Page 60 of His Claim
She huffed out a breath that might have been a laugh. “Neither did you. Neither did any of us. That’s the whole point, isn’t it? Wolves don’t care what we deserve. They don’t care about humansat all. They take, they use, they destroy, and we just survive however we can.”
Her gaze slid to Varek then. “That’s why I don’t trust him. Doesn’t matter what he used to be. He’s still one of them now. You are too.”
Varek’s silver eyes narrowed, but he didn’t bite. He just sat and let her words hang.
I shifted closer to the fire, my voice softer. “Then maybe that’s why you’re here. Maybe we’re supposed to figure out what happens when good humans and good wolves stop fighting against each other… and start fightingtogetherfor a common goal.”
Elsie stared at me across the flames, and for a moment, the hardness in her eyes cracked. Just a little.
She shook her head, muttering, “You sound like the kind of girl who still believes in miracles.”
I didn’t look away. “Maybe I do.”
CHAPTER 14
Mariah
I woke to the sound of boots crunching lightly on gravel. The fire had burned low, just embers now, painting the bunker in dull red light. Varek was still beside me, stretched out on the cot with his knife across his chest, his breathing slow and steady.
Elsie stood at the door, her rifle slung over her shoulder, her gray eyes catching the faint glow of a lantern as she pushed the latch open.
“You’re leaving,” I said, my voice rough with sleep.
She glanced back, a crooked grin tugging at her mouth. “I don’t do long goodbyes, sweetheart. Besides, you don’t need me watching over your little wolf romance. I’ve got a job to do.”
“You’re going to the Watch? You’ll tell them the plan?”
“Yeah.” She shifted her weight, her smirk turning more serious. “Someone’s got to rattle their cages. Convince them this mightactually work.” Her eyes flicked between Varek and me. “Good luck, you two; you’ll need it.”
Before I could answer, she was gone, slipping through the door like a ghost, the sound of her footsteps fading into silence.
I sat for a long moment, staring at the empty doorway, my chest tight.
Varek stirred, opening his silver eyes. He must have sensed it the moment she left. “She’s gone?”
“Yeah.” I pulled the tarp tighter around me. “She’s going to the Watch.”
He pushed himself upright, wincing at the stiffness in his injured leg. “Good. Then it’s our turn.”
I blinked at him. “Our turn?”
“To reach the Resistance in the mountains,” he said simply. “If we want this plan to work, they need to know what’s coming. We’ve got to pull everyone together.”
“Do you know where to go?” I asked.
He stood, already moving to one of the crates, pulling free a rough map he’d stashed there. The parchment was smudged with coal dust, the lines faded but still clear enough to trace. “There’s a tunnel that runs beneath the western ridge. Old mining shaft. It’ll get us close to the outer range of their territory.”
I rose to my feet, shaky but steadier than I’d been the day before. My body still hummed with the memory of shifting, of fur and fangs and fire under my skin, but I pushed it down. I watched as Varek gathered some supplies into a pack.
Varek lit a lantern and doused the last of the embers, plunging the bunker into shadow. “Come on,” he said quietly. “The sooner we move, the better.”
We slipped back into the tunnels. The air was damp and cold, the stone walls making me feel claustrophobic, but Varek moved like he belonged here, each step confident, sure. I followed close behind, my hand checking the knife he’d given me, the weight of it on my belt grounding me.
The tunnels narrowed the farther we went, the walls closing in until I had to duck beneath beams blackened from some old fire. Coal dust coated everything, clinging to my hair, my throat, the sweat on my skin. Every drop of water from the ceiling echoed like a stray footstep, every gust of stale air felt like a breath on the back of my neck.
Varek led with the lantern, and I followed close behind, my soft boots almost silent. My wolf prowled restlessly under my skin, senses heightened to the point where I could hear the scuttle of rats in the dark and smell the damp rot of collapsed beams long before we reached them. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at the same time.
At one point, the ceiling dipped so low we had to crawl. My palms slid across slick stone, my heartbeat quickening until the tunnel widened again and I could stand. My chest heaved as I straightened.
