Page 57 of A Shadow of Betrayal

Creed smiles down at me and brushes a strand of hair away from my face before leaning close so only I can hear. “You must be careful what you call Lennox in front of the other Rangers. He will have to put you in your place if you do it too much, and I don’t want that to happen, alright? Save your anger for when you're alone, and you can kick him in the balls again.” I snort in amusement and look at Lennox, who continues to glare; only this time, he’s glaring at Creed. “Only I would ask that you wait so I can see you unman my brother. I haven't had the opportunity to do so yet, and I find the idea of you doing it hysterical.”

“I’ll try to make sure you are around when that happens because I have no doubts that there will be several more occasio—Ah! Hey, what the hell?” I shout as Creed suddenly falls into me, making the two of us tumble back into the snow.

Creed manages to tuck his arm around me, his hand cradling the back of my head before we land hard against the frozen ground. Creed's heavy weight lands on top of me, making the air whoosh from my lungs, and I gasp in pain.

“Shit! Fuck… shit! Meyer? Are you okay? What the hell, Nox?!” Creed snarls, pushing himself off me as fast as he can, shooting Lennox dagger-like glares. Creed stands and reaches down for me, his fingers curling around my arms. Not bothering to ask if I need help, he yanks me to my feet, then wraps an arm around my shoulder as Jordan tries to dart around Lennox to offer assistance.

“Get to your damn horse, Ranger,” Lennox grinds out, grabbing Jordan by the shoulder and turning him away from Creed and me.

“Meyer?” Jordan shouts, looking at me, and I nod and wave him off, taking a few deep breaths while leaning into Creed for a moment, biting my lip so hard I taste blood.

I can feel Lennox's gaze on me, but I ignore him, looking everywhere but at the infuriating man before Creed cups my jaw and makes me look up at him. “You okay, Lemon Drop?”

“Lemon Drop?” I ask in confusion. My voice strained as I push at Creed's arm and look up into his worried green eyes.

“Yeah, your name is Meyer… like a Meyer lemon?” Creed says, letting his arm fall from me before he tucks his hands into his pockets. “I thought Lemon Drop was cute,” he says with a boyish shrug, his curly brown hair moving over his forehead and making me smile despite the awful nickname.

“It’s really not,” I tell him, then let out a breathy laugh when Creed pouts a little.

“Everyone mount up!” Lennox shouts, stealing my attention and making me forget I was ignoring him. I look up and find him watching me with furrowed brows before he looks over my shoulder to Creed. “Take those three to the beginning of the relay,” he commands, pointing to two other Rangers and me. Lennox then looks to Razar, instructing him to do the same for four other Rangers before he walks over to a giant white horse and swings up onto his saddle. “Jennings, Rodgers, and Heart! Come with me. You are the fastest in the group and will start the relay.”

“Come on, Lemon Drop. You're riding with me,” Creed whispers, letting me go and walking over to a pretty gray horse. He swings himself up gracefully into the saddle before holding a hand out for me. I hesitate a moment before I look over and find Lennox reaching down and taking Sabrina's hand, pulling her up on his horse until she is situated behind him. A stabbing feeling hits me in the chest as I watch her wrap her arms around Lennox’s waist as the other Rangers get on horseback, several of them pairing up so that the Umbra Hunters don't have to bring a bunch of horses back to the castle by themselves.

“Meyer?” Creed asks gently, and I look back up at him and nod, slapping my hand into his. I let out a surprised gasp as he lifts me off my feet with ease before he helps settle me on the horse behind him.

TWENTY-NINE

Meyer

I keep my chest pressed firmly to Creed's back as he leads a now riderless horse behind his own to the spot where I’ll wait for my turn to run in the relay. “Do you have to piss him off like that?” Creed asks, sounding more amused than anything as the pretty gray horse follows the narrow trail through the trees.

Shrugging in answer, I press my cheek to Creed's back, trying to absorb some of his body heat. I knew I should have grabbed a coat instead of a stupid sweater; I don't know how everyone up here stays warm. Because I'm constantly cold.

“He does it to himself. Maybe if he weren't such an asshole all the time, it would be easier to respect him,” I mutter, then smile when I feel Creed's body shake with laughter. We pass another blue flag on the path, and I lean to my right, looking around Creed's big frame to see where the path is leading. The trail is narrow and steep, and we have passed several blue flags on our way up here.

“What am I going to do with you two?” he asks, tossing a look over his shoulder at me.

“I thought we already discussed this. You're going to watch me kick Umbra Regalis in the balls, and hopefully soon,” I say happily, earning another laugh.

“I feel like I should warn you off of that idea. Nox isn't one to let things like that slide. He’s probably got everything you have ever done written in a journal somewhere so that he can exact revenge.”

“Lennox keeps a journal?” I ask in amusement as Creed pulls his horse to a stop, then gets down before reaching up and clasping his hands around my waist, helping me down.

“Yes. He is very organized. It wouldn't surprise me if he wrote down what he eats for dinner every night.” I nod in agreement. Lennox seems like one of those people who would feel self-entitled enough to record everything about themselves.

“Creed?” I whisper, biting my lip, wondering if I should ask this or not, but sick of all the questions in my head.

“Yeah?”

“What happened with the human man Lennox had you bring back down the mountain?” I ask. Creed stiffens, and I close my eyes, hoping I get a straightforward answer.

“I brought him back to town. He received medical care and will make a full recovery,” Creed finally says, and my shoulders relax some, knowing the man is okay.

“Why was he up here? Who did that to his stomach?” I’d asked Jordan and Theo if they had seen any humans up here, and they said that the Seniorem has wards to keep them away from the castle. I never told them about the human Lennox and Elaine found; since Lennox had said not to mention anything to anyone, and I don't think it's because he doesn't like Theo and Jordan. No... something is happening here that goes beyond what even my friends know. Something I think the Regalis brothers know and are trying to fix.

After a moment of silence, Creed sighs and shakes his head. “I don’t know. I wish we did. We have our suspicions, but whoever is doing this is incredibly smart and doesn't leave a trail. All I know is that humans have been showing up on the mountain over the last year or so. It's typically too late when we find them,” Creed rasps, anger tinging his tone.

“What the hell?” I whisper. “But why? And what's with the weird symbols carved into his chest? It looked like the ones Jordan has on his knives and jewelry.” Creed nods, then looks over his shoulder.

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