Sen

  Senna awoke to blazing sunshine. She lifted her hand to shield her eyes. Heavy. Her hand was so heavy. She blinked, vision swimming with spots from the sunlight beating on her face. Her mind reeled, exhaustion still clinging to her. The memories reformed and terror began to creep up her spine. The hounds. She’d survived the night, she realized as she turned her head side to side. The river roared only a foot away.

  She sat up and froze, a blur of motion catching her eye from overhead on the rocky ridge. On her side of the river ran a cliff that shot nearly straight up from the riverbed. On the other side, it was more of a gentle incline down from the forest to the bank. She was sure there was just something, or someone, looking down over the cliff. A chill went up her spine as she frantically searched the edge. From her vantage point, it was impossible to see over the top.

  She scrambled to move to the edge of the rocky outcropping she’d slept on. Her muscles protested, aching and stiff. After a few seconds of struggling, she managed to get back into the river but was swept under almost immediately. Her arms and legs were sluggish and she fought the current to stand again. Somehow she managed and, coughing, steadied herself on the rock wall, a few feet downstream from where she jumped in.

  Then a strange thought struck her. She had a flash of a memory. It was hazy, like seeing it through a gauzy curtain. A man, outlined in moonlight, standing over her as she slept. Green eyes. She frowned. Had someone found her in the night? Her mind reeled, trying to remember and she scanned the ridge again. Nothing.

  She was brought out of her thoughts by a sound that sent icy dread to her core. A howl, loud and shrill, close in the forest.

  She moved, pushing her legs through the fierce water as adrenaline took over once more. Getting caught meant death. She had to move.

  She ducked down, staying close to the shade of the rock wall, hoping it might hide her in its shadow as she went. Up ahead, the far side of the river rose into a cliff as well, the water cutting through the land in a deep ravine. She shot for it, hoping she could make it before the hounds spotted her. If they could jump from the sloping side, they’d be on her in the water in an instant. There’d be more places to hide in the ravine, she hoped, clenching her teeth as she tried to move quickly.

  Her eyes kept darting to the treeline, trying to catch a glimpse of the hounds before they were on her. To her relief, she saw nothing and slipped into the ravine before they found her. She searched desperately as she moved deeper, looking for any kind of shelter and finding little. There were shelves of rock jutting out here and there but she knew she’d be easily spotted on those. Something about being closed in by rock on both sides made her heart pound harder. It would be easier to hide, sure, but when the hounds did find her, she’d have no way out.

  Another howl ripped through the air, closer now and she pushed, moving up the ravine as fast as the water would allow in her weakened state. Then, she saw it. About six feet up, there was a crack in the cliff face. It was so narrow, at first she didn’t think she could fit. Though, The bigger problem was getting up there. She felt like she ould collapse at any moment, limbs shaking.

  As she got closer, she realized it might be possible to fit if she squeezed in sideways. There were roots and little shelves of rock sticking out of the cliff face, as if some of it had recently broken away. It gave her a little swell of hope that she could climb it.

  She gritted her teeth and grabbed a thick root, trying to hoist herself up to get footing on a small ledge. The moment she put all of her weight on it, it gave way, breaking from the wall and throwing Senna into the water once more. She flailed, clawing her way to the surface again and gasping for breath.

  When she rubbed the water from her eyes, she froze.

  A man stood in the river just beside the where she had tried to climb the, close enough that she should have seen him if he’d been there a moment ago. He was frowning up at the crack in the wall, eyes scanning it as if trying to measure it like she had. He didn’t acknowledge her, as if her frantic struggle hadn’t been noticed at all.

  Her breath hitched.

  He was enormous. Broad shouldered and solid in a way she’d never seen a human built. He wasn’t wiry like her brothers, shaped by hard farm work and a meager diet. His arms and legs were thick with muscle and he was taller than anyone she’d ever met. He towered over her. She swallowed hard as she watched the river break around his calves, not even causing him to sway. It was up over her knees and she could hardly walk against it. It was as if he were carved from the hard stone of the ravine itself, the river ebbing around him.

