Love Me, Still(2)

“I don’t know if I can make it,” she said. Her strength was nearly gone. She was so weak.

“You are the strongest woman I know,” Niko said, his voice warm and full of admiration.

He bent to kiss her on the forehead and soothed his hands over her battered body. “Go now. Your mates await. Thank you, little human, for saving me and Magnus. You sacrificed far too much. I will never forget this.”

He transformed to wolf and bounded away, leaving her swaying in the snowdrift. She shivered as the snow crept up to her knees. Cael and Riyu would come for her. They would have smelled her by now.

Tears slid down her cheeks. Would they want her still? The hunters touch lay heavy on her skin. She felt used and dirty. Her flesh crawled as though their hands still pawed at her.

She lifted a trembling hand to her cheek, wincing when her fingers brushed across her swollen eye. She put one foot out, determined to meet her mates with dignity and pride.

She struggled through the snow. She could hear howling in the distance. A slow, mournful sound. Her blood froze in panic. Had Magnus not returned? Or were his injuries more severe than she and Niko had thought?

She quickened her pace, ignoring the pain rocketing through her body. She must reach her mates. They would care for her. Only them. They loved her. They would be furious at what had happened to her, but they’d never turn away from her.

Finally she broke into a clearing. The trees fell away and she stared across the snow-covered slope to see Cael and Riyu kneeling on the ground around their mother and a black wolf. Magnus.

Fear and grief swelled in her throat until she could barely breathe. She hurried forward, pushing herself even as her body screamed in protest. Her mates turned to look at her.

She stopped a few feet away, recoiling at the hatred and grief in their eyes. There was no welcome here. No rush to her aid, no caring in their expressions.

They stood, her two lovers, the men she loved more than life itself. She started forward again, but the cold look in Cael’s eyes stopped her once more.

“You have some nerve coming here,” he hissed. “Were you not satisfied until you saw the results of your betrayal?” He turned, sweeping a hand in the direction of the fallen wolf. “Take a good, hard look, Heather. See what you’ve done here.”

“But I didn’t…” she protested, throwing her hand out in a defensive gesture. The movement cost her. She swayed and sank to her knees, the cold moisture of the snow seeping into her torn clothing.

What did Cael mean? Why did he speak with such anger? Anger never before directed at her.

“You lie,” Riyu spat. “You are damned by our father’s own words and his sight. We saw and heard what you did.”

“You were our mate,” Cael said, agony creeping into his voice. “We loved you as no other. Put your needs above our own. Above our pack. And you betrayed us. How could you? Does it satisfy you to see one of the greatest wolfs in our bloodline lying on the ground lifeless? Does it make you feel good to know that our mother grieves for a mate she has run side by side with for a century?”

“Cael, no!” she burst out. “Please, you must listen to me. I love you. I would never betray you.” She glanced at Riyu who stood, shoulders heaving with anger and emotion. “I love you,” she said softly. “Why have you turned against me? Why do you believe I could do something so horrible?”

Lorna stood, her eyes blazing. She strode over to where Heather struggled to stand again. She raised her hand and slapped Heather across her bruised cheek. The crack rang out through the air.

“Don’t you ever speak of love to me,” her mates’ mother screamed. “You have betrayed us all. You are as dead to us as Magnus is.”

Heather’s head snapped back, and she fell backward into the snow. The sky spun crazily above her, and she knew without a doubt, the world had gone mad. Maybe she had died back there. Maybe she hadn’t survived the brutal attack on her.

“Niko,” she whispered. She needed Niko. He knew. He would tell them what had happened.

“You dare speak the name of the noble warrior you murdered,” Lorna hissed. “You aren’t fit to speak his name.”

Heather looked up to see her mates flank their mother. Cael slid an arm around her thin shoulders.

“Come away, Mother,” he said in a low voice.

“Don’t go!” Heather cried.

Only Riyu turned to look at her again. His eyes brimmed with pain and sorrow.

“We loved you, Heather. We would have done anything for you. We would have loved and cared for you forever. And you threw it all away for what? Why do you hate us so much? My father took you in as one of his own. He loved you like a daughter. You repaid him with treachery.”

She watched as he turned his back on her and walked away. In the distance, her mates shifted to wolves. They hovered around Magnus’ body before gripping his fur in their mouths to drag him away.

They were leaving her. Panic swelled and exploded inside her. She was badly hurt. She would die here without their aid. More than that, she’d die without their love.

“Don’t go,” she croaked as tears flooded her eyes and spilled down her cheeks. “I love you. I need you,” she whispered.

Chapter Two

Heather awoke and tugged the heavy furs closer around her body. Then she waited. Hoping this would be a day she could wake without the overwhelming deluge of pain.