Escaping Death

I think that catches me up for the last 10 days.

There is a bonus chapter between 55 and 56, exclusive to Patreon. Please note that all bonus chapters do not contain details that are relevant to the main plot. They are, as the name implies, just a bonus.

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Solana

Something strong and sure stops me from jumping off the rocks and pulls me back behind the waterfall’s curtain. Usually I’m not caught off guard like this, usually I am hyper aware of my surroundings and braced for anything at any moment. But in the confines of the Grove, in my somewhat secret spot, surrounded by Death, I must have let my defenses relax.

I shriek reflexively out of surprise but a warm hand, a familiar hand, quickly covers my mouth, muting my cry. I may have been caught off guard, which is an oversight I’ll obviously need to correct even here in the Grove, but unfortunately for this asshole I’ve been trained by some of the most lethal creatures on the planet.

I shadow so he can’t see or predict my movements despite still being locked in his grip. I kick backwards aiming for his knee but I’m shorter than him and can’t get my foot up that high with enough leverage to push back, so I end up kicking his shin.

He sucks in a breath through his teeth, cursing at the pain. “Easy, Sunflower. It’s just me,” Hunter’s voice whispers in my ear and the iron hold he had on me eases so I can turn around to face him.

I’m so shocked to see him here that my mouth flounders open and closed for a few seconds before I manage to say something. “Hunter? What – are you insane? What are you doing here?” I hiss at him not out of anger but out of fear. Fear that he’ll be found and I’ll lose him all over again.

“I needed to know that you were safe,” he says as if that explains everything before dragging me further into the tunnel. When we round the first corner he stops abruptly, threads his fingers through the base of my hair, and slams his lips against mine. His tongue invades my mouth and it feels like we’re fledglings in love again, sneaking off to the falls and making out until the sun goes down.

We break away from each other breathless and panting, his eyes inky pools of desire. “There’s an issue I need to clear up. Either it’s bullshit or betrayal. But I’m not going to risk your safety while I figure it out.”

“What happened? Where is this coming from?”

His head snaps in the direction of the cave’s entrance upon hearing Eli calling out to the others that he’s found our tunnel.

Hunter summons a large dagger and pushes me behind him, blocking me from view. “Stay behind me until we sort this out. If things go badly, run.”

“No. You don’t just pull out a dagger on your pack, tell me what the hell is going on,” I demand but the rumble resonating around me is his warning to do as I’m asked.

“You run, Solana. Do you understand?”

“Sol, can you hear me?” A distant voice snaps me out of my wandering thoughts and back to the present. I blink away the memory of earlier and find the guys and my siblings staring at me expectantly.

“I said are you doing okay? You know…” Rhys tilts his head gesturing to the other end of the table where my grandparents sit among them.Really it’s more justher, it’s not fair for me to blame my great uncle Dex for any of the anguish she brought with her.

Elena.

The woman who not only brought four despicable creatures into the world, but who also stole my grandmother’s rightful spot as Elder out from under her. I feel sick having to sit here and pretend like I’m not imagining new ways to torture her, pretend like she’s not solely responsible for our fractured family photo.

“I didn’t even notice it was here,” I lie. How could I not notice when every nerve ending in my body is its own barely contained wildfire of rage.

“Rhys,” Cole growls out in warning.

“What? Why can’t I ask? Why can’t I care?” Rhys’ voice gets increasingly louder and increasingly angrier drawing the attention of the others at the table.

“Not here,” Calla bites out quietly.

“Sunshine, weren’t you saying something earlier about Rhys’ private liquor stash?” Eli winks at me and breaks the tension with a dazzling smile.

Cole pushes back away from the table, throwing his dinner cloth on the table and walking off.

“The race is on,” I say sardonically and move to stand as well. My four boys stand as I do, ready to follow me back to the room but Cole has other ideas.

His hand reaches out and clutches me by the arm. Ace snarls immediately, earning us renewed interest from the rest of the dinner table.

“Come with me, Solana.” Cole grits out. It’s a command, not a request.

I liberate myself from his hold and make for the exit. “Don’t be such a baby, your arm is fine.”

He matches pace with us easily overtaking the lead by the time we pour into the hallway. “It’s not about my fucking arm. Come on, I can’t talk about it here.” Cole says, making Ace snarl again. “And you don’t need your entourage.”

He walks off around the corner and normally I’d take this opportunity to further piss him off but the guys would end up getting involved and no one needs that.

“I need to go talk to him,” I say looking back at the guys, all of whom wear stern expressions. “Just go upstairs and I’ll be there in a minute.”

None of them move, not even to blink. Like suggesting that I do something on my own isn’t even a choice they understand.

“Go head back,” Ace finally tells the others. “I’ll go with you,” he gestures for me to lead the way.

I can feel Cole pacing from behind the closed door, his wolf is feverishly on edge. “Shut the door,” he growls and this time Ace fights to withhold a growl of his own. “I’m going to ask you this exactly once, Solana, and I expect the truth.”

