his teeth snapped together. She hoped his tongue was caught between them. "That's for imprisoning Zev."
Then she was on her feet, kicking him in the ribs, the back, the kidneys. "That's for messing with his head and his body. That's for making such unnatural decisions for everyone here. That's for Ernie who—fucking hates you. That's for Yhet and killing his mate." Then she stomped on his head. "That's for me and my babies. That's for—"
A warm arm suddenly appeared around her middle and she was swung off her feet and around. Zev, still holding Zan in one arm, turned her and pulled her into his chest, holding her there. He didn't say anything. Not even in her head. He just held her, stroking her hair, his nose buried in her neck.
Sasha realized she was trembling.
"Look," he breathed in her ear. "We're a family, Sash. Look. We're together. We're healthy. And we're about to be safe. And… even though I hate to admit it… none of this would have happened without him. Without these men and their ambitions and their fucked up priorities. They never would have made me and we never would have found each other."
Sasha bit her lip against the tears that wanted to come and pulled back to look at him.
"Maybe…" Zev breathed, looking at her like he was afraid to say the words coming out of his mouth. "Maybe God knew what He was doing. Maybe… maybe all this awful had… some good mixed in?"
Sasha's face crumpled. She pulled him down into a kiss. "Yes," she breathed against his lips. "Yes. The good is you, Zev. The good is you. And Yhet. And Lhars. And… everyone. The good is all of you."
It was a heavy moment and one that left them both trembling and overwhelmed. But in the end, sniffing and wiping her eyes, Sasha turned away from Nathan and his blood on the floor.
Because Zev was right. Killing him wasn't going to change what had happened. So she was going to choose better than Nathan had. She took Zev's arm and pulled him towards the door. "Let's get out of here. Let's go. Let's do whatever has to be done to
—"
A massive bang startled them both and Zev snarled, whirling, putting Sasha behind him and holding Zan to his side, trying to protect them both.
But then they both froze as they watched Nick cock the gun so the bullet shell spun out of the chamber and pinged on the linoleum floor.
"Bastard," he muttered, then stood up and turned to find them staring at him.
Nick's eyes went wide and he looked between them. "What?"
Chapter 476
The following hour was the most frightening of Zev's life. He and Nick had never really resolved their differences on how to get out of there. But the truth was, only Nick knew exactly where they were, and how to get in and out.
Which meant he had to trust the man he used to call father with the future of his family.
He and Sasha had both been really careful not to tell him where they went in the Gateway, or how they'd gotten one to open in the random lab.
Zev realized they didn't have any choice but to trust him because he'd seen the Gateway open. Short of killing him, there was no way to keep that secret anymore.
Zev wasn't sure how he felt about that.
But there wasn't time to consider it, because Nick was rushing to get them out of there. He swore the soundproofing was so good in the lab that they wouldn't have heard the gun go off. Zev knew that was possible, so there was no point arguing. But Nick was concerned about timing.
Usually, Nathan would finish his time with the baby and be out within an hour, or ninety minutes at most. They'd already been there for some time when Sasha and Zev arrived, so Nick was concerned that a staff member would soon come looking to make sure they hadn't missed Nathan's call for staff relief.
"We need to get you out of here, and now," he muttered, ushering them out of the back of the building.
"Won't security see us?" Sasha asked nervously.
"Not out here. These experiments are the ones that even most staff aren't allowed to know about. Surveillance is recorded to be accessed by Nathan or the board when they choose. But there are no human eyes on it live. Which is probably saving your life right now," Nick muttered.
But when they got to the Jeep outside, he didn't open the passenger seat, he opened the back end of the vehicle and gestured for all three of them to get inside—in the back where there were no windows because the vehicle was designed to transport equipment—or Chimera—out from under human eyes.
It would keep them safe, and also trap them blind if Nick was double-crossing them.
