She’d stay lost of course. Gregor would make sure her corpse wasn’t found.
It was a simple plan. Effective and efficient. More important, it felt right.
He’d give it more thought before setting it into motion, but there was no reason not to whet Gregor’s appetite, to prime the pump, so to speak.
“Three more days of waiting should do it,” Radek said. “Considering the long hours you’ve been putting in and the degrading nature of the work for an Ivanov militiaman, I don’t think anyone would question your need of a whore and a break from the confines of the encampment. As a caveat, I do reserve the right to veto your choice of female companion. Their contracts vary in terms of their worth.”
Gregor’s hand curled around his cloth-covered cock. He wet his lips in anticipation. “Three days sounds good. It’s been too long since I had the kind of fun I like.”
Twenty-two
REBEKKA woke lying in twisted bedding and covered in a light sheen of sweat, her hand in her panties, fingers wet against her stiffened clit. She looked around, disoriented by the fevered intensity of carnal dreams, half expecting to find Aryck in the cabin, directly responsible for the wicked images and decadent sensations.
She found only quiet emptiness and realization. A validation of her fears from the evening before.
Aryck wasn’t going to seek her out. Not when she’d be gone from Jaguar lands tomorrow. Not when it would mean discord between his father and him.
She sat, crossing her arms over her bare breasts and rubbing her upper arms. Goose bumps chased away the lingering heat of dreams and remembered touch. But the cool, early-morning air only partially accounted for the chill invading her.
In the cool light of dawn she faced a hard truth. Aryck regretted what happened after they left Wolf lands.
Falling asleep Jaguar and waking up in human form, lying on top of a willing female, could be explained as a momentary lapse, a healthy male responding to physical stimuli without it being a conscious choice. But willfully engaging in such activity with a human, to smell like sex and have his father—his alpha—catch them kissing and see the shallow scars she’d raked across Aryck’s back, was different.
From the time she was a child old enough to understand what her mother and the others did to survive, she’d noticed how many of the visitors crept in and slunk away, not wanting anyone to know they’d been with a prostitute.
“It’s for the best,” Rebekka whispered, hoping that speaking the lie would make her believe it.
She rose from the bed made of fur and blankets and dressed quickly, as anxious to escape her thoughts as the unwelcome solitude of the cabin.
Phaedra was at the fire pit behind her own cabin. She smiled as Rebekka stepped from the path and into the small clearing.
“You’re up early. I thought you might sleep in this morning after reading so late into the night. I’ll start breakfast in a few minutes.”
Spread out along the length of a log was a collection of leaves, berries, roots, and bark. Rebekka studied the combination then said, “You’re making a painkiller from the journal?”
“Yes, though as a healer I can’t hope the opportunity will arise to test this particular potion.”
Rebekka laughed, understanding exactly what Phaedra meant as she’d experienced it herself more than once in the course of learning new things as a healer. She took the journal from her pocket and flipped to the page with the recipe, watched as Phaedra accurately dealt with the various ingredients.
Despite coming to understand how the oral sharing of knowledge began almost at birth among pure Weres, Rebekka was still amazed by how quickly Phaedra was able to memorize information.
“You got it exactly right,” she said.
“You doubted?” Phaedra made a clucking sound and muttered, “Youngsters.”
Rebekka felt her heart swell with affection, with a sense of belonging. She closed the journal and slipped it back in her pocket so she could help Phaedra with the last step, pouring the painkiller into clay pots then sealing it in with hot wax.
Afterward it seemed perfectly natural to work together in preparing breakfast. Rebekka took charge of the fried potatoes and sausage, Phaedra the eggs.
The scent of cooking food soon filled the clearing. As Rebekka nudged a sausage link and turned the potatoes, she thought of the Tiger cub.
“Caius said someone cooks him dinner each evening. What about breakfast? Will he come by for it?”
Phaedra tsked. “A cub whose belly is always full won’t be motivated to become a better hunter. Breakfast is for those of us whose duties keep us close to camp and not lingering for days in the forest as we feast on a fat deer while wearing our fur.”
Rebekka startled. Shock coursed through her until she realized that of course it would be different for Phaedra. She was Were, a healer by calling and desire, rather than possessing a gift in the way humans did. It made sense Phaedra could hunt and kill without turning her talent into a thing of evil.
With thoughts of evil, the image of her demon father rose in Rebekka’s mind. She was saved from contemplations of him, from the confusion that came in painting him with the brush of sin when his actions seemed to speak otherwise, by Phaedra flipping an egg neatly onto a plate and handing it to her.
“I imagine Caius will track you here when he doesn’t find you at your cabin,” Phaedra said. “You restored more than his health. Between the attention he’s gotten from you and from the Tiger, he’s been a different child, happy and extroverted instead of withdrawn and timid.”
Rebekka served the potatoes and sausages before sitting on the fireside log. “Do you know what happened when he took Canino home with him?”
Phaedra chuckled. “Yes. It went better than I thought it might.
“Caius came here first thing this morning. His mother changed into Jaguar form and chased Canino away from their cabin last night. It’s the first intense reaction Deidre has shown since returning to the pack.
“She’s slipped back into her despair since then. Caius was worried, but I assured him that what happened was a step toward healing and Canino would surely recognize it for what it was and not avoid him because of it.
“The cub went off to check his snares. I’m sure he also intends to visit Canino to reassure himself that he’s still accepted by the Tiger.”
“He will be,” Rebekka said, scooping up a forkful of eggs. “I think Canino needs Caius as much as Caius needs him.”
“I suspect you’re right.”
They finished their breakfast and were washing dishes when Caius rushed into the small clearing, yelling, “Rebekka! I was riding Canino and he took off running with me on his back! He crashed into a Lion to say hello and I went flying through the air and landed right at Koren’s feet! The Lions want you to come for a visit. That’s why they’re here. The alpha told me to look for you and bring you to where they’re waiting.”
Caius’s voice lowered to a whisper. “There was an outcast with the Lions. He smelled almost completely human.”
Rebekka’s heart leapt at the prospect of seeing Levi again even as dread became a leaden weight in her gut. “Is someone sick?”
“Nobody said so. They don’t smell like they’ve been around someone who’s sick. They don’t smell worried about anything and they don’t seem anxious to get back home. Maybe they just want you to read the book to their healer too.”
Caius wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Rebekka dried her hands on a cloth then returned the hug, leaning down to rub her cheek against his soft white-blond hair.
He squeezed once more then wriggled out of her arms. “We better go. The alpha is waiting.”
She said good-bye to Phaedra and followed Caius into the woods. Several yards down the path her thoughts went to Aryck.