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Anya shook her head. It was too late; she had gone too far to turn back now, and he would never allow this.
“Respond to his message,” she said painfully. “Say, ‘There is nothing to rectify.’”
Satin stared at her soberly for long moments before nodding and sending the message. A second later her eyes widened, she winced, then cut the link.
“Wow, Coyotes know how to howl,” she stated in awe. “That was a good one.”
Anya flinched. Coyotes howled only in rage as far as she knew.
“Let him howl,” Ashley growled. “This is his fault. Let him suffer.”
“Ashley.” Anya hardened her expression. “This is not his fault. He wanted to protect me.”
“Against what?” she sneered. “His own arrogance? What was there at Base to protect you from except his stupidity?”
She shook her head. “Tonight, I’ll ask that question. When this is over, I want the three of you to return here and stay secure until I know the punishment for this. I won’t have you suffering further.”
“Oh yeah, we’re just going to tuck our little tails and hide under our beds while our coya wades into danger headfirst again,” Ashley snorted. “Get real!”
“That’s an order, Ashley,” she said firmly.
Ashley leaned back. “I didn’t get the memo making you coya again. Technically, that order’s not worth shit, Anya. And even if I had gotten such a memo, you can forget it. Where you go, I go. Period.”
Anya inhaled roughly before turning to Sharone for help.
“I’ll not be taken from your side again, Coya,” Sharone stated. “Neither will Emma. We’ve discussed this and we agree. Whatever your punishment, we’ll share it.”
Would she have done any less? Anya knew she wouldn’t have, but it hurt to know that by nightfall, she could be sharing space with them in a cell.
“Hey, you gotta be tough to be a cowgirl, Coya,” Satin stated. “Get ready to pony up and ride. I want to be in place ahead of time.”
Anya rubbed at her arms. She had received the message earlier from her father that he and her cousins and the two scientists were in place and waiting to head to their meeting.
The spa on a Sunday was the perfect place to meet. It wasn’t overcrowded, but it drew a fair crowd from surrounding counties. The enclosed gardens were secluded and made for privacy and relaxation. Tea parties were held there as well as private luncheons at the time Anya would be there.
They would slip into the gardens and into the spot they had selected for this meeting. Alpha Gunnar would be given the location once they arrived, and he would move in with his enforcers.
She unwrapped the blanket and struggled to pull her shoes on.
“Coya, let me help.” Emma was there, taking the shoes from her and unlacing them before helping Anya slide them over her feet.
Her entire body screamed in protest at each move. The bruises from her fall, the broken wrist and the wound at her thigh were little when compared to the headache that blazed in her skull.
“Pony up,” she whispered achingly. “I’m tired, Emma.”
Emma stared into Anya’s white face and felt fear curdle in her stomach. She was a Breed that had never known fear until these past days, but she knew it now. Her coya was drained, freezing with a chill, running a fever. Emma could feel her pain, and she could smell something more that she couldn’t put her finger on, something that had her instincts screaming out in warning.
“They’re doctors,” she said, swallowing tightly. “They’ll fix you.”
“Can you fix a broken heart?” Anya asked, her uncasted hand reaching out to lay her palm against Emma’s cheek.
Anya had done that long ago, when they were children, when she had found the girls, dirty, sleeping on rags, naked. She had petted Emma’s face and promised her a bed. She had promised Ashley pretty clothes. She had promised Sharone that one day, she would smile. Anya had kept her promises even at the worst cost to herself.
Emma lifted her hand and touched her coya’s face then. Her friend. Her protector. “One day, you will smile again,” she promised.
The curve of Anya’s lips was sad, almost broken. “I hope you’re right. So.” She breathed in roughly, breaking Emma’s heart as she gathered her courage around her. “Shall we pony up, my friends?”
Satin Belle stared at the little human who fought to pull herself to her feet, despite her exhaustion. She inhaled slowly, made certain her senses weren’t lying to her, then made another call to her alpha.
