Chapter 18
Hail
That night, I lay awake listening to Allie breathing beside me, her words from dinner echoing in my mind. Her fierce determination to create, to build permanence through pottery, wasn’t about finding a new hobby. It was about reclaiming the part of herself that had been stolen.
I understood why she’d cried over that lopsided bowl. It represented everything she’d lost and was fighting to get back. The courage it took to open herself to art again, to vulnerability, humbled me.
All my instincts screamed at me to claim her fully, to make her mine in every way possible. The urge was so strong it made my hands shake with the effort of restraint. But she needed time, needed to feel safe before taking that final step.
I could wait. I’d wait forever if that’s what she needed. But lying here beside her, breathing in her scent, feeling the warmth radiating from her small body was the sweetest torture imaginable.
She looked so peaceful in sleep, free from the worry lines that had become permanent fixtures during her waking hours. Iwanted to smooth them away with my fingertips and kiss every trace of fear from her features until she never knew worry again.
She needed rest, and I needed to stay alert.
Tressa lay on her bed in the corner, her ears twitching at every sound from outside. Even in sleep, we were all on guard. The wolf lifted her head, meeting my eyes in the darkness, and I saw my own protectiveness reflected there. She understood what Allie meant to us both.
My mate shifted beside me, murmuring in her sleep, and my heart clenched with love so fierce it bordered on pain. This incredible female had walked into my quiet life and turned everything upside down in the best possible way. Before Allie, I’d thought contentment was enough. Now I understood the difference between existing and truly living.
Dawn came, bringing with it another day spent pretending everything was normal while dangerous people hunted the most important person in my world. The thought of Will Carmichael’s operatives out there, planning their next move, made my jaw clench with barely suppressed rage.
I slipped out of bed without waking Allie. She looked tiny in our big bed, her hair curled across the pillow.
After dressing quietly, I headed to the kitchen to start the kettle for tea. The familiar routine of measuring herbs helped calm my nerves and gave my hands something to do besides shake with the need to protect what was mine.
Greel was supposed to meet me at six for our morning patrol, a routine I’d established with whoever was standing guard overnight.
The knock on my back door came on time. Greel looked as serious as I felt, his instincts on high alert. He’d sleep today, and I hoped he’d sleep well.
“Ready?” he asked, his voice low to avoid waking Allie. “Ostor’s near the barn, watching.”
“I am. Let’s go.” I turned to Tressa standing in the hallway, her gaze sliding between me and my brother. “Keep Allie safe.”
Tressa gave me a low whoof and padded back to the bedroom.
We rode our sorhoxes in silence through the early morning mist, taking the long route around town to approach the town. The streets were empty except for a few early-rising tourists heading to Sel’s bakery for fresh pastries.
Everything looked normal as we swept past Main Street. Storefront windows gleamed in the morning light, and the flower boxes in front of each bloomed with a profusion of colors.
“Quiet,” Greel said softly. “Maybe they won’t come back. Maybe they’ll give up.”
Neither of us dared believe that.
We were about to turn back when something along the tree line caught my eye. I dismounted, pulled my sword from its sheath, and strode in that direction, Greel following on foot with his own blade in hand.
Inside the woods, I followed the tracks of more than one person, weaving around thick clumps of brush and climbing a short rise. At the top, I stopped, ducking behind a large tree. Greel did the same.
“You saw,” he said.
I grunted.
A large tent had been set up in the small gully between this hill and another beyond. It was a great place to hide. If I hadn’t noticed the bent grass along the tree line, I wouldn’t have thought to look further. Even then, most people would’ve assumed deer or maybe a bear had flattened the grass.
Deer and bears didn’t erect tents.
We watched the area, but it appeared deserted, so we went down to look around. This may not be from Will and his men. Random strangers could’ve drifted in, set up the tent, anddecided to make this their new, temporary home. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Random strangers didn’t leave intricate maps of the town in a locked trunk inside their tent, however. Or weapons in the same trunk.