Sasha jumped in immediately, but Zev balked. He handed Zan to Sasha who immediately pulled him to her chest in a picture of maternal concern that made Zev's chest zing. But he forced it down to appreciate later and turned to Nick.
Nick muttered a curse. "We don't have time for this, Zev. If me waking you up and fucking killing Nathan didn't convince you that I'm board for this, there's nothing else I can do."
"But why?"
Nick's eyes narrowed in confusion. "Why what?"
"Why did you save me? Why betray Nathan? Why help us now?"
Nick gaped. "I told you! Because I fucking care about you. I don't want you in their hands—and I don't want your son in their fucking laboratory. He needs you and Sasha, not surrogate mothers who don't know what he is."
Zev examined Nick, who was about to launch into him again, but Zev shook his head. "You didn't stop them hurting me in the past. You didn't stop them from splitting me and Sash. You didn't stop them from taking Zan away from us. Why now? Why help this time?"
"I've helped you so many fucking times that you don't even know about, Zev—and dozens of times that you do!"
"Yeah, and you always got something out of it!"
"No, Zev. I didn't. Most of the time I got a fucking headache. That's why I had to pick my battles. If they stopped trusting me, I couldn't help you anymore. You get that, right? That if I hadn't shot you tonight, Nathan wouldn't have left you alone with me so I could help? He wouldn't have trusted me with the dart that took him down. They've questioned me every time I've helped you—they almost fired me when I got you and Sasha away. For fuck's sake, Zev. What else do I have to do?"
"But you lied! So many times!"
"No, Zev, I hardly ever lied, I just didn't tell you the whole story!"
"People died, Nick! Chimera got hurt and sterilized, and lost mates and—"
"And if I hadn't let them all get hurt so that they'd trust me and leave me close to you, you wouldn't be here. It's the choice I made, and I don't regret it."
"But I'm not worth all of that!" Zev snarled.
Nick's head snapped back. "You are to me," he said simply.
Zev gaped as a hole, deep in his heart seemed to suddenly… fill.
Nick's throat bobbed. "Look. You might not be my blood, but you're the closest thing I have to a son. That's what made me realize…" he tipped his head toward Sasha and Zan in the back of the vehicle. "I couldn't take care of him. You had to. I was thinking I could protect him for you. But I realized… no… I wouldn't want someone else taking care of you for me. So… I needed to let you take care of him."
"But…"
"Look, it's pretty simple. I'm an asshole. But an asshole who loves you." there was an odd vulnerability in his tone as he shrugged, which shocked Zev.
Zev shook his head. "I don't understand you," he said quietly.
Nick shrugged. "Honestly, neither do I. But the good news is, you don't have to. You just have to get in the fucking vehicle, Zev. Seriously."
Zev took a deep breath, then leaned in and, after a moment's hesitation, wrapped his arms around Nick in a hug.
Surprised, Nick hugged him back, tightly.
Then Zev whispered in his ear, "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Both of them sighed, but neither of them let go. Then Zev cleared his throat. "Also, if anything happens to either of them and I find out you had any connection to it, I will hunt you down like the scared rabbit that you are."
Nick chuckled, but Zev wasn't smiling when he let him go and climbed into the back of the Jeep.
Chapter 477
The only truly terrifying part was when the security guards stopped the car at the gate. Nick had a communicator in the car and they'd heard chatter on the radios about staff questioning whether they should enter the lab to make sure Nathan was okay because he hadn't come out. And they thought Nick was with him.
Sasha and Zev held each other, both of them praying, as Zev listened to his sort-of-father lie like a professional when the guards stopped him before letting him through the compound fence. It threw his already twisted emotions into even greater turmoil.
Nick snorted like their question was ridiculous. "Nathan's working late tonight. A sudden discovery—
he thinks the kid might not just be human after all. I'm taking the samples to our friends out of state."
"Now?"
"Nate doesn't trust anyone else to do it."
Apparently, that made sense to them because a few seconds later, the car began to move again.
