Trying to work fast and quietly was difficult. In a perfect world I'd chew the bars as fast as my jaws could handle it, but doing so would create obvious noise and alert the poachers. But working quietly slowed me down. In twenty minutes, I'd barely put a dent in the metal. If this were a tree instead, it would've been halfway to being felled by now.
"Hey, don't hurt yourself," River said as I paused to take a breath. "That must be awful for your teeth."
It was a small price to pay to save him, though it warmed my heart that he was concerned for my sake. "Don't worry about it."
We lapsed into silence as River sat back and watched me work. After a while, I couldn't tell if I was actually making any progress or just imagining the dents in the metal. I was starting to get worried. What if I couldn't break the bars at all? How was I going to free River?
I looked at the bars and frowned. The only thing I'd accomplished was scratching up the steel with surface-level marks. There were no divots, no deep cuts, nothing that indicated I could actually chew through them. My heart sank.
Plan A had failed. Now I needed to think of a Plan B, and fast.
"What is it?" River asked.
I grunted in frustration. "I'm sorry. It's not working."
River looked disappointed but not surprised. He slumped against the bars. "Well, thanks for trying." Then his eyes welled up with tears and he bit his lip. "What am I going to do?"
"I won't leave you," I said.
"But you can't bite through this cage."
"We'll think of something else. I promised I'd help you and I meant it, River."
"Why?" River asked again.
My heart flipped as I inhaled a deep breath. "Because you're my fated mate."
Shock crossed his face. For a long moment River didn't react. He rubbed his arms, clutching the makeshift blanket closer to his chest. Then he averted his gaze.
"Oh," was all he said.
I tilted my head curiously. That wasn't the reaction I expected. Had I troubled him somehow? If he was a fellow beaver shifter, he would've been jumping for joy at my confession, but River almost seemed wary.
"Did I say something to upset you?" I asked.
He shook his head, then met my gaze again without the flicker of wariness. "No, it's not important right now. I just want to get out of here."
"I know. We can do it."
River's reaction to learning he was my fated mate didn't bother me. He'd been through a lot of stress today and was exhausted. But I did wonder why he didn't seem happier. It almost felt like he'd heard those words before. Like he didn't believe me.
My pelt prickled with jealousy and anger. Had someone hurt River in the past? To lie about being fated mates was appalling. To beaver shifters, it was a total disgrace, the most disgusting lie you could utter.
But my feelings for River were real. I'd stay by his side and prove my love for him. I didn't care how long it took.
First, we needed to escape. And with the failure of my plan, that wasn't going to happen until I had some brilliant new idea.
"Castor," River murmured.
"Yes?"
"You should go."
I paused, shaken by his comment. "What are you talking about?"
He wouldn't meet my eyes. "It's not safe here. You shouldn't waste your time dealing with me. I'll figure something out by myself."
"No," I said firmly. "I won't leave you."
