211 Come Back

~ ZEV ~

It had been an insane night. And an insane few months. An insane lifetime. And it was all coming to a head in just a few hours.

At some point as the others all scattered to eat, to find their mates, to prepare, as Sasha sat with the wet nurse to watch over Zan for his meal, Zev found the tension of being under eyes almost unbearable.

He started to walk at first just to move, to try and relieve some of the tension in his body. But he found himself soon turning with a purpose… and eventually stepped into the small clearing where Skhal had found him and Zan the night before.

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The never-silence of the forest around them—bird calls, the rustle of the breeze in the trees overhead, the scratch and skitter of wildlife—called him like the truest quiet. It was the sound of his soul, and for a while he simply sat in it and tried to breathe.

He quivered with tension, from head to toe. It felt as if there was too much body inside his skin and he might burst with the pressure of it at any moment. He wanted to weep. He wanted to rage. He wanted to bite something.

And he wanted to sleep. He wanted to turn his back on everyone and everything but his mate and son and simply disappear.

Fat chance.

He shook his head and took a deep breath, trying desperately to ease some of the pressure in his chest. But only succeeded in making his head spin.

.....

What was he going to do? He would meet the Anima Queen in mere hours. He’d spent the morning feeling the eyes of the Alphas and advisors on him. Feeling them watching him like claws scraped down his back.

They were scared. They had reason to be. He knew better than any of them.

And yet…

Something deep inside still cried. For calm. For… peace… no matter the cost.

He shook it off. That was not how he would bring his people through this.

Attendance. Analysis. Critical thinking. Strategy. Wariness. Willingness to fight… those instincts would bring him through this without a mistake.

He knew it for truth, and yet something still sat heavily on his shoulders. Something he couldn’t shake free.

When he heard a twig snap deep in the trees, he tensed, suddenly very aware of being alone—the Anima knew where they were!

But as he scrambled to his feet, it was a dark head and worried eyes that emerged from the trees, searching for him. And the most precious heart in creation that suddenly called to his, relief washing over her.

Sasha.

But she was alone. Her arms empty.

Fear speared through him and his breath stopped. “Sash? What’s wrong?! Where’s Zan—”

“It’s fine. He’s fine, Zev. Don’t worry. He’s sleeping. And sleeping better than he has in days,” she said softly as she trotted across the grass to him.

Washed in overwhelming relief, he opened his arms to take her in when she reached him, pulling her close and burying his nose in her hair.

For a long moment they just held each other. Zev realized then that it had been days—weeks?—since they’d been truly alone. His heart ached with the relief of simply being with her.

If only they had time…

He sighed heavily, trailing his hands through her hair and nuzzling her neck. She smelled like tears—recently shed, and still threatening.

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“Shhhhhh,” he murmured against her neck. “Stop worrying. I’m going to protect you. Protect us. All of us,” he whispered.

Her tears did come then, her shoulders shaking. He held her more tightly. “I won’t let them take him, Sasha, don’t worry. Jayah’s here now, and the wet nurses. We can… we can get through this no matter what happens with—”

“No, Zev…” she whispered against his chest, clinging to him. “That’s not why I’m crying.”

Zev blinked. “Then… what is it? Did something happen? Did someone touch you?!”

“No!” She squeezed the word through gritted teeth and tight lips, her forehead lined, and she pulled back to look at him, her eyes searching his.

“Then… what is it?”

She shook her head slowly, her eyes still shining with tears, but her expression almost blank. “Zev… it’s you.”

He blinked, waiting. “I… what?”

“Come back, please, Zev.”

He frowned. “Sash, I’m right here. What are you talking about?”

She cupped his face with both hands and stared at him, her eyes pleading. “Come back, please Zev. You left me when the humans were hunting us, then you came back. I thought it was the end of that when we got Zan back, but now… you’re out of reach. Even for me.

“Zan needs you, Zev. I need you.”

He braced, prickling. “I know. I’m here,” he said, frustrated. “I’m doing everything I can—”

“No, Zev, you aren’t. You aren’t.”

The pressure in his chest threatened to burst through his ribs—she wanted more? How the fuck did she expect him to carry more—

“Forgive, Zev. You have to forgive. Forgive her.”

_{𝑓r𝘦𝘦𝘄eb𝒏𝙤vel.c𝙤𝙢}

Zev froze, gaping at his mate, every instinct in him screaming that the enemy was near, even as he took in the image of his mate, broken and pleading. “Forgive who?” he asked carefully, wishing his voice didn’t sound so cold.

Sasha’s forehead crinkled at his tone, but she didn’t move away. “Elreth,” she whispered.

“That bitch—”

“She’s human, Zev. I mean, a person. Just like us. She’s reaching out. She’s trying—”

“Because she’s losing!”

“No. She sent help for Zan. Help for the rest of us too—supplies and medical stuff we don’t have. She’s trying to bridge the gap—”

“No. It’s a trick, Sasha. A seduction—”

“Zev, our son was dying—do you understand that? If it weren’t for the Anima, if we hadn’t gotten taken, if they hadn’t nursed him, he would have died within days of our arrival. Wake up! What just happened now would have happened last week—and we would have had zero answers. None! We would have stood here helpless and watched our son die because we don’t have what he needs!”

Zev stared at her, every word pelting him like a stone thrown with all her strength, clattering against his skin, threatening to pierce it.

His mate… his mate was turning on him now?

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