The first few days after her escape was a blur of pain and movement for Lulu as her body healed. Her scorched throat made expelling the slightest whimper excruciating. Brice stopped only for an hour here and there. Giving her water, sometimes a bit of raw meat from something he caught. Disgusted by the raw offering, swallowing it agonizing, but Lulu found herself too weak and hungry to refuse. Back on his shoulder, she’d be tossed and Brice would resume his jarring pace through the hills and forest. On the third day, the pain lessened and Lulu began to regain her strength. Realizing she could speak, she made the mistake of lamenting her bruised stomach. Brice lashed her hands and ankles together with stripped down lengths of blackberry vines. He fashioned a gag out of a thick section of branch and secured it in place with more vines. Apparently, he wasn’t in the mood to hear her complain. She struggled uselessly against her restraints. The thin vines cut into her flesh, causing her to bleed.

“Knock it off bitch!” Brice growled as he swatted her backside hard. She yelped through her gag at the stinging impact. “I am not tending anymore of your self-inflicted injuries.”

Lulu grumbled curses at the large man through her gag. He ignored her.

Late on the 4th day, Lulu noticed changes in Brice. His pace slower. Stops to rest becoming more frequent. His naturally warm skin turned feverishly hot and damp. His veins continued to pulse with a dim golden glow.

By the fifth day they were well out of pack territory. Following a small stream that fed a shallow blue-tinted pond, Brice located a possible cave entrance. He unceremoniously tossed Lulu to the ground. She bounced once, her hip hitting hard on an outcropping of limestone. Brice disregarded her cry of pain. He prodded around a mound of moss-covered rocks and boulders on the hillside. She observed him with curiosity. Brice held his face close to a small opening in the rocks, sniffed, then put his shoulder into a large boulder. The rock shifted. Smaller pieces held up by the boulder tumbled down on him. Many weighing 20 to 30 pounds. Brice grunted under the impacts but continued to push at the larger stone until it pivoted to one side making a 3-foot wide gap between it and its neighbor. Digging the fallen rocks and debris out of the way, Brice crouched down and stuck his head into the enlarged gap, now approximately 4 foot high and 3 foot wide. A moment later his large body disappeared into it.

Lulu squealed in alarm and began to scoot towards the opening, writhing on her stomach like an inchworm. Arms bound wrist to elbow behind her back, ankles secured together, and gag firmly in place. Her already soiled nurse uniform now caked with mud as she struggled forward. If he didn’t come back, what would she do? She laid next to the entrance, listening for signs of Brice. The cool air coming from the mouth smelled of earth and rock. Slight sounds of scrapping and the occasional grunt were the only indication that Brice still lived. Her muffled noises received no reply from the dark-skinned man. Attempts to peer into the cave mouth proved fruitless. Eventually, she fell asleep.

Lulu woke with a scream, when something caught her by the collar and drug her into the muddy cave opening. She fought futilely against the force pulling her along.

“Hold Still.” Brice’s angry voice growled as he drug Lulu face up through a thin layer of sludgy mud. Her eyes adjusted to the low light and a rocky limestone surface became visible. It seemed to be getting closer to her until it was a foot from her face. The sound of trickling water echoed through the narrow shaft. Moments later, Brice hauled her up into a standing position. Leaning her tottering body against a thick column of rock jutting up from the floor, narrowing in the middle like an hourglass then continuing up to the irregular dome overhead. The crackle and pop of fire melded with the dripping trickle sound of water.

She looked around to see a beautiful chamber. Small shafts high above in the ceiling continued on into unseen darkness. A far side of the chamber held a tumble of rock peppered with debris. Bits of wood, bones, and leaves accumulated at the base of the mound. A minuscule amount of light trickled down from the top of the 90-foot-high slide. If she wasn’t a shifter the light would not have been enough for even a small amount of visibility. Shallow pools of water dotted the cavern floor. Some containing clusters of spherical rocks.

