The sound of calm voices comes as a shock. Their voices stay too low for us to make out any words, but I isolate at least two individuals in addition to Janelle. Curiosity has me about to crawl over to the opening when an uncovered head suddenly appears. Kate jerks so hard her elbow bangs into my sore ribs, but I’m not the only one sucking in a breath of surprise.

 

“Ah, dang. Sorry ladies. I should have announced myself before popping up like that.” When none of us says anything, he continues. “Ma’am,” he nods at Kate. “I understand you can provide us with some light? If you would be so good as to put your light back on, I’d be grateful.”

 

Kate leans into me for guidance but I grimace and suck air between my teeth. That well-placed elbow got my whole side upset. I study what I can see of the man, backlit by the weak moonlight, but his features are all in shadow. Something in the man’s voice makes me want to trust him. I just wish I could see him. Then it hits me that he can see us. I grind my teeth. Well, it’s too late now. Nothing we can do about it if it’s a trap and personally I’d rather be able to get a good look at this guy. “Okay,” I whisper. 

 

Kate sits up straight and I squint to protect my vision. But she has better control this time and only a small flame erupts from her palm. After a second of the three of us blinking at one another, we all turn our attention to the huge stranger now crouching in the opening of the mountain lion’s den. 

 

“Thank you. Let’s try this again, why don’t we?” He moves slowly, incredibly graceful for such a large man. He’s clearly more than human. What he is, though, still evades me. He takes a deep breath, and even in the cramped space, he deliberately relaxes his body as he exhales. I get the sense he wants to put us at ease. With every word he utters in that soothing, strong voice, something in me unclenches. His voice instills confidence, makes me feel like he’s got it and I no longer have to worry. He looks each of us in the eye, and in his steady gaze I see power. And safety. Tears spring to my eyes but I blink them away.
“I’m Carmelo, Alpha of the Arroyo Pack here in Colorado. If you’ll allow us to invade your refuge, we have food, warm drinks, and more importantly, answers to those questions I’m sure you’re dying to ask.”

 

Kate makes a small anguished sound when he identifies himself. She reaches out but stops short of touching him. He turns his attention to her with a steady gaze, but he doesn’t say anything. As if he had all the time in the world and nothing else is more important than what she has to say. Wow. This guy has charm. And charisma. And so much power. And I so desperately want to trust him.

 

Her voice shaky from more than fatigue, she asks, "Do you—Mac?”

 

His gentle smile deepens the crinkles around his eyes – testimony to how often he must smile. “Yes, Kate. Mac came to us after you graduated high school. And I’m deeply sorry for the grief that caused you both. We had no idea until she arrived and by then the pack was bound to what Mac’s father demanded.”

 

We all knew the story of how Mac and Kate were separated because Mac’s homophobic excuse for a father sent her away for a full year, trying and succeeding to break them up. It took too many more years for them to have a second chance to get back together, but at least now their love is strong enough to withstand anything. 

 

Like Jo and me. Hope lights a flame in my heart. I just might make it through this and see her again. My eyes well up again and I have more difficulty blinking them away this time. A tear runs down my cheek and I swipe it away with a fat finger. But the gloves are waterproof, so all I end up doing is spreading the moisture across my face. Not good. It’s cold enough without a sheet of ice covering my cheek.

 

Aimlessly rubbing my finger in circles over my wind-burned cheek, I study the man. He only wears a thin coat that appears to offer little protection in this weather. The hunter green complements his dark brown skin and deepens the amber of his eyes. Despite his deliberately relaxed muscles, he’s so broad shouldered he has to feel uncomfortable bunched up in the narrow opening like that. I’d put his age around 40, but the weight of his gaze feels older. Much older. In fact, he reminds me of Mac and I wonder if that’s why he makes me feel so relaxed and safe.

 

I turn to Kate and smile. Thinking is harder and harder. I feel stupid, suddenly. It’s as if now that I feel safe, everything shuts down. My mind feels coated in cotton candy. 

 

Oh, wow. Wouldn’t that be delicious right now? My mouth waters imagining the sticky sweetness melting on my tongue and for a long minute I’m completely lost in the fantasy. The man, Carmelo, coughs, breaking the illusion and drawing me back to the present. When I meet his gaze I see a flash of something. I find it hard to hold his gaze and drop my eyes to his shoulder. It’s work to remember what I’m supposed to be answering. Finally my mind snags on one thing. “No.”

 

“No?” He cocks his head and squints at me. Emma makes a small, desperate sound, but still doesn’t say anything. I know I said something wrong but I can’t figure out what it is.