  She debated running for a few heartbeats. If he hadn’t noticed her by now, he’d hear her moving in the water. He’d be on her in seconds-

  The man turned toward her.

  Senna stepped back, stomach dropping as his eyes met hers. Water splashed loudly as she fumbled backwards, throwing her hands toward him in defense. Every lesson her father taught her screaming in her head. Men were not to be trusted. Where had he come from? She’d searched every inch of the ravine with desperation. She would have seen him.

  Wouldn’t she?

  She took another step back as he extended a hand toward her.

  The gesture was simple. Unaggressive. Yet she bristled, head whipping side searching for an exit. Except, she already knew there were none. It was the risk she’d taken to be concealed by the ravine. There was nowhere to run.

  “Hurry,” he said, pushing his hand out farther.

  His voice was low and urgent but it carried easily over the rush of the river.

  “The beasts will be here in a moment. There’s no time to explain.”

  The words struck her like a blow. Beasts. No time. Her mind snagged on them, weighing the threat against the one she was facing. There were two options. Trust this man or let the hounds catch her. She bit her lip hard as she stared at him. He was unknown. The hounds meant pain. Punishment. Death.

  Then she noticed his eyes. Green. Vivid and unmistakeable.

  Her heart skipped a beat as the half-remembered memory flashed again. The man standing over her as she slept, green eyes bright despite the darkness. The watcher in the night. Her eyes grew wide as she dropped her hands.

  His frown deepened as he studied her face. He moved before she got the chance to accept.

  One instant he was an arms length away, the next his hand closed around her wrist, grip firm and unyielding but not painful. He pulled her closer and hauled her up, turning toward the cliff. He practically threw her at the wall of stone, hoisting her up as high as he could reach. Panic flared as she slammed against the rock but she grasped the ledge she’d spotted and held on tight. She clawed against the stone for purchase as he supported her weight.

  His hands pressed at her waist and then thighs as he pushed her higher, using the wall as leverage. Her arms screamed in protest as she pulled. Her limbs shook and lungs burned, stone tearing at her body as she dragged herself up. Once her knees finally landed on the edge, she didn’t slow. She shoved herself hard into the crevice, willing it to shield her.

  She twisted sideways, a hard slice of rock digging into her back as she forced herself deeper. It only went a few feet back but shadow swallowed her, hiding her bony form. For a moment, she was thankful to be small. Her lungs burned as she panted, recovering as her limbs cramped from the tight space. She ignored the pain, closing her eyes and resting her head against the cool stone.

  Below, the river rushed on. She strained to hear over her thundering heart and the sounds of nature. She peered out, unable to see much from her vantage point. Deciding to take a risk, she pushed her head out, peering over the narrow ledge to the ravine below. The man was gone.

  She frantically scanned the river and the ledge above for any sign of movement. Nothing.

  She pressed herself back inside and a laugh gurgled in the back of her throat as her head pounded violently. Was she going crazy? A side effect of the concussion? She tried to shake her head, pushing the thoughts away. No, she’d felt his hands on her. Doubt swirled through her, trying to take root. She ignored it, trying to focus on steadying her breathing.

  Her arms and legs shook violently. She leaned heavily into the stone, trying to let it support her at the awkward angle she had to assume to fit. That’s when she heard it.

  Footsteps. Tiny little clicks and scraps on the rock ledge above her head. A few pebbles tumbled down in front of the crevice opening. Then scraping again. Claws on stone. She strained, trying to head above the sounds of the river. A growl. More scraping. Then silence again. A few moments went by and nothing. Had they moved on so quickly? Surely she couldn’t have fooled them so easily.

  She ducked her head a little to peer across the ravine and she froze. She was looking directly into the face of Morve, Grady’s massive brother and alpha to the hounds. Massive, smart and mean, he was the opposite of Grady in temperament. He scanned the riverbed with sharp eyes. Senna pressed into the crevice as hard as she could, praying to the gods he wouldn’t spot her.

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  Moments passed and when she changed looking again, he was gone. The silence stretched on.

