Pulsations started deep in her core and exploded outwards from there, dissolving into a million points of sensation, blowing her completely open as something brand new unfurled deep in her chest. A glowing dot nestled behind her sternum and declared itself to be home. As Cal’s orgasm flamed into life and he pulsed inside her, the remnants of her pleasure blended with his so that every last bit of tension in her muscles spun out into the universe and exploded into everything and nothing at all.
Nothing but this new version of Adeline Cabrese, this reborn Della, and the tiny particle of light nuzzled against her heart, whose name was Cal.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Cal
If Cal thought his middle-of-the-night flight from Morris Hill was harrowing, it had nothing on the return journey. They left the bulk of their supplies behind in the cave, bringing only weapons, water, and what little food could be eaten on the road. Despite this, keeping up a solid pace required constant struggle.
First off, they had to walk the entire way. What had been a half-day trip on horseback turned into an arduous most-of-the-day journey on foot. Second, the impending attack threatened like a gun to the back of the head. Cal nearly gave himself whiplash the entire trip, his head in constant rotation, all of his senses on alert. How far behind were the rogue Alphas? Did they have horses? Would he and Della be overtaken or run down? Nightmare scenarios, each one of them worsened by the fact that he now had Della in his care.
His sweet Della, in no condition for the strenuousness of the journey, marched on without a complaint. Despite her age, he’d never questioned her strength and vitality, but less than a week prior, she’d suffered a concussion, followed by an unexpected Heat that culminated in an aggressive mating and claiming. Even worse, the fresh mark on her shoulder pained her the entire way. Anxious to reach their destination, she never voiced discomfort, but her anguished winces grated like a broken rib inside his torso. He checked the wound at every single break they took (which weren’t many), his feelings a maddening mix of sympathy, guilt, and shameful satisfaction.
Painfully aware her body needed food and rest, several days’ worth of both, instinct screamed at him to abandon this foolish quest and tend to his mate. He could make a rudimentary shelter with pine boughs anywhere along the route. Build her a fire, rub her feet, and purr her into a deep sleep. In the morning, they could reverse course and return to their cave, giving Della a chance to rest. Then, in a few days, set out for somewhere new, hopefully somewheresafe. Forget about Morris Hill and the ingrates who cared not a whit about her there.
Except, that wasn’t quite true, and he knew it. Those two young Omegas had come looking for her, against all sense and reason and any basic awareness of danger. If he were their father, he’d be sorely tempted to tan both of their hides for such flagrant disregard for their own safety. They had no idea the depth of their foolishness, how lucky they were to ride off unmolested with those feral Alphas stalking them through the woods.
Those same feral Alphas who could, at this very moment, be stalking them.
Danger on their heels, danger waiting for them in Morris Hill. Danger loomed on all sides. Nausea crawled up his throat, bolstered by resurfacing memories of another journey, one that started out benign and ended in disaster. His father, dead. His mother, bereft. His village, broken. Him, banished. He’d lost every single thing he’d loved. One false step, and it all crumbled beneath his feet.
He glanced again at Della, the fear parked like an overloaded wagon on his chest. She belonged to him now. Defiance surged in his veins. She wore his mark, there was no changing it, and he would die before he let the Alphas of Morris Hill come between them. Dellawantedto be claimed. She’d asked for it herself, and with the tie that bound them together now, that faint thread linking his heart to hers, no remorse or regret emanated from his determined mate. Fatigue, hunger, anxiety, pain? Yes. Regret? None at all. If anything, he caught the edges of her defiance, rearing up in response to his, as if to bolster each other from the coming storm.
As night arrived, the peaks of the Morris Hill structures finally came into view.
Della stumbled at the sight, her hands hitting the ground with a dull thud as her body gave way to the fatigue and strain. His guts roiled in a bout of fresh anxiety and guilt. He’d thought her on the verge of collapse, but maybe she’d finally run clear off the end. Throwing off his pack, he dropped to her side, wrapping an arm to support her torso as she sluggishly righted herself. She dusted her hands against each other, her palms scuffed and bleeding in a few places. The muscles across his shoulders cramped with worry, and he fought down the urge to take Della’s stumble as a poor omen of what they were about to walk into.
