“That’s more than fair.” Kyle crawled to the middle of the bed, taking her with him. “Rest for a while. I can sense your exhaustion.”
She didn’t argue. Their joining and then the vision left her feeling drained and sleepy. “I just need a short nap then I’ll be ready for round two.”
Isaac pressed in behind her, stroking his hand down her side. “There’s no hurry. We have the rest of our lives for more pleasure. We need you clear-headed and filled with energy. Your first mission as part of Shadow Team One begins at first light.”
CHAPTER 8
Bright and early the following morning, Isaac, Jon, and Kyle gathered around their new mate. They were showered, dressed, and ready for their first challenge as a bonded coalition. Sleeping in a tangle of warm bodies and sizzling energy left all four satisfied and happy. Now it was time to rescue the human females from the wolves.
The first thing they needed was current information. They needed to make sure nothing significant had changed. “The pathway was established last night,” Isaac began. They stood in the living room, Tara in the middle of the males. “With our help, you should be able to contact Claire without the vision.”
Tara took a deep breath and nodded. “How do I do that?”
“Focus inward,” Kyle instructed, his voice quiet and warm. The specific skill they were hoping to develop in Tara fell under the tracker category, so Isaac let Kyle lead the exercise. “Picture Claire’s face with as much detail as you can manage.”
The soul bond allowed Isaac to see what Tara was picturing. Claire was an attractive redhead, with wide green eyes and an engaging smile.
“Now put her in the cave,” Kyle directed. “See her as she was last night. Again, detail is important.”
Tara pictured what she’d seen the night before; twenty-one females huddled together along the wall of a cave. She omitted Dawn’s seduction, which was fine. She needed to focus on Claire.
“Very good.” Kyle guided her, but couldn’t take over. He had no emotional connection with Claire. Only Tara knew her well enough to establish the link. “Now ease into her mind. If she senses you, reassure her like you did last night.”
Tara tried to connect with Claire, but the image didn’t change. She was seeing a memory, not a visual representation of the present. The males infused her attempt with energy, but their efforts had no effect on the scene. The image was locked, static.
“Why isn’t it working?” Tara cried. “I can’t get her to respond.”
Kyle stroked the side of her face and Tara opened her eyes. “All of these skills take practice, or we could be out of range. Don’t get discouraged. This was a long shot.”
Tara accepted defeat with a nod, but her disappointment was obvious.
“I’ll let the guardians know we’re ready to head out,” Jon said and stepped out onto the porch.
The day was cold and clear. It had finally stopped snowing. Kyle helped Tara with her coat and gloves. Temperatures in the forest were always colder than in the village. The trees might block the wind, but they also filtered the sun.
Jon returned a short time later with six of Zion’s guardians. Isaac would have preferred to work with Diego’s coalition, but they were up at the raptor village again. He wasn’t sure if they were still working out the details of the feline/raptor alliance or if their efforts had returned to building a communication system out of scavenged parts.
Isaac shook away the distraction and focused on the tasks ahead for his coalition. He looked at Tara. “Ready?”
She nodded and produced an uncertain smile. “This is my first mission. I’m an office worker. I never expected to be part of a paramilitary mission.”
“You’re our guide,” Isaac stressed. “You’ll point us in the right direction and then find somewhere safe to wait until the battle is over. You will not be anywhere near the fighting.”
“Works for me,” she assured him, her smile less shaky.
Isaac stepped out into their sunny front yard and looked around. Jon was talking with the guardians. The small group was clearly anxious to begin. Elias stood near them. Magnetic cuffs secured his wrists, and a metal collar had been closed around his throat. Attached to the collar was an alloy leash. One of the guardians grasped the handle. It was a fitting outfit for a rabid dog. All he needed now was a muzzle.
More than ready to get underway, Isaac led the small group through the village. Tara estimated that it would take about twenty minutes to reach the rock formation. She walked beside him, but remained quiet and watchful.
Twenty additional soldiers fell into step behind them as they reached the perimeter wall. Tara tensed when she saw them and her gaze flew back to Isaac. “Do we really need so many? Therewere only four guards in the cave last night. I thought ten of us was overkill.”
“They’re backup,” he assured her. “They’ll be positioned in the forest outside the cave.”
Jon and Kyle walked behind them, keeping the coalition in a tight unit. “They’ll do nothing unless we call for them,” Jon explained. “But we want them nearby.”
“It’s better to have them and not need them than the other way around,” Kyle pointed out.
It only took fifteen minutes to reach the rock formation that Claire indicated the night before. Isaac hadn’t recognized it during the vision, but seeing it in person made him shake his head. He’d passed this thing hundreds of times and never dreamed that it was a secret entrance to a network of tunnels and caves.
