“Let’s go,” Rhys murmured, touching his hand to Sage’s back.
Trent held up his hand before they could move, then marched for the barn. “Hailey! I need you out here,” he called.
“What’s happening?” Alton asked again.
“That fire you’re talking about? I’d bet everything it’s serving as a distraction. They’ll hit us first before making any moves on the town.” Rhys looked down at Sage, then turned his attention to his father. She didn’t show fear on her face, but the sour stench filled her scent. “Until then, we’re on our own and you need to go.”
Sage disengaged and walked back to where her bag was waiting. Clothes mostly, though he’d tucked the lion and lioness carvings inside when she wasn’t looking. If things went sideways, he wanted her to have the reminder of how powerful she could be on her own.
Alton stepped up next to him. “Let me stay. I can help.”
Rhys watched Sage for a moment longer, then turned to his father. “What you can do is get her to safety. She’s everything to me. She needs to live.”
Even if they didn’t.
He’d failed a woman before. This time, he’d make sure she lived.
Emotion flashed in his father’s eyes. He released his arm and took a step back. “You have my word.”
Rhys nodded, then strode for Sage. He wrapped his fingers around her wrist to spin her to him. His heart heaved as he yanked her close, crushing his lips against hers in a kiss as furious as their first. She threw her arms around his neck to hold him tight. He pressed against her, feeling like a solid wall that would forever keep her safe and secure.
Except he wasn’t. He couldn’t. He might not ever see her again.
His lion roared and slashed at him, but he forced himself to take a step back. This was right. Seeing her out of the territory, away from the danger, that was what a good mate did. He’d fight to the very end, but he needed to know she was okay.
“Rhys,” she called out.
He turned, an eyebrow raised.
“I’ll be waiting for you to tell me it’s safe to come home.”
* * *
Cool, autumn air washed over Sage and left her shivering and exposed even after the SUV door closed her off from the elements. She didn’t like being separated from the others, Rhys especially. They’d become her family since Kyla orchestrated her search and rescue. She’d never felt more loved and accepted in her life, and to cut herself off from them made her stomach turn.
Temporary, she told herself. Only temporary. Only until Jasper’s consortium of prides found themselves turned into dust.
If the Ashfords were summoned.
If the numbers didn’t overwhelm.
If everyone survived, minds and bodies intact.
They were several miles down the road when Alton broke the silence. “You and my son, eh?”
Sage twisted away from the window and peeked at the man in the driver’s seat. Alton Chapman, Rhys’s father, didn’t take his eyes off the road, but she felt watched nonetheless.
Rhys took after him in build—both were big, sturdy men. She’d yet to see his lion, so she didn’t know if Rhys got his rare, white coloring from him or some distant relative down the bloodline. His eyes were the same, too, even if they weren’t the exact color, they pierced right through her.
“Me and your son,” she said with a small, shaky smile. “He’s been everything I needed.”
“I suppose he told you I came here to entice him back home?” At her nod, he snorted. “Well, you tell him to consider the offer rescinded. I don’t want to see hide nor hair of him in my territory. It’s clear he’s exactly where he belongs.”
“You really think so?”
“Absolutely.” Alton nodded. “You know, even as a cub—and I’m talking young, barely old enough to walk—even then, he was fiercely independent. Asking for help was always the last resort.”
Alton glanced at her, and she had the feeling he was taking the measure of her very character. She fought the urge to fidget, suddenly nervous he’d find her unworthy. Stupid, she knew, especially in light of his contentious relationship with Rhys, but there was also the sliver of hope that she could be part of a family that wasn’t trying to murder one another.
“It’s hard to imagine Rhys as anything but who he is now,” Hailey murmured from the back.
“For you, sure,” Alton agreed. “You’ve only known this version of him. I’ve seen the tender side when he has a good woman in his life.” He took in Sage with another glance, this time offering her a warm smile. “He asked for help keeping you safe. That’s big for him. You must be very important to him.”
Sage’s cheeks flushed, and she turned to face the window. She almost didn’t recognize the image reflected back at her. That woman looked sturdy and ready to face any challenge thrown her way. Not long ago, she hadn’t been able to see any light at the end of the tunnel. One man had grabbed her by the scruff and shaken her awake with a handful of words.
I’ll stand with you.
While he wasn’t physically at her side that moment, she still felt his presence. He’d shown her she wasn’t as lost or hopeless as she’d thought. He’d pushed her past just breathing and moving. She wanted to do more than simply exist with him around; she wanted to live.
“He’s important to me, too.”
“We’ll drive through the night and see where that gets us,” Alton said, then added, “He’s a tough one.”
Hailey leaned forward and squeezed her arm. “They all are. Besides,” she said, “no one said we can’t help from a distance.”
Sage twisted in her seat, and Hailey grinned. Her phone screen lit up, bathing her face in an eerie glow as she clicked away a
