Payne came to me in the darkness. My hair was still wet from the heavenly bath I took in the hot springs. The grotto beneath the main rotunda was one of the greatest treasures these caves held. The other stood before me, his eyes gleaming like emeralds. His heart filled with desire for me. My own rose to match it.

We needed no words. Heat rose within me. I couldn’t get enough of him. It had been like that since he first marked me along the border. Since then, he’d done it at least half a dozen more times. With each coupling, each tender bite, it strengthened our bond with each other. The old mark I bore was completely gone. In its place, a new, fine crescent-shaped scar flared hot like a new erogenous zone.

Payne smiled as he settled on the ledge of our new room. We’d taken a suite of caverns on the other side of the grotto. It was quiet here, and far away from the rest of the cave’s inhabitants. Brushing my hair to the side, I lifted my leg and straddled Payne’s lap. He let out a low, lustful growl as his turgid cock sheathed deep inside of me.

“I could stay like this forever,” I said.

“Mmm, I want you to.”

We took our time, exploring each other in ways we couldn’t during so many weeks on the run. I savored every inch of my Alpha as I licked his neck. I left my own mark just above his nipple, scoring him gently with my teeth. Payne’s wicked growl ignited me all over again.

He took me slowly. He took me deep. He filled me in places and awakened my need. He made me whole. Afterward, I felt safe and warm in Payne’s arms. I was me again, after so many years feeling lost.

“I love you,” he whispered. He said it a hundred times a day. I said it right back.

“I love you too.” I kissed my way up his chest and settled against him. He pulled me close.

I knew what was on his mind. When the time came to go up against Able Valent...and it would...he wanted me far away.

“Shh.” I put a finger to his lips before he could give voice to it. “Haven’t you figured out by now we fight better together than we do apart? You know it was my strength with yours that let you drive Able out. You all think you’re protecting us by keeping us from this. When it comes down to it, you’re going to need us.”

Payne sighed. “The hell of it is I know you’re right. I hate that you’re right. But you are.”

Laughing, I kissed him again. “Get used to it, my love.”

Growling, he swatted my ass. I squealed with pleasure and fresh heat pooled in my core. “Mmm,” I moaned. “This is the Rise, huh?”

“Yep,” he answered, testing me by slipping his fingers inside of me. He found me wet and eager. I kissed him. “Might as well take advantage of it.”

We did. Over and over again until night turned into day. I was exhausted, but sleep was the last thing I wanted. I’d spent so much time asleep already.

When we finally emerged from our suites, we found the main rooms empty. A rumble of alarm went through Payne. He squeezed my hand. “Wait here,” he said.

I started to protest and follow him up the passageway into the forest. We never made it. Liam and Gunnar charged back down, their eyes flashing with fury.

“What the hell’s going on?” Payne asked.

“We’ve got an intruder,” Gunnar answered. “She says she’s looking for you.”

“What?” I said. When I tried to step around Payne, he held me back.

Mac and Jagger followed close behind. They had someone with him. They had her wrists bound with rope and a black hood over her head. But she walked with calm purpose as they led her down the passageway into the main room.

“The hell?” I said.

Mac pulled the hood off his prisoner’s head. Her black hair flew around her and Dr. Suzanne Olivet blinked wildly, struggling to adjust to the light.

“Suzanne,” I said, rushing forward. I took her wrists and started to untie them. “My God. How did you find us?”

Suzanne smiled. She saved a sharp look for Mac then threw her arms around me. “You are not the only ones with spies everywhere.”

“You came alone?” Payne asked. “Are you crazy? Do you realize what could have happened?”

“Nothing,” she said. “You think it would have been safer if I traveled with a pack of foreign wolves? Olivia had a vision. She said I must hurry. I am just human. So, I come. The Chief Pack does not know me. ”

“Well, shit,” Payne said. “They will now.”

Suzanne shrugged. “So you will keep me safe. In the meantime, where is my patient?”

“She’s the shifter doctor you hoped for,” I said to Mac. He looked at Suzanne with new eyes.

Molly and Eve walked into the rotunda together. Suzanne broke away from the others and went straight for Eve. When Mac and Molly made a move to stop her, Payne intervened.

“She can help,” he said. “She risked her life to get here. Which makes her either completely brave or stupid.” He glared hard at Suzanne. She waved him off while muttering in her rapid-fire French.

“I could not risk bringing medical supplies with me,” she said, breaking back into her heavily accented English.

“Uh,” Molly narrowed her eyes. “I have a pretty sophisticated infirmary down here and access to a lot more topside.”

“May I?” Suzanne took charge and didn’t wait for Eve’s answer. She put a hand on Eve’s large stomach. Suzanne’s face creased as she moved her hands all over Eve’s swelling abdomen. Then, Suzanne peered closer until she had her ear pressed against Eve’s belly button.

When she rose, Suzanne gave Eve a reassuring smile, but the lines of worry through her brow deepened. “It is lucky I came when I did. My dear, you are already in the beginning stages of labor.”

“I’m what?” Eve said. “I have three more weeks to go.”

Suzanne put a hand on the small of Eve’s back and looked at Molly. “Come. You have a lot to learn. We do not have much time.”

Mac lost it. In a blur of motion, he was at Eve’s side. Unfazed, Suzanne and Molly took charge and the four of them disappeared down the passageway toward the infirmary.

Payne pulled me close and his heart beat alongside mine. “I don’t think her timing was luck,” he said. His tone held a dark promise. It kindled something deep inside me.

“I don’t think so either. I think fate works on more than just mates.”

I went up on my tiptoes and pulled his head down to mine. The same flickering hope I’d felt when we came back to the caves ignited all over again. Against all odds, Payne and I found our way to each other. We were stronger together than we had ever been apart. The biggest fight might yet be ahead of us. But now, hope flared where fear had once taken root.

I was whole. I was strong. And I knew exactly where I belonged.

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