Zev held his breath for what seemed like minutes. And then, just when he was beginning to breathe again, while he and Sasha stared at each other in the dark, every hair on their bodies standing on edge, waiting for the other shoe to drop, the car slowed, then pulled over, the tires crunching on gravel.
The front door thudded and footsteps started around the vehicle. Then the wide, back door opened and Nick was there.
And he was smiling.
"This vehicle doesn't trace because it's used to take samples to our other lab that they don't know. We're out kids. You might as well get into the passenger seats. You'll be a lot more comfortable."
Sasha looked at Zev, who shook his head in disbelief, but a few minutes later they were racing down the highway towards the Gateway.
Nick insisted on walking them to the Gateway to try and smooth the path in case there were any guards posted on this side. He thought they'd removed them a couple of weeks earlier, but if suspicions were rising back at the compound he said there was no way to know for sure.
But they met no one in the parking lot and no one on the path. Twenty minutes later, Zan was safely in Zev's arms, Sasha walking right at his hip, they reached the final feet to the cave itself.
Zev stopped walking and turned to look at Nick.
All three of them stood silently for a moment. It was Nick to spoke first.
"I guess this is it. I mean, I'm guessing you won't be back when the kid's older so I can meet him?" There was a genuine hint of hope in his voice.
Sasha snorted, but Zev shook his head. "No."
They stared at each other for a long moment, and Zev's heart began to pound.
Before Sasha, Nick had been the only human Zev actually trusted. And he'd trusted him enough to follow him all the way to hell.
For a moment he let his mind trip back to his childhood, his early teen years when seeing Nick had given him a sense of relief and security. He'd always seemed so big to Zev—so strong. So smart. He'd always had more power. And for the longest time, Zev had really believed Nick was indestructible.
Then Nick split him and Sasha.
Then Nick deceived him into leaving his people in Thana.
Then Nick made him an assassin.
Then Zev watched Nick piss himself when he was faced with Ernie.
But now… now he'd saved them? Worked to be here, ready and prepared?
Zev blinked and they were back here, in the present day and with so much water under the bridge.
Nick was still staring at him, a hint of pleading in his eyes.
Zev shook his head and sighed. "Thank you for saving us. Saving Zan."
Nick's eyes lit up. "That's what you're calling him? Zan?"
Zev nodded. "I'll always be grateful for your help, Nick."
"Call me Grandpa."
Zev didn't even huff. "No, Nick. I'm grateful for the good you brought into my life, but that doesn't mean you're good. It means God used you in ways I needed." Then he leaned in until they were nose to nose. "But you are a fucking psychopath."
Nick sighed and looked pained. "I believe it's called a high-functioning sociopath? I mean, I have feelings. Just not all the time."
Zev shook his head. Sasha crowded closer to his back, as if she didn't want him to forget that she was there. Or maybe, she was using him as a shield between Zan and Nick? It didn't matter. He'd happily die for either of them.
And it was fucked up that the man he'd called father was the reason he felt like he might have to.
Nick was peering around him, trying to catch sight of Zan in Sasha's arms, but Zev just shifted his weight to make sure he stayed in the way. Nick's eyes rose back to meet his. Zev could feel the tension in his face, but he tried to keep himself as expressionless as possible.
"When he's grown up, I'll tell him about you. How you saved his life. Ours. But I'm telling him everything, Nick. He's going to learn from me the lessons you should have taught me. What I learned the hard way, he'll hear from the minute he's old enough to understand. He'll never be deceived by anyone the way you've deceived me. Ever."
Nick's throat bobbed and he nodded. "That's good, Zev. You'll be a good dad."
Zev snorted, the desire there to growl, but he wanted to keep the peace, to keep Zan calm, and just so they could get out of there without any more drama.
"Thank you, Zev," Nick said softly. He reached for Zev's arm, but Zev pulled it away, a warning in his eyes and he nodded again. "I… You kept me decent." Zev gaped at him until he flapped a hand. "Okay, fine, you made me more decent than I would have been without you to take care of."
