Page 31 of The Hidden Falling
“You have seen my pack. They’re scared of outsiders. If you told the Highers, they would demand that we all go and declare we live here. They couldn’t go through being surrounded by powerful Alphas. They couldn’t cope with it, they are already frightened. To be forced to go to the capital of Vrohkaria to be surrounded by strangers?” I shake my head. “They wouldn’t survive it,” I whisper, my throat tightening at the thought. “I will fight anyone and anything every step of the way to stop that from happening. If I lose at the end, then I lose, but my pack will be safe. Kade will be safe.”
I’m out of my depth here. He needs to understand he can’t take them back, but how do I do that without telling them we take them from packs for their safety?
The Elites belong to the Highers, and you never trust a Higher. Unless you’re Edward.
“The pup?” He scoffs. “You so easily give away your weakness. I could force you to do whatever I wanted just by holding a blade to his throat. I should do that anyway for him attacking me.”
“You already know Kade is a weakness, so what’s the point in denying it? And give him a break. He’s just got his wolf, and he’s going through a lot.”
“Everyone goes through a rough time when they get their wolf. It’s the natural process.”
“It’s more than that with Kade, he’s hurting and so is his wolf.” I sigh and look at my ceiling. “He lost someone important to him, and his wolf is mourning.” I can feel him watching me, trying to sense if I’m lying, but I’m not. I need him to understand the struggle Kade has so he won’t punish him.
He finally speaks after a tense silence. “You will come to the Highers with me after my men are healed. I will decide when we get there if I tell them about Eridian.” I freeze, my eyes snapping to him. There’s a chance he won’t tell them? It can’t be that easy. “But it looks like you’re stuck with us Elites for a few weeks while my injured heal.” His slow smirk is cruel as he tells me. “We will continue to look for this woman in the forest while here. You better set up rooms in this cabin for my closest men. I won’t be letting you out of my sight, little wolf.”
He digs his thumb into my pulse one more time before he stands straight, staring down at me. His gaze tracks over me, not missing a single inch of my body, and my cheeks heat. He grunts, giving me a last look before he walks out of my office. I lay still, breathing through frustrated breaths and resisting the urge to touch my throat. It still feels like his hand is wrapped around it.
Our simple life isn’t so simple anymore.
And if Darius finds out I lied? We’re all going to suffer for it.
Seventeen
Rhea
Morninglightpeersthroughmy window, casting colors into the room that bounce off some of the objects I have in here. Sleep didn’t come easily last night. Between worrying over having strangers in my house and keeping my ears open for any sign of Kade waking, I’ve only had a few solid hours at best.
I stretch and get my ass up, knowing there is absolutely no point in staying in bed. Grabbing a t-shirt and shorts, I take a quick shower. I get dressed and leave my room, shutting my door behind me and listening for any sounds in the cabin before knocking on Kade’s door. A snore answers from the other side, letting me know he’s still sleeping, so I pad downstairs to the kitchen.
I round the banister and nearly halt in my tracks at the sight of Darius sitting at my dining table. He’s bent down, lacing up his boots, and I try not to look at the way his muscles flex in his arms. When did I suddenly become someone who notices these things? I ignore him and head to the kitchen.
“Morning, little wolf,” Darius practically purrs, and I shiver at the sound. Why did his voice have to sound like that? Deep and low, like a caress on my skin. I mumble under my breath and ignore him, but he doesn’t appreciate that. The way he’s at my back not a few seconds later, practically breathing down my neck, clearly gives that away. “I said, morning, little wolf.”
“It’s morning? Shit. I didn’t even realize, I thought it was midday you know, with the sun just rising,” I snark out, moving to grab a pan. Filling it with water, I put it on the stove and set the flame.
“Not a morning person I see,” he says, and I feel a touch on the top of my head, causing me to freeze a second. Why is he touching me?
“I wonder what gave that away,” I mutter, moving away from him and grabbing a mug before filling it with some coffee granules and the now hot water. Moving around Darius, I head for the table and take a seat. Darius follows me and sits back down across from me, watching me. I ignore him and pretend he’s not there while I drink the elixir of life and look out the window.
“Why don’t our stones work here?” he asks suddenly, and I nearly jump out of my skin at him breaking the silence.
“Eridian is protected. We mostly can’t use magic inside the settlement, whether from objects or ourselves. Unless it’s powerful enough and the land lets you. We can’t go to our wolf forms either unless you are in the forest.”
Out of the corner of my eye, he slouches back in his seat, his dark t-shirt pulling tight across his chest. “Unless the land lets you?”
I roll my eyes and finally let them go to him. We lock eyes and heat starts to spread at my chest. “Yes, the land. It’s living and breathing, just like you and me. It chooses what can be used and what can’t.” I take a sip and watch him acknowledge what I’ve said.
“It sounds like you live in the way our ancestors did hundreds of years ago, when the old ones were around.” I shrug because we do live like that here. They would be wise to start too. “What does it let you use then, this… land?” He rolls his green eyes, and I can tell he thinks I’m being ridiculous.
“That’s not for me to decide,” I tell him, and hear a door opening from upstairs and then hard footsteps coming down the stairs. “I can’t tell you what it deems worthy.” A throat clears, and I turn my head toward it as Kade comes into the dining room, scowling at Darius.
I check him over. He’s only wearing dark pants, which lets me get a look at his injuries on his bare torso that are healing, thankfully. He looks a little pale and tired, but otherwise okay. He comes over to me and rubs his cheek against mine before heading into the kitchen. I grab his arm before he gets far, and he huffs back at me. He humors me as I stand and run my fingers around the wound on his shoulder that’s been stitched up before looking at his throat and temple closely. The wounds have closed nicely, and apart from some redness, they’re healing well.
“I’m okay, Rhea,” he whispers softly, and I look into his blue eyes, a shade different from mine, as he gives me a small smile.
“Go grab some food and we’ll talk, okay?” He nods, and I squeeze his arm before I drop it and let him go.
I return to my seat, shifting uncomfortably as Darius looks between me and Kade with far too much interest. “I’m sending Elites out to search The Deadlands. Since we can’t use our stones as they have been drained of their magic, what is the best way to keep track of locations there?”
