Brook’s feminine yelp turns to a garbled scream as her vocal cords shift.
“They’re going to kill my brother.” She wobbles like a newborn lamb as she tries to stand.
“Stop Omega. Your body needs time to recover.” O Pulls her to his side.
“Please. Don’t let Canyon pay the price for my freedom.”
“We take care of our own here, Omega. No one will be left to die,” Danner promises. “Gather our men. We’ll—.”
“Midnight. H- he gave me until midnight.”
“I don’t care what he said. You’re not going.” I bark. “Even now, you’re struggling against going into a full-blown heat. We all smell it.”
She flinches.
Brook lifts her head, definitely. “You have to take me. You’ll never find the cave otherwise or get past the wards.”
“Little Cub. You chose now to grow a spine?” I ask sarcastically.
She lifts her head, jutting out her chin. “Family is everything.”
“She’s right. She’ll have to take the hormone inhibitor.”
“That's not safe for her,” O protests.
“It’s a chance I’m willing to take,” Brook’s pain-laced voice is full of determination and defiance. I want to put her over my knee and spank her into submission. My fingers twitch with the desire to reign her in. But her eyes sparkle with a fire I have no desire to extinguish.
“We need her, Lev,” Danner’s voice booms.
I put a chokehold on my inner wolf and give a curt nod.
Danner turns his attention to Brook. “We have a very short time to set a plan in motion. We need to know everything you can tell us about The Fellowship.”
Chapter4
I walk toward the yawning cavern of the cave, wondering If this will be the last thing I ever do. For a moment, I tasted freedom. I risked everything and discovered a truth I’d been too afraid to believe. If I lost my life tonight, it’d be in service of bringing change. I won’t turn my back on innocent people caught up in the lies we’d been brought up to believe. I want to offer them a chance.
Keep your mind on the plan.Lev scolds me.
Don’t forget we’re just behind you.O’s rich voice smooths Lev’s rough edges. Together, the men are a dream I didn’t know I had.Mates.The living embodiment of home. A collection of soul pieces that meld seamlessly. Denying someone this gift is criminal. Hooking my thumbs under the straps of my book bag, I carefully pick my way over the rocky ground. I struggle against the self-preservation demanding I turn around and flee as I see the shadowy world for what it is.
A heaviness has nothing to do with living at the center of a forest that sits over the land. Dank and Damp, the air is stale. Placing one foot in front of another, I slip past the entrance and enter the sacred space. Lit torches line the wall. Symbols carved and lined with blood glimmer with the odd darkness I choked up earlier. I turn my head away, afraid it’ll jump from the cave walls and try to latch onto me.
I smell the decomposition and feel the oily magic. It’s different from what I experienced at Wolf Canyon. Natural, uplifting, and restorative, it felt like returning home after years of wandering in a desert among enemies. Warmth and abundance highlighted our back. I shiver as the cold tries to slip through my lightweight t-shirt.
I hear the movement beforeheappears. Clay Richmond is too perfect. His golden wheat-colored hair falls artfully around his broad forehead, stopping shy of tumbling into his eyes. His dark blue eyes are fringed with long lashes, and his angular face and roman nose give him a regal appearance.
“I didn’t think you were going to come.”
I stop, already closer to him than I wanted to be.
“Where’s my brother.”
Clay chuckles darkly. “You don’t get to call the shots here.” He strides forward. “You’ve cost me a lot of money. Your little flight of fancy turned me into the laughing stock of The Fellowship.”
“Stop.”
Ignoring my protest, he uses his speed to appear before me. His overly warm hand grips my jaw tight. He squeezes hard, and I squeak, fighting against the urge to scream. I can’t call for help until we reach the heart of the cavern.