  Until it didn’t.

  A sound split the air.

  A sharp yelp echoed through the ravine. High, abrupt and wrong. Something was in pain.

  Senna’s breath hitched. She recognized the noise. The hounds were in trouble.. Another yelp followed, then another, tangled and frantic. Nothing like the deep-throated baying that had chased her. Water splashed somewhere downstream. What was going on?

  Then a thought struck her so hard it stole the air from her lungs.

  Grady.

  The chance was slim. He didn’t follow the pack and he surely wouldn’t hunt her. But what if he’d come on his own or with Rydan? It was possible. Were they fighting when their paths finally converged on her scent? Her heart dropped as her brain scrambled to find another possibility for their yelping.

  She strained once more, trying to hear any distinguishing cries. She was sure she’d recognize Grady’s cry had she not been listening over the sound of the river rushing by. She knew Grady was smarter than the others but that didn’t make him invincible. He could be reckless, just like the others when he wanted to.

  The silence stretched on.

  It wasn’t peaceful. It was tense and left her ears ringing.

  Movement drew her gaze.

  Across the ravine, on the opposite ledge, the man appeared once more. He didn’t pause. He turned and climbed down with controlled ease, hands and boots finding purchase as if he’d done it a hundred times. He reached the riverbed, crossed in long strides, and stopped out beneath her hiding place.

  “It’s safe,” he called.

  The words barely registered.

  Senna leaned forward, heart pounding. “What did you do?” she managed to ask.

  “I dispatched the hounds,” the man said with a small shrug.

  Her blood went cold.

  “You… what?” she whispered, eyes glazing over as her throat went dry. She tried to swallow but couldn’t.

  The man narrowed his eyes as he searched her face, analyzing her expression.

  “None are dead,” he said. “Just unconscious.”

  Her knees nearly gave out. She sucked in a breath, dizzy with relief as she sagged against the stone once more. Grady was alive.

  The reprieve was short lived.

  “The humans aren’t far,” the man continued. “They’ll be waiting for the hounds’ signal. When it doesn’t come, they’ll investigate. I only bought you some time.”

  She nodded once, swallowing hard.

  He reached both hands up, motioning for her to drop down. She hesitated for a moment but decided she had no choice. She dropped down and he caught her easily, setting her in the river once more. He stepped back, giving her space once he was sure she was steady on her feet.

  “There’s an abandoned house,” he said, keeping his voice low. “You can head upstream again. By midday you should come to a bridge. You’ll see it in the distance a while before you’d reach it. When you see it, leave the river on the right side. Enter the forest and approach the path the leads to the bridge. Do not exit the trees. Head away from the bridge, keeping the path in sight. After a short time you will run into the house. The forest has mostly swallowed it and you wouldn’t see it from the path unless you were really looking. You should reach it by nightfall.”

  “The hounds will catch me long before that,” Senna mumbled, looking behind her in worry.

  “Leave that to me,” he said, reaching around for a pack. Senna watched him in surprise. She was certain there was no pack on his back when he was here earlier. She’d been too worried to notice it since he’d returned.

  “I will allow the beasts to see me,” the man explained while he rummaged around inside the pack for something. “They know my scent and after I attacked them, I think they will follow me. Their alpha doesn’t seem the type to let something like this go in favor or chasing you. I’ll let them find me and knock their leader unconscious again. This time the humans will be in pursuit of their beasts, thinking they’re tracking me. This will take the remainder of the daylight. There’s a storm approaching. It will wash away your scent and by tomorrow, they’ll lose your trail for good.”

  Another storm? Senna gazed up at the sky, brows furrowing. Not a cloud in sight.

  “I’m Vence,” he said, still digging around and then mumbled. “Where the hells did I put it?”

  “How do you-” she started to ask when the man thrust a metal tin into her hands.

  “Food,” he said. “Eat it while you’re still on the river. It’ll give you strength. You won’t make it without it.”

  She paused, staring down at the tin in confusion. “Why are you helping me?” she asked in a small voice, tears welling in her eyes.

