Once the decision was made, there was nothing more to say. My heart broke into a million pieces even as my bond with Gunnar grew. Rather than leaving right away, we thought it best to wait a few days just to make sure the Pack hadn’t picked up Gunnar’s trail when he left Clarksville. I wanted desperately to head back down there to see if we could get news about Caroline.

Vera and Melanie would leave first. Gunnar had finally convinced them that Golden Rock wasn’t safe in the long term. If they couldn’t find a way to cross over the Tennessee border, they needed someplace where they could get underground quickly. Vera agreed, but said little. I knew her too well. There was one more place we knew to go. We’d found one more tunnel system along the Cumberland River. Backtracking had its downsides, but with just the two of them traveling together, I felt sure they could make it.

In the middle of our last night as a group, Gunnar told me the secret he’d been keeping since the day I met him. I held my breath as he spoke, knowing he’d been tortured for this very information. Telling me now would be his penultimate act of trust. Taking me there was all that was left.

He scratched a map into the dirt with his fingers. “Shadow Springs is here,” he said. “The Mammoth Cave system, the one the public knows about, stretches through here. Patrols are weak here. Or at least, they were as of a year ago. Able had one of his generals stationed here with a cadre of patrols. We took them out.”

“You killed them? All of them?”

“Most of them,” he answered. “Before that, we couldn’t spend much time topside without the Pack sensing us. Now...or at least, before I left for Birch Haven, we’d weakened the Alpha’s hold enough so we could.”

“You think it’s still that safe now?” I hugged my knees to my chest. Shadow Springs would take us days to get to if we went on foot. Gunnar had a plan to steal a car. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Any attention from law enforcement meant potential Pack attention. They knew what to monitor and the Pack had infiltrated every branch of government in the state. Underground and off the grid was the safest bet for everyone.

“I think it’s worth the risk,” he said. “Plus, why would Able have tried so hard to get that intel from me if he already had it? No. We’re not Pack...but it’s just a feeling I have. My friends are still there. Mammoth Forest is still the base of operations.”

I rested my chin on my knees. Gunnar tapped the ground with his stick, deep in concentration. He had a plan B, I knew. But, he wouldn’t tell me what it was. He’d marked me two more times in the last couple of days. Soon, I knew I’d be able to read some of his thoughts and him mine. I welcomed that, but at the same time it scared me.

For now, we read each other’s moods and Gunnar was worried. I reached for him, running a hand over his bare shoulder. His muscles rippled at my touch. He regarded me with those keen, silver wolf eyes that always flared when he was aroused. An answering heat blossomed between my legs. There would be time enough for that soon. For now, I knew he had questions.

“Someday soon,” he said. “You’re going to have to tell me how you were quick enough to shoot that wolf the other day.”

“I know,” I said. My answer surprised him. I would have told him then and there, but Gunnar put up a hand to stop me.

“When we get to Mammoth Forest,” he said. “When I know for sure I can keep you safe.”

His eyes clouded with worry. Though I couldn’t yet read his mind, I knew what troubled him. Marking me let him sense my well-being. It was meant so he could protect me. But it would also make it easier for the Pack to use me against him if they ever captured one of us. He said he could feel my pain. I believed him. Leaning forward, I kissed him.

He held my chin with his fingers. “You know if I could safely bring Vera and Melanie to Mammoth Forest, I would. I’d kill for either of them if it came to it.”

“I know,” I said, my throat growing thick with emotion. “The same reason you don’t want me to tell you about how I killed that beta. That’s why you’re afraid of Melanie knowing about Mammoth Forest.”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed hard. “Yes. As long as the wolf who marked her lives, he’ll be able to track her.”

“Gunnar,” I said. “I’ve been thinking about that. A lot. I know you’re probably not going to like this, but it’s why I think that when we leave...we should leave all of the weapons with Vera. She’ll need every advantage she can get against the Pack.”

“No!” he said. “You’ve proven to me more than once that you can handle yourself against at least the patrols if it’s one on one. I will not leave you defenseless.”

“I’m not defenseless. I have you.”

“No,” he said, his voice dropping. “You’ll take the nine at least. Let Vera and Melanie have the rifles. How much of your special ammo do you have left?”

He wasn’t going to like my answer. I gave it with a sigh. “One magazine for the nine. Plus one in the chamber. Vera’s got enough ammo of her own to last a little while. But, when it’s gone. It’s gone.”

He scratched his chin. “There’s got to be a way to get more.”

I shrugged. “We’ve tried. I told you. We had help at the beginning from some of the shifters at Birch Haven. They gave us what they could but never told us where it came from. They’re all dead now as far as I know.”

