“I had no idea,” I said. For about the hundredth time since Mac claimed me, my hand was drawn to the tiny crescent-shaped scar he’d left at the nape of my neck. It was nothing like what I’d seen on Nikki or April. This was smooth, natural. It had begun to heal seconds after Mac had made it. At the instant my Alpha bit me, the mark connected me to him, pulsing along with his pulse. It became a pleasure zone, arousing me in the same way it did when he kissed my breasts or touched my sex.

“It’ll get stronger over time,” he said. “The connection. I’ll mark you again and again. Every time we have sex if you’d like. And you’ll want it. A lot.”

I felt a hot blush color my face. He was already right on that score. We’d been back in the caves for a day and a half, and I’d lost count of the times we’d coupled. He’d even gotten to tie me up like he promised down in the grotto. Heat speared through me, settling in my core as I thought of it. Mac had brought out a new, wild, wanton nature in me. It thrilled me and gave me a power I never knew I had.

“Someday,” he said. “We’ll read each other’s thoughts. And maybe someday...if it’s ever safe enough...we can make a baby. He’ll be a shifter, perhaps.”

“Mmm. I’d like that. Someday.”

For now, it seemed too much to hope for. What we had was everything. It was enough. It would have to be.

“Eve,” he said, his voice becoming grave. I had been waiting for this. This was a conversation that we needed to have, though I dreaded it.

“I know, my love,” I said, putting my hand to his cheek. “I don’t have to be able to read your mind to know what’s on it.

“We can wait until as long as tomorrow,” he said. “Then Liam and I have to try and find out what happened to Gunnar and Payne.”

“They sacrificed themselves for me,” I said, my voice thick with emotion.

“Yes,” Mac answered plainly. “And for me. And for Lena and the other girls.”

“I owe them everything. I owe you everything.”

Mac smiled and shook his head. “You think you didn’t save me just as much? I came alive when I met you, baby. But, are you sure? I don’t have much of a life to offer you.”

I leaned in and kissed him. “Being with you is the only life I want. And Mac, we were meant to be, yes. But, I think it’s more than that. I think I was meant for this place too. I belong here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, when Molly gave me the grand tour, when she started to explain her mission here. Your mission here. Baby, I want it to be my mission too. We’ve liberated Birch Haven. But, it won’t be the end of it. As long as the Alpha is still in power, he’s going to build another Birch Haven. Or there already is one. If there’s any way to try and save those women, I want to be a part of it. I don’t want another woman to be marked against her will.”

Mac took my hand. “You know, if I had my way, I’d lock you away. I’d never let you so much as think about the Chief Pack or go near them. But, I think you might be right. I think there’s more work to be done. Baby, there’s something you need to know though, about what we are to each other and what can happen now.”

I rubbed my fingers over Mac’s palm. Molly had already told me about that too. “I know,” I said. “She told me about Keara and Jagger. I saw him. It broke my heart. But, I want to try and help him too. Molly says there’s hope, and I believe her.”

Mac’s smile made my heart soar. “She’s right about a lot of things. It’s irritating as hell.”

“She said you’d say that.”

“I heard that!” Molly’s voice echoed off the walls as she came down the passageway. Liam was with her. They stopped at the entrance to Mac’s cavern. Molly was all smiles, but Liam’s expression turned grave.

Molly McConnell was a marvel. She couldn’t be more than five feet tall. She had wide brown eyes, a round face, and dark brown hair with straight cut bangs. I loved her immediately. Her devotion to the Mammoth Forest Wolves was fierce. It was becoming mine as well.

“Busybody,” Mac teased.

My heart lurched as we all knew what Liam and Molly were doing here. It was time for our wolves to go. Sensing my distress, Molly came inside and hooked her arm through mine.

“Don’t worry,” she whispered. “They can’t get away with anything without us knowing about it. It’s the one part of the marking they can’t do anything about.”

“Right,” Liam said, winking at her. “Plus we’ve both got something pretty special to come back to. We’ll be careful. We’ll stay safe.”