The rock formation at her back felt slightly damp. In front of her, Brice crouched before a small fire on a flat elevated mound of dry rock. He shivered as sweat dripped from his brow. She attempted to talk to him through the gag. She gave up when he refused to look at her and slid down to sit on the ground. Her arms and legs ached. Once she settled and remained silent Brice looked at her. He sighed heavily then rose, making his way towards her. He slashed the restraints from her and held up a hand indicated she not talk.

“Unless you need to piss, I don’t want to hear it.” He rasped out before returning to the fire. Lulu glanced about the cave while rubbing her arms, trying to locate where the exit was. Releasing a frustrated breath, she realized she had no idea which of the many tunnels led to freedom. She really should have paid more attention.

Kneeling by one of the shallow pools, she cupped water in her hands, freezing right before it reached her lips when Brice’s voice rumbled out. “Don’t drink that. No, nix that. Please. Please, go ahead and drink.” His tone bled cruel amusement. She released the cool clear liquid back into its pool.

Other than the slight sulfuric smell, the water seemed clean. A trickle of water from a rock face fed the small pool. Where it overflowed it trickled down and out towards one of the dark narrow tunnels. It was colorless. Lulu opted instead to clean some of the mud off herself. She shucked her shirt and pants, rinsing the mud off those as well. Wringing her socks out, she used them as a makeshift washcloth before carrying the sodden lot over to the fire, laying her clothes on rocks to dry.

Brice did not look up. His normally dark skin held a grey chalky cast. His thick cable-like veins continued pulsing a dim gold. The blue glow of the talisman embedded in his wrist bled outwards and retracted as it fought with his fiery blood. Why in the goddess’s name was his body fighting the bond? Lulu’s brow furrowed in confusion. For the first time since her escape, Lulu reached out through the tenuous connection to Brice, attempting to gauge how he felt. Maybe, if she could connect to him, the bond would settle down. Chione never mentioned bond rejection as a possibility. The female was confident the charm would work. Through the bond, Brice’s agony and searing anger lashed at her. The burning pain enveloped Brice. The powerful anger was Brice’s and something or someone else. She could feel something else in the bond. That couldn’t be. Brice wasn’t mated. She checked for a mark.

“Brice.”

“I told you not to talk.”

“For Goddess sakes, listen to me.” Lulu implored. “I need to know. Are you mated?”

His dark eyes danced with ghostly flames as they met her gaze. “I’ve never mated.” He gritted out.

Lulu relaxed. This could be fixed if he wasn’t mated. She must have done the incantation wrong…

Brice’s words cut off her train of thought. “I am blood bonded.”

Alarm burned up Lulu’s spine as Brice let loose a deep mirthless chuckle. “You have doomed us both little bitch.”

The massive fighter listed to one side then collapsed next to the dwindling fire. Lulu darted to him. Hissing in pain when his heated skin seared her on contact. Gathering her shirt, she soaked it in the cold water of a pool. The massive man shivered as she dabbed the cloth on his brow. If she didn’t get his temp down, Brice might die. It never occurred to her to ask Chione what might happen if the person she bonded using the talisman died. To her core, she knew it wouldn’t be good.

Ripping her shirt, she wound strips about her hands. Next, she looped the legs of her scrub pants about his waist, praying they didn’t give way as she drug him along the cave floor to the largest of the shallow pools. The cold water hissed as if touching hot metal as he slid into it. Halfway into the pool, the seam of her scrub pants ripped, sending Lulu sailing backward to crack her head on a limestone shelf. Darkness closing in on her vision, Lulu struggled to pull Brice’s shoulders to the edge of the pool before she passed out. Get his head out of the water so he wouldn’t drown. The divot of rock, barely 14 inches deep, held just enough water to drown the man if he turned over in it.

