"Why are you letting them leave? Let me out! Let me take their legs!" River barked in her head, her spirit-form thrashing against the walls of Rhea’s mind.
Rhea’s fists clenched so tightly her nails bit into her palms. She watched the three men march away, their arrogant strides burning into her sight.
Men. They are all unbelievable. Because she was a lone female, unattached and without an Alpha, they truly believed they could stroll into the sanctuary and bully her into their beds. She would show them exactly how she earned her lethal reputation in the northern territories.
"Mama? Who were those men?" Eli’s small, trembling voice cracked the silence, pulling Rhea from her thoughts.
She looked down at her son and forced her face to soften, though her eyes lingered on the heavy iron gates. "No one important, my sweet boy," she murmured, catching his hand. The skin of his palm was rough with dried dirt and sweat. "Come. Let’s get you washed and into bed."
Eli nodded, but as they turned toward the residential wing of the sanctuary, his face tilted up to hers. "When is Uncle Adam coming back to see us?"
Rhea’s jaw hardened. She kept her eyes fixed straight ahead, refusing to answer.
"Do you want to tell the pup that you were hoping those men were sent by Adam, too?" River’s voice echoed in her mind, dripping with quiet mockery.
Go away, River, Rhea snapped back, shaking her head as if she could rattle the wolf out of her thoughts.
They walked in silence through the stone corridors until they reached the door of Eli’s bedroom. Rhea took in his scuffed leather boots, caked in dried mud from the courtyard. She knelt down on the cold floor, reaching for his laces.
"Let’s take these shoes off out here, Eli. We don’t want to track dirt all over your clean rugs."
Eli instantly scrambled backward, his boots squeaking against the stone as he shook his head firmly. "No, Mama. You can’t do that."
Rhea paused, her hands hovering in the air. She frowned. "What do you mean I can’t do that?"
"Uncle Adam says a warrior must never take his boots off before he enters a dark room," Eli said, his chest puffing out slightly as he repeated the rule. "In case someone has scattered silver-powder or glass on the floor to trap him."
A sudden spark of hot anger or maybe jealoiusy flared in Rhea’s chest. "Listen to me, Eli!" she snapped, her voice coming out much sharper than she intended. "I am the one taking care of you now. You listen to me. I am your mother, not Adam!"
Eli flinched. Slowly, his lower lip began to tremble, and his big eyes filled with tears. "I’m sorry, Mama," he whispered, a tear escaping and cutting a clean path through the soot on his cheek.
Her heart instantly shattered. The anger evaporated, leaving only a hollow ache. Rhea lunged forward and pulled his small body against her chest, burying her face in his hair.
"Oh, darling, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you," she murmured, kissing the crown of his head. "Mama is just tired. I just want you to be safe."
Eli sniffled, hugging her neck tightly with his small arms. "I miss Uncle Adam so much," he whimpered into her shoulder. "Can we please go to him? Please, Mama?"
Rhea closed her eyes, swallowing the lump in her throat. For a fleeting second, the image of Adam’s fierce, protective gaze flashed in her mind. She shook her head quickly, physically discarding the memory.
"I know you miss him, Eli," she whispered, pulling back to wipe his tears with her thumb. "But we cannot go to him. Right now, we need to get you clean."
Eli offered a small, defeated nod. He kicked his boots off by the door and padded into the room.
Within minutes, Rhea had him bathed, the scent of lavender and fresh water washing away the metallic tang of the night’s battle. She tucked him beneath the thick furs of his bed.
She sat on the edge of the mattress, gently stroking his damp hair as his breathing slowed, watching him drift off to sleep. Her own mind raced, haunted by the images of rogue claws and the threatening warning of the Serpent-Spine messenger.
"We will not beg anyone for help," she whispered to the quiet room, pulling the furs up to Eli’s chin. "I will build us a home of our own. A real one."
"We will protect him," River rumbled softly, her instincts settling into a watchful guard over the sleeping cub.
"Yes," Rhea murmured. "With everything we have. But I must find us a safe place."
Suddenly, a knock sliced through the quiet. Knock. Knock. The quiet sound made both Rhea and River freeze.
Rhea’s pulse spiked. Her hand flew to her thigh, her fingers locking around the silver hilt of her knife. She crept silently across the wooden floorboards, her bare feet making no sound.
River snarled inside her head, baring her teeth as Rhea reached out and touched the door handle. Rhea pressed her ear to the wood, straining to hear the scent or breath of an intruder on the other side.
But all she heard was silence.
She unlocked the door and pulled it open, her knife raised. No one was there.
The corridor was completely empty. But as the door swung back, a small, folded piece of parchment fluttered to the stone floor.
Rhea’s brows furrowed. She glanced left and right down the hallway, her senses on high alert, but the hallway was clear. She knelt and scooped up the paper.
Before she even unfolded it, a rich, familiar scent washed over her senses. It crashed into her like a forgotten memory. Cedarwood, charred pine, and rain-soaked earth. Her knees nearly gave way. It smelled exactly like the night she first walked into her healing room.
Adam’s scent. It was so thick on the paper that it felt like he was standing right beside her in the room.
With trembling fingers, she slid off the leather cord holding the parchment closed and flattened it out. The handwriting was not Adam’s bold stroke, but Bernard’s heavy print:
The Alpha asked me to tell you that this snake, Draven, is only the first. But do not worry, Luna. He is watching. ~ Bernard.
A strange, unwanted warmth bloomed deep in Rhea’s chest. Her lips betrayed her before her pride could stop them and a tiny smile appeared. Even though she had pushed him away, even though she had told his beta to leave, he was still guarding her from the shadows.
But just as quickly, she forced the smile down. She folded the note, stepped back into the safety of the bedroom, and slid the heavy iron bolt into place. She leaned her back against the thick wood, staring at her sleeping son.
She thought she was safe behind these stone walls. But outside, deep within the dark line of the pine trees surrounding the sanctuary, a pair of eyes gleamed in the shadows.
And they were not Adam’s, but they were waiting for the sun to set.
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