Page 26 of Alpha Fate

One of the wolves, a big, red-pelted beast, gives a low growl.

“I’ll go out. Check that the coast is clear. Call you when it’s safe to come out.” Edirn straightens his posture. “They know me here. I won’t draw attention.”

“Because you’re one of them.” Gage’s eyes are flinty now. The red wolf’s growl becomes deeper. The sound is joined by the rumble of the silver-gray one beside him.

“I am.” Edirn doesn’t deny it. “But you can trust me. This shit is not what I signed up for.” He casts a look over his shoulder at me.

I aim a tentative smile at Gage. “It’s true. He’s a friend. You can trust him.” I don’t know why I believe this, but I do. It feels right.

Seconds drag by as Gage mulls this over. Finally, he gives a nod. “We’ll wait here. You screw us over, and I’ll kill you before anyone else.”

Edirn doesn’t respond; simply strides past Gage to the huge door we’d reached earlier. Without looking back, he cracks it open and slips out.

Gage rushes to me, grasping my shoulders and running an eye over me. “Fuck! Are you okay? What the fuck happened?”

“You came back!” I say again because I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe anything that’s happened in the past few minutes. It’s as if the nightmare I’ve been trapped in has suddenly swung into a different orbit.

“Of course I came back. I promised you I would.” Gage draws me to his chest without warning, and I’m engulfed in his arms. A tiny sob bubbles up my throat, but I shove it down. The relief is overwhelming, but we’re not nearly out of here yet.

We might never get out!

I shut down the little voice that’s determined to stifle any hope I might be fostering and focus on the warm, earthy fragrance of the man who’s still holding me. I want to soak it in.

God, he feels like home.

Wherever home may be. When he pulls away, I want to cling to him, but I don’t. He came back to save me, to keep his word. He’s a good man. A good wolf. But right now, that’s all he is to me.

No. He’s more. He’s my savior.

I try not to gaze at him like a starry-eyed fool.

Without releasing me, he turns me in his arms so that my back is pressed against his chest as he looks over at the wolves. “When he gets back, we make a break for it,” he says. “I know the way back out. We won’t be able to get through the fence we came in, but there’s a stretch along the boundary that’s clear.”

The wolves exchange glances, and I sense their unspoken understanding.

And then Gage is talking to me again. “When we open that door, I’m going to pick you up and run. Do you understand me?”

“I can run by myself,” I object. I feel like enough of a burden as it is – between the stranger who came to my aid and now Gage and these other males, I’ve been the focus of more attention than I know how to comprehend. So many people putting themselves at risk for me.

“I will carry you,” he says more firmly. “We need to move fast, and you’re not going to be up to it. You’ll slow us down, Savannah.”

“Savannah?” I say numbly. Not Sierra anymore, but something clicks in my mind.

He turns me slightly, raising my chin with his fingertip and looking down into my face. In the darkness, his eyes look like deep pools. “Yes…Savannah. Your name is Savannah Barr. And your sister, Sierra, is waiting for you back at Steel Lakes.”

I choke down another of those pitiful little sobs. “My sister? She’s okay?” I’m remembering the dark hair and the laughter again. I have a sister. I can see her so clearly now. Steel Lakes doesn’t ring any bells, but I don’t care. A piece of the puzzle has fallen into place.

“Yes, she’s fine.” Gage smiles. “And she’s waiting for you.”

I let out a sigh that feels like it takes several weeks’ worth of pain along with it. “That’s…good,” I say softly. “Was she taken too?”

“I’ll tell you everything later. Or she can tell you herself. I’m sure you’ll have a lot to catch up on.”

I nod, feeling a small smile form. Without realizing it, I’ve sunk against him, resting my head in the curve of his shoulder. If he objects, he doesn’t say anything. In fact, his arms tighten fractionally, and it feels better than anything I’ve felt in a lifetime.

The moment of comfort is shattered as the door creaks open, and Edirn pokes his head around the corner.

“What took you so long?” Gage hisses, which surprises me because it didn’t feel long at all.

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