 

I clear my throat, trying to clear my foggy mind, as well. Gods, I’m at the end of my rope. “No. Answers.” I shake my head knowing I’m still not making much sense. “We need—um, food?” I swear to all the gods if I have to say one more thing, I’ll cry. But, I realize, silent tears are all ready running down both of my cheeks now. They’ve frozen in narrow icicles partway down my cheeks. I don’t bother to wipe them away. 

 

Carmelo turns his head and whistles low, then clambers the rest of the way in. He stops beside me and shrugs a backpack from his wide shoulders, pulling it around in front of him and unzipping it. I watch as he unloads a bag with print on it I can’t make out in the low light and a couple of small thermoses. It looks like there’s more in there when he closes the flap. He unscrews the top of of one of the thermoses and hands it to me. 

 

I’m desperate to drink but wait to be sure Kate and Emma get some too. Handing a thermos to Emma, he tells us, “It’s hot chocolate. Or, it was hot. By now it’s probably just warm. But you ladies need the calories so even if it’s cool, you need to drink it.” He nods to a young Asian woman clad in an equally thin black coat who appears at his side brandishing a flashlight. At Carmelo’s nod, she turns it on. “Kate.” He waits until she’s looking at him. “Can you douse that for a little while so you can get something in your belly?”

 

Kate looks at Emma who nods at her. The flame isn’t fully out when Kate reaches for her insulated cask.

 

I don’t know when I’ve ever tasted anything so good. It’s real chocolate, not the powder that comes in a paper package, and made with milk. And still warm. Someone would have to take it away from me to get me to stop drinking it. Once it hits my mouth I have no control. I can’t drink it fast enough and it’s gone too fast. There wasn’t much in there to begin with but I’m grateful for every drop. I hold it up and shake it, then run my tongue around the mouth of it. Judging by how we all finish about the same time, I’m guessing Emma and Kate did the same. They both have wide dark circles around their mouths. Licking around my own mouth and finding I must, too, I start laughing. The three of us laugh so helplessly we lean on each other. Suddenly my stomach heaves and that lovely chocolate threatens to come back up. I sit up trying to breathe through it and for some reason start sobbing uncontrollably. 

 

We’re saved. We’re saved. We’re saved. I’m afraid to take it in. I’ve been steeped in terror and helplessness for what seems like a very, very long time. The relief...hurts.

 

Someone rubs circles on my back and I gradually shut off the water works. The emotional jag leaves me weaker. The hand slides away and I slump against the wall. I keep my swollen eyes closed and ride out a wave of hiccups hoping it doesn’t make my stomach want to empty its meager contents again. 

 

“No shame, ladies. After the ordeal you’ve been through, it’s expected.” The mid-western voice is one I haven’t heard, yet. Pitched to be low and soothing, it’s also strong. I open my eyes and meet hers. The woman holding the flashlight nods at her hands and I follow her gaze to the small metal bowl in her hand. In the flashlight’s beam it looks like a small mound of rice and beans. There’s a little wooden spoon sticking out of it. Especially to my half-starved eyes, it doesn’t look like much. “MREs. Like the hot chocolate, these are designed to provide dense calories. Eat while they still hold some heat.”

 

I’d never seen an MRE before, but now that some sugar is hitting my brain, I just want more and more food. I reach for the bowl and ask, “How?”

 

Thankfully she understands my question without my needing to explain. “Ah, for now suffice it to say chemicals activate to heat it.” 

 

Gripping the bowl is hard with the fat-fingered gloves on. But the spoon is a particular challenge. It takes all my focus to shovel the small mound of hot beans and rice into my mouth without losing any. Someone murmurs too quietly for me to make out the words but I don’t look up to see who it is. Besides eating, I couldn’t care about anything much right now, including how it tastes, but it actually tastes pretty good. I wonder idly what seasonings they put in it. I want to know if there is any more.
I want to lick the bowl and have to fight with myself not to. Instead, I drag the spoon around the bowl, scraping the sides for every last taste. By the sounds of it, Emma and Kate are doing the same. 

 

Satisfied I didn’t leave any behind, I look up at the two of them. I’m better but still sluggish. And though I want more food, I’m dismayed by how stuffed my stomach feels. I sigh.

 

“I’m Libby. You already know the flame thrower here is Kate, and that’s Emma on the end.”

 

“Nice to meet all of you. Sorry to leave you feeling hungry but if we give you too much, you’ll get sick.” 

 

I know she’s right when my stomach rolls. I breathe through my nose. 

 

“That’s right. Deep breaths. It’ll pass.” She gathers the bowls and utensils from us and hands it to someone behind her. “Okay. Sit back and let that settle. If you do okay with that, after a while we’ll make up some more.”

