Gage could feel that the female was tiring. Her legs didn’t hold as readily as before, and she’d even started to slip to the side from time to time in the last while. They had been on the run for a couple of hours and she had yet to signal to him that she was tired. She was though, that much was clear. It was definitely time for a break. All he could say was that he greatly respected her tenacity and determination. She hadn’t complained at all through this entire ordeal.

Not even when he’d put his hard as nails dick all over her. Fuck! How the hell it had happened in the first place was beyond him. He’d warned her, but he’d never actually believed he’d grow himself a hard-on in a situation like that. Never in a million fucking years. They were so close to being captured, and yet his cock had still been game. Shit, feeling her soft body against him. Hearing her little pants ‒ she was scared fucking shitless, but his body had taken it the wrong way. His body had decided she was turned on and he felt like a colossal asshole pervert for thinking it, for reacting to it. If he could slap himself upside the head, he would.

After everything she had been through at the hands of those creatures, he’d still put her through that. It was wrong. Sure, he could scent that she hadn’t been used by them against her will. That she hadn’t been forced to have sex with anyone, but still. It didn’t mean nothing had happened. That she hadn’t been traumatized. He was such an asshole. Fuck! Thing was, he hadn’t been able to help his reaction. Such a sweet, soft female pressed against him, her legs wide, heat resonating from between her parted thighs. Stop, Gage! Just stop! He was still thinking along those lines, still being a perverted fuck. He knew better. It was stopping now. Gage planned on being the perfect gentleman until he got her home. He would see to all her needs and carry her to safety. He vowed it as surely as he had vowed to protect her in the first place.

Guilt ate at him. He’d had to leave Alice and the children behind. He pictured little Ethan and his heart ached for the little boy. What the hell was he going to tell Ash? How was he going to face his brother? He’d drop the human off and head straight out with a team. That’s how he would do it.

Feeling marginally better, he looked around them. They were deep in the forest, a thick canopy above them. He was sure they would be safe under the cover of both trees and darkness, at least, for the moment. Gage stopped moving. He felt Edith’s body give a jolt and she made a startled sound. She may have been falling asleep and his halt had woken her. He made a growling noise.

“What is it?” Her voice was strained. “What’s wrong?”

With a soft rumble, Gage lowered himself, careful not to move too quickly. He didn’t want her to fall.

The female got the message and slid off his back. "Thank god," she mumbled to herself.

Gage sucked in a deep breath, concentrating on his human form and shifted. He stretched his arms above his head. “Let’s rest for a few minutes.” He glanced at her.

By the way she looked in his direction, but not at him, he could tell that she couldn’t see very much in the dark. She chewed on her lower lip, doing a careful half turn. “I need to use the bathroom, but I’m scared to take even one step.”

“I can see very well in the dark. I’ll help you.”

Her face looked a tad panicked. “I don’t need help, not with going to the bathroom.” She sounded a tad panicked too.

“Relax! I’ll lead you to a suitable place, I don’t plan on sticking around to wipe your ass or anything.”

She smiled and rolled her eyes, looking somewhere over his right shoulder instead of at him. “I don’t need that kind of bathroom break, thank you very much.” Her smile widened.

“That’s a good thing because I really hadn’t planned on actually wiping your ass for you.” Now, spanking your ass, on the other hand … Stop it! Gage touched the side of her arm. “I’m going to stand in front of you. Put your hands on my hips and follow me. I don’t want you stubbing a toe or tripping over a root and hurting yourself.”

After a couple of seconds of waiting she huffed out a breath, sounding frustrated. "I can't see anything. I mean, I can see when you move but not much else. You know that right?" she went on without pausing to take a breath. "I would appreciate a little help with where to place my hands. I can't see where your hips are. I mean, unless you want to accidentally get groped."

Hell yeah! That woke his dick back up; it lifted its perverted head at the prospect of a groping by this female. He really needed to stop this. Gage tamped down on his need to fuck Edith. It was inappropriate and wrong on every level. He wasn't a horny teenager anymore, dammit. A semblance of his control restored, mostly, he reached behind him, taking one of her hands and placing it on his hip and then doing the same with the other. "Ready?"

