Page 10 of Wolf Unleashed
Rafe gripped her face between his large hands and kissed her on the mouth with a fierceness that said she was his. Tiernan admired how the alpha heir didn’t let the lack of a bond with her stop him from claiming her.
“Get going,” he ordered. “Keep her safe, Tiernan.”
“He’s not my bodygu—”
Tiernan pulled her along. “You still don’t understand how quickly shifters move. Run now, talk later.”
Running through the woods at night in human form was painstakingly slow, especially since Alyssa didn’t have shifter vision or a sense of when to duck to avoid a low branch or how to anticipate and avoid roots and other hazards. She stumbled often but never complained. He had thought her naïve when it came to their situation, but he was starting to understand Rafe hadn’t been the only one stalling. She feared separating from him, losing him like they’d lost Maddox.
“That had to have been a mile,” she said, slightly out of breath as she ran alongside him.
“Two. They can cross the border to get you if they want.”
“But Rafe said this was bear shifter territory and his pack wouldn’t risk trespassing.” She ground to a halt. “He’s not coming, is he? He sent us where his pack won’t go and he’s going to stay to ensure we get away.”
“He hasn’t said anything, but it looks like they gave him an ultimatum. Us or them.”
Alyssa turned and started running back toward Rafe.
“He didn’t want you there for a reason, Alyssa,” Tiernan called out, stopping her. When he caught up to her, he grabbed both of her arms until she looked at him. “If you’re going to be with shifters, you have to understand there’s a hierarchy involved. We take orders or shifters get hurt, even killed.”
“Rafe’s not our alpha.”
“In this situation, he is. Rafe’s a natural-born leader, and he knows what he’s doing. You want us to trust you, but you have to trust us as well.”
“I do trust you.”
“Then come with me, as Rafe ordered. He will catch up with us.”
She nodded and resumed walking with him. “Just for the record, I hate everything about this. Not knowing where Maddox is, coming between Rafe and his family, not being able to convince you that I love you as much as I do Maddox even though I can’t feel the bond with you. All of it.”
Tiernan remained silent. He didn’t doubt she loved him, only whether she’d fall out of love with him as her bond to Maddox grew stronger.
Chapter Four
TIERNAN
“What is this place? Some abandoned retreat?” Alyssa asked late afternoon as they entered a clearing with seven cabins, all falling apart, most with collapsed roofs and trees growing out of them. They’d walked at least ten miles through rough terrain. He didn’t want to tell Alyssa he was worried about Rafe. The heir should have caught up to them. Yesterday.
“A shifter camp, most likely. Very old, given the age of those trees. Besides, we’re too far from any roads for this to be a human retreat.”
He debated continuing, but their boots were muddy, and her pants wet from a fall she’d taken two hours back. Another mile or two wasn’t going to make a difference. He didn’t know this territory, had counted on Rafe to lead them wherever he’d had in mind. They hadn’t had time to discuss where they were heading. South. That’s all Rafe had said.
Alyssa stumbled over a simple rut. He reached out and caught her, only to realize she was shivering. She needed dry clothes. Warmer clothes, especially given from the cold, dank November air. While she never complained, she was exhausted.
“We’ll stop here for a few hours and rest.”
“And wait for Rafe?” she said, sounding hopeful.
Tiernan brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek. “Yes, babe, we’ll wait for Rafe to catch up.” Or until Tiernan’s wolf sensed bear shifters nearby.
They found a house with a roof and solid walls. The inside had its share of dirt, leaves, and dead bugs from a broken window, but it was otherwise dry and intact. Tiernan used a section of a collapsed roof from another home to cover the window and shield them from the biting wind.
As soon as Tiernan brushed the dirt and leaves off the mattress, Alyssa sank onto the bed. “I’ll help gather wood. Just need to close my eyes for a few minutes,” she said as she laid down and curled up, shivering.
Tiernan ran his fingers through her hair. “We need to get your boots and pants off.”
“I’ll freeze without them.”
