Page 51 of Rivers and Roads

“I didn’t know it was him until his wounds stopped healing, and he regained some of his consciousness,” Orion said, his voice rough. He gripped the counter behind him. “He told me where to find you. I tried to save him—to take him with us, but he wouldn’t let me.”

“It was probably better that way.” And I knew if I had been there any longer, I would have chosen death too.

Orion squeezed his eyes shut, and for the first time, I saw him cry. Not much, just a few wet tears tracing a path down his cheeks. I wanted to reach for him, but I had no place in that moment. “I don’t want to go through that again. I…I can’t. I can’t lose anyone else like that again.”

I didn’t want to promise him that would never happen, because both of us knew far too well it was one we couldn’t keep. So instead, I offered him my arms, and I let out a quiet breath when he accepted my touch.

Kor arrived with the entourage an hour after we’d finished cooking the food. Orion had set it to keep warm in the oven, and the pair of us were curled together on the sofa when we heard the car. We both sprang to alert, claws at the ready, but I caught the scent of the Alpha as one of the doors opened, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

There were feet between me and Orion now, and he didn’t make a move to close the distance. It was over—our little bubble, our little paradise. My heart ached, but I straightened my shoulders and prepared to meet our team.

Kor came in first, and I was shocked to find him gripping the back of Misha’s arm. I hadn’t expected the human Omega to head right into the fray, which likely meant something was wrong because Kor wouldn’t have allowed it.

Misha met my gaze as he stepped aside, then I approached the Alpha, and we grasped hands. “It’s good to see you,” he rumbled.

I allowed myself to simply feel the presence of all these Wolves—of this pack—and it settled something a little wild and restless inside me. “I’m glad you made it. Did you have any trouble on the drive?” I looked past him at the Wolves—two Betas and an unfamiliar Alpha woman with bright red hair tied in a braid over her shoulder. She met my gaze for a long moment, then tilted her head in greeting.

“No. I think we had a tail for a short while, but they’re not gonna try anything stupid just yet.” Kor let me go and reached in Orion’s direction, his Second coming to embrace him. I watched as Kor dragged a palm along Orion’s neck, and I had to physically bite back a possessive growl.

Kor seemed to have noticed, because he shot me a raised brow, but he said nothing. “Is there food? I smell something cooking, and I’m starved.”

“Oh my god.” Misha whispered, returning his arm to his mate’s hand. “We’re fine to whip something up ourselves.”

“I cooked,” Orion said, staring warily at the newcomers. They were part of Kor’s personal team, and it was only knowing how aware he was after almost losing his mate that let the both of us relax. “Come on. You can sit at the table and eat. Then we can figure out what the hell we’re doing next.”

“We already know half of it,” Kor said, following Misha closely. He found the chair after dragging his hand down Misha’s arm, then sat with a small grunt of relief. I moved around the counter and leaned against it as Orion started to prep the food, and I took in everyone’s weary expression. Something was different.

Something had gone wrong.

“I can feel you holding something back,” Orion complained as he set plates around the table, then dropped the pan in the middle. He added a bowl of rice, then stood back with his arms crossed as the Wolves dug in. “Just fucking out with it, Kor.”

The Alpha pulled a face as he let Misha serve him, then he grabbed his fork and stabbed at some of the steak. “Misha and I are going into hiding.”

Orion immediately leaned forward. “You’re what?”

“We were just out outed to the fucking world as enemy number one,” Kor said with a shrug, chewing loudly. “The media had a goddamn field day releasing all of Misha’s information, saying that he was working with his father and then turned on him and took all of his genetic theory over to the Wolves who began running their own experiments.”

“And people are buying this shit?” I demanded, placing my hands on the counter.

The Betas all looked uncomfortable, but the new Alpha met my gaze. “Some are, some aren’t,” she said in a smoky voice that didn’t match the soft roundness of her face. The freckles dotted across her pale skin only added to the illusion of youth, but I could tell she was at least as old as I was. “Enough people want to believe that a small band of rebels are causing trouble instead of the governments actively participating in genocide.”

I snorted, but it was mostly out of frustration because I had seen what people were willing to believe. “They can’t possibly ignore all the evidence.”

“No. That’s why this bullshit election was announced,” Kor snapped. He set his fork down and rubbed at his eyes. “Both sides are going to want to control the narrative, and both sides need an enemy to focus on.”

“And that’s you,” I said very quietly. I felt Orion’s eyes on me, but I didn’t look over at him. Instead, I let my gaze drift between Kor, who looked resigned, and Misha, who looked terrified. “Where are you going to go?”

“Away,” Kor said. His fingertips touched the table, then drifted in Misha’s direction until the human caught them and held them tight. “We have a couple of contacts, but we’ve decided not to tell anyone where. It’s too risky.”

I hated it, but I knew he was right. And when I was brave enough to look over at Orion, I could see it in his face he knew it too. But there was heartbreak there, and I understood it more than I wanted to. Kor was his family. He was pack, yes, but it had become more than that.

He would feel the same, empty ache that I did knowing Danyal was alive, but missing.

“I’m assuming you put Francisco in charge since Mikael’s out searching for my brother,” I said after a beat. The line of hierarchy made sense. Theo was younger and a little more reckless, though I would have trusted either Alpha with my life.

Kor made a soft noise, then he turned in his seat. His eyes searched for me, like he wanted to make eye-contact, and though they never settled, I was pinned. “I’m asking you to stand in my place.”

My mouth opened to argue, but no sound came out. He was patient though, waiting for me to absorb. “I can’t.”

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