"Newsflash, Nick, separating a kid from everyone he loves, who loves him, isn't love, you fucking—"
Sasha's warm hand appeared on his back and he stopped himself.
Let's just go, she murmured in his head. It's good that he thanked you and you thanked him. Let's just go and start our new life. He's not going to be a part of it, Zev.
Zev sighed because the words were such a relief, he wanted to weep.
She was right. She was almost always right.
"It's time for us to go, Nick," he said.
Chapter 478
Nick nodded but watched him warily. "I figured. That's okay. That's good. I'm glad you kids are getting out together. Just… think of me sometimes, okay? Not just the bad stuff."
Zev didn't answer. It would be one of his goals to think about Nick and the team as little as possible.
They started to turn towards the cave, but Nick cleared his throat. "I'm going to let you go, but… can you just tell me, out of curiosity, how did you get the Chimera out? I mean, obviously, you used the Gateway. But… where did you send the rest of them? Do you even know? I mean, if you just told them to go that… hella ballsy."
He glanced at Sasha behind Zev and there was a hint of respect in his gaze that surprised Zev. But there was no way Zev was answering that question.
He opened his mouth to say it was none of his business when the crunch of tires on gravel reached his ears from the distant parking lot. At this time of night, the only sound out here was the even more distant highway. If it had been a small vehicle, Zev doubted he would have heard it over the highway noise. But this was something large, with airbrakes. And there was more than one.
"Fuck. Trucks."
Nick's eyes widened. "Get going. Now."
"What's going on?" Sasha whispered.
"Transports," Zev said. "Either they think there are people here to take, or they've figured out what's going on and they're sending a bunch of humans through to Thana."
Sasha's face paled and Zev nodded.
"Goodbye, Nick," Sasha said awkwardly. "Thank you for your help. We won't forget that. Despite… everything else."
But Nick was nothing if not practical. He was already pushing them to get into the cave and move ahead of him. "Yeah, yeah. I won't forget your sass either, Sasha. Good job taking Thana and the Chimera by storm, by the way. Well done."
Zev growled at him when he patted her shoulder, but Nick just rolled his eyes.
He stopped at the entrance to the cave but watched them walk in, calling good wishes after them. It was the strangest moment in Zev's life, but there was no time to analyze it because they had to get out of there.
Seconds later they were at the back of the cave. He and Sasha both stopped and turned to look at each other. Zev had taken Zan to carry through. Sasha swallowed hard and linked her arms through his lower elbow, putting one hand on Zan as well.
"Please, God, please," she whispered, then looked up at him to see if he was ready. "Can you see it yet, Zev? The whole plan? You aren't out of his love. You aren't condemned. But… I kinda think it's important that you believe that. It's… it's not just about being kind. It's… understanding the truth."
Zev blew out a breath. "I think I can," he said. Then he looked down at Zan. "I can't see any way any God could make him and not care what happens to him."
Sasha nodded, her eyes filled with tears.
Tightening his elbow to pin her hand to his side, he turned to face the Gateway, but his words were pointed up.
"Creator… if you really love us, please… keep us all together. Please… hold our little boy safe with us. Let us take him through. All of us together. And get us there."
Sasha breathed an Amen, then they stepped in together and the Gateway flashed with light.
The trip through the gateway passed in a blur. When the lights finally turned a corner into a tunnel, Zev almost cried with relief, and when they finally reached the gateway itself, they barely hesitated.
"I'm going first," he said, his voice low and firm. "You follow with Zan. If there's any kind of threat on the other side, you let me meet it."
Sasha's mouth dropped open. "But—"
"Sasha… for real, just… let me do this."
She took a deep breath and nodded, rubbing his arm. "Okay. Okay."