“Maybe Liam and the others will have an idea about it. Our contacts through the state run deep. Somebody’s had to have heard at least rumors here and there. We ran into some northern shifters a few years back. I watched them kill a Pack wolf with a gunshot. I thought it was just a lucky one, but maybe it was more than that. It’s a long shot, but it’s hope.”

“Liam,” I said. “And there’s Mac and Payne. Your other friend is Jagger?”

Gunnar’s expression darkened, but he nodded. Five Alphas. A tremor went through me. I was just beginning to truly understand how powerful Gunnar was as opposed to the beta Pack members we’d encountered so far. I couldn’t imagine what being in a room with five at once was like. Would they like me? Would they be angry that Gunnar chose a mate without discussing it with them first?

Gunnar’s soft laughter sent a thrill of excitement through me. He kissed my hand, his eyes sparkling with mischief. “They’re going to love you. And I can’t wait for you to meet Molly. She’s Liam’s mate. Since Keara died, she tries to be the boss of us. You remind me of her a lot. And if Mac got out with Eve…”

His voice trailed off. He’d told me Eve was the girl his friend Mac found at Birch Haven along with his sister. If they were back in Mammoth Forest, they might know more about Jade’s sister Jasmine. My heart fluttered with hope. Gunnar didn’t say it, but I knew there might even be a chance that Jasmine was in Mammoth Forest. He had no idea where the women went after he and his friends liberated the college.

“Come on,” he said. “We have a big day tomorrow and a long way to travel. You need to get some sleep.”

“What about you?” I settled against him.

“I don’t need as much sleep as you do. Let me take watch tonight. You, Vera and Melanie could use a break.”

Earlier, Vera had chosen a rare moment to agree with Gunnar on that score. Ever since he came back from Clarksville, they’d reached a detente. It didn’t mean she trusted him, but she finally believed he wasn’t actively or inadvertently trying to bring the Pack down on our heads. Plus, her mind was full of worry for Melanie. For now, there was nothing I could do but pray.

---

Though Gunnar kept watch, I didn’t get much sleep that night. We all woke at dawn. Melanie had already packed everything. Either she’d discussed it with Gunnar or come to the same conclusion herself, but she handed me the nine as we headed up the embankment alongside the viaduct together. Melanie had a rifle strapped to her back. Vera carried the rest of their supplies. Over Mel’s protests, we’d given them all the food. Gunnar was adamant that he could hunt for the two of us with half the effort. Plus, if his car theft plan worked, we’d be in Mammoth Forest in less than twenty-four hours. The thought sent a shiver of excitement and terror through me. He sensed it and took my hand.

“Be careful,” I said to Vera, my throat clogged with emotion. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do out there. I’m going to find a way to get word to you.”

“Don’t worry,” she said, hugging me. “I can take care of myself. Hell, I’ve been taking care of your ass for years. You’re still whole last time I checked.”

“Shit,” I said laughing. “You like to talk a big talk, Vee. You’d be nowhere if it weren’t for me.”

I meant it as a joke, just as she had, but my words settled heavily over both of us. Vera and I had had each other’s backs for so long, I didn’t know how it would feel not knowing where she was every second of the day. She’d been my rock. We’d buried so many friends together. Hot tears stung my eyes, but I refused to shed them. So did she.

“Don’t say the ‘g’ word,” she said. “Just say I’ll see you around. Because I will. That’s a promise.”

Smiling, I broke away from her first. Vera wasn’t one to make promises. Her words meant everything. Gunnar stood behind me, looming large and solid. God, how I wanted to tell Vera where we were going. I felt torn between the people who’d helped me make it this far and the strangers I’d rely on from now on. In the center of all of that was Gunnar. I’d only known him for a few weeks, and yet, I knew I belonged by his side. Vera knew it too. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him that, but in a way her silence said it all.

Gunnar reached forward and shook her hand. Then, he went to Melanie, hugging her close. “I’m so sorry,” he told her softly. “If a day comes when I can find your wolf and kill him, know that I will.”

“I know,” she whispered. “You just keep our girl safe. That’s all I’ll ever ask of you.”

Gunnar nodded and came back to me. I slid the nine into my belt and took Gunnar’s hand. We’d let Vera and Mel move out first. I alone held everyone’s secrets. Vera and Melanie’s route to tunnels near Bowling Green would take them on a parallel path to Gunnar’s and mine for about twenty miles. He might even be able to scent them for part of it. Though, I knew he would never ask me where they were going. They’d hit another set of tunnels about fifteen miles from here. After that, their path would diverge from ours. So, in a sense, none of this felt final to me. Either that, or I’d grown numb from the idea of leaving them.

Gunnar put a steadying hand on my back as we watched Vera and Melanie disappear into the woods. I pushed away the nagging premonition that I’d never see them again. It clawed at me, making it hard to breathe.