Dawn came with a grey light filtering through the cave.

I’ll go scout. Rolf rose.

Careful, brother.

I laid the woman on the pelts and took a scrap of cloth to dip in the river. The water was cold. I wished I could heat it and bathe her. I knelt near her and unwrapped her dirty legs from the furs, frowning at the bruises on her arms.

She has been ill used, I told Rolf. We must go slowly, and earn her trust.

We will care for her, we will never allow her to be hurt again.

With the rage beating in my chest, I only hoped it was true.

Her eyes blinked awake.

“What are you doing?” she whimpered.

“Washing you, sweet one. I mean you no harm.”

I waited for her nod before raising each foot to wipe clean.

She watched me warily, and flinched away from my touch.

I shared the image with my warrior brother.

The ghost of the friar still lives in her mind, he said.

What can I do? I rose up, hating how she cringed away. I cannot kill him again. How do we compete with a ghost?

Rolf did not answer. I knew he was thinking of his own ghosts.

“Why did you protect the friar?” I asked, wondering aloud. I did not expect an answer.

She jerked her head away from my touch. The shadows lay across her face. “He is a victim, too.”

I swallowed a snarl. I didn’t want my mate to think of any man but me and my warrior brother. “He hurt you.”

“As he was hurt,” she said, and her firm tone amused me before I remembered she defended a dead man. One who deserved to die.

“He chose evil ways. He hurt you, and he served the Corpse King. We know the holy man plotted with the Corpse King to keep the spaewives and sell them.”

A little furrow appeared on her brow as she thought this through. “You said you know Hazel.”

“Yes. She escaped from the Corpse King’s lair, and one of the Berserkers rescued her and took her to mate.”

She fell silent, gnawing her lip.

Rolf strode in, gesturing to the fire. Snuff that out.

We kicked sand into it.

The mist is thick outside, as is the stench of the Grey Men. But there’s a way through. We must be ready.

“We leave soon,” I told Sage.

With a little nod, she rose and undid her braid, shaking out her hair.

“Sage?”

“You said Hazel was taken as a mate. I want to know what will become of me.”

“Very well. There will be no lies between us. You are here with us, now, because our beast has chosen you to mate.”

A little pink came into her cheeks, and curiosity tinged her scent. “What does that mean?”

“It means we will care for you. Treat you as our own.”

“Both of you?”

“Both of us. We are closer than brothers, after many years of fighting together, and aiding each other in controlling our nature. We speak and act in accord.”

“You say I am to be your mate. Is that like a wife?”

“A wife and more than a wife. A love for all time.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her, but her gaze fell to the cave floor.

“All right,” she whispered, more to herself than to us.

She stripped off her shift and let it drop to her feet. I felt alarm at the change in her scent. Not arousal.

Despair.

I half rose to my feet. “What are you doing?”

“I’m ready,” she whispered, wrapping her arms about her frail body. Her little nipples jutted out with the chill of the cave. She was shivering.

Rolf glanced at me and I shook my head.

“No, lass.” Lifting the pelt, I came to her and wrapped her up tight.

She stared at the center of my chest. “Aren’t I what you want?”

“Yes, but not like this. Never like this.” I tucked the pelt tighter around her until she grasped the ends to hold it around herself. I couldn’t stop from cupping the side of her head and pulling her close, my lips against her hair. “We are willing to wait until you are ready.”

This time the tremor went through her shook me as well.

“Let us feed you more.”