“Arabella!” I look up in horror as a huge boulder crashes down the mountain heading straight for me. When it is inches away, Caden smashes into my side, hauling my out of the boulder’s deadly path.
“That was close.”
“No kidding.” Suddenly, the ground shifts beneath my feet and gives way. We both stumble and plummet straight for the ground.
“Shit.” I stifle a scream as Caden curses and he wraps his arms around me. He twists and hits the ground first, absorbing the impact.
“Th…thank…”
“Move!” He throws me off just as another enormous boulder crashes down, landing directly on top of him.
“Caden!” I stumble back to him, but stop short. Half of his body is pinned beneath the impossibly large rock.
“Oh, God.”
Caden howls in pain, straggling beneath the incredible weight of the boulder.
“Caden you idiot. Why did you do that?”
“Why do you think?”
“You…you saved my life.”
“Yeah, well…don’t say I never did anything for you, omega.” Caden takes a long, shuddering breath as I try to find a way to help him.
“The others. Maybe they can help us.” I shout for help, but there is no response on the cliff above or in the dense forest beyond.
“The rockslide probably took out the path. We’re separated.” Using his free hand, he shoves at the boulder, his face twisted in pain. I see the rock shift a small amount before he hisses, jerking back.
“Caden, you can’t move that on your own.”
“Way to kick a guy when he’s down.” I huff and shake my head. I’ll have to move it myself.
I place my hands on the boulder, shoving all of my weight against it. Nothing. I try again and again, using my shoulder, running into it, using all I’ve got. But it won’t budge.
“Oh, come on.” I scream in frustration as panic begins to overtake me. I shove at it again but to no avail.
“I can’t move it. I…I don’t know what to do. I…”
“Arabella, stop.” Caden’s calm voice makes me whip around to face him, my heart hammering in my chest.
“What do you mean stop? How the hell do you expect me to move this thing if I stop?” For a long moment, Caden watches me, his expression unreadable as he lets the quietness of the forest overtake the both of us.
“Kiss me.” For a long moment, I forget to breath. I can hardly believe my ears.
“That’s by far your worst pickup line.”
“For the last time, it’s not a line.” He gives me a brief, pained smile.
“We’re true mates, Arabella. Remember?” I nod slowly, recalling what he said about power and strength before. It all happened when we touched.
“It happened when we touched. Okay, so I’ll just grab my hand and…”
“Not just any touch. Intimate touch. The more intimate we are…”
The stronger he becomes.
My heart pounds in my chest as heat creeps up my face.
“You’re saying if I kiss you…it will make you more powerful?”
“You don’t believe me?” He laughs, but winces against the painful weight of the rock.
“Arabella, please. We have to try.”
I stare down at the man before me. The man who took me, the man who saved me. I feel that pull in my chest again. The bond. And somehow, I know that what he’s saying is true.
“Okay. I’ll…I’ll try it.” I kneel beside him, moving my hand to his neck.
“Try not to look so worried. I’m the one with half his body crushed by a rock.”
“Hush.” I then lower my mouth to his, intending to do nothing more than brush my lips against his but then our lips touch, an all-consuming heat flames between us. It erupts from my chest, spreading through my body to the very tip of my fingers.
Caden pulls me closer, his tongue twisting with mine, until I’m not sure where I end and where he begins.
“Arabella….” Caden moans my name.
The heat has completely overtaken me, flickering beneath my skin, unbearable and addicting all at once. When I pull away, Caden’s eyes glow bright gold, as if holding the light of the sun.
“That’s it.” He places his large hand on the rock. Then, with a low snarl, he shoves the boulder away from him as if it weighs nothing. I stare back in shock, my skin still crackling with power. Caden chuckles quietly, looking at me rather than at the boulder. He moves to stand, but his knees give way and he swears in pain.
“Here, take my shoulder.” I bend down and put his arm around my neck.
“Are you sure?”
“Please. I can break cement; you think I can’t handle you?”
Leaning on me, Caden manages to keep pace as I hunt for shelter.
“It’s getting dark and we’re in Raphael’s territory. If they find us…” Suddenly, I hear a chorus of howls in the distance.
“Was that Beau and the others?”
“No.” Caden confirms, his eyes darken.
I swallow back fear and keep going. As darkness falls around us, we come across the mouth of a cave. We travel deep into the cave’s cool depths, until we find a soft ground and a fresh spring pool fed by a waterfall.
“Wow, this is beautiful.”
“Let’s rest here.”
I ease Caden to the ground, he hisses through his teeth, panting and damp with sweat.
“Are you okay?”
“What? Am I okay?”
“You fell from a cliff, so yeah. I’m asking if you’re okay.”
“So did you. You took the blow and you were crashed and…”
“Just answer the question, Arabella. Are you okay?” His eyes flash as he looks up at me from the ground, his breathing labored.
“I’m fine. But you look like you could use a doctor.”
“Sorry for not looking more dewy and radiant.” He tries to laugh, but a sharp pain stops him. He clutches his ribs and doubles over.
