Rise of the Dark Alpha

10

~ SASHA ~

It had been the strangest feeling saying farewell, first to Yhet, then to the other three males. Standing there, watching them go through one by one, she'd felt... numb.

What's wrong with me? she'd asked Zev in his head. I should be crying.

You already cried, he replied, his voice gentle. Sometimes when there's just been too much, it's like your heart goes cold.

She'd turned then to look at him, terrified that she wouldn't feel anything for him, either. But no... to her relief, her chest pinched and her stomach flipped just catching his eyes.

I haven't stopped feeling for you.

That's because I'm not leaving you, he said with a half-smile. It's the grief and fear that are killers. Not a hunk of burning love.

Sasha had snorted—and to her relief, almost cried—but then Zev's face went serious and she looked around to see what was bothering him and realized...

They were all gone.

She stood there, just taking it in. Or trying to.

It was now entirely out of her control. All of the Chimera, with their respective responsibilities and tasks, had been put through the Gateway.

Only her and Zev were left.

Sasha realized she wasn't breathing and forced herself to inhale.

"So," Zev said hesitantly a moment later. "Are we voting for going straight away? Or waiting?"

Sasha chewed on her lip. She wanted to get out of here. She wanted to get this done. To get their son and get out of this place. Forever.

But she couldn't shake the caution that held her back. The vague, formless wariness that stopped her from simply stepping into the Gateway.

Instinct, Zev called it.

Intuition, she would have said. Or maybe the staying hand of the Creator?

"We need to talk to Nick. We need to get him out of here and back into the human world. I can't shake it, Zev. I know you hate him. I know you want to leave him to die. But... we need him. I'm certain of it."

Zev frowned. "It's not that I don't trust you, Sash. It's that I don't trust him. I feel like anything he's involved in is just steeped in deceit—or at least, ulterior motives."

"I have no doubt," Sasha agreed with him. "But I also know that you're the one who told me to listen to my instincts. So... here we are. We have to talk to him before we go."

Zev sighed heavily and it rolled off into a growl. "You're certain?"

She nodded, praying that she was. That she hadn't just handed them both—and their son—a death warrant.

"Well then, let's get it done as fast as we can."

He shifted into his wolf, hunched down so she could crawl onto his back, then leaped forward into a run that almost unseated her.

*****

It was strange to walk into the Village knowing that the silence there was abandonment. That it wasn't simply the quiet of busy people being in other places.

The Chimera were gone.

Except Ernie, who appeared from behind the Shack the moment they got close enough to be heard.

Sasha slid off Zev's back and he was immediately back in his human form.

"Are they gone?" Ernie asked in that grating voice of his. Sasha shivered, but she nodded and forced herself to smile.

"Does he know?" she asked.

Ernie shook his head. "He's been sleeping. Pouting," Ernie grinned. "Ever since you took his device, he mutters a lot."

Sasha snorted, but Zev tensed next to her. She put a hand on his arm, then raised her voice.

"Nick! Come out here please. We won't let Ernie eat you, I promise."

There was a snort and some shuffling around, but then the door creaked open and Nick, puffy-eyed, and bruised on his neck, with a swollen jaw and black eye, stepped out of the shack.

Sasha let herself enjoy a satisfied smile.

He stared at her, arms folded, his eyes wary.

"It's time for you to go," she said without preamble.

Nick blinked. "Excuse me?"

"It's time for you to leave."

Nick's brows pinched over his nose and he looked at her like she was crazy. "What is this, a trap to tempt me out where Ernie can get me?"

Sasha rolled her eyes. "No, Nick. You said you were needed back at the compound to help us get our son. So I'm telling you, go. Now. The Chimera have gone. We've sent them away. The Team won't ever harm them again. But we still need our son. So you get to keep your life so you can help us do that."

"What the—you expect me to believe you've just, what... sent the Chimera over there without you? Bullshit."

"You don't have to believe it for it to be true, Nick. You're welcome to waste your time wandering around Thana to discover for yourself that the only Chimera left here are the ones like Ernie—I'll even tell Ernie not to eat you if you want some time to explore. But I can't guarantee the others will listen. The only ones left are those that didn't want their freedom. They wanted to stay here and take their revenge when the humans showed up to prove us wrong—

which they won't, by the way."

"You're lying," Nick said, his eyes dark and fierce.

Zev stepped forward, growling, "She's not a liar like you, asshole."

Sasha didn't respond.

Nick looked back and forth between them. "This is bullshit."

Sasha kept her voice low and calm, but she let some of her anger creep into it. "No Chimera is ever going to subject themselves to your scrutiny ever again, Nick. It's over. You need to go home."

"No. I'm not going anywhere. You need me."

"We'll never need another thing from you," Sasha spat.

"That's bullshit! You can't get your baby back without me."

"Watch me."

Zev made a small noise in his throat as Nick tensed and his eyes went flinty hard—calculating.

But Sasha stood her ground and didn't drop her eyes.