“Come on.” He helped her to her feet, his heart clenching when she shot him a grateful look. The faint lines around her lips stood out in a face creased with worry, a reminder of her age and everything she’d survived to get to this moment. Trauma and loss and none of it her fault; she’d outlasted chaos and destruction and kept herself alive and whole only to give herself to him.
The significance of her gift hit him again. He knew she’d done it to save her village, to convince him to return, but he couldn’t help but believe there’d been more to it. The ease with which she’d offered it up to him, as if it hadn’t been far from her mind to start, made him want to believe she understood what he could give her beyond this current crisis: comfort, love, and safety.
Although, so far, he’d given her exactly zero of it. He rubbed his palm up and down her back, a brisk reassurance to himself as well as her. They’d deal with this, they’d manage the attack, and then they could have some fucking peace. He had to believe that. “We’re here, okay? We’ll go warn them like you wanted, all right?”
She clamped her hand on his forearm, the tight squeeze a sudden surprise. “Let me talk to them, okay? They’ll listen to me.”
“Della—”
Reaching up, she trailed her fingers alongside the swollen, inflamed mess of a claiming bite. “I have to get out in front of this and make them understand it isn’t what it looks like. They need to hear it from me. You have to trust me on this.”
He swept his gaze over her face, everything inside him revolting at Della leading the charge back into the settlement. In his soul, he understood there was no way through this but to battle the Alphas of Morris Hill for the right to keep his mate. He was the Alpha, heought to be in front. They would come for him in an attempt to protect her. It’s why he didn’t want to come back, why he would’ve preferred to stay far, far away from here.
But, if he’d done that, Della would’ve never forgiven him. Of that, he was certain, and the knowledge he’d have hurt her in this way made the choice for him. She’d submitted to his claim, she wore his mark, but it wasn’t enough. Their newly-forged bond tingled in his chest, her side a mess of hesitation and doubt about her feelings for him, and he could sense the way she held herself back from letting the connection blossom fully. She hadn’t made a mark on him, and to demand it at the time would have been greedy and brutish. It would have to come from her when she was ready. And, to be honest, he didn’t deserve it. Not right now, not like this. He’d held her hand and walked her back into the lion’s den. What kind of a protector did that?
Unable to resist, he bent forward, resting his forehead against hers and breathing in her wholesome scent, all sweet and floral and sweaty. “I trust you. I don’t trustthem.”
“Come on,” she whispered, patting his cheek. “Let’s get this over with.”
She moved to go, but he shot his hand out, circling her arm, hauling her back against his chest. “One more kiss, darlin’.” His lip pulled up at the corner. “For luck.”
He took her mouth then, savoring her plush lips and gentle tongue, and his chest risked caving in under the weight of all his feelings rushing to the surface. Clenching her clothes with his hands, he pulled their bodies flush, not wanting to relinquish an ounce of control as the moment rushed past him.
“Cal,” Della said against his lips, bracing herself on his chest and pushing him away, “we have to go.” She slid her palm along his tight jawline, and his heart broke all over again with the subtle affection in the gesture. “It’ll be okay.”
He did it then, his body nearly cramping with resistance, but he let her drift from his hold, his eyes glued to her back as she charged toward the village, wearing the pants he’d washed and returned to her before they evacuated their cave. After several days without them, he much preferred to watch her putter around with a bare lower half, but no way in hell would he permit any of these fuckers to see her that way. The pants sagged in the butt, evidence of the weight she’d lost in the course of the Heat and the consequence of living rough. Another thing he’d need to remedy once this night was over.
“It’s dinnertime,” she explained over her shoulder, legs pumping faster with a renewed burst of energy. He hoped there would be enough left over for Della to eat. “Everyone will be in the mess hall, which will make things easier. We can talk to them all at once.”
Cal grunted, not wanting to reveal his foreboding about the impending confrontation. In no time at all, they crossed the distance unimpeded. No posted guards, no watch, no security whatsoever. No wonder this rogue Pack planned an attack; Morris Hill had become complacent and took their safety for granted, and they were about to pay the price.