Page 61 of The Hidden Falling
Josh has always been my protector since we left our old home. He’s my brother in every way but blood, I don’t think Darius sees it as that though. It’s amusing and ridiculous that he seems to feel possessive of histoy.
When we hit the lilk trees, I try and guide a sleepy Sam off Kade’s back, watching as she opens her sleepy eyes and snuggles closer to him, not letting go. “Come on,” I tell her gently. “Kade will be back shortly. You know we can’t go wolf inside Eridian.”
She lets me take her off his back and I cradle her against me as Kade nuzzles her cheek. I hold Sam tightly as we walk, keeping silent as we pass a few people from the pack who visibly relax at seeing her. I give them a reassuring nod and continue.
I guide her past the gathering and up to the path that leads to my cabin, Taylor, Seb, Hudson and Colten already there and waiting. They all let out a breath when they see us, and Taylor opens the door, letting us walk past as they stay outside. Padding down the hallway and through the open doorway of my sitting room, Sybill flies off her seat, rushing toward us and grabbing Sam in a tight hug as they both cry, holding one another close.
“Mom,” Sam cries, burrowing her face in her shoulder.
“I’m here, I’m here,” Sybill tells her over and over again.
I swallow the lump in my throat at seeing them embrace, at the look of sheer relief and love on Sybill’s face to have her back in her arms. A mother holding her daughter so close, like she’s afraid she will disappear. I give them a few moments together in peace as I turn to collect myself. That was me and my mom before it was stolen from us.
I take a seat across from them as they sit, huddled close together. I want to give Sam some time but it’s important I know what happened. I hear my door open, and Josh rounds the corner with Darius on his heels, their mouths both set in a tight line. Sam lets out a squeak, her body shaking as she sees Darius and hides her face from him.
I look to Darius and back to her, my brows scrunched in confusion. I know she’s not great near males, but we and the Elites have been eating at the gathering for a while now, and she has been getting better in their presence. So what happened? “Sam?” I say gently. “What’s wrong?” I stand and put myself between them, blocking Darius the best I can from her view. She doesn’t answer me.
“Are you hurt?” Sybill asks her, moving her daughter back a little so her gaze can roam over her. Sam shakes her head, eyes to the floor as she gets as close to her mom as possible. She squeezes her eyes shut and opens her mouth to speak, but no sounds come from her.
She’s petrified.
I kneel before her, looking at Josh and Darius before asking. “What are you scared of Sam? Nothing will hurt you here. I promise.”
Her bottom lip trembles, and tears fall from her eyes. “There… there was a man in the forest,” she whispers, her voice trembling.
I nod. “Yes, some of the Elites are camping in the forest while some of the females are in heat,” I tell her gently.
She sniffles, shaking her head. “He was shocked to see me there at… at first, but then he told me to go with him,” she whispers, and my blood turns cold, ice dripping into my veins as I still. The whole room stills. “I didn’t want to, so I turned to come back home when he tried to grab me,” she cries. “I was near the… the river so I ran across it when he tried to get me again. He started following me, and I heard strange noises, like whispers of voices all talking at once.” She shivers, her breath hitching as more tears fall. “I ran,” she sobs, her body curling in on herself. “I just ran and ran, and I didn’t stop until I was at that statue.”
Sybill pulls her closer as a deep, growl echoes throughout the space. I hold my hand out, waiting for him to come to me, knowing he needs to be close.“Kade, calm. She’s already scared,”I urge him down the link. This time it isn’t shut down.
I hear him take a deep breath before he puts his hand in mine, the warmth of his skin heating my own as I pull him down to the floor, his knees landing next to me. Sam’s red rimmed eyes look up, and as soon as she sees Kade, she falls into his arms, burrowing into his neck. He pulls her close without question, and I see him swallow as her gut-wrenching sobs increase in volume, barely taking a breath between them.
The room is deathly quiet apart from Sam, and I lift my hand, rubbing soothing circles on her back while bringing my other hand to the back of Kade’s nape, squeezing there lightly. He sighs, squeezing Sam closer, and we wait until her sobs calm down. I can feel Darius’ eyes on us, watching everything we do, listening to what we’re saying. His eyes are like a caress on my body as he stands at the back of the room, guarding yet imposing. I want him to hear this though, because I will rip apart whichever Elite attempted to grab her, and I will happily give them to Kade after I’m done with them. Because his eyes are deadly, dangerous and volatile.
“What did he look like, winglet?” Kade whispers against her hair.
“He was… was as tall as Josh, dark hair and his eyes were dark, but not. They changed color.” Changed color? Was his wolf coming out? “They went to a lighter brown, then blue, darker I think. I don’t really know. I just wanted to get away from him. I didn’t like him or his smell.”
“His smell?” Kade rumbles, pulling her back slightly to look down at her.
She nods. “He smelled bad. He smelled of iron, but bad iron and old.” She shakes her head and looks at me as she shakes in Kade’s arms. “I haven’t smelled it before, I can’t really tell you.”
My brows furrow and I try to recall if I’ve smelled anything along the river like that, but I can’t. I look at Josh who shakes his head, telling me he didn’t smell anything either.
“Thank you for telling me.” I drop my hands from Sam and Kade and stand, turning to Sybil. “You’re both welcome to stay here if you like. Use the spare room at the back of the cabin.”
“I’ll think about it, Alpha. Thank you,” Sybill murmurs, her eyes never leaving Sam’s.
“Are you going to stay home?” I ask Kade, and he looks down at Sam, her eyes slowly shutting, her body snuggling against him. She’s so tired.
“I’ll stay until she is settled,” he whispers, and I get up, touching my cheek to his before walking into the hallway with Darius and Josh on my tail.
“I want that Elite found,” I whisper hiss at Darius as soon as we make our way outside of the cabin. Josh shuts the door behind us, standing beside me as Taylor, Seb, Hudson and Colten come closer, no doubt they listened to everything at the door.
“That’s all well and good,” Darius drawls. “But I don’t have an Elite with me that matches the description of height, eye color, hair color and smell.” He shakes his head before folding his arms, looking down at me. “He wasn’t one of my Elites.”
“That’s not possible,” Taylor starts. “You guys are the only newcomers here. Who else could it have been? The only scents around here are the packs and Elites. We check the perimeter daily and no one has been in here.” Taylor would know, he is responsible for this after all.
