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n~ SASHA ~

nThe following days were a blur of grief and worry. Zev led Sasha from the pools to a small, hidden cave on the eastern side of the mountain, believing that the humans would come from the west when they approached, which meant they could safely build a fire inside.

nThey’d lost their ability to watch the activity in the valley, and that was making Zev even tenser. After his conversation with Horton, he took to patrolling morning and evening, looking for any sign that the humans were approaching and they needed to move again.

nHe admitted that he hoped they’d give up before they got that far, knowing the Chimera had never habited this side of the valley because of the lack of food sources to support a society. But he always said the words with a distinct tone of hopelessness.

nOnce, he took her high up the mountain—the climb took all morning—to a spot where she’d no longer be able to see clearly and so the humans themselves would be unlikely to spy their movement. From there, Zev climbed a tree to scan the valley, because his sharp eyes could still see form and movement near the cave.

nHe came down the tree and barely spoke, jaw flexing and hand tight on hers, he led her down the mountain as quickly as he dared.

nShe kept asking him in his head what he’d seen, and he kept saying nothing new—but that was the point, he explained finally. They hadn’t stopped searching. They weren’t giving up. They were persistent. Like rats.

nHis rage was white-hot and made Sasha afraid that he would be eaten up by it.

nWhen they finally made it back to the cave, she was exhausted, but Zev just paced and paced, like a caged… well, wolf, she supposed.

nWhen she asked him a question twice because he didn’t answer the first time, he snapped at her to leave him to his thoughts.

nSasha blinked and shook her head. Zev caught himself and stopped pacing, covering his face with his hands.

n“I’m sorry,” he murmured a moment later.

nSasha got to her feet and went to him. “Zev, you have to stop blaming yourself. We’ll get out of here. We will!”

nHe dropped his hands and stared at her, his beautiful eyes fierce and haunted. “How, Sasha? Do you realize we can’t even get to the Gateway right now? There are dozens of humans going in and out of the cave every day. If they don’t stop bringing people through, if they don’t stop going back and forth, we won’t even reach it without being captured. Have you thought of that?”

nSasha swallowed. She hadn’t thought that far, actually. He was right. 𝗇𝒪𝗏𝑒𝒍𝗎𝚜𝒷.𝚌𝑜𝓶

n“We’ll work it out. We always do.”

nZev snorted derisively and shook his head. He opened his mouth, his lips twisting like what he was about to say tasted bad. But then he caught himself again and turned away.

n“What? What is it?” Sasha pressed.

n“Nothing,” he growled and started for the cave mouth. “I’m going to go do a patrol and make sure no one’s showed up in the area while we were gone. Please stay here and don’t make any noise!”

nThen he stormed out into the evening dusk.

nSasha sat down on the thick log he’d dragged in for them to use as seats in front of the fire, and she wept.

n*****

nZev was always gone at least a couple of hours when he went on patrol, so Sasha made herself eat some of the berries and mushrooms they’d found, and put a new log on the fire. But she was exhausted from the hiking, and bored, and still felt like she could burst into tears at any moment.

nHer beautiful Zev was being broken by this. She could feel it in him. He was losing his sweetness and returning to the weapon they’d trained him to be—always focused on the danger, always looking for the out. It was ironic that it was the very threat that when he came back—so she could offer him some support—was a good idea. He’d wake her when he came in.

nhad made him, that now turned him against them. But that didn’t change that she felt like she was losing him, and they still had weeks in Thana before they could reach their son.

nHow was she going to bring him back?

nFeeling depressed and frustrated, she stripped off and got between the furs to keep warm that way. Zev was at least an hour away, and sitting her angsting about it all wasn’t going to help. She needed to get comfortable and relaxed and be able to offer him some kind of comfort or joy when he got back.

nShe took a deep breath. They needed to make love. That was part of the problem. If he’d just scouted and was feeling confident that they were still alone on that side of the mountain, hopefully she’d be able to convince him. They needed that connection. That sense of togetherness. And he needed to be reminded how much she loved him.

nNodding to herself, confident that this was the best plan and that as long as there wasn’t an emergency, she’d put all her effort into convincing him when he got back, Sasha lay with her head on her arm, staring at the flames as they crackled a few feet from the furs.

nHer eyes began to droop. At first, she fought it, but then she realized that being rested when he came back—so she could offer him some support—was a good idea. He’d wake her when he came in.

nSo she rolled over and let herself drift, thinking about all the delicious ways she could prove her love to him when he arrived.

nShe sighed and her body drooped. As sleep crawled over her, she let herself dwell on the memory of their time at Yhet’s cav, and his joy at having her. His smile. His gentle hands and bright tone.

nShe would bring that Zev back if it was the last thing she did. That was the true heart of her mate. He was losing it, but she was going to make sure he found his way back again. Or die trying…

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