“Because I am.”
“Yeah, and whose choice was that?” Fen pressed harder against the wound a second time, ignoring the way Oberon hissed. His power came swiftly, though it took concentration to direct it. He was careful just to freeze the area, but this was not a method he’d practiced in the past, and he had no way of knowing how successful it would be. “There. Don’t move too fast. I’m worried it won’t hold.”
“Freeze the whole area—”
“No.”
“I’m a dominant alpha,” Oberon reminded. “I’ll heal quick.”
“Not quickly enough.” Considering the alpha’s diversion every time Fen asked about how far the town was, he’d guess it was out of the way. “I have to get you out of this storm. It’ll be faster to turn around and head back to the cottage.”
“We don’t know if I got them all,” Oberon disagreed.
“You won’t make it.”
“Then leave me behind.”
“Shut up, King, before you really piss me off and I knock you out and take matters into my own hands.” Maybe he should. He could carry Oberon and attempt to find shelter.
The alpha grew quiet for a second, but then asked, “Why’d you come looking for me?”
Fen knew what he was really getting at but pretended not to. “Who says I did?”
“You deviated from the path. This wasn’t the way back to the cottage, or away from danger.”
“What wereyoudoing here?”
“Had to lead them away from you, duh.”
“Careful,” Fenrir parroted. “Keep acting like this, and I’ll get the wrong idea.”
“There’s nothing to misunderstand. You’re mine,” Oberon stated. “I protect what’s mine.”
“Can’t protect me if you’re dead.”
“Plan on using everything I say against me?” He clicked his tongue, then conceded. “There’s a cave. It’s close. Come on.”
Fenrir grunted. “Of course you’d want to avoid going to a cave despite it being the best option. Spoiled, high-maintenance alpha.”
“Let’s just go, okay?” It looked an awful lot like the Purse of the feared White Frost was pouting. “It’s fucking freezing out here.”
Chapter 19:
The “cave” turned out to be another White Frost contingency. When they reached the side of a small mountain, Oberon had instructed Fenrir to dig for the control panel. It’d almost taken longer for him to find it than it had for them to walk there, but eventually he uncovered it.
A keycode was needed, and confused, Fenrir had followed instructions. As soon as the code was input, there was a low buzzing, and then the sound of a spring coming undone. A hidden door carved into the side of the structure popped free, sending a heap of snow tumbling to the ground, which of course delayed them further, since it meant more digging.
He helped Oberon inside first, propping him up as soon as they were both in so he could reach back and seal the entrance. There hadn’t been any signs that they were beingfollowed, but he wasn’t taking any chances, not with his alpha injured like he was.
Lights flickered to life, casting them in a vibrant white glow, and Fenrir’s brow shot up when he got his first real look at the place.
The space had been converted into a safe house, with a comfy-looking bed tucked in the left corner, and an open shower space on the right. Shelves lined with packaged products like food, first aid, and bottled water, were built into the walls between the sleeping and bathing areas, and a fluffy fur rug covered a spot on the floor in the center of the room.
Oberon shifted on his feet and hit another panel. The entire wall where the entrance was flickered and then became clear, giving them a window-like view outside. “It’s one-sided. No one out there can see in here. The door is also locked and hidden. We’ll be safe until the storm ends.”
“Multi-slate? Computer?” Fenrir helped Oberon to the bed, tilting his head to search the area for any type of communication device that could get them out of here sooner.
Oberon chuckled humorlessly. “Would you believe that I completely forgot about that part when building the place?”