He could use mind control to erase her memory. Only the last few days. She would continue thinking he had died in the explosion. In stealth mode, he could return her to the lodge and she would think she had dreamt about the abductors and him. Give her false memories to account for the missing days. There must be a place safe from the nefarious pack where she could live a normal life. Damn. Yet, they had followed her all the way to the Himalayas. She’d been trailed from New Orleans. He could make her untraceable. How easily would they give up? There must be a few other women with Stallo’s genetic marker. Ones Howard and his team had not located.
Could they remain together away from all packs? Away from the LIA? Like this mysterious pack? No. Rylee would not leave any stone unturned. Anyway, how could he think of preventing Howard Becker from reuniting with his daughter?
The wind howled as the blizzard grew in intensity. Lev glanced at the cave. Tonight his goal was to prevent her from dying of hypothermia. He picked up the clothes and boots and dragged them to the cave entrance.
Lev shifted to human form and placed a hand on the packed ice. Heat emanated and slowly melted the entrance. He entered and smiled.
Bundled with extra coats, she looked up from the pot of boiling water. “I started to worry you had frozen, but then I heard you groaning or growling or a combination of both.”
“I was thinking aloud.” He entered and quickly covered the entrance with fresh snow, while giving her a good view of his arse.
“Cooking freeze-dried stew and I found this.” She dangled a bottle of brandy.
Lev smiled. “Not vodka, but it will do.” He donned the clothes he’d taken and added warm socks and boots.
She stirred the awful smelling excuse for food and gazed up. “Tell me you feel warmer.”
“I do.” In human skin, clothes always felt better.
“Good. Not sure if we plan on leaving in the morning, but I went ahead and cooked enough for four people. I imagine you eat like a horse, or rather a bear.”
He chuckled. “The biggest bowl of porridge for me, Goldilocks.”
She dug out bowls, mugs and utensils from the bin. “Let’s eat before hunkering down for the night.” She cocked her head. “That is our plan to leave tomorrow, right?”
“Yes, but only if the storm passes. Even I, Chernobyl Werewolf can’t guarantee you won’t freeze to death as we climb down.”
“As long as we leave before more werewolves arrive.”
“Agreed.”
“Those men who followed me to Namche, were they also werewolves? They weren’t among the abductors.”
“No. The bearded man and his two henchmen are humans. Most likely, they belong to that pack.”
“Okay, here we go again with this humans belonging to a pack deal. What’s up with that?”
“As I mentioned earlier, humans can be members of the pack, but for their own protection we say they belong to us.” Not exactly the truth, but at this point, he wanted to ease her into pack life. His idea of being on the run with her and hunted by Team Greywolf and the rogue pack no longer seemed appealing. He’d risk his life, but not hers.
They sat and ate, until she broke the silence. “Rule one, I don’t belong to anyone. Rule two, I will not be a breeder to improve bloodlines and rule three, I will continue to practice medicine.”
Little did she know, lycans made the rules and humans followed them. Better she learn the ropes from another human, like Mia or her father. Coming from him, she’d think he was an ass. “Dr. Becker is a respected comrade. We value your father as a research scientist and surgeon.”
“I suppose Howard is not the type to be owned.”
“Perhaps, you can practice medicine alongside him.”
“A possibility, except I’ve never treated werewolves.”
“We get injured but heal fast. We rarely suffer from human diseases such as cancer or heart disease.”
“From the werewolves I’ve known thus far, you look like the picture of health. I’m curious to meet more of your kind.” She poured them some brandy.
He swallowed the drink before narrowing his eyes at her. “Before we leave, I will mark you.”
Rachel sipped the brandy. She shuddered and signed. “What happens if you don’t mark me?”
He stiffened and glared at his glass. “The packs will order your execution. Unless, I can convince them I erased your memory.”