Page 15 of Ruin

“Yeah, I’ll find them something. Shannon, you go with our alpha, I’ll find some kind of food for the women.” And he jogged into the cave.

“Come on!” Owen began running. I followed close behind, keeping my eyes off his beautiful, naked form. I could really appreciate all the male beauty around me just like the next woman, but now wasn’t the time for ogling such things.

Unsure what I’d find in that cave, I kept close to Owen. It wasn’t that I mistrusted him, or even Stone, I was more nervous that I’d see starving and injured people. But I couldn’t have been more wrong. He led me through the small opening and down a tight narrow fissure which opened into a large cave. The people inside were fully clothed, it was mainly prison issue clothes, and clothing clearly taken from the guards they’d killed, but it was better than I’d expected. There was the smell of cooking, and in general people looked clean and reasonably well fed. I stopped looking around and concentrated on keeping up with Owen.

He walked, long legged and purposeful, right across the cave and to where a small fire cast a shallow light. Beyond was another entrance, just big enough for me to walk through, but Owen and Stone had to duck down. We stepped into a small cave which was dimly lit with another small fire. Owen jogged across the floor and leaped onto some rocks on the far side which were placed, or had fallen, just like a ladder or steps which led us up onto another level of tunnels. A short way down this one, he hung a right into a medium sized cave with a small roof. This one would be big enough for all of the women. It was cold but dry, and the floor was smooth as if millions of years of water flow had smoothed it before it had disappeared.

Kawan ran in followed by a face I recognised. “Lionel!” I ran back to him and he met me halfway, pulling me into his huge arms and lifting my feet off the floor. I shuffled the baby sideways to keep the little thing from getting crushed.

“Hey, trouble. Gods, it’s good to see you. I thought you were dead.”

“No,” I said into his broad chest, my voice muffled. “You should know my life is more complicated than simply dying.”

He huffed a laugh. “Well, you better be ready to tell me everything, cause I wanna know what happened to you. But right now I’m here to help.” He walked over to Owen who had taken a blanket from Kawan and laid it on the floor. “What do you need, alpha?” he asked.

Owen glanced at the lion shifter. “This floor isn’t going to be warm enough. Go see if there’s anything we can put on the floor for them to lie on. Get whatever you can. Blankets, towels, clothes—anything.”

“Sure boss, I’ll spread the word and see if we have anyone who can help them with the babies. I’ve no idea what they need to eat.”

I huffed a laugh. “They don’t eat anything, you plonker! They need their mother’s milk, so you need to find food and something to drink for the women.”

“All right, smartass.” Lionel grinned. “And what are you gonna do to help? Or are you here just to pretty up the place, sugar?”

I smirked, and placed the baby I carried on Shannon’s other arm. Stone watched her struggle to balance them, his face tight, though I didn’t miss his throat bob as he watched her. He approached her warily. “Here.” And he held his arms out looking uncertain about what to do, but utterly determined to do it anyway. Shannon gave him a small smile of thanks, and I could have sworn Stone looked almost embarrassed. “Don’t get used to me taking one of these rugrats,” he said. “I’m only doing it ‘cause you might drop one.”

“I know, but still. Thanks, faerie.”

Stone huffed and settled the child in his large arms, watching its pale little face.

I gave Fire a nudge, wanting to get these poor souls warm. She gladly awoke, ready to help me. My skin began to glow and I knew my hair was catching fire, along with my eyes.

“Er, okay…” Lionel put his hands up and stepped back.

I walked to the center of the cave and pushed more power out. Not enough to ignite the oxygen in the air, but enough to keep steady waves of heat pulsing out to warm everyone.

Blue walked as close as she could without going up in flames herself. “You gonna be okay doing this? You used too much energy back in that prison.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, Prime’s been a good boy, and given me his power. I’m not tired now.”

“Okay, well, if you get tired, you stop. We’ll find another way to save them.”

“There isn’t one, Blue, and you know it. Getting a fire started and warmed will take too long. They need heat and food, now.”

B’nar shuffled back near the entrance. Yeah, I knew we were polar opposites and he’d hate being this close to such heat.

“Kawan. Take our new guests to find food, and to rest somewhere. If you can find anyone willing to help to look after the babies, that would be great.” Then Owen addressed B’nar, clearly understanding that B’nar’s power and dominant attitude was the product of more than a regular fae. “Ember will be safe here. She is my Prime’s mate. And we are all sworn to protect her, no harm will come to her at all in this camp.”

B’nar and Alex nodded. “You okay with that, Em?” asked Alex.

I nodded, concentrating on keeping the temperature warm but not blazing. My friends walked away, Blue with a smile in my direction before B’nar took hold of her wrist and pulled her along with him. I knew they’d all be alright with Kawan.

Owen laid down and pulled Selina in closer to him, curling his big body around her, spooning her. Covering them both with a blanket, he tucked it around the sleeping woman, foregoing most of it from himself.

“All of you, use your body heat to warm them until help comes.”

Shannon sat as close to me as she could and cuddled the tiny baby close. I blinked. Shannon being caring with a baby wasn’t something I’d ever considered seeing. Neither had Stone by the look of him. He split his attention between watching Shannon, and the tiny being in his arms. More than once their eyes met and each time the tension between them was almost painful. I had no idea what had happened between them, but now wasn’t the time to ask.

The cave warmed quickly. Tired, I sat cross legged in the centre and kept the ambient temperature nice and toasty. My wolves seemed content and at peace for now. Prime was curled up with my wolf, allowing Fire to take the dominant place in my soul. Fire happily burned, finding this level of power expenditure an easy role. I smiled and closed my eyes. After a while, the women stopped shivering and the cave was silent other than the breaths of the sleeping babies and women. I worried about the babies being fed, but guessed Kawan would bring food as soon as he could to feed their mothers. Then they could, hopefully, feed, too. I eyed Selina’s emaciated body. Her bones stuck out sharply under the blanket and she looked tiny wrapped in Owen’s big arms. I remembered reading somewhere that if a woman was starved, or unwell, their milk could dry up, and I doubted we had canned baby food out here in the wilderness.

---