C9

"Where are you, Genesis?" Draven’s voice snapped through the line like a whip, laced with cold, deadly territorial authority. "You were supposed to be at the Ravenmoor Citadel signing the pack dissolution papers, not wandering into my borders."

Genesis wiped a streak of bloody sweat and red dirt from her forehead, her heart pounding against her ribs as her wolf stirred inside her, frantic and weak. "I took the eastern pass through the Whisperpine Wilds to reach your sanctuary. The path gave out, my transport axle snapped in a ditch, and I am stranded in the heat."

"You came into Hollowmere territory alone?" A low, dangerous growl rattled through the speaker, heavy with pure Alpha dominance that made her core throb with unwanted, instinctive submission. "Without your Wrenmoor guards? You stupid female."

"I do not need a escort to speak with my own mate," Genesis said, her claws pricking her palm as she squeezed the phone until the glass cracked. "Or are you so eager to hand our territory over to Vaughn Ashcroft that you cannot even face me?"

"I am done facing you, Gen," Draven grunted, his breath heavy, and she could hear the faint, muffled laughter of a female in the background—Mirelle's sweet, lingering scent practically bleeding through the bond. "Our bond is a corpse. The High Council already approved the petition to sever."

"I am bleeding out here, Draven!" she cried out, her knees buckling as a sharp, tearing cramp sliced through her lower abdomen, setting her wet heat on fire. "The heat is burning my wolf alive! I need... I need help."

"Call your brother Ronan to drag you back to the Silvermoon Dominion," Draven said, his tone utterly devoid of mercy. "You spent three years keeping me out of your bed, freezing me out of your life. Do not pretend you need your Alpha now."

"Draven, please—" Genesis gasped, her vision going spotted as a sudden wave of nausea rolled over her, her free hand clutching her flat stomach as the instinctual truth finally hit her like a physical blow.

"Do not call this link again, Genesis," Draven growled, his voice dropping into a dark, possessive purr meant for the female beside him. "If I see your face in Hollowmere Heights, I will have my enforcers throw you into the dungeons as a trespasser."

The line clicked dead.

Genesis dropped to her knees in the sweltering dirt, the silence of the Wilds settling over her like a shroud. She stared at the screen, her phone displaying a single new notification from Healer Genesis Blackthorn that made her blood run completely cold.

The blood test from the healing den is positive, Luna. You are carrying Alpha Draven's bloodline.

Her voice was getting high and breathless and she sounded like she was on the verge of hysteria.

Honestly? She felt that way too.

Absolute silence met her words and for a panicked moment, Genesis worried that she’d lost signal again. She jerked the phone from her ear to check if the call was still ongoing.

"Draven?"

"Lost? What the fuck do you mean lost? Lost where?"

"If I knew that, I wouldn’t be lost, would I?" Her uncharacteristically tart comeback was indicative of her spiraling sense of panic and dread.

"Gen?" He sounded wary, as if he wasn’t quite sure what to make of this situation. And who could blame him? She felt as if she was slowly going off her rocker. "Are you okay?"

"Not really." Despite her best efforts, her voice wobbled alarmingly.

"Send me a location mark."

The relief nearly buckled her knees and she swayed alarmingly as the tension left her body, taking all of the adrenaline with it.

"Thank you," she whispered and hastily pulled up his message feed to ping him her coordinates.

A soft chime sounded on his end of the line, her message going through, and there was a short silence broken by a soft, heartfelt, "Fuuuck me. Where’s Oren?"

"I drove myself."

"Why the fuck did you do that? Christ!"

"I wanted..." Ugh, it really didn’t matter anymore. Her motivations were moot in the face of his hostility. The male wasn’t interested. "It doesn’t matter. Uh... I think I’ll head back to the transport and wait for whomever you send. Thank you."

"You’re not in your transport?"

Why did he sound so alarmed?

"No, I needed to get to a spot with mind-link reception. The transport’s in a dead zone."

"How far are you from the transport?" Now he was starting to alarm her too with those urgent tones.

"Not far. Five, maybe ten minutes."

"Stay on the trail and retrace your steps. Do not get out of the transport again until I get there, okay?"