“Fuck.”
“Okay. Take your shirt off.”
“Sorry, sweetheart. Don’t think I’m up for any playtime right now.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“No? You got me alone in this little cave, now you’re trying to undress me…”
“I just want to see if you’re badly hurt. You must have broken something.”
“Sure. That’s what they all say.” He grumbles, but gingerly pulls his shirt up and over his head.
“There. Happy?” His lean, athletic body shines in the dim cave light, the reflection from the nearby pool dancing on his skin. But his is riddled with fresh swollen bruises. Red, angry cuts licking his flesh.
“Not sure if these are from Damon or the rocks.”
“Caden…” I bring my fingers close and he flinches, looking away.
This must hurt more than he’s admitting.
“Lie back. I’ll bring something that can help.”
“But we lost all our supplies in the fall. We don’t have anything.”
Ignoring him, I walk the rim of the cave, searching the vegetation that grows near the water. My eyes land on what I’d hoped to find: a small patch of golden yellow flowers. I begin plucking their petals.
“This isn’t exactly a great time to start gardening.”
“This is pot marigold. Otherwise known as Calendula. It has healing properties.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“Are you that surprised?”
“Well, it’s not every day you meet someone with knowledge of medicinal plants.
“I hike a lot. You pick up things here and there.” I grind the petals into a paste mixing them with the fresh spring water.
“This salve will speed up the healing process, and take away any chances of infection.” I kneel close to Caden. He eyes me and the golden ointment as I hold it out for him to take.
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“If you’re going to play doctor, you should do it properly.” He stretches out slowly, the angles of his physique sharp in the moonlight. “Could you put it on me?”
“The reason being…?”
“If I’m being honest…it’s hard for me to move much at all right now.” He shifts slightly, and I catch a flash of pain in his eyes. “Please. I won’t bite.”
“Okay. But you really have to hold still.” Caden puts up both hands, a wicked smile on his face.
“Wolf’s honor.” I take the golden yellow ointment between my palms and rub until it is nice and warm. Then I press it to his skin. Caden sucks in a sharp breath, but he quickly relaxes under my touch as the medicine begins to take effect.
“Whoa.” He closes his eyes and I lean back, as I carefully move my hands over his injured ribs. I almost lose myself in the rhythm of my movements, my fingers brushing over the slopes of his abs and he mother fucking groans, sending all sorts of electricity deep in my core.
“Am I turning you on?”
“I’ll plead the fifth on that. But I’ll admit this feels…” I steal his words as I rub the marigold into a particular dark bruise, easing his pain instantly.
“This feels really good.” As I finish applying the medicine to his chest, I notice a dark, angry cut curving over the back of his shoulder.
“Can you sit up? I want to check that out.” Caden does his best to sit up, his eyes half-lidded from my handiwork.
Sure enough, there is a fresh wound along his back. I apply the salve carefully. As I rub between his thick shoulder blades, he groans again, his head tilting back.
“You really do have a magic touch, Arabella.”
“Thank you.” I finish and pull my hand away. Caden’s body practically deflates as I leave him.
“Damn. I could’ve done that all night.” I eye his broad, smooth back. Though it is free of wounds, I imagine it’s badly sore. He landed on his back to save me from the fall. He saved my life.
Caden moves to lay back down, but I gently place my marigold covered fingers on his back to stop him.
“Hmm?”
“Stay still.” Caden glances at me over his shoulder questioningly. I place my hands on his body again.
“You must be sore here.” I press my palms into his taught muscles and his eyes close on a sigh.
“And here.” He groans with pleasure as I move my hands lower, running them over his lower spine, just above his belt.
“Thank you. For catching me.” I say as I slip my fingers over his hot flesh, feeling our true mate bond spark and so does he.
“I’d never let you fall.” He admits. He says the words almost automatically, as if I’d pulled them from somewhere deep within him. We both stop. His eyes open and he turns to me.
“That was…that was great. Thanks.”
“Y…yeah. It was the least I could do.” My eyes travel down his chest, now painted yellow with the calming salve. I stare at the scars there. The jagged claw-like marks and I couldn’t resist asking.
“Caden, why didn’t that heal?” Caden follows my gaze down to his torn flesh then looks away.
“A wolf did this to me a long time ago. It will never heal.” He stares at his reflection in the pool of moonlit water, his eyes growing sad and distant.
“You may not know about this but…a lot of us were born in Raphael’s pack. We lost a lot back then.”
“We? As in…you, too?”
“Yeah.”
So Caden and most of his pack were once under my father’s control?
“Caden, I wish I’d known sooner.”
“I’m sorry. We don’t talk about it much. The memories are…painful to say the least.”
“Did you…did you lose anyone?”
“…My parents.” The cave grows very still as Caden bows his head.
“I was 12. They were killed by…”
“By my father?” I finish for him.
Caden nods, his throat rising and falling as he swallows hard. I could see a shine of tears in his once sharp eyes.
God, I can’t imagine the pain he’s in. He looks so alone.