He didn't want to let go of his son, but if there was any fighting to be done on the other side, he couldn't let Zan be hurt. So he transferred him quickly to Sasha's arms, then, still holding her arm, kept her behind him as he stepped through, Sasha holding Zan tightly, but also pressing into Zev's back.
Together, they stepped out of that rippled, indigo blue glass tunnel and straight into a lush forest, damp with recent rain.
Then they froze, listening. Zev scenting the air.
His entire body hummed with tension, his instincts on high alert—nothing smelled the same. The trees. The dirt. Even the air seemed different. Fresher somehow. But with nothing recognizable, everything could be a threat, and he had a family to protect.
But a slow scan of the trees and forest floor revealed nothing but more trees and more dirt, more underbrush. There were small animals nearby, birds and mammals, but all could smell the wolf that had just appeared and were remaining still to avoid his attention.
Zev took his first real breath and turned a slow circle, motioning to Sasha to stay still.
The forest was beautiful and wild and completely unknown. Thick trees like tall buildings with massive, leathery leaves and branches wider than Zev's waist, interspersed with every kind of leafy green tree imaginable—but no pine that he could see.
There was a water source somewhere nearby, he could hear it gurgling, but couldn't see it—and he could smell the faint waft of mineral pools, too. A welcome familiarity.
Looking overhead, the tree canopy was thick and didn't allow for a great view of the wider landscape, but through the gaps, he could make out mountains in the distance that looked browner than those in Thana. The sky was a wide, clear blue, the clouds bare puffs to skate across it.
Then, somewhere to his right, at the edge of his hearing, he caught voices.
Zev began to tremble with hope.
Sasha stood at his side, looking left and right, clinging to him desperately. "Can you… smell anything?"
"Lots of things," he whispered. "And I can hear voices."
Sasha's breath got faster, but her lips twitched up. "That has to be them. Which way?"
Zev nodded in the direction, frustrated that they would be walking with the wind and he wouldn't scent anything ahead of them, but he opened his mind to search for his brother or any of the wolves if they were in range.
He and Sasha smiled at each other. Then he took the first step forward into their new world—and almost immediately a figure materialized out of the trees ahead.
A figure they did not recognize.
Adrenalin shot through his chest and he shoved Sasha behind him, taking a defensive stance and growling—until he realized that although the figure was only a few inches shorter than him, it was female. And Chimera.
Sort of. Her smell was both right and wrong.
Zev froze on the trail, inhaling deeply, watching the female warily. Was it possible they'd come back to the wrong place?
The female kept her chin down, her eyes—a bright blue like his—fixed and intense. Her nostrils flared as if she was taking their scents as well. He could hear her heart beating quickly, but not out of control.
"Who are you?" Her voice was rich and deep for a female and it urged him to submit. Zev was shocked by the strength of the Alpha authority she carried.
Her hair, a burnished copper, shot sparks where the sun hit it. She wore leather trousers and a linen shirt and held herself in the way Zev remembered of the human rulers, but with the sharp air of precision poised for battle, like a Chimera. There was a blade at her hip, and some kind of bag over her shoulder.
While they stared, she gave a low whistle. Zev heard very quiet—almost silent—footsteps creeping through the trees towards them.
He let his weight sink to balance himself and prepare to fight.
They wouldn't outnumber her for long.
"We don't mean any harm," Zev said quickly, then sent to Sasha in his mind: if they attack, you take Zan and run! "We're new. We just arrived. Have you always lived here, or did you come here through the Gateway like us?"
The female's eyes widened. "The Creator brought you here?"
"I believe so. Can we… Can I ask who you are?" Sasha asked very submissively. Zev wanted to growl The female's eyes narrowed and her body tensed. Zev recognized the stance of a warrior and immediately shifted his weight to the balls of his feet. She could definitely shift. He could smell it on her. But she was a species he didn't recognize. Had the team bred some new animals recently and kept them among the females without his knowledge?
"Gateway?" she said suspiciously. "I will ask you one final time before I take your throat, wolf. Who the hell are you, and how did you get here?"
