Chapter 39: Hunt Her Down
Rhea vanished into the dark of the brush, her chest rising and falling in sharp, desperate, shallow bursts.
She pressed her spine hard against the rough, mossy bark of an ancient oak, trying to force her chaotic breathing to slow. The claws that had just torn through the grave retracted with a stinging snap as she willed herself fully back into her human form, minimizing her profile against the elements.
Then Kaleb’s scent hit her again, thick, suffocating, and terrifyingly close.
Acting on pure instinct, she grabbed a low-hanging branch and hauled herself up. She climbed with a silent, desperate agility, scaling high into the dense canopy until the thick pine needles and midnight fog swallowed her completely.
Crouched on a thick bough, she looked down, her heart hammering a fierce rhythm as Kaleb and a dozen of his elite vanguard broke into the clearing.
Inside her chest, River paced restlessly, her phantom fangs baring in the dark, waiting and ready to explode through the skin the second her human counterpart gave the word. Rhea clamped her jaw shut, holding her breath to remain as quiet as possible.
Down on the mud-slicked ground, Kaleb’s amber eyes swept the clearing. They instantly locked onto the fresh mound of dug-up earth. He stalked to the edge, looking down at the exposed bones of the lamb.
"She is here," he rumbled, his deep baritone cutting through the howling wind. "Fan out and hunt her down. I want my son unharmed, and I want her in chains."
As the warriors dispersed into the brush, Kaleb stayed by the pit. He threw his head back, his chest expanding as he took in a deep, agonizingly slow inhale of the mountain air.
Rhea’s scent, the unmistakable, sharp perfume of rain-soaked earth, silver pine, and a raw, maternal musk, flooded his senses. He closed his eyes, inhaling a second time as if the smell of his former mate truly intoxicated his inner beast. When his eyelids snapped open, his amber irises burned with a brilliant light.
Kaleb blurred with terrifying wolf speed. Rhea tracked him through the branches, her pulse skyrocketing as she watched him move. Stay perfectly still, she told herself. If she kept her aura masked and remained calm, the shadows would shield her.
Suddenly, a violent, bone-rattling force slammed into the trunk below.
Rhea jolted, her fingers digging deep into the bark as the tree rattled forcefully. A second later, the wood groaned under another massive impact. Kaleb was throwing his massive, alpha-strengthened shoulder directly into the oak.
"Rhea!" Kaleb roared, looking straight up into the darkness. "Come down this moment!"
"He tracked our scent," River hissed, her claws scratching violently against Rhea’s mind. "Let me out! We go down there right now and tear his throat out before his mongrels return!"
"Not now, River," Rhea commanded silently, her jaw locking as she refused to utter a sound. She still believed Kaleb was bluffing, trying to flush her out of the shadows. She closed her eyes, forcing her breathing into a slow, rhythmic pattern, her face a mask of absolute stone.
Kaleb stared up into the dense canopy, his nostrils flaring as he pinned her exact location. "This is your last chance to climb down willingly, Rhea, or I will bury you inside that tree," he said.
Rhea remained entirely motionless, clutching the oak bough with everything she had.
Kaleb exhaled a sharp, frustrated breath. "Always wanting things to be done the hard way," he murmured, shaking his head.
He turned his back to the trunk, threw his throat open to the sky, and let out a piercing, dominant howl that shattered the silence of the forest, calling his pack back to his side.
Within seconds, the surrounding brush rustled violently as shadows converged on the clearing.
"We cannot hide up here like cowards forever," River growled restlessly, her wolf grief turning into a volatile desire for blood. "We need to face him!"
"Did you find her something, Alpha?" Daniel asked, breaking into the clearing, his chest heaving as his hand rested on his blade.
Kaleb didn’t break eye contact with the canopy. He lifted a single, clawed finger and pointed directly at the branch where Rhea sat. "I want the archers to lock their targets right there," he commanded, his voice cold as winter ice. "Prepare to draw your weapons and release on my command."
Daniel looked up, his eyes narrowing as he caught the faint outline of a form. He raised his hand, signaling the men.
The heavy, rhythmic squelch of boots against mud filled the air as the archers formed a semi-circle around the base of the tree. The sharp, mechanical clack of arrows being notched to heavy bows echoed through the clearing. Daniel turned, giving Kaleb a rigid nod.
Kaleb’s amber eyes locked onto her hiding spot. Rhea met his gaze through the pine needles, her heart hammering violently against her ribs, but she held her ground, refusing to show fear.
"Ready?" Kaleb commanded, lifting his massive hand high into the air.
Rhea stared at that upraised hand, her pulse faltering. She knew exactly what it meant when that hand dropped.
"We have to fight, Rhea! Even if we die tonight, we die on our feet, spilling their blood!" River barked in a frenzy.
"There are too many of them, River," Rhea replied internally, her mental voice barely carrying over the roar of her own blood. "We won’t make it to the ground alive."
"Draw!" Kaleb bellowed.
The agonizing, creaking groan of a dozen bows stretching to their absolute limits filled the night, the silver-tipped arrows catching the faint moonlight.
Fear, cold and sharp, threatened to finally consume Rhea.
"Are you truly going to take another arrow to the chest for this traitor?" River growled angrily, her despair turning into rage.
"Just trust me," Rhea whispered back.
Then, Kaleb’s hand moved. "Re—"
"Hold!" Rhea’s voice cut through the clearing, steady. "I am coming down."
River paced in a wild, furious circle inside her head. "This is a terrible plan, Rhea! Let me out so I can tear them apart!" the wolf barked in absolute panic as Rhea began her slow descent down the trunk. "He is going to kill us the second our boots hit the mud! Oh, Rhea. This is a bad, bad, disastrous idea!"
