The Firewolf seemed to agree with us, in terms of prioritizing Luna, at least. He pursed his lips but nodded, his tense stance relaxing slightly. “All right. Maybe you’re not as bad as I thought.”
He took a step forward and offered us his hand, presumably intending to acknowledge our truce. He wasn’t strong enough to reach us. Two seconds later, he let out a sharp hiss and went down like a rock.
Luna cried out in distress. “Rowan!”
She dropped to her knees next to him, brushing her fingers over his bare shoulder. “Breathe with me. Come on.”
For the first time since we’d met up with Luna and Rowan, I realized he wasn’t all right. He’d been injured in the fight at the settlement. Werewolves healed very quickly, so that shouldn’t have been a problem—unless, of course, there was some kind of poison at work. The Wolfsbane Pack had always been creative in their weaponry, and that couldn’t have changed in the years since we’d left.
“He was poisoned, wasn’t he?” I asked as Nate and I rushed to Luna’s side.
“More or less. The poisoning wasn’t serious. We didn’t think it was a big deal, since it was just a scratch that should have healed. I think it’s because he was wounded by his brother before.”
“That’s possible.” Nate hummed thoughtfully. He was better than me at this sort of thing, and during our time in the Badlands, he’d learned a few extra tips and tricks that had saved our lives more than once. “Let me guess. That’s why you’re here at the spring. To cool him down and maybe wash his wound.”
Luna nodded. “I couldn’t come up with any other solution. We have no supplies, no clothes, nothing.”
As she spoke, her face heated slightly, as if she’d just realized she was naked. But we’d never been shy, and she ignored the sexual potential of the moment. “Will you help us? Please.”
“Of course,” I replied. “We’ll do everything we can.”
I hoisted Rowan onto my back, while Luna and Nate shifted into their lupine forms. “This way,” Nate growled. “We have a small hideout nearby where we stash some supplies. It’s not much, but it’ll make a difference.”
“Be careful,” Rowan grunted, his voice tight with pain. “I know you’re aware of this, but we have to keep a low profile. I made quite a mess when we left, and I’m pretty sure my brother and Alpha Clayton are both after us.”
“Probably, yes,” I admitted, “but they were busy fighting each other. The settlement was in chaos. We have a little time.”
“They didn’t pursue us when we fled,” my brother added. “But even if they come after us, the best thing we can do right now is to make sure you recover.”
Rowan didn’t answer. I got the feeling he wasn’t completely convinced. And why would he be? In his state, he was a liability to our mate. He might have been the one to free her, but now, he was slowing her down.
Before we’d shown up, Luna had been tied to him. A female Omega couldn’t make her way on her own through the Badlands. It was much too dangerous. But now that Nate and I were here, Rowan undoubtedly realized that we were a better option as Luna’s males.
Luna must have sensed this, because she kept sneaking peeks at Rowan over her shoulder. They had just bonded, so she could probably sense most of Rowan’s feelings, perhaps even hear his thoughts. She didn’t say anything about it, but the tension in the air grew thicker and thicker with every passing second.
With the power of the chaos still weighing so heavily on us all, it was hard to withstand the assault of Luna’s fear and disapproval. I couldn’t feel her as strongly as Rowan did, but echoes of her emotions still swept over me, and I wanted nothing more than to pull her into my arms and kiss all her worries away.
But kisses weren’t what she needed right now, so instead, Nate and I walked as quickly as possible. We kept a close eye on our surroundings, so that we wouldn’t be taken by surprise by any beast. We shouldn’t have worried. We didn’t run into any animals or rogues, and we reached our small refuge without incident.
The Badlands were a labyrinth of caves of different shapes and sizes. Some were unsuitable for habitation. Others were perfect. Rogues made do with whatever they found, good or bad.
We’d been lucky enough to run into an unusual place. It wasn’t a cave per se, or rather, not a regular type of cave. The ground opened up in a small crack, and most people didn’t even give it a second look. It was tiny, so much so that no one would have thought how much potential it had.
Deep beneath the surface, the crack opened into a fairly large cavern. It wasn’t safe for long-term habitation, since there wasn’t a lot of air, but the lack of humidity and the space served us well in storing things we needed. On occasion, we could sleep here for a little while.
Climbing down with Rowan on my back wasn’t an option. The space was just too cramped. But Rowan took one look at the crack and said, “Let me down.”
I complied, and when I set him on the ground, he got up, standing normally. He was obviously still in pain, but he didn’t fall over again.
I wanted to tell him to be careful, but I decided against it. He already knew what was expected of him, and pointing it out would be insulting to the proud Firewolf.
“I’ll climb down first,” Nate offered, “then Luna. Then you, Beta Savage, and Sam at the end.”
“Got it,” Rowan replied. “By the way, you can ditch the Beta. I’m pretty sure attacking my brother means I’m an exile from the Firewolf Pack now. Just call me Rowan.”
“All right… Rowan.”
The small pause Nate made before saying the Firewolf’s name suggested he was about as comfortable with the situation as I was. Fucking hell, we needed to take cover somewhere, because my skin was crawling and my heart had started to race. There was no one other than us around, and yet, I felt like I was being watched.