"The Creator brought us here. It's our… safe place," Sasha piped up from behind him. "Aren't our friends here, too?"
The female's eyes widened. "The Creator brought you here?"
"I believe so. Can we… Can I ask who you are?" Sasha asked very submissively. Zev wanted to growl for how she humbled herself.
But the female dropped her chin in a nod of approval, and as a silver-haired male stepped out from the trees behind her, she smiled the smug smile of a person with the upper hand. But as she spoke her smile gained an edge of warning. "My name is Elreth and I am the Queen of the WildWood… Now, who the fuck are you?"
Chapter 479
Wow, I can't believe we made it! You are amazing.
For real, this book was a huge stretch for me. Despite the similarities of shape-shifter-goodness with Anima, the reality is that this book leaned heavily into contemporary thriller and tickled the toes of science fiction. When I first started writing it my husband asked me to describe the plot and I got as far as, "He's a guy who can shape-shift into a wolf because he's a scientific experiment run by the Bundaberg group and—"
And ever since my husband shakes his head every time something happens with Alpha and says "I just never expected your readers to want to go the CIA thriller route." (You and I both know that's really only at the heart, but I kinda like surprising him, so let's run with it.)
Anyway, trust me, I had a LOT of apprehension about this story and whether readers would take to it. Publishing for the first couple of weeks was literally nail-biting for me. To my very genuine surprise, right from the beginning instead of screaming at me, "Where's the romance?!" you kept talking about how breathless you were from the fast-pace and shifting worlds.
INSERT MASSIVE AUTHOR SIGH OF RELIEF HERE. (Like, for real, I still go a little shaky when I think back to those first few days…)
So, thank you for taking this very unique journey with me. Thank you for not giving up when things looked so dark.
Thank you for having your theories and sharing them with me in the comments (that's a serious joy to me!)
Thank you for loving Yhet with me, who remains my favorite character in this entire story (more on that in the Author Q & A that's coming next week) and for not going "WHY THE HELL DID YOU WRITE A BIGFOOT?" when he showed up.
Thank you for hating Nick, and loving Ernie. (For real, it was a belly-laugh surprise to me when y'all started calling for Ernie's later appearances and torture of Nick.)
Thank you for loving Zev even after he was deceived into so many despicable things. That is, perhaps, the most heartwarming part of this story to me, that he had taken steps and gone to lengths that in normal humanity we would often reject a person for, regardless of the circumstances. While I am, of course, NOT a fan of any of Zev's extra-curricular adventures, there are people in my life who have been twisted into events and "sins" that they deeply regretted. I know how precious it is when someone will love them anyway, and I'm so thankful to you that you didn't run screaming from this book after Zev's past was revealed.
And finally, just thank you for being here with me. For me as an author, literally the most satisfying part of a story is having it out in the world and getting to talk to people who love it. The fact that you do makes me feel loved. For real. So thank you.
I'm going to answer your specific questions during the Live author chats, and post the brief, written versions here later. But for those of you who've been here since the beginning (or close to it) I want to say thank you, personally. Now, I know many of you don't comment, or don't comment often, so you may have been just as loyal, or just as invested as these readers without me knowing or realizing. I want you to know that even if I don't know your name, I know you're there, and it means so much to me. Thank you! Thank you for being here, reading, and for supporting me as an Author.
Now, without further ado, the reader shout-outs:
Janell_Apple: Thank you for having as much emotion and investment in my characters as I do. For real, you are a gift to me. I pray God blesses you for the gifts you've given me.
PBMamaRae: Thank you for being a sister, a helper, an encouragement, and just for helping me write better. (Or help me know when I don't have to?) You are my safety net, and it's a balm to my soul.
Sravanthi82: You're a friend and I'm glad to call you that. Thank you for being here for Zev and Sasha and everyone else! I'm so glad I get to keep sharing my boys with you even when they're not on NovelFire. Thank you for being so willing to go with me!