 

I don’t notice before I relax back against the wall, but the air feels warmer on my face. All those bodies between us and the opening gap block the wind. And it occurs to me that the other reason is these are wolf-shifters. From my experience, I’ve found they run hotter and just their presence warms the air. Not so great in the summer, but a huge relief right now. Unfortunately, the warm air also heightens the stench. I wrinkle my nose and realize the inside is not frozen any longer. With a full belly and feeling warmer than I have in days, my shoulders drop another inch.

 

The Alpha shuffles around a little bit, until he’s leaning against the wall. He stretches out his long booted legs. “Now, you three need sleep.” Once again, he looks each of us in the eye. “You are safe. Sleep. When you wake, there will be more to eat, and we’ll fill you in on things.”

 

I don’t know about my friends, but his soothing voice and promises of safety, food and information ease the last of my worry and I drop into the first deep sleep I’ve had since we left California.

 

***

 

I’m disoriented when I wake up. I feel a draft and try to pull the blanket more snuggly around me. But the blanket doesn’t feel right and it seems to be trapped under me and won’t budge. I shift and someone grunts. My eyes pop open and the smell hits my awareness at the same time. I sit up and rub my eyes. My movement wakes up Emma and Kate, too since we were sleeping draped on top of one another like a pile of kittens. 

 

I don’t feel exactly refreshed, but I do feel somewhat better. When it cramps again, I realize it was my stomach that woke me up. I wrap my arms around my middle. Good to Carmelo’s word, while we’re still blinking sleep out of our eyes, I start to smell food. We each get a lot more food this time, too. I have no problem eating every bite. I don’t have to fight with myself as hard to avoid licking the bowl this time either. Now that I’ve had some sleep and my belly is full, I want to get to Jo. I’m about to ask about how we’re going to find her when Carmelo interrupts my train.

 

“Our introductions are overdue and we can address a few things while we’re at it. Like I said before, I’m Carmelo. The one who has been feeding you is my Beta, Len.” The woman grins at each of us as she collects our empty bowls. Carmelo points behind him to a person I can’t really see, backlit against the bright daylight like that. “This guy behind me, stopping up the wind tunnel is my Enforcer, Marcos.”

 

He tosses over his shoulder, “Yo.”

 

“On the ground with your vampire Janelle are a few more of our pack. They’re on four legs so they’re plenty warm, and they’ve been scouting around and keeping an eye on things. First off, you need to know that we found three vampire, about half a day behind you. One Asian and two caucasians. They were well-outfitted with technology including drones but they seemed to be having trouble figuring out where to go next. Your tracks were well hidden. After listening to them for a bit we determined they posed a threat to your safety and eliminated them. We described them to Janelle and she tells us that they were not friends of yours. Janelle also assures us that the black vampire who was trapped in the airplane is a good guy. Dex?” I nod, not trusting myself to speak around the lump in my throat. “We kinda gathered that from what he was able to tell us. Said the three we came across later had left him to die slowly. It’s a lucky thing we came along when we did. He wasn’t long for this world. We got him freed, fed, and before he’d fully healed he left. I have to tell you, the fact any of you walked away from that crash is a miracle. Throw in that blizzard and it’s damn near an impossibility. You’re made of strong stuff.”

 

His factual retelling derails my thoughts completely. I ignore the praise I hear in his voice. Hearing about Dex’s safety unclenches something in my chest. When Carmelo looks at me sharply, I realize I must have made a sound. I nod at him. “He’s, he’s a friend. Thank you. For saving him.” He nods gravely. “But, I mean, how did you even know about the plane crash?” 
And on the heels of that thought come a cascade more. Has anyone told Jo what happened? That we’re okay? Where is she? How is she? Why are we still here in this stinky place sitting on pointy rocks?

 

Before I can organize the jumble of my thoughts, Carmelo says, “Marcos. Why don’t you enlighten these ladies as to why we started looking for their party?” He rests his head back and crosses his ankles. 

 

Marcos shifts around to face us, and somehow keeps his body in the crevice opening, continuing to block the wind. Now that I can see him more clearly, I take in his hard face and military cut. There’s a sharpness to his gaze that would give me chills if his smile weren’t genuine. 

 

“I serve with a man who’s become more than a buddy. Our families vacation together. The pack accepts them, though they don’t know about us, yet. They’re at our house now, in fact. They’ve got a sweet little girl named Gracie Gael. On her 6th birthday little Gracie stared having vivid dreams of terrible events. But it turns out they’re much more than just dreams. They’re prophetic.” Emma sucks in her breath. He glances at her but keeps going. “Seems like that would be a good thing, right? But they started without warning on the night she turned 6 years old. And apparently, they don’t spare details a child might not be able to handle seeing. The worst of it is, if nothing happens, if no one can change the outcome, she will have the dream repeatedly. Until the people die, that is.”

