Page 45 of Rhaz's Redemption
I pushed those thoughts aside as I laid down and tried to sleep. It wasn’t easy with no blankets or pillows, but I would make due. Tarak and the other guys would be here soon and then we could put this whole ordeal behind us.
I laid there for the next hour listening to the soft snores of the people around me and the wind whistling outside until finally sleep overtook me.
Tap, tap, tap. “Tarak!”
I woke up later to Gabby opening the shutters for her mate.
“Are you alright? How’s Tabby?,” the Savrix asked as he embraced his mate and child through the window.
“We’re alright, but I’d like to get out of here,” Gabby admitted.
I looked at the sky beyond the big blue body of our fearless leader, and saw that the sun was beginning to rise. It was dawn. A new day, and hopefully a lucky one. We needed all the luck we could get.
“I’ll get you out,” Tarak assured Gabby. “I have a few hunters with me and the other hunters are waiting at the wall. Get everyone up, it’s time to go,” he commanded.
Gabby and I got to work gently shaking everyone by the shoulder to wake them from their slumber. It didn’t take long for everyone in our little cabin to be up on their feet and ready to make a run for it.
“So what’s the plan?” I asked.
Tarak stood back from the window then pointed to a small fire that had been lit in the distance.
“Run toward that fire,” he began. “Zander will be there to direct you where to go next.”
“Got it,” I nodded.
“I will run behind the females to give them cover incase anyone from the village wakes up,” I heard Rhaz’s deep voice from behind me. It crackled with sleep and I had to suppress a shiver at how sexy it sounded as his voice nearly reverberated through me.
It wasn’t fair how sexy he was. I felt like my nerdy-ass self had virtually zero sex appeal, and yet he oozed with it. Whatever,it didn’t matter. The only thing I needed to focus on right now was getting out of here.
“Is everyone ready?” Gabby asked.
“Ready,” Talia and Hai whispered. The rest of us just nodded our heads.
“Alright. Let’s get out of here,” Gabby said in a confident resolute tone that gave me the boost of confidence I needed to get my feet moving.
Tarak lifted Gabby and Tabby out through the window first. She took off in a sprint toward the fire pit in the distance and then it was Talia’s turn. She waited for Sarah and then the two of them took off running too.
One by one we were all lifted out of the window until Rhaz and I were the last one’s left. He was tall enough to climb out of the window without help, and then he turned to help me out as well.
“Go Tarak. I will run with Beatrice,” Rhaz commanded and our Savrix did not hesitate to take off in a run toward his mate.
“Come, I’ve got you,” Rhaz held out his hands toward me and, although I was annoyed with the emotional roller coaster he’d taken me on, I knew I could trust him not to let me down in this. No matter what our relationship was, I knew he’d keep me safe.
I held onto him and he lifted me up and out of the window then set me gently down onto the ground.
I looked around at the quiet village in the hazy light of the dawn. This had been Rhaz’s home once. It was beautiful here. Even with the dusting of snow on the ground there were trees that still bore fruit. I’d never see trees like these before, but I could imagine Rhaz as a rambunctious child, climbing to the top to grab a piece of fruit that no one else could reach. The image warmed my heart and made me sad at the same time. None ofthem deserved to be treated like this. The self-loathing of one man had turned all their lives upside down.
“Here, take my hand and we’ll run together.” Rhaz mistook my hesitation for fear, but I didn’t mind. Despite my current feelings his presence was a comfort to me, and I was glad he was here.
“Okay.” I placed my hand in his much larger blue one and marveled at how right it felt. Together we ran toward that small light until it got bigger and bigger. No one around us stirred. The world was still sleeping except for us escapees.
“Are you the last two?” Brexl asked.
“Yes, we’re the last,” Rhaz confirmed.
“Okay, good. Let’s head to the wall and get out of here.”
The grim reaper shifter led the way and Rhaz and I followed, but the closer we got to the wall the more unease I felt. Something was wrong. Sozu and Jax were standing on top of the wall helping Sarah and Talia over it, but they stopped what they were doing to stare at something I couldn’t see.
