Page 58 of Their Mate
I smirked faintly as Edward passed him a pill, a pile of bandages, and a swig of water before turning to me. “Your turn, Declan. Let’s keep that arm from getting worse.”
The meds tasted bitter, but I didn’t care. Soon I would feel some of the pain easing from my abused body.
Logan dug into his pack and pulled out a small bundle wrapped in wax paper. “Jerky,” he said simply, tossing it to Jamie, who tore it open and passed pieces around.
Edward found an old metal bucket in the corner, and with some scavenged scrap wood from broken benches, he and Logan managed to get a small campfire going. The flickering light pushed back the shadows just enough to make the room feel less like a tomb.
The fire crackled with incongruent merriment, the light throwing long, shifting shadows across the old NATO emblem on the wall. The jerky was salty and tough, but it filled the hollow in my gut enough to make me feel human again, or at least as close to it as we could get down here.
Jamie wiped his hands on his trousers, leaning back against the locker he’d looted. “So… what’s our next move when we get out of this rat’s nest?”
Logan’s gaze was fixed on the flames, his expression unreadable. “I’d like to think we’ll have a chance to regroup with the others topside and get some rest, but we need to assume the Elder Lycan won’t give us that chance. He’s not the type to hit once and fade.”
Edward, sitting cross-legged near the door, spoke without looking up. “I think he’s still herding us. We’ve seen it in every move he’s made. He wants us somewhere specific.”
Sera glanced up at that. “And we’ve been following his trail right into the trap.”
Aidan grunted, shifting his injured leg and giving her a tired smirk. “Doesn’t mean we can’t turn it around on him. Wolves can bite back, you know.”
Logan met my eyes across the fire. “The problem is we still don’t know his endgame. Destroying us is personal, sure, but he’s thinking bigger. If this base is what Edward says it is, he could be more prepared than we initially thought. He’s had decades down here.”
Edward nodded once. “That’s exactly it. We’re talking about an intelligent lycan that already thinks strategically having the firepower to back it up. Not just for us, but for every human and wolf left in Ireland, and maybe beyond.”
Jamie let out a low whistle. “Bloody cheery thought. We’re walking through his pantry while he’s sharpening his knives.”
I shifted, feeling the dull ache in my arm where Aidan had bitten me. “Then we don’t give him the chance. We find his lair, hit him first, and end it before he can make his move.”
Sera looked up at me and there was the faintest glint of agreement there. “Then we better hope we’ve got enough left in the tank to pull it off.”
“Which is why we rest now,” Logan said firmly, his tone making it clear there’d be no arguing.
Jamie hadn’t settled down just yet. He was still searching for supplies and a while later, he stumbled on an old supply closet tucked behind a warped steel door. The smell when it opened was musty, but inside were rolls of military bedding, still wrapped in waterproof covers, and a few wool blankets that had somehow escaped the worst of the damp.
“Looks like someone up there likes us after all,” Jamie said with a grin, hauling the loot into our makeshift camp.
Within minutes, we’d unrolled them on the floor near the fire, the thin padding a welcome improvement over the cold concrete.
Logan stood, looking around the circle of faces. “We’ll take watches; one man up at all times. If anything comes sniffing around, we’ll be ready.”
Edward immediately volunteered for the first shift, settling near the door with his weapon across his lap.
I stretched out on my bedroll, the warmth from the fire seeping into my sore muscles.
As the quiet settled in and the others began to drift toward sleep, I let my own eyes close, my last thoughts not of the tunnels, or the Elder Lycan, but of what waited when this was over, and whether any of us would live to see it.
I sighed, looking around the room.
Most of the others had already stretched out and let exhaustion take them, but I stayed sitting up since my eyes weren’t closing any time soon.
Not with her across from me.
Sera lay half on her side, her pack tucked under her head, her knife cradled loosely against her chest. Her eyes weren’t shut, not really. Every so often they’d flick open just enough to sweep the shadows, checking corners, checking us. The others might have thought she was resting, but I knew a predator watching her own back when I saw one.
She caught me looking, one dark brow arching slightly. “Something on your mind?”
“Plenty,” I replied. “But right now? Just wondering who the hell you really are. You’ve been running with my pack, my best mates… but you’re still a mystery.”
Her lips curved, not quite a smile, more like she was daring me to push. “Sera Moore. Recruited into the Watch as soon as I was old enough to qualify. Learned to shoot before I learned to swim. I’ve been hunting wolves longer than I’ve been shaving my legs.”