 

Emma looks scared and if she’s thinking what I am, she has every right to be. “Are you saying the family is fae?”

 

Marcos cocks his head. “Her daddy and I have served together since boot camp ten years ago. Went through Special Forces training together. You spend that kinda time together you get to know somebody real well. You have to, to depend on them to have your back. I can’t say he isn’t, but neither he nor his wife has ever smelled anything but human to me.”

 

“Well someone has to be fae. Otherwise, where would something like that come from?” Kate’s eyes fall and she murmurs, “A gift with thorns.”

 

Emma rests her hand on Kate’s shoulder, but addresses Marco who’s shaking his head. “So someone is fae and strong enough to hide.” She looks at me. “My father can do that – more than the glamour he wears, he can cloak his scent so that no one knows.” She turns back to Marcos. “The girl would have to be at least one quarter fae for it to manifest. Our powers hit when it deems us old enough to handle it. Gracie Gael must be a strong child. She dreamed of us?”

 

Marcos’ eyes flash. “That tracks. If either of them had smelled fae, I would have known it. When I was a teen I was part of a hunting party that went after a nest trying to set up in our territory.” Emma drops her hand and she shudders. Marco’s catches it. “I apologize for reminding you of a bad time, Emma. Mac told us about what happened to you.” 

 

Emma lifts her chin and a look of satisfaction fills her eyes. She shrugs and then can’t hide the grimace because she forgot about the dislocation. The vicious look fades and is replaced by a look of mourning as she clutches the still sore shoulder. “They’re dead, Marcos. And I am not. Please. Go on with your story.”

 

Seeing my friend like this, how that experience changed her, not for the first time I’d like to see those nasty fae that tortured her torn apart all over again. I despair of ever seeing that bubbly, joyful woman who lit up every room again. Just thinking about it brings back an all too familiar pang in my heart.

 

He lifts his chin to her. “When the dreams started, the child also began to smell fae.” He looks at Emma. “But different, too. More like you smell. Not as...astringent as those nasty ones.”

 

Emma blinks. “What?”

 

Len answers Emma. “Hasn’t anyone ever told you? You smell, well not sweet exactly, but, well, I walked into a floral shop once. Your scent isn’t as strong, it’s more delicate, but you kinda remind me of that.” Emma blushes lightly. “Whereas the ugly motherfuckers who kidnapped you smell like—” Len looks around the den. “Mountain lion piss mixed with sulfur.”

 

Emma seems uncomfortable so I decide to lighten the mood. “I don’t think any of us smell like flowers right now.” Marcos laughs. “Please. You were about to tell us about the child’s dream.”

 

Carmelo picks up the conversational thread. “When the girl woke up the house with her screams, she described a plane crashing and four women fleeing pursuers through a blizzard. She said there was one woman with cinnamon locs and redder eyes, a brunette who makes fire, a blonde with pointed ears, and a redhead who shines like a beacon. We didn’t recognize all the descriptions right away but we knew Kate’s well enough. A few calls later and we knew about the shopping trip and had the flight’s plan. Some of our more vulnerable supernaturals live out their lives tucked up in these mountains. In exchange for the right to hide on our land, they keep tabs on things for us. We sent it out. A call came in as we were preparing to try to find you. Your wreck was spotted. The rest, as they say, is history.”

 

I’m surprised by the descriptions of Emma and I. I’ve never seen Emma with pointed ears. I wonder if she glamours them away. And I glow? What? I resolve to puzzle it out later. Right now, I need to focus in one mission only. “Dex said it was sabotage.”

 

“He said the same to me,” Carmelo says a little too carefully for my liking.

 

“Dex wouldn’t lie,” I say with some heat. He doesn’t know Dex like I do if he’s second guessing his assessment of the situation.

“And if our plane was sabotaged, I want to know what’s happening with Jo?”

 

Carmelo frowns. “I meant no offense. I happen to agree with Dex.”

 

I return his frown. “Then I don’t understand. Why are we still sitting here? Has anyone let Jo know about the danger. And wait, you said Dex left. Where was he heading?”

 

“I would have to assume Jo is well aware of sabotage,” Marcos says.

 

His words along with the way he doesn’t look directly at me sets off warning bells. “What do you mean ‘assume’? Hasn’t anyone talked to her?”

 

Marcos shakes his head and I start to go into panic mode. “None of her people or our people can reach anyone that attended the summit. The last time anyone heard from Jo was just before your plane crashed.”

​