Antonette_Wiggins: My giggle-factory! (*Insert cue-dramatic-music GIF here*) I always anticipate your comments, both here and on Facebook and Discord. Thank you so much for being more than a reader.
Kirstin_Peterson: Girl, you are my heart. Thank you for trusting me and for being a friend and not a fan. You remain in my prayers.
Amanda_Tippey: THANK YOU for adding your eagle eyes to my arsenal before the judging for the werewolf competition. That was a gift, and such a stress relief. You'll never know what a blessing you were!
Tessa_Whalen: I think you're my spirit-animal. I'm just saying.
DespinaNY: Your generosity and continued support have humbled me in ways you'll never know. You're an example to me, and I'm so grateful for ALL the journeys you've taken with me.
Metal_Mom: You never fail to make me laugh. Like, never. 1om: You never fail to make me laugh. Like, never.
Thank you also has to go to Melissa_Hayes, Cindi_127, Margaret_Mason_7304, Kendal_Michalak, Nyx1663, April_Guerita, Kathleen_Blessing, Amy_Spicer_Szarek, CarolineBarkuloo, Rose43, Annachomer, Daoist1twLHF, Veraworks, Maria_Daris, T_Ray6, Michelle_Stephens_4041, Sharne Pretorius, Debbe_Phillips, KaitMarie2003, Aoi_hoshi_cath88, Mariela_Valencia, and so many more of you who have continued to come back for more. (I am CERTAIN I have forgotten important people…) You bless my heart on a personal level just for being here and believing that I can take you on a journey. Thank you!
If I left your name out, just be certain that when I see you next I'm going to kick myself. My brain has holes the size you could drive a truck through (writing 4 webnovels at once last year aged me about 10 years, lol.) Please be certain that if you were forgotten, you weren't truly. You are a part of my personal journey as a writer here on Webnovel, and I am grateful every time I see or think about you.
Now… it's time. Time to move on to other things. There will be some new content coming in the next couple weeks. I hope you like it. But if you haven't already, I hope you'll visit linktr.ee/authoraimee and meet the two NEW heroes that I'm currently writing off of Webnovel (*cough* one of them is a lycan *cough*) But even if we never see each other again, if you made it this far… thank you. You have been the most important part of changing my life in the past year and I will go to my grave being grateful for you!
Chapter 480
Lhars excused himself from the training circle when the others were busy and slunk into the nearby trees. Once he was out of sight and no one had called him back, he shifted and ran back towards the encampment.
He'd told Kyelle to meet him in the cave for lunch.
Lunch.
He snorted to himself.
Even in his wolf, his body responded to thoughts of his mate. His beautiful, incredible mate who had only stepped from strength to strength since they'd left Thana.
Sasha had named her Alpha and Lhars her second, and while he'd applauded the decision for Kyelle's sake, he'd had a niggling sense of disappointment that she hadn't named him. And yet, he'd seen the wisdom in it almost immediately.
The females who'd arrived from the human world were so weak by comparison to their brothers who'd remained in Thana—in body, at least. It was why they ran training every morning. Every female choosing the things that drew her—hunting, fighting, gathering… Kyelle had made the decree on the second day. The Chimera would not hide from this new world. The females would not shrink. Each of them would pursue something. Whatever would give them a reason to rise from their furs in the morning.
She'd set males with skills in all areas of Chimeran life to the task of teaching and training. And even now, three months later, it was what they gave most of their time to, serving the dual purpose of building their new home and equipping their females for life within it.
Three months. Almost. He couldn't believe it.
He couldn't believe Zev and Sasha hadn't made it. His chest ached whenever he thought of it. He prayed every day that they were only seeking their son, or held up in some way that didn't involve the human Team, or death.
But if they could travel through time didn't it mean that they would have returned to the time when everyone arrived? Wouldn't they have focused on Kyelle just like the rest of them?
