“I know you’ve been rutting that slut for years. I don’t blame you. She’s easy on the eyes so why not put her to use?”
I take in a quick breath. The voices of the other alphas in the pack agreeing with Alpha Ashford haunt me. They chase me right up the hill until my steps are sure and strong. I’m fast enough that I pass Lucian and his hunter. I keep running up the switchbacks and pass another of the Defenders and another. I’m fast enough that for a while the voices of Frostclaw are still and quiet.
I let out a deep breath and smile. Perfect. The rain and the sounds of the forest around us serve as the perfect escape while I keep running. My legs burn and my lungs scream, but still I keep running. It’s when I’m midway up what I realize is the very last switchback of the trail that I see I’m not that far from Thorne. I slow enough to look behind me and see the rest of the Defenders are two switchbacks behind and well below us on the path. I laugh in surprise. Holy hells. I’mfastfast.
That has my wolf perking up. She likes winning and snorts in approval at us beating the rest of them. That must catch the attention of Thorne because when I turn back around he’s watching me. Our eyes meet and just like that it’s like a mini lightning strike all over again. My body feels like the live wire in the laundry rooms that Keiran was tasked with fixing two summers back but accidentally hit with his screwdriver and shorted out the whole building. I still remember the way the sparks flew and everything went bright for a half second before the power went out.
This is exactly like that.
I forget to breathe until Thorne turns his back on me. I feel the loss of his attention immediately. It’s not easy but I muster up all the endurance I have left and sprint after him. He’ll have to look at me, acknowledge me, give words to what we did in the meadow if I’m right beside him, won’t he? I don’t know if he lets me catch him, I don’t think he does from how hard I have to try but I manage it. I surprise myself and him too, if the look he gives me says anything. But I don’t stop as I gain on him.
Like I said, my wolf likes winning and as much as she likes Thorne…she’s out for the win more.
Adrenaline hits me, the force of it lets me keep running. My lungs feel like they’re about to give out, each breath hurts more the last and the fire in my legs makes me see stars from how hard I’m pushing myself but I don’t stop. The path ahead of me is straight so there’s only one way to run. The path slants up just like it has for the past few miles. I keep pace and charge up the incline in front of me. I don’t know where the grace to not fall face first comes from when I catch sight of the mountain? Hill? Whatever land formation from hell that we’ve been running up comes into sight, but the end is finally coming. Praise Luna.
I keep running. I’m flying, feet moving on autopilot and when I make it to the top I laugh and turn to see tall, dark, and brooding five steps behind me.
Eat that, asshole.
The thought is quick and sharp. My laugh dies on my lips because where did that come from? I never think those things about anyone. Ever. I don’t have any time to think about it because the big shifter slows and comes to a stop beside me. He looks me up and down. The slow drag of his gaze has my body igniting like a tinderbox. I fidget under his attention while he gives me an appraising look.
“Well done.” His voice is low and gravely in the best way. He might not want me here but at least he respects me a little bitnow. I can hear it in his voice. Pleasure warms me up like the shot of whiskey Maud used to hand to me from her flask during the winter when we shoveled the path from her hut to the village. I’ve been in the storm so long that I’m cold now, even running and my shifter fortitude isn’t enough to keep me warm.
I shiver and nod at him with a tight smile. “Thank you.”
He hesitates and I think he’s going to reach for me like he did in the meadow, or at the very least say something that consists of more than a grunt and two words together but alas, he does not.
“Follow me.”
I nod and let him take the lead but not before looking back at the others. They’re still lagging behind but not so much. The humans have mustered enough energy to speed up. They have to know the run is almost over too.
“Is there an easier way to get here?” I ask before I can stop myself. “Or is it always that long of a run in?”
Thorne raises an eyebrow at me. “Get where?”
I gesture around us and then pause. “Well, Red River…I mean, that’s where we are, right?”
I’m not sure because it’s still just trees all around us. Tall pines that bend and sway in the rain. They make a wall but there’s a break in them and as I look closer I see a path made of river stones leading away from the break and forward towards Red River. I want to ask if he’s taking me to the Alpha now or later but I keep my mouth shut because we walk through the trees and I catch my first glimpse of Red River.
It’s nothing like Frostclaw.
The settlement below us is set in a valley. My eyes almost pop out of my head when I realize there’s a large building in front of a collection of cottages that reminds me of a fairytale castle. It’s as big as the castles in the stories Maud read to me when I was a wet behind the ears pup who sat at her feet until I dozed off.
The castle looks like it’s made out of moonstone. The pale stone reflects the moonlight and shines despite the storm. I should be impressed, since it looks like it should have a moat and drawbridge attached to it but it doesn’t and I’m not. Not when I see the massive tree behind it that makes the moonstone castle look downright humble. The tree is bigger than any other tree that I’ve ever seen. It’s so wide that it almost wraps around the castle. Its roots are raised and form a semi-circle barrier around the castle while the rest of the settlement perches above it on a hill I’m sure is only there because of how big the roots have grown. They push the land up, forming a network of rises and falls the settlement dots like a patchwork quilt.
The tree has to be centuries and centuries old, maybe more. My breath catches in my throat while I stare up at it. What’s older than a century? Maybe it’s as old as the mountain. It has to be. Broad and leafy branches stretch out and over the settlement below it. Like a protective mother’s embrace shielding its children from the world. With the tree standing guard over the settlement I can’t imagine a single thing that could ever get through to Bloodstone Pack. Strength and safety live here. It practically sings to me through the air. I take a deep breath in and the whisper of a memory comes to me. A woman holding my hand and pointing at the tree.
“That’s Thorne’s Embrace. All that rests in its shadow knows its blessing.”
I know this tree. Tears prick my eyes.
“Thorne will keep us safe.”
The memory unfurls in front of me like a scene from a movie. I can see myself holding her hand, the tree in front of me looks like it’s holding up the sky. She looks up at the sky and smiles. The fall of her dark hair smells like roses and when she kneels down beside me I bury my face in it. I feel so safe with her. She’s the strongest wolf I know.
She smooths a hand over the top of my head.“I love you, Cordy.”
“Mama,” I whisper. It was my mother that brought me here on that bright summer day. I’ve never thought of her, not like this because I couldn’t conjure up images of her or what she sounded like. When I thought about her before, it was like she was gone. The memories I had cut right out of me until there was nothing left but an ache so I stopped trying to remember. It hurt too much. The only thing I had was that single old photograph. My hands tighten on my backpack. It’s there tucked in my clothes for safekeeping. My magazine rests on top of it.
