“What the fu—?” The woman’s shout of alarm turned into a wet gurgle as my wolf snapped for her throat, ripping it clean out.
Now that the threats were gone, I scrambled forward and knelt before the cage, my fingers gripping the bars until my knuckles turned white. My wolf leapt back into my body, giving me strength as I peered at Astra.
“Alpha, you came.” Astra smiled at me with her little dirt-caked cheeks.
I was so overcome with emotion that I couldn’t speak for a moment. “I heard your drums.”
“You had a baby.” Astra grinned, looking out of it and spacy. Her voice was weak and breathy.
Not wanting her to spend another second in this cage, I ripped outward until the entire door came off in my hands.
“I did have a baby,” I told her, reaching in the cage to pull her fragile body out. She was too light. Oh God, what had they done to her? “You want to meet him?” I looked down at her as she smiled up at me. “Come on.” I heaved her into a standing position but her legs collapsed.
“I can’t walk.” Astra frowned. “They … didn’t like it when I played the drums.”
A sob formed in my throat, but I swallowed it down. “They’re gone now. No one is going to hurt you ever again. I’m so sorry I failed to protect you.” I wept freely now, no longer trying to hide my emotions from her, no longer able to.
Astra reached up and cupped my chin gently. “You did it. Like I knew you would.” She went cross-eyed and her fingers fell away from my face.
Horror seized me and I shook her.
“Astra! Look at me!” I scooped her in my arms, realizing that she was near death. Running past Rab’s old house, now nearly leveled to the ground, I burst into the old birthing center, taking cover in case there were more Ithaki patrolling this place.
I’d been gone a year, I had no idea what the new rules and territories were. But from the looks of the ragtag group that had greeted me and the blackened crops when I’d come in, this place wasn’t exactly habitable.
I pulled out my water canteen and popped off the cap, putting it to her lips. When I tipped it back, she gulped it greedily, something coming alive in her gaze.
That’s it. Fight.
Next, I pulled out the last two pieces of smoked rabbit meat I had and gave them to her. Her hands shook as she shoved them in her mouth, chewing ferociously.
Were they starving her? Fresh rage boiled inside of me, but I shoved it down.
“There you go. You’re okay now.” I smoothed her hair, which felt matted, and I had to swallow down my anger even more lest it blind my ability to properly care for her.
“I’ve been gone a year … can you tell me what happened?” I asked her, wondering if she was aware enough to tell me what had gone down in my absence.
She grabbed my canteen, drinking more water to wash down the final hunk of rabbit, and then nodded.
“A week after you left, Sage went looking for you. A week after that, the Ithaki raided the village. Rab and a small contingent of others fought, but…” Her eyes dropped to the ground.
“But what?” My body stilled.
She swallowed hard. “But a lot died. And then Rab made the call to get everyone else in the bunker. He forced me to go too, but I ran away before they went in, came back to play the drums and wait for you.”
My heart couldn’t take much more. “Astra, you didn’t need to do that. I—”
She reached out and grasped my hand in a frail grip. “I wasn’t going to let you be lost forever. To come back to nothing.”
I leaned forward, pulling her into a hug, and we just held each other for a few long moments.
“Thank you,” I whispered as we finally pulled back.
She bowed her head deeply. “It’s been my pleasure, Alpha.”
This world didn’t deserve such an innocent and loyal person.Ididn’t deserve her. Astra was a Paladin national treasure that needed to be protected at all costs from now on.
“You want to go find the others now?” I asked with a slight smile. “I think it’s time we reunited the pack.”
