Page 16 of Protected By Her Wolves

They’re dead.

She swallowed back bile, thinking of how those pilots’ families would mourn them. She wondered if those men had wives and children. The thought of never returning to her own mates and children was like a blade carving a hole in her heart.

Will the people who shot us follow us?she finally asked Drasko.

Hopefully not.He grimaced.They thought I was a bear.

How do you know?

I heard one of them call me a bear in Russian.

Russian!Panic kicked her heart into overdrive.Are you sure?

I’ve encountered enough Russians on our visits to Romania.

Fuck.Had they discovered the American Army was using Amaroki wolves to spy for them? If so, this put Luc and the other trackers in danger.What are they doing here?she asked, then cringed, fearing the answer.

I don’t know, but I think I know why Luc’s training mission changed.

She squinted against the sea of white that flew faster toward them as the wind howled louder.Where will we go?

We head toward Nome.

Drasko, I can’t shift.

The silence that stretched between them felt as vast and unforgiving as the harsh tundra.I know.

I’ll freeze out here.

I won’t let you.He squeezed her tighter to his chest. I’m your protector, Amara.

Even through thought, she felt the undercurrents of fear in his voice, and for the first time in her life, she doubted his ability to protect them.

* * *

Rone

After sweeping up brokenglass from the shattered back door, Rone checked the overhead clock, wondering, worrying. When would Amara and Drasko return home? Tor boarded up the back door while Mihaela rocked Alexi in her arms. Annie, Hrod, and the dogs were still downstairs playing hide-and-seek. Hrod’s squeals of laughter carried through the house, and a blade twisted in Rone’s heart. Hrod was such a good toddler, yet he got so little of Rone’s attention. Before having children, he thought he’d be the perfect gamma, that their household would be happy and thriving, and here they were just trying to survive their baby’s tantrums.

His mother finally put Alexi in his playpen and gave him a cookie. Rone turned on cartoons, praying Alexi would be calm until Cyan Cloudclimber showed up again. They would owe the Cloudclimbers more than a few bottles of rum by the time this was over.

Rone had just finished picking up the last of the glass when Tor stomped into the house and set his drill on the counter. “It’s not perfect,” he said, motioning to the back door, “but it will have to do until Drasko gets a replacement.”

Rone dumped the glass into the garbage can. “Thanks, Father.”

“If he shakes the house again”—Tor grimaced as he grabbed a beer out of the fridge—"I will have to use Skoll’s method.”

Mihaela gasped, glaring at Tor.

He cut her an apologetic look as he twisted off the top of his beer. “It’s not a choice I make lightly.”

Rone swallowed when Tor took a long swig of beer and then turned a glare on Alexi. The baby had settled down, giggling while watching talking animals on the flat screen that had miraculously survived the last quake.

“Drasko refused the bottle at first, too,” Mihaela said with a pout. “He grew out of it.”

Tor leveled her with a dark look. “Drasko didn’t have the power of an earthshaker.”

Mihaela turned up her chin, defiance flashing in her eyes. “He’s just a baby. Do you want to make him afraid of us?”

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