Chapter 420 And Another Thing...  

If you like music while you read, try "Tomorrow We Fight" by Tommee Proffitt and SVRCINA. It's what I was listening to while writing these scenes!

*****

~ SASHA ~

"…One thing we haven't even been able to address yet—and I'm not sure how to—is what Lhars learned on his trip through. I'm not sure how to address this with the greater Chimera. I assume that there will be males who are affected, but…" she trailed off and raked a hand through her hair as she realized the Alphas were all just staring, waiting for her to tell them the actual issue.

She swallowed hard. "Last night we learned that the team have been somehow artificially growing the Chimera—advancing their physical development beyond their years. Lhars spoke directly with a female who was only ten years old—she was seven when she left here with her mother three years ago. And yet, she is a fully developed adult now. The others were not apparently shocked by this, which means that we have to assume that every young one that was taken with the females is now an adult in body, though they won't be in mind." Sasha's jaw tightened. "The Team is interfering with them and growing them so that they're physically independent," she said through her teeth.

She wasn't sure what kind of reaction she'd expected, but she knew she'd thought it would be bigger than what she got from the Alphas. There was a low mutter among them and they all looked disgusted. But they didn't seem surprised.

Sasha blinked. They could hear about that kind of sick intervention and just… be sad?

She almost chastised them. She opened her mouth to reprimand them—couldn't they see the implications of this? But Zev spoke into her head.

They've seen so much, he said quietly. This is just one more betrayal. They made us, Sasha. They change us at their will. None of us like it, but don't expect them to be surprised.

Sasha sighed sadly. Their lack of surprise was a measure of how much they'd dealt with, how little she really knew of what they'd been put through by the humans. And it was a mark of how much more she still had to learn that she hadn't anticipated that.

Sasha took a deep breath. "Once we get to the Safe Place and have found a place to settle, we'll have to weed through any of the Chimera who came from the compound and find out which of them are still children. I will not allow the males to be confused by fertile females with children's minds."

There was another rumble of agreement through the Alphas, which gave her relief. Sometimes the Chimera surprised her in the ways they followed their animal instincts. She'd been afraid they might argue with this. She was grateful to hear their humanity outpaced their animal natures in this way. The idea of children being forced into mate bonds made her shudder.

She met eyes with each of the Alphas and their seconds. "I'll need your help to inform and… restrain your males. There's going to be a lot of chaos when we get there, a lot of confusion and excitement. We already have traumatized females here. The new ones will be even more insecure. I don't want this to go badly for any soul—male or female. But the responsibility has to be on the males to understand that there should be no displays or… pressure."

Again they all nodded and grunted their agreement. Sasha was relieved.

The next hour was taken up with discussions of the Clans, who would move first, whether the females should go through the Gateway with the males of their clans, or they should split the Chimera by male and female.

"Right now we're dealing with females who are struggling to even leave their shelter. I think putting them in the hands of males—even the well-intentioned ones—is a bridge too far. Let's not put any other changes on them. They're going to face so much in the coming weeks, I hope. A new life, a new land… Since we have so many more males than females, I say we put through some of the males, then the females, then the rest of the males."

There wasn't an argument with that. And after the discussion of a few more logistics, they were finally done. Most of them still had other duties to perform that night before they tried to catch a few hours of sleep.

When they broke the meeting up, most of the Alphas and their seconds left right away, hurrying to get to the next detail. Unsurprisingly, Lhars and Kyelle hurried off together—straight into the trees, rather than towards the trail. Sasha didn't know whether to smile or be sad for them. They had no time at all.

As the group disappeared, Sasha turned to find Zev standing a few feet away watching her.

What? she asked in his mind since there were still Chimera nearby on the trail.

You're beautiful and strong, he said softly in her head. It still blows me away sometimes.

She half-rolled her eyes, but she couldn't stop the smile as she stepped towards him, straight into his chest, and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

What's wrong?

*****

~ ZEV ~

Zev sighed. Lhars is struggling. The bond is so demanding when it first clicks into place—you remember? We had all that time to ourselves and it was still hard when we had to part. He's… resisting having to leave her. And leave her to a dangerous task. While he goes off and maybe gets himself killed too. It's hard seeing that coming.

Sasha squeezed his waist.

I pray that they're both safe at the end of this. They deserve it.

So do we, Zev said carefully, combing her hair back from her temples with his fingers. I mean, don't we?

She didn't have time to answer before there was a commotion on the trail behind them. Zev let her go and Sasha turned as one of the young male hares sprinted into the clearing, his breath tearing in and out of his throat.

"Nick… he's back already… he didn't stay because… he said there's… a problem. Needs to… talk to you both."

Sasha looked at Zev, fear and dismay coating her insides.

Zev's eyes narrowed. "Where is he?"

The messenger gulped, his chest heaving. "At the village. They held him there and… he didn't tell anyone until… he got there… they were trying to… talk to the wolves… no one knew where you were."

Zev winced. He and Lhars had been the only wolves present, and neither of them had thought to check in with the others. They were going to have to do better.

"Thank you," Sasha said to the youth calmly. "Now, go get some rest. We'll get to the village as quickly as we can."

The hare submitted then turned on his heel and walked out of the clearing, his steps wobbling. The poor kid had really pushed himself. He wondered how long it had been since Nick showed up.

Some of the others had seen the messenger and rushed back along the trail to hear what was going on, but Sasha just waved them off. "We'll deal with it. Lhars, I'm sorry to ask, but can you get some wolves to… link or whatever it is you guys do? Make sure they're ready to hear what's needed so Zev can reach you all and they can get the word out?"

Lhars' throat bobbed and he pulled Kyelle tighter against his side, but he nodded. Then Sasha looked at him.

Zev couldn't resist it. He gave her a cheeky grin. "Do you want a ride?"

She snorted, but he saw how quickly the smile fell from her face when he shifted so she could climb on.

He was already exhausted, and yet, his body hummed with an excess of energy. A run would be good.

He tried not to let himself speculate about what might have gone wrong. It could have been anything.

As Sasha clambered onto his back and he began to run, he opened his mind fully, to allow any wolf to contact him—and to reach as many of them as were listening.

Wolves, be at the ready. Our enemy is at work. Sasha-don and I are going to find out exactly what's going on. But we need you to ready yourselves to listen and to move. To fight. If this is truly dire, we'll move tonight. Make sure all the clans are prepared.

Howls rose across the Thana forest and Zev blew the air from his nose. But he ran on. And as he ran, he opened his mind to that unknown deity as well. The Creator he was certain was watching all of this unfold.

He swallowed hard. But spoke his heart.

If you're real, and you care about Sasha… keep us both safe. Keep us all safe.

Please.

*****

THERE WILL ONLY BE ONE LONGER CHAPTER TONIGHT AND TOMORROW. There's some exciting developments coming over the course of this month and I want to make sure they aren't split. Look forward to a chunk of FIVE chapters this weekend! And maybe more later in the month. Watch this space!

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