She murmured an acknowledgment and he set off for the clearing to the side of them. It was slow going. The forest was dense. The brush thick. He lifted a branch or two along the way, so she didn't bash her head. They finally made it to the clearing. It was a good couple of square feet, so she wouldn't end up hurting herself. "This should do it. I'll head back to where we were. You can call me when you're done."

“No looking!”

“Because watching a female pee is on my bucket list.” What an asshole thing to say.

Her eyes darted to the left before moving back to where he was standing. “I didn’t mean …”

He pushed out a heavy breath. “I know. It’s been a long-ass night and it’s about to get longer,” he said, using a much softer tone.

She nodded.

“Call me when you’re done,” he said, watching as she turned around. Gage walked away, taking care of his own business a good distance away. It wasn’t long before Edith called to him and they returned to the path they had been on. It was an animal track and would most likely lead them to water. He hoped it would, at any rate.

“Sit over here,” he advised her, turning around and positioning her by holding her upper arms. “There is a big tree behind you for you to lean against. We can’t stop for long so make it count.”

“Yeah, I know.” She leaned back, winced and shot forward, leaning her elbows on her thighs.

Gage frowned. “What is it?” There was something wrong with her back.

“It’s nothing.” She tried to sound casual.

“No, really, did you hurt yourself?”

“Just some bruising from when my back hit that tower earlier.” He could see that she was working hard at sounding nonchalant about the whole thing. Gage wasn’t buying it.

He clenched his jaw. “Are you in any pain?” There was an urgency to his voice. “I don’t scent blood. Let me see.”

“I’m fine, really.”

“It’s my job, right now,” he quickly added. “to take care of you. I would really like to take a look.”

Edith nodded, leaning forward a bit more. “It’s not that bad. The fur helped protect me or I might have been scratched quite badly.” She unknotted the animal pelt and let it fall to the ground. Then she pulled her shirt up at the back.

Gage went down on his haunches next to her, he pulled the shirt up a little higher so that he could get a good look. Spread across her skin were red welts and markings, particularly across her shoulder blades and just above the band of her jeans. "I'm so sorry." He shook his head, touching one of the marks.

Edith tried not to react, but he caught her slight flinch. “I’m fine,” she quickly said, her voice upbeat.

“No, you’re not. Are you sure you can travel? You should have told me about this.”

“It’s a couple of bruises. Does it hurt a little, especially when touched? Yeah. Am I in any danger? No! Do I need bed rest? Hell no.”

Gage pulled her shirt back down. “You’re sure?”

“Very.”

“You’re strong for a human. I’m sorry that happened.”

“Not your fault. You’re a good climber, for a bear.” She smiled.

Gage found himself smiling back. Then he was reminded of where they were and what they were running from. “Tell me what happened with those beasts.”

“The griffins?” She raised her brows.

“Yeah, the griffins.”

“Good thing you’re naked, by the way.” Her smile grew.

"How so?" It wasn't like that. Her question certainly wasn't what he was thinking. His cock had it all wrong all over again. Gage took a seat next to her, folding his arms over his lap so she wouldn't somehow develop night vision and catch an eyeful of his growing member. The little-perverted shit. He was beginning to irritate the fuck out of his own self.

“It’s a good thing you’re in your birthday suit because, well, you did say you would roast your dick over an open fire if these creatures turned out to be griffins.”

He choked out a laugh. “I did, didn’t I?”

She nodded. “You sure did.”

“I would appreciate it if you would let me off the hook. Sounds painful.”

“You rescued me, so I guess I could be convinced to do that.”

They sat in silence for a few seconds. “What did they want with you?” he finally asked.

“I’m sure you can guess. What is it that men normally want women for?” Her voice was strained. Then she huffed out a breath. “Sorry, that was wrong of me.”

“No, it …”

“Yeah, it was.” She turned to him. “Not all men are the same. It was unfair of me to make a statement like that.”

“After what happened earlier, I don’t blame you. I …” He ran a hand through his hair. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know how that happened. It shouldn’t have happened. It was nothing personal. You need to know that. It didn’t mean anything. It just … happened and it’s inexcusable. I wish I could take it back.” He forced himself to shut the hell up.

