This soul call was a mistake.
“Who’s Naomi?” Lorelei asked.
“MyVraka’s mate.”
Vraka. Chief. He had a pride? Here? In this strange cold land. Hope surged within her chest. Maybe he really would help her get back to La’Tar.
“Where are they?” She looked around the cabin. It didn’t appear that anyone lived here, much less a whole pride of lions.
“Home,” he answered. “You need to stand so I can dress you again.”
He repacked the first aid kit and snapped it shut. Then backed away so she’d have room to stand without her feeling crowded.
“I need help with the pants,” she said, scooting to the edge of the couch. She needed this male whether she wanted him or not. She needed his help. He had a tribe of his own in the area and she hoped they weren’t loyal to Rivian. Perhaps they would help her.
Saul stood, then offered his hand to help her stand.
She shook her head and used her good arm to push off the couch and her bad arm held the blanket against her hips. Her ass was bare though and goosebumps spread over her skin. She closed her eyes and tried not to think about what he could do to her if he wanted to.
Because he could.
She couldn’t fight back, not really. Even if she let her beast out. He was enormous. His lion would dwarf hers.
He stepped closer and squatted at her feet. He gathered up the material of her ripped pants and pulled them gently up her legs and over the bandage. His fingers touched her hips and then her ass.
She trembled beneath his gentle touch.
Tears welled in her eyes again. One got loose and trailed down her cheek. She wanted to believe that he was a good man. That he was noble. That even though he saw the soul call, he’d continue to let her reject it.
He’d killed one of Rivian’s warriors. She’d seen the body fall before she fled the camp into the darkness of the night. That warrior had been particularly rough with her. The claw mark on her leg was from him. Seeing him lifeless in the snow had offered a semblance of comfort.
Not a lot. But still, she’d take what she could get.
Saul had done that.
He’d killed for her.
“I need your help.”
“I will give it.” His voice was a fortress of calm, steadying her racing panicked and confused mind.
3
Saul
His fingers trailed over her skin one eternal moment at a time. Then she wasn’t naked anymore. The outer layer of pants was next.
He could do this.
He could ignore the way her skin glowed. The way she smelled like the sweet rolls Naomi had made over holidays. He could ignore everything. Ignore the call.
Shadows and light from the wood stove next to the couch danced upon her skin, illuminating her beautiful face. The shine of her hair. Even though she was thin and dirty and neglected, she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen.
She was so small and so scared. The last thing she needed was him lusting after her like a puberty-ruled cub on the prowl.
He wasn’t that.
Didn’t want to be that.
Didn’t want the responsibility of another mate. Or the guilt of failing another woman.
He was better off alone. Why would Fate disagree? The soul call he was seeing in this woman had to be a mistake. She acted like it was a mistake.
He pulled the pants up from her ankles, covering her completely once more.
“How far away is your Tribe?” She slowly lowered herself back down onto the couch. Then grabbed the blanket and covered herself with it, another layer to hide beneath.
He should pity her, but he’d seen worse. She was strong. He was proud of her for still fighting after everything he imagined she’d been through. And how long she’d been suffering at the hands of the Ka’lagh.
“I live just south.” He waved his hand toward the darkened window.
“On the mountain?”
“My Tribe lives at the base of the mountain, yes.”
“And where is here? What land are we in? How far are we from La’Tar?”
Saul blinked hard at the last comment. La’Tar? Her question didn’t make sense.
La’Tar was on Reylea.
Reylea was gone.
They were on another planet.
He opened his mouth to tell her that and then stopped himself. If she was injured and couldn’t remember what happened to her, perhaps she didn’t remember leaving Reylea at all.
“I work for a man who owns most of these cabins. I do updates and restocks and repairs.”
“Oh.” Confusion flickered across her face for a moment, but she hid it as fast as a rabbit ducking into a burrow.
He studied her, wondering what she was thinking now. Her expression morphed and raced through emotions like tumbling snow in an avalanche—fear, annoyance, fear, curiosity, fear.
Circling and circling.
Always coming back to fear.
He stepped back again, giving her more space. Anything to make her more comfortable.
“Do you like working for this man?”
“It is good honest work.”
She nodded along with his words, her gaze still shuttered, guarding how scared and unsure she was. “They will find us here, won’t they? The Ka’lagh.”
Back to the fear.
He wasn’t going to lie to her, but he also wasn’t going to give her up. “Yes. But, I will protect you.”
“Will your tribe help me get home?”
He shook his head. “You are safe with me.”
“You never said where we were? What is this place?”
“We are in a cabin—”
“No, I mean. Where? What land are we in?”
“It is called Alaska.”
Her face went white. Whiter than the mounds of snow piling up outside from the blizzard. Her hand flew to her throat and she sucked in a hard breath.
“I want to go back home.”
“I know,” he said firmly. “Naomi will help.” There was nothing else to say. He could only hope that once he got her back to the Tribe that the women would help her feel more comfortable.
He wasn’t ready to reveal that her home was gone. That there was no way to go back to Reylea. That there was no Reylea to go back to.
“Naomi. Your Vraka’s mate?”
“Yes,” he answered. Whether he wanted to admit it was true or not, Fate had sent this female to him. She was glowing with the soul call. She was his responsibility.
“So we wait for the storm to finish and then you’ll take me to your Tribe?” she asked, peering out the window at the swirling snow in the air.
“Yes.”
Relief flooded her face. “Thank you for helping me. You will be rewarded. My mate will be so grateful.”
Saul’s soul was torn by each sentence. He turned away from her so she wouldn’t be able to see his face.
She’d been through so much and yet, she still had more heartbreak to endure. Her memory was damaged. And when it returned…it would be devastating.
He didn’t turn around.
He couldn’t look at her. Not right now. Not at this second. “No matter what happens. I will always protect you.”
“What do you mean? What’s going to happen?”
“There are things you don’t know, female. I want you to know, you can trust me.”