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As we drew nearer, she pointed at the ground. I saw bear tracks, already being washed away by the rain but still visible. They led from the opening of the cave.
“Stay here,” I told the others. “We’ll be right back.”
When I stepped in, the immediate relief of not having rain pound on my head almost made me groan with delight.
Kira came close, pressing her lips to my ear. “If we see anything, unload on it.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
The cave went back almost fifteen feet before turning at a near-ninety-degree angle. There, we found the end, along with two more feral bear shifters. Whether they’d smelled us or heard our footsteps, they were rousing themselves from sleep before we’d fully realized what we found.
Kira and I backed away, turning the corner and retreating to the cave entrance. Both bears roared at our unwelcome visit and broke into a run. Kira and I leveled our pistols and unleashed fiery death on both of them. The one I aimed at was a grizzly larger than any I’d ever seen before, and it took the entire clip to put him down. Thankfully, he collapsed at my feet, unmoving, as the slide on the gun locked back.
Kira had killed the other bear. She gave me a look and nodded, her mind still locked in operative mode. It was amazing to see how she could compartmentalize everything and stay on track. I didn’t have that same killer instinct she had. I was good at what I did, but Kira was better.
We dragged both bears out of the cave and left them with the other one she’d killed a few minutes before. The things weighed a ton. By the time we were done, the four others had made their way into the cave and had settled at the back, huddling together for warmth.
Kira and I joined them, and instead of settling down to rest, Kira checked on the wounded. I watched her as she checked Abel’s broken foot and many gashes and wounds, moved to examine Gavin and his injury, and then made sure J.D. was comfortable. Finally, once everyone was settled and as safe as she could make them, the mask dropped, and I could see how wiped out Kira was. It wasn’t only the exhaustion that had her looking tense, though. I knew it also came from our location. We were in a cave, similar to the one I’d found her in all those years ago.
“I’m going to sit at the front,” Kira said. “Keep watch right by the opening. I still have three bullets left in this pistol.”
“No,” Chelsey said, pushing herself to her feet. “You’ve done enough. I’m not hurt. I’ll be the lookout. You and Wyatt need to rest.”
Kira was shaking her head to disagree, but before she could voice her dissent, Gavin rose as well.
He gestured toward Chelsey. “I’ll sit with her. I’m not that injured. We can keep each other awake. And you two really need to rest.”
I knew Kira well enough to know she wanted to fight, but her shoulders sagged in defeat. She handed the pistol to Chelsey. “Don’t rely on your eyes alone,” Kira warned. “Use your ears and nose. I know the storm makes it hard, but you might catch a whiff of something before it’s right on you.”
Chelsey took the gun and grinned at Kira. “Got it, boss.”
They left to man the mouth of the cave. Kira sat against the far wall, pulling her knees to her chest and hugging them close to her body. Abel and J.D. were still huddled together for warmth. I sat next to her, letting her be silent for several minutes before speaking.
“How are you doing?”
She looked at me blankly before shrugging. “As good as I can be, I guess. This is all kind of surreal, isn’t it?”
I thought about it for a moment, then nodded. “It does sort of feel like I’m still asleep.”
Kira snorted a laugh. “I mean, what, two hours ago, I was asleep in bed in a mansion. A prize mate on a TV show, planning how to get everyone out alive. Now? Here we are. Huddled up in a cave with dozens and dozens of monsters hunting us across the island.”
“You know, those bunks we had in the alpha den weren’t super comfortable, but they sure beat the hell out of this.” I knocked on the stony ground.
“I’m serious, Wyatt. I’m not talking about missing the nice sheets and food. I mean that we were trying to bring the damn show down. At this point, who knows if we’ll get a chance? Von’s gone, the show’s over. There’s no way to get word to the outside world, and there’s a war going on.”
“I know,” I said. “But maybe that’s what all this is about. The war, the mansion, Von running? It all went down after your little speech. Maybe you did do what you planned to do.”
The expression on her face told me she wasn’t buying it. She didn’t have as much faith in herself as I did.
She changed the subject. “We can’t get ahold of Zoe, but our only chance to survive is getting to Haven. As soon as the storm lets up, we need to head out to look.”
“What’s Haven? Abel asked. J.D. stirred beside him.
Kira sighed deeply, then proceeded to tell them everything. Zoe being alive, the one-eyed wolf, Haven, taking the show down—all of it. While she laid out everything, I tried to take stock of where we were and what needed to be done. We needed to get everyone to Haven, but Kira was my main objective. Her survival was my priority. I also worried about my unofficial pack and Kolton and his parents, wondering how they were dealing with everything going on. Everyone Kira and I cared for was in danger, and we were helpless to do anything.
After a while, Kira stood and brushed her pants off. “It’s been a long day, and none of you had a good night’s sleep. Get some rest. I’ll take watch.” She glanced around at the stone walls with trepidation. “I can’t sleep in caves, anyway.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said.