“It’s okay. Really. Can we drop it?” She looked hurt. Why was that? Then again, it made sense. She was probably reliving the whole thing. The abduction, those dickhead griffins, what happened with him, all of it. His involvement in her discomfort made him want to hit something. He’d save his anger. Save his strength for when he needed it.

“What happened with those griffin fuckers?” His voice was a rough, angry rasp. “I need to know everything. It’ll give me a better understanding of them and why they are doing what they are doing. I also need to stay one step ahead of them in the coming days.”

She spent the next few minutes taking him through her ordeal and everything that had gone down. “Their females all died?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “It sounds like they’ve been watching you guys … the shifters. They also want humans to take as mates. They want children.”

“Aren’t they worried about human women also catching whatever it is their own females died from?”

She shrugged. “They don’t seem to care. I’m pretty sure Meredith has been tested for … compatibility. That’s what they called it.”

Gage cursed under his breath. “You’re saying one or more of them has … has …”

“Don’t say it.” Edith swallowed hard. She wrung her hands together. “I can’t even begin to think what she’s going through. They said she is alive and unhurt, but I find that hard to believe. That one guy ‒ Soren ‒ said she was too small. He was referring to her anatomy when he said it. Apparently, she’d been tested as a potential mate for the king and they found her to be too damned small. It makes me so angry to think about it.”

“The fuckers!” he snarled. “That poor female.” Guilt rushed through him. Truckloads of the stuff. “This Leukos fucker wanted to mate you? Impregnate you?”

“Yes. They mentioned that I’m …” He watched as her cheeks heated.

“You’re what?” he half-growled, then forced himself to calm down. “You can tell me,” he added, using a softer tone.

“He said that I was better suited to become one of their mates.”

“How so?”

“I’m sturdier. That’s the term they used.” He could see that she didn’t like having been called that. Edith snorted. “I have bigger boobs and hips, so they automatically assumed I’m bigger everywhere, if you know what I mean.”

“They were getting ready to test you as well?” There was a hard edge to his voice, he couldn’t help it. Goddamn motherfuckers! If he got his hands on one of them … he would probably die but he would take the bastard with him.

“I think so. The king wanted me for himself. That, or I had to choose one of his warriors. They were not going to let me go. I asked several times.” She shook her head.

“What I don’t understand is what they want with mated females.”

She shrugged. “Maybe they’re that desperate.”

“I don’t know.” That explanation didn’t feel right. “Why children? Why an already pregnant female?”

“Now you have me stumped. It doesn’t make sense. I’m just so glad you got me out of there when you did.” She shuddered.

“Did they sniff at you?”

“Yes. The king, Leukos, sniffed me. He got down on his knees to do it, getting his nose up close. Too close for comfort.” Her eyes were wide. “He then told Soren that I was definitely unmated.”

Just as he had thought. “I think their senses are more related to a bird than a lion. They have great eyesight during the day and terrible at night. They have a better sense of smell than a human but not nearly as developed as one of us.”

“What does that mean?”

“Like I said, we’ll have to travel at night and rest up during the day while they are out searching for us.”

Edith nodded.

“I have an idea or two on how to keep them from catching our scent. For one, we need to find the river.”

Edith made a soft noise of longing. “I could do with a drink of water.”

“I know. How are you holding up otherwise?”

“A soft bed and a deep-dish pizza would be great.”

Gage chuckled. “I’ll make sure you get both, once we get back. We’ll do our best with what we have for now.”

“Okay.” Again, she didn’t bitch or complain.

“One more thing, I have to ask …” He was almost too afraid to do so.

Edith remained silent, her attention on him, although her eyes were trained on his neck instead of his face.

“Did you hear anything about my family? About the pregnant female who was taken?”

Edith nodded. “I asked how everyone was and was told that none of the women or children had been harmed. That they were all in good health.”

“I only wish we could believe them.”

“I think everyone is still alive, however I think their definition of unharmed might be different to ours.”

“Agreed.” He sighed. Worry ate at him. Once they were back, he’d lead a team to rescue the others. He …

Edith touched the side of his arm. “It’s not your fault that they’re still stuck there. There was nothing we could have done right then to save them.”

"I know." Gage clenched his teeth for a moment, allowing her words to sink in. The human was right. "Let's head back out." He needed to push. They were a long damn way from home. Maybe too long.