Once she had settled Brice into a safe position, Lulu collapsed. Angry blisters rose on her arms and chest where they contacted Brice’s skin. The pain of the burns and concussion proved too much for the weakened female. Settling down on the damp cool cave floor a few feet from Brice, Lulu succumbed to unconsciousness.

*

Krish paced and growled in low irate rumbles. Horus stoically waiting, knowing Krish would speak when ready. Sigyn napped on an old truck bench seat off to the side, away from the siblings. Occasionally she would crack an eye open if Krish’s voice became too loud. Otherwise, the she-wolf barely acknowledges the two.

“There has to be another way.” Krish insisted as Horus viewed her impassively.

His calm reply held the cadence of one patiently addressing a surly child. “What method could I possibly use to track your ward that would be more effective than your own?”

“At least try.” The request came from Krish in a heated hiss.

Horus shrugged resignedly as he walked over to the newly placed workbenches. “I will need a few things.” His gaze swept hastily stocked shelves lining the south wall of the converted garage-like building. Several motorcycles were stored on the opposite side of the building next to Sigyn’s resting place a few feet from tall rolling double doors. His nose tickled, the smell of gasoline and oil strong and pervasive.

“Anything. Just name it.”

Horus turned slowly to look at his agitated sister. It was so unlike a Tigraata to make an open-ended statement like that. If he were vindictive or a bit crueler, he might be tempted to take advantage. “I need an assistant. That male who first spoke with me should be acceptable. He seemed intelligent enough.”

“Which one?”

Horus shrugged, indicating he didn’t know.

Though the she-wolf lay silently and appeared to be sleeping, Krish felt a push on her mental barrier as Sigyn sent an image of Baulder to Krish.

Krish snorted. “Thank you, Sigyn.” The grey wolf did not move or respond.

Horus slanted his attention to the massive she-wolf. “Is she talking to you? Why has she not shifted?”

Krish grins at Horus. Her previous agitation melting away temporarily, replaced by amusement. “I will have Baulder sent to you.”

Horus narrowed his eyes at Krish as she left then looked at Sigyn again. “She is not going with you?” Horus called after Krish.

“Cungr assigned her to you.” Krish chuckled.

“Why?” Horus’s question gained no reply. He studied the grey wolf. Feeling his gaze her eyes slitted open. “You should shift. If you are to serve me, we need to be able to talk.”

The female snorted, then returned to her nap. Horus pinched his sharp beak-like nose betwixt his thumb and finger. Grinding his jaw slightly, he rubbed his hand across his face as he mumbled. “Backwards pack. Servants that don’t serve. Wolves that don’t shift or obey Alphas. And the Arch Alpha assassin as its Selene.”

He made his way over to the shelves and began organizing, jotting notes down as he sorted items. Other than the occasional disgruntled hiss or annoyed clicking of his tongue, no other noises were made. The sun fell low on the horizon, the skylights no longer illuminating the warehouse. Horus rubbed his neck, realizing the time. Krish nor Baulder made an appearance.

“Will they bring us food?” Horus asked Sigyn. The she-wolf stretched as she rose up, silver eyes glinting hints of lilac regard him. “I will take you lack of reaction as no. Could you shift? It would make communication easier.” The wolf silently stares. Horus studied her closer. Realization hit. “You can not shift?” Horus’s comment came out half question half statement. Sorrow flashes momentarily in the Sigyn’s eyes as she looks away.

“Why can you not shift?” Sigyn looks back at the tall winged male, eyes narrowed. “Of course. You can not tell me.” His hand waved dismissively. “I will discern the issue at a later date. Lead me to where we may find food.”

Horus follows Sigyn out of the massive garage toward the old Victorian manse. He watches the she-wolf closely. Krish loved to beset him with impossible tasks knowing Horus could not resist a challenging puzzle. During their conversation that day, Horus learned he was called here for more than just finding a lost ward. There was a new, or possibly ancient threat, his sister needed his assistance to subdue. This she-wolf, was she part of that? Or was this a separate diversion?