Page 56 of All's Fair in Lion and War
“Are all of yousomething?”
“Yes.” Saul answered Liam this time while Tor verbally downloaded what’d occurred in the bar to the person on the other end of the line. That Rivian was in town. And that Rivian had Lorelei again.
“And those guys who took yer girl?”
“They aren’t from around here. But they were enemies back from where we originally lived. He hates her. Hated her husband, who was his brother. And he killed him.”
“Fuck.” Liam rubbed a hand through the scruff on his face. “She’s in a bad way.”
Saul nodded this time. “He’s been holding her captive for almost a year. She’s starved and weak and up until recently, had memory loss.”
“She a lion too? Why didn’t she shift?”
“She’s exhausted. Our animals are strong, but Lorelei’s body is so malnourished and her mind is chaotic, even her lion knows shifting wouldn’t do her any favors. But the only reason she’s still alive at all is because of her beast.”
“She pulled a bullet out of her own gut. I watched her. She’s stronger than you’re giving her credit.” Liam picked up his shotgun from the counter and rested it backward on his shoulder.
Tor got off the phone and they both turned to face him.
“Well?” Liam asked.
Tor gave a quick glance between them. “He caught up already?”
“Who are we hunt’n first? Where are the women and the babies. Don’t ya’ll have a passel of them up at the cabins? That can’t be safe?”
“Bunker,” Saul said.
Liam grunted. “So? What’s the plan?”
“You’re not going to like it.” Tor met Saul’s gaze, guilt flickering across his face.
“They’re going after the groups still on the mountain first.” He’d known that would be the answer.
“Yes.”
It was logical. Col and the other dragons could use their strength to wipe them out. In town they’d have to be much more careful. Col was already going to be pissed that Liam had been exposed. Henrietta had been exposed to them by Novik.
The more people that knew their secret, the harder it was to keep.
“More groups? You mean more than just those guys?”
“It’s a large pride traveling in many small groups. But we were unaware that any of them had come into town. We were trying to deal with all of them up on the mountain.”
Saul let Tor continue to explain the situation while he took a few minutes to let his ribs heal a little more. All he wanted to do was rush out the door and chase them down. Get her back. But he’d be useless in a fight in his condition. A liability really.
He needed a couple hours, but Lorelei didn’t have a couple hours. With the storm coming, they had to get on their trail sooner rather than later.
“An hour, Saul.”
He looked over at Tor and acknowledged the semi-order. He didn’t like it. His lion didn’t like it. He stretched and held in a grimace as another rib snapped back into place, knitting itself back together.
“Was that one of your bones?” Liam looked at him, wide-eyed.
“We heal quickly.”
“Your fucking bone snapped back into place. I heard it.”
“We aren’t human, Liam.” Tor rubbed his face and Saul watched him decide exactly what he was going to say. “We are from another planet. Another world. The silver portals that appeared last January. We came through them.”
