Page 2 of All's Fair in Lion and War
What were they doing here?
Did they know Col was here?
Naomi had informed the tribe that the closest sighting of another portal last year was hundreds of miles away from Alaska.
A trickle of unease ran up and down his spine. They were all wearing big puffy winter coats, except the smaller one in the middle. She was barely dressed to be out in this weather.
He couldn’t see any of the male’s tribal tattoos, but his gut twisted and churned and screamed that he knewexactlywho they were.
Saul had to get back and warn the others. He needed to tellVrakaanother tribe was on their land. Too close to their home for comfort. But something deep inside him wouldn’t let him stop following the uninvited group.
He turned to leave. Couldn’t. Followed them a dozen more yards. Then tried to leave again. He had to warn the others.
Saul made it three steps before the tugging inside of him became overwhelming and he turned around again.
He couldn’t leave the woman.
It wasn’t an option.
They were half-dragging her through the snow. Every few yards she would struggle and kick at one of them and he’d hear the faint rumble of male laughter.
They kept towing her along.
He waded through the snow, being careful to stay in the shadows. Never out in the open where the moonlight would give him away. Not like them, the way they trudged along beneath the lights in the midnight sky.
Aurora Borealis was bright tonight. Moving across the pristine white unbroken snow was foolish for predator and prey alike.
The predator in Saul was focused and ready. His lion wanted control again, but he had no intention of hunting in beast form. If he was grabbing the female, he needed to look less formidable to her. His lion was huge, bigger than Kann’s by several feet and a couple hundred pounds.
He couldn’t smell a human, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t. If they had touched her or abused her…a growl rumbled in his chest. He took a deep breath and shut it down. Thinking like that was a waste of emotion and energy.
One against four with rifles. He’d need every ounce of surprise he could get.
A half hour later they finally stopped moving, having found a hollow in a small group of trees. They were setting up camp. Lighting a fire. Then he watched them tie the female’s feet and arms and bind them together behind her back so that she couldn’t move at all.
She lay helpless, her face against the cold snow.
He still couldn’t see her. The oversized hood of her coat blocked out everything, but he’d heard her whimper of pain. He could smell her fear and his rage grew into a fire that wouldn’t be quenched.
How dare they treat a woman this way?
No self-respecting tribe would act this way. Women were treasured. Protected.
His gut churned again, bile rising in his throat.
There was only one tribe of lions that didn’t respect women or men or life itself.
If these men were from that tribe…they deserved what was coming to them. In fact, Saul would enjoy doling out punishment in the form of death for their disgraceful behavior.
They weren’t stupid though.
Their fire was built and roaring quickly. The reindeer was stretched on a spit in a matter of minutes and they had posted two males as lookouts.
Damn the bastards for being organized.
Saul circled to the left, making sure to stay downwind of the group. He crept a little closer to the furthest sentry. Pulled a knife from his belt and leapt, taking down the man in a matter of seconds and without a single sound.
He pulled off the coat the male had on and yanked the neck of the shirt down so he could see the tattoos on his shoulder. The ink that stared back up at him in the moonlight burned like fire down to his soul.