Fuck.He knows. Looking at Ace right now would be the wrong thing to do because it would all but confirm it to Cole, but I risk it anyway. Ace is better at controlling what he reveals and when but I can feel the fear through our bond. He’s just as concerned as I am.

To anyone else, the way his arm brushes against mine could be viewed as an accident, an inevitable consequence of our proximity. But I know better. I know it was a deliberate gesture, permission for me to handle this how I see fit.

“Where is he?” Cole asks slowly.

I was so prepared for him to ask about Ace that his actual question throws me off balance.

“Who?”

“Hunter. Where is he, Solana?”

My brother can and will hear the increase in my heart rate. My job now is to convince him it’s beating out of my chest in anger rather than fear and anxiety. How could he know?

“Is this some kind of joke?” I snarl at him, albeit somewhat unconvincingly.

“He was my best friend, Solana. I was closer to him than I am to Griffin or even Rhys.” He softens his tone and slowly stalks towards me. “I know his scent as well as I know yours. It’s faint, but I know it’s his scent on your skin.”

“You must be confusing it for one of us. We’ve been in close quarters for a while now,” Ace says smoothly to my brother but he’s not buying it.

“If I can smell him then you can bet your ass our dads can smell it. Maybe even Runidar. So you better get your story straight because both of you are standing here lying to me.”

At this point Ace steps up, putting himself between me and Cole. “I don’t know what you think you know but threatening her is not going to end well for you.”

Cole isn’t intimidated. He gets right up into Ace’s face. “What I know is he abandoned his family and friends, my baby sister. She’s not the only one with unfinished business, she’s not the only one who lost someone that day.”

I snap, seeing red instantly, heat flaring up and down my arms. “Don’t fucking lecture me on what you lost that day."

“I lost my best fucking friend!” Cole explodes in anger. “I lost my baby sister! You, Sol. I lost you.”

My flames extinguish in an instant as though someone doused me with water.

“Ace, give me a minute alone with my brother.”

“I’ll be just outside the door,” Ace says gruffly, his reluctance to be apart floods our bond causing my chest to constrict with an odd sensation.

He turns on his heel to face me but doesn’t manage to meet my eye before he teleports out leaving me to face my brother alone.

Silence and tension breathes around us, expanding and contracting with its own pulse. Cole’s tired sigh gently breaks the silence.

“He’s very protective of you.” His arms fold themselves easily over his chest as he props himself up against his desk.

“That’s literally what he’s paid to do, so…” I trail off with a shrug of my shoulders.

“Mm, perhaps,” his mouth ticks up with a smug grin, but it’s swiftly replaced with a long, heavy sigh. “I understand why you left, Sol. I do. What I don’t understand is why you never came back. This is your home.”

“Because I don’t belong here, Cole. I don’t think I ever really did and that was made all the more clear to me after everything with Hunter.”

Cole’s eyebrows shoot up so fast they practically fly off his face. “How could you think that?”

“Easily,” my immediate response confounds him even more. “Everyone has their place here, a role to play. Calla will be queen, you will be alpha, Rhys will be guardian…and then there’s me,” I shrug self-consciously, “a watered down version of the great Queen Magnolia.”

Cole stares at me in horror, shaking his head slightly from side to side. “Sol,” he breathes, threading his fingers through his hair. “That’s just not true, Sol. And you’re definitely not like mom —“

“Gee, thanks.”

“No, let me finish. You both may be incredibly strong, incredibly stubborn, skilled assassins. But you are warmer, more playful, and adventurous than she could ever be. And as far as belonging,” he pauses, a faraway stare growing in his eyes before he blinks it away, “if we’re measuring strictly by titles then I could argue that none of us belong here.”

I give him a doubtful look and move to sit on one of the couches in front of his desk.

“I’m supposed to be the next Alpha of Shadowmoon, but it’s ingrained itself into the Grove so seamlessly that it basically doesn’t exist anymore as an independent pack. The queen-alpha dynamic works for our parents but when Calla eventually takes over as queen how is that going to work? Maybe I’ll have to follow your lead and leave, too.”

Cole pushes off the desk and joins me on the couch.

“You have no idea how much the Grove misses you. Mom is good at hiding it but even with her magic nothing has grown as vibrantly since you left. It’s like the Grove suffers your pain, and when you’re happy that ache eases.”

He lets out a reserved laugh, “you must have been very happy today because everyone was buzzing around practically humming with energy. Who would have thought that Death could bring my baby sister back to life?” He muses to himself.

I tuck my chin down to hide the smile that confirms he’s right, I have been happier recently than in years past. But I’m still me and old habits die hard. “When did you become all sentimental? Is big, bad Alpha Cole becoming a softy?” I deflect with a playful grin.

“Fuck off, I’m trying to be serious,” he laughs right along with me. “Look, all I’m saying is that you can come home. There will always be a place for you here.”

I want to be happy with his words, but I also wish he had said them years ago because now I don’t know if I want to have a place here. Could it be possible that I really belong somewhere else?