Slowly, carefully, I move to sit closer to him.
“I’m so sorry, Caden. I know the pain of growing up without parents but…I can’t imagine the pain of losing parents who raised you. Who loved you.” I place my hand on Caden’s shoulder. His eyes widen a fraction, as if no one has ever done this for him.
“Thanks. Losing people you love…it’s the worst pain in the world.” He looks deep into my eyes. The shimmer of his power, and his past, float just beneath the surface.
“Those are the real scars.”
“Yeah. They are.” Caden stares, unblinking, into my eyes, as though he’s swimming in them. He leans in close…Like a bolt of lightning, our true mate bond shocks to life. We both gasp, and I lift my hand from his shoulder.
“Hey.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry in your past like that.” I move to stand but he takes my wrist and stops me.
“No, I almost forgot. I have something for you.” He reaches into his pocket and removes a small object.
“This was why I was gone this morning.” He takes my hand and places the object on my palm. It’s the bracelet I’ve had since my childhood.
“My bracelet! You went back to town for this?”
“It’s your piece of home. I didn’t want you to be without it.” I smile, turning the bracelet over in my hands, the same way I did when I was young.
“Thank you, Caden.” He watches my face, his own expression growing soft.
“Arabella…I can understand why you’ve been fighting so hard to escape us. I would have done the same thing. Omega or not, wolves aren’t meant for cages.”
“The truth is I didn’t feel at home in town either.”
“You didn’t?”
“No. I’ve always felt out of place. And seeing all of you, belonging together like a real family…it’s opened my eyes a little.”
“Like a real family, huh?” Caden nods slowly and I’m suddenly reminded of Koda.
“We’ll get Koda back, Caden. As soon as you’re healed.”
“Yeah, we have to.” He gingerly stretches across the cave floor, resting his head in the mossy ground.
“We should really get some rest.”
“Yeah.” I suppress a small shiver, the cold, damp air sinking into my bones as Caden watches me with a critical eye.
“Are you cold?”
“Oh…I can handle it.”
“I never said you couldn’t. I was just asking.” He reaches a hand out to me, a playful smirk plastered on his lips.
“Come here.” I raise a skeptic eyebrow at him.
“Why?”
“It’s going to be a rough night either way, but it will be more bearable if we’re closer.” His smirk turns almost devilish, alluring in a way that makes my stomach flip.
“Is that another line?”
“No. Just an invitation.” I try to ignore the flush in my cheeks as I stare him down.
“Okay…but no funny business.”
“You have little faith.”
Flushing, I scoot closer and slowly ease myself down beside him. He tucks an arm around my waist, his nose nuzzling into my hair.
“I’m softer than the ground if you want to lean on me.” He teases gently pulling me closer to his body, to his warmth. I feel the bond hum quietly between us. But more than that, his arms feel warm. Safe. “I’ll sleep better with you against me, too.”
My eyelids feel heavy as his warmth envelopes me.
“Are you always this warm?” He chuckles lightly. The sound reverberates in his chest, rumbling between us.
“Would you get mad if I told you it was a wolf thing?”
“No, I wouldn’t.” I can’t stop the smile that creeps up on my face.
“You getting used to me?”
I close my eyes while in his embrace, sleep inching in on me like a fog.
“I might be warming up to you.” I admit as I feel his arms tighten around me.
“Good night Arabella.” As the fog of sleep rolls in in earnest, I bury my face in his chest.
“Good night.” I drift to sleep, peaceful and warm in Caden’s arms. But when the darkness consumes me, that same tormenting nightmare resurfaces.
The smell of blood and smoke. The crackle of flame. Someone screams my name.
“Arabella!!!”
Before I can process what it means, I’m yanked awake by a loud voice.
“Get off me!”
Is that…Caden?
The sun burns my eyes as I open them. That is, before a long shadow blocks its rays.
“Rise and shine, gorgeous.” I shoot upright in terror. Two men wrestle Caden’s arms behind his back.
“Arabella, run! Don’t…” His words are the last thing I hear before Damon knocks me out cold. When I next open my eyes, my head is throbbing.
“Wh…what happened?” I sit up inside what can only be a prison cell. The ground is cold, the lights dim.
“Arabella.” Caden’s voice comes as o gravelly whisper of relief.
“Caden…are you alright?”
“I’m fine. But…”
“You’re finally awake. Good.” I whip around as two men walk up to my cell. One of them is Damon smirking. But it’s the looming man beside him who catches my attention. He’s in his late 50s, dressed in an all-black suit.
“So good to see you. Tell me, are you well?” He stares down at me like I’m an insect, no feeling in his chilling eyes. Eyes that remind me exactly of my own.
“Who…who are you?”
“Ah, of course, how rude of me. I forgot you wouldn’t recognize your father.”
My gut lurches and I suddenly feel sick, dread rushing up my throat like bile. The man’s face splits into a smile, unnaturally wide and so cold that I could burn my skin.
“Welcome home Arabella. I’ve missed you.”
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