  “Because I’d want someone to do the same if it were me,” Vence said softly. “You’re nothing but skin and bones, being chased by four grown men and their beasts. That told me all I needed to know.”

  “I deserve it,” Senna said, tears flowing freely. “I deserve to be caught. I did something terrible.”

  An unreadable expression crossed the man’s face for a moment but then it was gone. “Desperate people do desperate things. It doesn’t mean you deserve to die.”

  Senna took a step back, shocked at the accuracy of his statement. “How did you-”

  Before she could finish, Vence whipped around. “I’m sorry, I missed something.”

  Senna peeked around him to see a gray form enter the ravine upstream, tearing through the water toward them at full speed.

  Senna smiled, moving to step around Vence’s large frame. He put a hand out to stop her.

  “Grady!” she called, unable to stop the grin that spread wide across her face.

  Vence’s head snapped down to her and then back to the hound nearly upon them. Grady stopped, just a foot away and took a defensive stance, baring his teeth. Senna’s smile faltered for a second and she stepped back. No, he wouldn’t, she thought as her heart sank. If he saw Geo…

  Then Vence lowered his hand and stepped to the side, raising both of his hands palms out to show he wasn’t a threat. Grady turned, walking sideways as he continued to growl at Vence, until he put himself between the huge man and Senna. That’s when Senna realized he wasn’t here to capture her. He was defending her.

  She dropped to her knees in the river, crying as she wrapped her arms around Grady’s thick neck. He didn’t move, keeping his eyes on Vence the entire time.

  Rydan caught up, splashing loudly as he panted.

  He, too, put himself between Senna and Vence, standing next to Grady as he pointed at the bigger man.

  “This is my brother,” Rydan said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Whoever you are, you have no business with him. Leave him be.”

  Vence’s eyebrows shot up nearly to his tousled, blond hair. He blinked. Once. Twice. Then, for the first time since he appeared, Senna watched as a smile spread across his face and he laughed.

  It wasn’t a menacing sound and it reverberated merrily around the ravine.

  “What’s so funny about that?” Rydan asked, fists lowered to his sides. Grady growled again, ducking lower to the water, ready to strike.

  “Your brother?” Vence asked, laughing again. “Don’t you mean your sister? Though I doubt that’s true either. You don’t smell like kin.”

  Senna’s head snapped to Vence. Smelled?

  Rydan’s fists tightened. “Either way, you have no business here. I’ll take things from here.”

  “Wait,” Senna said, releasing Grady and standing. “He was helping me, Ry.”

  “He isn’t human,” Rydan said, not taking his eyes off of Vence. “The hounds alerted to his scent earlier. They signaled for danger and were frantic. Scared. They’ve never been afraid of any animal in the forest. I didn’t travel with them, went out on my own to find you. But we heard the signal. Soon after, Grady picked up the trail. I’d never seen him that nervous. We followed it all the way here, to him.”

  Vence didn’t react to the accusation, just stared at Grady with his arms crossed and brow furrowed once again.

  “So,” Rydan said, turning back to Vence. “What are you?”

  Vence looked at Rydan, face calm and controlled as he motioned to Grady. “I’ll tell you if you tell me what he is.”

  Rydan didn’t answer, glancing down at Grady for a moment. “What does he look like?”

  “Oh, no,” Vence said with a dark chuckle. “It’s not what he looks like, it’s what he and all the others smell like.”

  Just then, a low whine sounded from over the ridge and Grady’s ears twitched.

  Vence glanced up and then looked at Senna. “It seems we’re almost out of time. Your other beastly friends will be joining us again any minute. Seems like you have this under control now.”

  He turned to walk away and Senna stepped forward. “Wait!”

  Vence paused and Rydan grabbed Senna’s hand, keeping her from moving forward. She snatched it back.

  “No, Ry,” She said, throwing both hands in the air. “I have to leave. I can’t stay here. Vence… He’s helping me. He gave me an option to escape, at least for now to throw the hounds off my trail. I have to go… I… There’s something wrong with me.”