Mac gave me a solemn smile as he rose to stand with Liam. They led the way down the corridor. Molly squeezed my hand as we fell into step behind them.

As we reached the mouth of the caves and sunlight stabbed through the shadows, my heart broke in two. I knew Mac had to find out about his friends. I knew Liam would watch his back. But, it tore me up to say goodbye even if it was only for a little while.

Lena hadn’t come up to see them off. She was growing stronger every day, but she was more comfortable keeping to herself. She barely had anything to do with the growing community of shifters and humans who sought refuge in these caves. Molly said it would take time. Her scars would heal.

We’d had word from one of Molly’s contacts topside. The women of Birch Haven had made it over the border into Ohio. April had even sent a note back. Nikki had been among the girls to flee from Camden Hall. The moment Joel’s heart stopped beating, his hold over her had ended. She was traumatized, but doing well. She’d sent word along that she knew what we’d done for her. She hoped we’d find each other again someday. I hoped for that too.

“Come here,” Mac said, pulling me into an embrace. “Don’t look so worried. Liam’s right. I’ve got a hell of a good reason to get back here quickly.”

“Good. And it better be in one piece, or I’m going to tear you up.”

Liam laughed. “You two are starting to sound like each other,” he said, swatting Molly on the behind. She dodged and punched him in the arm.

“Maybe it’s because you two drive us to it,” she said. Then, her own expression grew grave and she kissed Liam good and hard.

It was time to say goodbye. I couldn’t breathe. Mac held my hand and we walked into the sunlight together.

Just as he was about to let go, his body stiffened and his wolf eyes flared silver. Liam was having a similar reaction. He whipped around and growled, taking a ready stance with his legs parted and his knees bent.

A red wolf burst through the clearing. He was big, broad, and foaming at the mouth. A deep gash ran across his right flank and blood flowed freely.

I didn’t have a chance to react. Molly shoved past Liam and went to the wolf. She dropped to her knees and started feeling along the wound. The red wolf dropped to the ground and rolled to his side.

“Get my kit!” Molly yelled.

I acted quickest. I ran into the caves, down the winding passageway until I got to Molly’s infirmary. She was studying to be a veterinarian. For the moment, she was one of the most medically skilled people we had down in the caves. I grabbed her leather bag and tore back up the corridor.

By the time I got back to the woods, the red wolf had shifted. Payne writhed on the ground; three huge claw marks left angry welts through his back.

Molly took her bag and found gauze and disinfectant. Liam and Mac held him down as she cleaned the wound and assessed the damage.

“You’re lucky,” she whispered through tears in her eyes. “You hear me? It’s just skin and muscle, Payne. A week of bedrest and you’ll be good as new. Uglier, but good as new.”

Liam and Mac helped Payne to his feet. His grunt of pain cut through me. But, he found the strength to smile at me as they brought him back into the caves.

Molly shooed us all out once Payne was settled on a pallet in her infirmary. Mac paced in the main rotunda. Payne’s howls as Molly stitched him up cut through all of us. How she managed to keep him still was some secret magic all her own. A few times, Mac had to hold Liam back from charging back in there. Wounded or not, he wasn’t about to let Payne hurt Molly by accident. But she had it all well in hand. She came out dripping with sweat and wearing a good amount of Payne’s blood, but Molly had a smile on her face.

“You can go in now,” she said. “The bleeding’s stopped. He’ll heal.”

Mac and Liam ran into the infirmary. Molly put an arm around me. At first I thought it was for comfort, then I realized she was seriously about to drop. I held her up and we went over to the ledge and sat.

“He’s a shifter,” I said. “Why didn’t he heal by himself?”

“Takes longer when it’s another shifter doing the damage. He’s lucky he didn’t bleed to death before he got to me. Come on. No sense you hanging back here. He’s been asking about you.”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” Molly smiled. “Payne didn’t believe me that all those women got out of Birch Haven. He wants to hear it from you.”