A whine pierced his throat. He shook off the sad thoughts. He was going to find his mate. They were here together, and safe. If others had been lost in the pursuit of that… he would live grateful to them. He would make certain that every Chimera living now, or later, knew their names and what they'd done to save their people.
Yhet. Sasha. Zev…
Lhars turned to pass between one of the massive trees and a boulder that had fallen from higher in the foothills where the cave was nestled in the darkness of the forest.
As soon as he did so, the wind hit his nostrils and he could smell his mate, waiting for him. Even in wolf form he smiled.
He shifted back before he reached the cave mouth, reaching for her in his mind.
I hope you're hungry, beautiful.
He heard her snort and he grinned, then stepped into the darkness of the caves.
The tree cover in this land was far thicker than Thana, it dimmed the light dramatically in certain parts of the forest, and here where the cave sat in the foothills of the mountain as well as under the trees… well, it was always twilight here. Not that their senses struggled with that, but Lhars always had to be careful. Once he'd made love to Kyelle it would be easy to drift into sleep in the dim light.
The cave curved, and she was there, gloriously naked and stretched out on the furs.
This world was far warmer than Thana, and one of the joys of it was that his mate wore far less clothing in general. But especially when they were alone in the cave.
With a dirty chuckle, he trotted across the space and threw himself onto the furs next to her, growling and burying his face in her neck as Kyelle cackled and pretended to push him off.
But he refused to be budged, rolling her onto her back and taking her mouth with a low growl of pleasure.
After minutes of kissing and touching, Lhars began to kiss his way down her neck when she tipped her head back and ran her fingers down his scalp, which was the most delicious feeling.
"We don't have a lot of time," she gasped, then her breath caught because he nipped at her throat.
"You're Alpha and I'm second. They can wait until we're ready for… whatever," he rasped against her skin, then took her mouth again.
She giggled into his kiss, but not for long. Soon she sighed and pulled her head back again as he covered her and let himself sink between her thighs.
"I'm serious though, Lhars. I shouldn't even be here. One of the females is missing."
He froze, his mouth open over her throat, his drive to take her suddenly doing battle with his sense of protection.
He pushed up on his elbows to frown down at her. "Who?"
"Harth."
Lhars swore. "She ran again?"
"I don't think she runs to run away… but she's gone again, yes. And this time no one's sure they've seen her since last night. There's a couple who thought they saw her at breakfast but they didn't speak with her and… we just aren't sure."
They stared at each other, both of them battling the selfish desire to stay close to each other while their sense of duty sprang to the fore.
"She's gone many times before and she's always come back."
Kyelle nodded and stroked his face. "That's the only reason I'm here. I still hope… I hope she just needed a break and she's on her way back already. But… I feel like I can't just ignore this, Lhars. Something is building. She's just a symptom of it. We're going to have to start branching out deeper into this world. The hunters are already afraid they'll remove too many of the wildlife if we don't extend their boundaries. And the shelters… they're only temporary. We can't be sure, but it seems like the season will change soon. We need more permanent shelter for everyone if it snows here, or there's a rainy season…"
With a heavy sigh, Lhars rolled off of her to lay at her side, staring at the cave ceiling, one arm curved under his head.
Kyelle rolled to rest her head on his other shoulder. "Don't look sad," she said. "We've been here three months and everyone's still safe. This is a good place, Lhars."
"I know. But I just… I just wish Zev and Sasha were here to share it. I was just thinking about them on my way here and thinking how she knew we'd need you in this place, Kyelle." He turned his head to look at her. "You're a remarkable Alpha," he said quietly.
Kyelle's face pinched with emotion and she stretched up to kiss him—more slowly this time, but the heat built quickly and he couldn't resist it. As she teased him with her tongue, he rolled over her again, his breath beginning to pant.
"Kyelle, are you sure?"
"Twenty minutes," she gasped, pulling him against her. "No one's going to die in twenty minutes."