Scent of Salvation

Chapter Ten

In the afternoon light, the forest seemed to go on forever. All Susan saw were trees, trees and oh, look—more trees. She’d never thought she’d miss the sounds of crowds, the smell of coffee and the sight of skyscrapers. What she wouldn’t do to see a cab right now. “Can we take a break?”

“No.” Sorin still carried her, and she ached from hanging off his shoulder.

She kicked out, catching something solid with her foot. Satisfaction curled in her stomach at his small grunt. “Put me down. I’ve got nowhere to run now.”

“How can you possibly be tired?” He set her down. “Are all humans this frail?”

Clenching her teeth, she turned her back on him and stretched the kinks from her neck. Frail indeed. Not her fault she ached from being jostled.

He crouched next to her, bending forward. “You can ride on my back.”

“Aren’t you tired?” If she’d owned half this male’s drive she would have ruled Earth by now.

Sighing, he angled his head and pierced her with his intense stare. “I’m exhausted, but what choice do we have? We need shelter, food and water. All those things are at my den.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “It’s not far now.”

“I could walk or…” Her words trailed off in a cry of surprise as he swept her onto his back. “Stop tossing me around like a sack of potatoes.” She clung to his shoulders as he guided her legs around his narrow hips.

“Hold tight.” She swore she could hear amusement in his voice.

The ride left Susan dizzy and breathless. She clung to Sorin, her chin bumping on his massive shoulders until she learned to flow with his motion. The closest she’d ever come to riding an animal was a horse-drawn carriage in Central Park.

But he wasn’t really an animal. Even though a thick coat of silver-gray fur covered his body, he had a human form. Well, not human. Man? Male?

His muscles slid under her without effort as he carried her along an incline.

Very male. She gripped his shoulders tighter. “What do you call the other form you can change to?” She knew the beasts were referred to as feral but she couldn’t remember what Kele had called their human-appearing one.

“Civil.” He spoke the word between pants, his voice breathless and deep. Civil made sense.

A shiver coursed through her body since her lab clothes weren’t meant for the outdoors.

A cliff face rose ahead of them. It made her dizzy just looking at the top, and Sorin headed straight for it. She pulled herself closer to his ear. “Shouldn’t we go around?”

“We’re taking a shortcut.” Sorin spoke quietly over his shoulder before leaping onto the cliff face, stabbing the hard rock with his claws.

She almost lost her grip. Did this asshole know a fall from this height could kill her? Granted, they were only four feet off the ground at the moment. Susan clenched his fur in a strangling grip and pressed her body to his spine. If she’d had a tube of Super Glue, she would have used it to bind them together.

Hesitating on the climb, Sorin shifted her weight higher on his back.

“Don’t drop me.” With a frantic scrabble, she hugged his neck while he supported her weight with one hand. Cold sweat trickled down her back, making her skin slick.

“I won’t but I have to breathe.”

“Jesus Christ, get to the top already.” She eased off her stranglehold. Clenching her eyes shut, she buried her face in his thick fur. His heavy muscles slid under her body with ease. Each pull moved his shoulder blades against her flanks, stroking along her sides for a moment before disappearing again.

Of all the shifters she’d met, Sorin frightened and attracted her the most. With him, anything was possible. She could be placed on the market, in his bed or in the cooking pot.

In a moment of pure stupidity, she glanced down. Why? Why would she do that? Her legs weakened and her arms went numb. A shortcut? More like torture.

She sensed the muscles in Sorin’s arms trembling. He’d been hanging from them all day in chains. Those muscles must be weak and sore.

His chest heaved as he reached for the next hand grasp.

“You can do it,” she whispered in his ear, because if he didn’t continue they’d be dead.

Step by slow step, Sorin reached the top and crawled over the edge onto his belly before dumping her on the ground.

She finally released the breath she’d been holding. All the muscles in her arms and thighs refused to work. She wiped away her angry tears before he could see them. Males like him probably lived off scaring people.

He invaded her space, sniffing close to her face. “What’s wrong?”

A swat on his nose made him jerk away.

He clutched it. “Stop that. It hurts.” He tossed her a sore look. “Our noses are sensitive.”

Susan glared at him in return. “Do I look like I give a fuck? That climb could have killed us. What do you want from me?”

A startled laugh from Sorin shocked her into silence. “You’re no stray who needs coddling.” His warm gaze melted the cold fear gripping her limbs. “I’m not going to harm you.”

“No? Hanging off a cliff is your idea of safe? You scared the shit out of me.” She folded her arms across her chest. “Why did you take me away from Benic?” The wind blew colder on the barren clifftop. She bent her knees and huddled close. Exposed to the elements on this other Earth, Susan had never felt more alone.

Sorin lay on his side next to her. “If you would have let me speak with you when we first met at the Temple, instead of running, then you’d understand why.”

“Oh.” She’d been too busy freaking out to listen.

“I don’t believe in coincidences. Appearing in the Temple at the time of my greatest need—it’s just too much for me to ignore.”

“Whoa.” She sat up and raised her palms to ward off the crazy. “I already told you, I don’t have anything to do with this goddess.”

“She works in mysterious ways, Susan. I won’t pretend to understand where you come from but you seem very…knowledgeable. I want you to use some of this knowledge to help my pack.” He rose to his large, clawed feet and offered her his hand. “Where else do you need to be?”

By the Temple in case the portal opened again? She could live in the woods off berries and bugs until winter came to freeze her to death or some other shifter stole her to be his stray. She sighed. She needed shelter and protection. Sorin was her only hope. In some odd way she trusted him, unlike Benic. She took his hand and allowed him to help her stand. “What if I can’t solve your problem?”

“Then my pack will die, and it won’t matter.”

Her heart froze. “What?” She didn’t want that kind of responsibility. Nothing in her career had been about life and death.

“You’ll see when we get there.” He scratched his feral chin with a sharp claw. “We don’t have much, except a safe home to offer. If you’re unhappy, I won’t stop you from returning to the Payami.”

“What if I want to stay with Benic?”

“You’d be a fool, and I don’t get that impression. Vampires live off others. Once you have no use, he will discard you.” Sorin stretched his arms and back as if relieving cramps. His muscles slid under his fur, luring her eyes like a magnet.

She pried her gaze off him. The basics of survival were food, shelter and warmth. Without a match and a bottle of lighter fluid, she couldn’t even make a fire.

“Your way home is gone, and you need a new one. You’ll also have to learn pack customs and laws.”

“Within reason, I’m willing to do that. I won’t be abused.”

“Abused? My pack is the last place to worry about that.” He shook his head.

“I need to clarify our deal.” Her mistakes with Technocon were still fresh in her mind. She wouldn’t make an encore performance by blindly accepting agreements. Even if Sorin held the things she wanted. “I won’t be raped or used as a slave.” She counted her demands off on her fingers. “No beatings. I can’t eat raw meat, insects or rotten food.” She stepped closer to him and offered her wrist. “And you need to mark me to keep the males away.”

He bared his teeth. It didn’t give her any warm fuzzies. The long, sharp canines could rip her throat out in one bite.

“That kind of attitude will make it difficult for you to fit in with the omegas and most likely attract unwanted attention from the hunters.” He took her hand. “A temporary mark only. We need to wash Ahote’s off you first when we reach a stream. You will you get a permanent home in my den, but once my mark wears off you’ll have to fight for your own spot within the pack. I don’t keep favorites.” Yanking her into his arms, he settled her on his back once more.

“I have legs, you know.”

“We still have a long way to run, and you won’t be able to keep up. Hold tight.”