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Chapter Eight
Alix
I watched Ivan walk away with Raven and my heart wrenched in two. Wolfe had his dirty fist around my forearm and my gaze tore toward him as I tried to quell my fury. I’d seen him fight and I was pretty sure I could take him one on one. I tensed, waiting for him to make the first move.
Despite my fury, I could feel Raven’s calmness but instead, I focused on the threat at hand. Wolfe.
“Stand down, city boy. I’m not going to fight you. Raven is safe with Ivan. He is her mate now,” he scoffed, before releasing my arm. Instead, he sat down on a boulder inside the den and ushered to me to sit down beside him. I did so hesitantly, investigating his features for any signs of mistruth, but I saw none.
I felt the pair bond pulse again. Could hear Raven’s giggle carry on the soft breeze not far from us. I gritted my teeth.
“If she gets hurt, I’ll kill you,” I threatened.
“Fair enough,” he answered, a small smirk edging at the corner of his lips. He leaned back, curling his fingers around his scruffy beard, studying me. He reminded me of a wild, dangerous savage. I’d have to be careful.
“You wander on dangerous land. Tell me why,” Wolfe began.
“We were here on a mission. Raven was the lead,” I explained. I watched his expression turn to one of curiosity and I continued.
I started from the beginning, telling the story of why and how we’d come to be out here in the wilds, that we’d been searching for the purple-flowered corydalis in an effort to complete Raven’s design of the most efficient suppressant known to man.
“Our instincts shouldn’t be smothered,” Wolfe retorted, but I continued on anyway.
I explained to him how the ship had broken down and we stopped to make camp. Then when I told him how we’d been attacked by an organized group of men and a fire beast of some kind, he sat up straighter, his eyes narrowing with alarm.
“Tell me more about this beast,” he questioned as his fingers toyed with a dagger at his waist. Even though I should be ready to defend myself, he made no move against me. Instead, he looked concerned.
I told him everything I knew, from how the men and the monster had killed our entire team when they attacked, to what the beast looked like and how it had destroyed every last dose of the injectable suppressant. He gritted his teeth.
“This isn’t the work of any of the tribes that I know,” he thought out loud. “This is different. Are you sure you didn’t recognize any of them?”
“No. None of them,” I responded.
“Could they be city born?” he pressed.
“I don’t know. The population is large, several hundred thousand people that live under the dome,” I answered, starting to grow more concerned myself.
“That was a deliberate attack. You two were singled out,” he observed, sitting forward with his elbows on his knees. His dark eyes met mine. “Our mate was a target. Why?”
For a long time, the two of us sat together as I explained more about the city. It was clear he didn’t have any idea how omegas were viewed in Tharia and indicated it was very different out here in the wilds. I told him that as far as I knew, Raven didn’t have any enemies, that she was well liked and highly respected among the Genwell community and by the public.
After I was done, Wolfe shook his head.
“She can’t go back. It’s not safe for her,” he said.
“Why don’t you think it’s some wild pack from out here?” I questioned.
“It doesn’t work like that out here. While we have territory disputes, we all fight man to man. None of us would even dream of using an Ignastia to fight our battles for us,” he scoffed. “Using a beast is a mark of a weak warrior. Any man would be ashamed to do so.”
“Ignastia?”
“The fire beast you mentioned. They’re trainable, like a dog but mainly only used occasionally for hunting. Never for battle,” he replied.
I studied him closely.
“We have to take her to my pack. Then she’ll be placed in protective custody and guarded by a strong group of betas until we can move to a safer compound. She’ll be safe there,” he said then.
His eyes spoke to his strength. As an alpha, I respected that and the more I thought about the attack, the more uneasy I became. What Wolfe said made sense and although I felt hesitant to believe him, I did.
