Page 36 of Rhaz's Redemption
“No, but you are brave, and sometimes that can be the same thing,” he leaned down and kissed Tabby on the top of her head then Gabby on the lips in a brief but meaningful gesture.
“Stay with Jax and Sozu. Don’t take any unnecessary risks,” he pleaded.
“We’ll be safe. I promise,” Gabby rose up on her tippy toes and kissed Tarak. He wrapped his arms around her and briefly kissed her back before he had to join his men outside.
With one last glance back, Tarak nodded his head in Gabby’s direction then exited the mountain.
I followed Gabby upstairs to the ledge where all the other women had gathered. Fatima, Taylor, Kayla, and Gabby stood at the front, then behind them stood Hai, Ashey, Julie, and Anusha. Then in the last row stood myself, Talia, and Sarah. Jax and Sozu stood on opposite sides of the wide ledge and we all held our breath as we waited for the battle to come.
“I hate waiting,” Julie commented as she rubbed her lower back. Her round belly had lowered since I’d seen her last and I wondered if she’d have her baby sooner rather than later.
“Maybe they won’t come,” Sarah suggested as she chewed her bottom lip. Talia gave her a look of sympathy and put her arm around her friend.
I pushed my way to the front to get a quick glimpse of the scene below us. The males of our dekes stood in a line, tall and strong in their shifter forms with our Savrix in the middle. The elders stood with them even though they only had their spears and no shifter abilities to speak of. It would take a great deal to get through their line, and I doubted Dameron would have the man power to do so.
“Look! They’re here!” Ashley pointed to the forest.
Through the trees I was able to glimpse the males of the other dekes making their way to our clearing. I wasn’t closeenough to see Rhaz, though and that bothered me. I needed to see that he was still alright.
“Get down everybody! Down!” Gabby yelled and we all collectively got on our hands and knees to hide from Dameron. He didn’t know we existed, and everyone they met from our dekes kept telling him that they were the last of the females they’d found.
“Remember, no matter what goes down today, we’ve survived worse,” Gabby encouraged. “Keep your eyes open, and your legs ready to run. Stay ready,” she pleaded. I nodded my head. Sarah who was sitting beside me trembled and a tear streamed down her face. Talia patted her shoulder and Jax looked like he wanted to comfort her, but knew he couldn’t leave his post. If either Jax or Sozu interacted with us, it would be clear to Dameron there were people hiding up here beside them.
“They’ve arrived at the clearing,” Sozu whispered, while keeping his eyes trained on the enemy below.
I rose ever so slightly and swallowed hard when I saw strange sirret males filling our clearing. They stood a few meters away from the defensive line the shifters had created, but they were still far too close for my liking.
Dameron said something, but I was too far away up here on the ledge to hear him.
“What’s going on?” Taylor mouthed to Gabby. Our fearless leader peeked over the ledge for a brief moment then turned to Taylor and pointed to her right ear while still holding little Tabby in her other arm. “I can’t hear what they’re saying,” she mouthed.
I tapped Gabby’s shoulder and mimed going down the stairs using hand gestures. “I’ll hide near the entrance. That way I can warn you if you need to run,” I whispered.
Gabby nodded and I quietly, but quickly crawled to the exit and made my way back to the main cavern. I stopped whenI heard footsteps behind me and turned to find Fatima and Anusha following me.
“There’s not enough room for all of us up there,” Anusha explained.
“And I want to hear what’s going on,” Fatima confessed. I didn’t blame her, I wanted the same thing.
I put a finger to my mouth to indicate silence and we quietly walked to the entrance that led to the clearing. Once there, we crouched behind the larger rocks and boulders that lay scattered at the entrance, just out of sight of the others.
Chapter 16
Rhaz
CW: Descriptions of violence including domestic violence, kidnapping of a child
My sire had kept me locked away in a dark cave for two weeks and only gave me one meal a day. I was weak, tired, and badly beaten. My sire had called the giant shifter back, but when he asked Gil to beat me until I could no longer stand, he refused.
“Nothing can be gained from this. I will help save the females you say are being held against their will, but that is all I will do.”
“You will beat him, or I won’t let you near the females,” Dameron growled. But Gil was not scared of him. Instead he shifted to his full height and towered over my sire.
“I’m not someone you want to threaten. If you take away my one reason for helping you, what reason do I have not to hurt you next?”
Dameron swallowed hard. “You’re right. I misspoke. This is a family issue. I’ll take care of Rhaz myself.”
“That’s better. I’ll be waiting for you to summon me when the females arrive.” With that, Gil turned and left the clearingnear the cave where I’d been held, and then it was just me and my sire. He’d never beaten me before. For better or worse, my mother had always gotten between us.