"You don’t have to come," she protested. "I’ve clearly inconvenienced you enough already. I—"

"Gen, go back to your transport right now!"

She gulped and her wide eyes scanned the low shrubbery in search of danger.

"Okay. But I’ll lose signal once I move from this spot. So..."

"Are you walking while you’re talking?"

"No."

His long-suffering sigh was a little offensive. It wasn’t like she found herself in situations like this often... or ever. So he could shelve the attitude.

"You’re safer in your transport, okay? Lot of rogue vipers around this time of year. Watch where you step."

She’d known there were venomous beasts about, of course, but hearing him confirm it freaked her out. She cast wild eyes down to her feet, terrified that one would lunge up at her out of nowhere.

She started moving back to her transport.

"There are also rogue trackers and shadow-beasts, both of which can—"

The line went dead and Genesis froze.

Rogue trackers? Shadow-beasts? Both of which could what?

She nearly turned back in search of a signal to demand Draven finish that sentence, but chose the saner course of action and hurried back to her transport instead. The return trip felt interminable, probably because she expected a rogue wolf to leap on her any moment.

She was amazed when she made it back to the transport without incident. But as she fumbled her way back into the driver’s seat, she was certain that right now would be the perfect moment for a beast to strike. A shadow-beast, maybe, which could blind her with dark magic and leave her vulnerable to the rogues waiting nearby.

She shuddered and slammed the heavy door shut and then berated herself for that irrational descent into panic. Genesis wasn’t prone to flights of fantasy, and even though she knew she was being silly, she still sat there wondering how long she could survive in this heat with no cooling crystals working and the windows closed.

She was gasping for air and sweating even more profusely in less than a minute.

There was no way she’d survive in this furnace without ventilation. She reignited the engine and switched on the fan. But all that did was circulate hot air around the interior.

The situation was fast becoming unbearable. She lowered all the glass panels by a couple of inches, but with no wind at all, it didn’t help much. And the biting midges, which seemed to have been waiting for her out there, happily used the opportunity to nip at her exposed flesh again.

Shit. She grabbed her water flask and took a measured sip of water, which, thanks to the container’s insulated interior, was still refreshingly cool. Even with the happy prospect of imminent rescue, anything could happen to hamper them from finding her. It was better to be cautious and conserve it than be stuck in this terrible heat without water.

Her thin cotton tunic was wet with her sweat, and now rust-colored rather than white, thanks to the dust from the trail. Her leather riding shorts, chosen because she’d wanted to impress Draven with her wilderness-ready wear, were giving her a massive wedgie. She should probably have tried them on before buying them, but she’d prepped for this impulsive trip in a rush.

They were indecently short, ridiculously uncomfortable, and not at all her usual style.

Now she glared down at her exposed thighs and shook her head in disgust.

"You reek of desperation, Genesis," she admonished herself beneath her breath.

She contemplated the wisdom of changing into something a little more modest. But the thought of exposing even more skin to these damned bloodthirsty midges was unbearable.

She swatted at her neck and wondered how long this would take. Draven hadn’t given her a time estimation. But she was certain she would literally die if she stayed in this transport much longer. The temperature had dropped by a couple of degrees, but it was hard to tell from within this furnace.

She would have to open her door. She couldn’t...

Wait. What was that?

She stopped breathing and tilted her head, not sure of what she’d just heard.

She cautiously opened the transport door and leaned out, trying to hear above the noise of the cicadas.

Yes! There it was! A heavy engine, still some distance away but getting closer. She got out of the transport and squeaked in excitement at the very welcome sight of the telltale dust trail in the distance. Definitely an enforcer vehicle of some sort coming toward her from the direction of the main trail.

The vehicle drew close enough for Genesis to hear the sound of gravel crunching beneath heavy tires and then it crested the rise into her line of sight about five hundred yards away.

A smile of sheer relief bloomed on her face and she waved at the as-yet unknown driver. The transport stopped a couple of lengths from hers, kicking up a huge cloud of dust that hadn’t settled by the time the driver’s door opened.

She couldn’t see much beyond the impression of raw size and towering muscle through the dust as the male strode toward her.

The voice that berated her was immediately, dangerously familiar though. "I thought I told you to stay in the fucking transport, Genesis."