  “So it’s true?” Rydan said, shoving his hands in his soaked pockets. “You did that to Geo?”

  Senna nodded, tears filling her eyes again. “He tried to stop me, haul me back. I don’t know what happened. Something… Came out of me. I don’t know how I did it…”

  “It’s ok,” Rydan said, shaking his head. “The bastard deserved it. They all do.”

  “I can’t go back,” Senna repeated, shaking her head. “They don’t deserve it, Ry. They don’t deserve to die… They’re just desperate.”

  “It doesn’t make it right, Senna!” Rydan said, throwing his hands in the air. “They can’t do this to you. I won’t allow it.”

  “There’s no other choice,” Senna said, fists clenching. “I can see that now. You have to go back, Rydan. You can’t come with me. You and Grady are needed on the farm. Your brothers need you.”

  His face fell, eyes flashed back to Vence. “You can’t go with that.”

  “He’s helping me,” Senna argued. “He already saved me once.”

  “Explain the ruk,” Rydan said to Vence, ignoring Senna’s pleading.

  “Ruk?” Vence asked, brows drawing together.

  “Don’t act like it wasn’t you that killed it,” Rydan said, pointing at him. “There’s no way it’s a coincidence that one of our ruks end up brutally killed and you just happen to be this close to our farm.”

  “It wasn’t me,” Vence said, glaring at Rydan.

  “There isn’t time for debate,” Senna says, grabbing Rydan’s arm. “I trust him.”

  Even as she said the words, she knew they weren’t true. Rydan looked at her, doubt in his eyes. He didn’t believe her either.

  “There’s no choice,” Senna said. “I have to go. It has to be me and only me, Ry. Until I figure out what is wrong with me. What if I hurt you or Grady? No… I have to leave.”

  “Senna,” Rydan said, voice softening as he turned to her. He reached up and put his hands on her arms, bending down to look in her face. “You’d never hurt me.”

  For an instant, she saw a flash of Geo’s terrified face before the flames burst from her. She yanked her arms back. “No!” She yelled, rubbing her hands over her arms. “Don’t… Don’t touch me. Please… I don’t want to hurt you.”

  Rydan stood there, looking stricken, “Senna…”

  Another low whine came from the ridge and Grady’s posture became more rigid, the hair on his spine raising.

  Senna sidestepped him, hands up as she backed away from them and made an arc through the water to stand next to Vence.

  Rydan’s shoulders drooped as he looked between the two of them. Grady stood up, no longer growling and whined.

  “I’m sorry, Ry,” she whispered. “Remember what I asked of you, Grady.”

  The hound blinked at her, as if in confirmation and she smiled.

  “I’ll come back someday,” Senna promised, putting a hand over her heart. “I promise. I’ll find a way to let you know I’m ok soon.”

  “Take care of her,” Rydan said and Senna was surprised to see tears in his eyes as he looked to Vence. “Swear it.”

  Senna watched as Rydan bit his thumb and held his hand out. His blood dripped, the red catching in the sun before it was swallowed by the river. Vence hesitated and then sighed, biting his own thumb and stepping forward to shake Rydan’s hand. Senna fought the urge to flinch when she saw a drop of black blood drip from Vence’s hand. She saw Rydan notice too, looking down at his hand as he chewed inside his cheek.

  “Change of plans,” Vence mumbled, just loud enough for Senna to hear as he stepped back to her side. “We’re out of time.”

  He motioned upward toward the ledge as Senna just spotted a shape move out of sight. Morve.

  Her blood went cold.

  “I’m sorry to do this,” Vence muttered again, stepping behind Senna so quickly that she didn’t have time to react. He wrapped his arms around her waist, hoisting her off the ground for the second time that day. She made a little noise of surprise and Rydan and Grady lurched forward, concern etched into their features but then, she watched them freeze. She felt herself rise as popping and sickening crunching came from behind her. She grabbed onto Vence’s arm only to withdraw it.

  His arm was covered in scales.

  “Hold on tight,” He said into her ear a second before they launched into the air.