Chapter 2
T he second time I fell asleep, someone behind me called my brother’s name in a sharp voice. Wolf caught my arm just as I started tilting, preventing me from falling off the horse again. They stood there arguing in low tones as I tried to stay awake.
“Either you do it, or one of us will,” Sable said loud enough for me to make out.
Wolf growled something I couldn’t hear, then stomped over to the side of the horse.
My heart lurched as he reached up, but he just swung onto the horse behind me.
I stiffened, and he felt just as stiff as he wrapped an arm around my waist and took the reins.
He didn’t say a word to me, simply urging the horse to continue following Sable.
I wondered if he was as tall as Pa now. He’d been close when I was ten, but eighteen-year-old Wolf had been all skinny arms and legs. He was still on the slender side but broader and more muscled. He sure seemed taller than I remembered.
I tried to stay alert but started drifting off again as the adrenaline faded.
I kept jerking awake, startling Wolf and the horse.
It reminded me of riding with Trey while we were on the run, but Trey didn’t swear under his breath each time like my brother did.
Eventually, I passed out because next thing I knew, I opened my eyes to see the sun had disappeared behind the mountains.
The woods were so dark, but there was a warm glow of light ahead.
I squinted at it, and as we neared, I realized it was a cabin.
When we finally stepped out of the trees and into a small clearing, I could barely see any details of the dark wooden building.
It was small, and the windows were covered in what looked like oiled paper, revealing only the shadows moving around inside.
The smell of woodsmoke filled the air. Where the fuck were we?
Wolf dismounted and then pulled me off, too. My legs shook when he set me on the ground, and he had to half carry me into the cabin. I was too tired to keep my teeth from chattering now. Our boots thudded across a small wooden porch, and we stepped inside.
The heat washed over me, and I almost whimpered in relief.
Wolf brought me in front of the fireplace and growled at me to sit, so I did.
I huddled as close to the fire as I could, adrenaline making me more alert again.
My gaze darted around the room. There was a woman and a red-haired, freckled man in the same faded green and brown uniforms as the rest. They both stood in the middle of the room, studying me with arms crossed.
“ This is her? I thought she’d be, you know, bigger .” The red-haired man smirked. His hair was cut short, and he had a neatly trimmed short beard the same red as his hair.
“Kai,” Wolf grumbled.
“Whose blood is that?” the woman asked, looking at Wolf.
“Not hers,” he grunted, stripping off his pack and jacket. He glanced up at me, eyes hard. “Guessing she was torturing someone. That’s your job, isn’t it, Ember?”
The shame paralyzed me. I couldn’t help glancing at Lee, knowing exactly where Wolf had received that intel. Lee stared back at me, a challenging look on his face as he shrugged off his pack. I dropped my eyes and shifted closer to the fire.
“Wow, she’s as talkative as you,” Kai said.
“Shut up, Kai,” Wolf said, but he didn’t seem angry.
I heard him approach me, and every muscle in my body tensed.
He crouched before me and grabbed my bound wrists, making me flinch.
A knife glinted in the firelight, but he simply cut the zip tie off again.
Why was he drawing this out? It reminded me far too much of sitting in the dark cell under the watchtower, panicking about how Madame would punish me.
When the plastic tie fell off, he sheathed his knife and took my wrists one at a time, pushing up my sleeves like he was making sure the ties hadn’t added more welts.
“Take off your jacket,” he ordered.
I clumsily obeyed, wishing he would back up and give me more space. He took my jacket from me but frowned at the sight of my bloody shirt.
“Your clothes are filthy,” Wolf muttered, then louder, he said, “Scar, you think you got anythin’ that might fit her?”
“Maybe,” the woman replied, frowning.
Wolf grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. I hoped he didn’t notice I flinched again. My nerves were shot.
“Go with Scar,” Wolf shoved me in the direction of the woman.
I obeyed, following as Scar led the way to one of the bedrooms, and pretended not to hear the bits of conversation that erupted behind us.
“That tiny little girl is the one?—"
“Kai, shut up .”
“Did you see how?—"
“What the fuck?—"
“Wolf, you gotta?—"
Scar closed the door, muffling the voices.
I pressed my back against the wall and took in the small bedroom with its double rows of bunk beds.
Scar eyed me momentarily before walking past to a pack sitting on one of the beds.
I stayed where I was, rubbing my sore wrists and watching as she pulled out a few clothing items. She looked a little older than Wolf, maybe nearing forty.
Her skin was light brown, and her short brown hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, somehow looking both pretty and dangerous.
My eyes fell to the holstered pistol on her waist.
“These are gonna be too big, but they’re clean and dry,” she said.
She handed me the clothes, and I stayed against the wall, waiting for her to leave so I could change. When she didn’t move, I didn’t either. Scar studied me, and I hated feeling so exposed and vulnerable.
“Wolf wants eyes on you at all times,” she said. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”
Fucking hell.
I was not going to let this woman see any of my scars.
My shirt was covered in blood, but it had dried.
Maybe I could get away with just changing my pants.
I slid out of my cold, damp, muddy pants and pulled on the new ones.
They were too big around the waist and too long, but I just slid my belt off my pants and threaded it through Scar’s, cinching it tight.
I rolled the ankles up until I could walk without tripping on the fabric.
When I finished, I set her shirt on the small side table near me and met her gaze, hoping I didn’t look as terrified as I felt.
“I don’t need a shirt,” I said.
Scar frowned. “Your shirt is filthy. C’mon, we’ll wash your clothes tonight, and you can wear them again tomorrow.”
Tomorrow? I would still be alive tomorrow? Panic was threatening to choke me, so I seized the anger instead. “No.”
She tilted her head, her gaze narrowing. “What’s the matter?”
“Nothing.” I glared at her. “My shirt is fine.”
“You mean the one covered in blood?”
“It’s fine,” I said through my teeth.
She pursed her lips, looking almost amused. “You’re as stubborn as he is. Fine, but I’d bet you a drink Wolf sends you right back in here to change.”
“Wolf can go to hell,” I spit out before I could think better of it.
She raised her eyebrows. “Alright, come on.”
We walked back out, and Wolf began to speak, but Scar interrupted him.
“Before you yell at me, she didn’t want a new shirt.” Scar moved to where Lee was filling up the sink, my jacket on the counter beside him.
“Your shirt’s filthy.” Wolf glared at me.
The rest of the men had spread out through the room, but I could feel everybody’s eyes on us. I didn’t answer, staring at the few haphazard patches of worn yellow linoleum that remained on the kitchen floor.
“Ember, go change so we can wash your shirt.”
“No.”
“Why not?” he snapped.
“It’s dry,” I said through my teeth. This was familiar—as if we were falling into an old pattern.
“I don’t care if it’s dry; it’s covered in blood .”
His voice was rising, and his hands clenched at his sides; part of me felt sadistically pleased I was breaking through his calm facade.
I didn’t answer, remembering how ignoring him would make him madder when we were kids.
Apparently, it still worked because when he spoke again, his voice was dangerous.
“Go change your shirt, or one of us will change it for you.”
My gaze snapped to him, fury and panic making me feel sick. He wouldn’t. But he was staring back at me, his expression cold and severe. Fuck . I struggled to think of something to say.
“If you just give me some fuckin’ privacy, I’ll do it.” I hoped they didn’t hear the thread of panic lacing my voice.
Wolf’s brow furrowed, but to my surprise, Scar saved me.
“That window squeaks so damn loud if she tries to get out, we’ll all hear it,” she murmured.
Wolf exchanged a long look with her before nodding. “Fine. But change quick, Em, or I’m coming in.”
I changed faster than I’d ever changed before in my life.
After I reemerged in Scar’s shirt and handed mine over to my brother, he instructed me to go sit by the fire, so I did.
Sable and Kai were curled up together on the couch.
Tuck was sitting in one of the chairs. I gave them all a wide berth and sat on the floor with my back to the fireplace, pulling my knees up to my chest. Now what? He was going to make me wait?
Apparently, he was.
I tried not to notice Sable and Kai, but they were directly in my line of sight.
Kai ran his fingers through Sable’s long blond hair as they kissed.
When they broke apart, Kai said something that made Sable smile and kiss him again.
The two men looked so in love. I fiddled with my shirtsleeve as my throat clogged with emotion—a dark, miserable envy and a deep, painful longing.
I missed Trey so much.
Wolf crouched at my side with a plate of food and a glass of water. “After you eat something, you should go to bed,” he said.
I stared at him, refusing to take the plate he was offering. “And then what?”
“Then we start traveling home.”
He didn’t mean…not our home…
“What home?” I whispered.
He looked at me like I was stupid, and my hackles rose.
“ Our home. Carth.”