Rise of the Dark Alpha

~ ZEV ~

Half an hour later they still lay in bed together, quietly, Zev's mind turning over everything that had happened in the past few days, and everything he hoped was to come.

He wasn't sure if Sasha was dozing, or just laying quietly like him. She lay with her back to him, her breathing quiet. He stroked fingers up and down her arm, but neither of them spoke. And her breathing was even. So, just in case she was sleeping, Zev kept to his own thoughts.

He'd told her the day before that he would keep her in bed for days, and the temptation to do so was definitely there. If his nose could be trusted, she still hadn't stopped wanting him. And he'd brought enough food and supplies to keep them going for a week, though they wouldn't be here that long unless they were snowed in.

Snowed in.

Zev sighed and raked a hand through his hair. He'd forgotten. There was a storm expected that evening. Being snowed in was a very real risk for the following day. And they'd both been so busy lately, so consumed with… well, everything… Zev rolled his shoulder in the discomfort of that trapped feeling that came over him at times, ever since he'd learned the truth about Nick and the human team, and everything Zev had been deceived about.

But he refused to let that color his Solitude. This was the time for he and his mate to bond and rest. And they would. If it was going to storm tonight, they'd go out today. They needed to do something together that didn't have a deadline. They needed to do something just for fun.

His mind immediately went to the thing they'd been doing since they reached the cave. But even though his body leaped at the thought, he knew he needed to take a break. His side was aching. The walls of the ice cave glowed blue with the sunlight shining on the other side of it. He needed to get them both out of here while it was still possible. If they did get snowed in for the next couple days, well… he could take advantage of that.

"What are you grinning about?" Sasha asked, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

"Me? I wasn't grinning."

"You were definitely grinning."

"Well, it's just because you're here and we're finally mated and… life is looking up, Sash."

She grinned then, too. He kissed her, rolling her onto her back and almost giving up on his own resolve to get out of this bed, but then she ran a hand down his side and his wounds screamed.

He needed to stop. So he too her arm and pulled her hand away from his side, pinning it to the furs next to her pillow…

Then his stomach sank.

Shit.

"What's wrong?" Sasha said, her voice hushed and panicked.

Damn, now he was scaring her.

"Nothing, I just… My side. It's bleeding again."

With a frustrated sigh, he lifted her hand and showed it to her, smeared in his blood. Her eyes went wide with horror, and he had to spend a few minutes talking her down from her panic.

No, he didn't need a healer, he'd already been told how to redress it and what herbs to use to stop the bleeding.

Yes, he was fine. (True.) No, he wasn't in pain. (Small lie.) No, he wasn't worried, and she shouldn't be either. (Mostly true.)

Then, only half-convinced, Sasha demanded that he show her how to clean and dress the wound, so they spent a very pleasant, unpleasant half hour as he taught her basic first aid for battle wounds, at the end of which his wounds were clean and re-dressed, but he was also aware that he didn't have enough bloodwort. If they were going to be snowed in tonight, he needed to find some more today to help it heal.

He suggested a picnic. They could walk to the meadow on the other side of the ravine and if he was lucky, there would still be some late season bloodwort growing near the mossy rocks.

"Shouldn't we be resting? So you don't open it back up again?" Sasha asked, her brows pinched together over her nose.

Zev stroked her face, touched by her concern. "Actually, moving some is good for it. But I do need to be careful. I've been a little… distracted," he said with a lopsided grin.

Sasha's cheeks went red, and he kissed her again. They both pulled away that time, blowing out breaths and shaking off the heat that simmered between them as soon as they touched.

"Okay," Sasha pushed to her feet from where they'd settled on the floor for her to dress his back. "What's the plan?"

"How about a picnic?" he suggested. "We can take lunch. I'll show you some of Thana, and I can look for the bloodwort while you rest or… something."

Sasha shrugged. "If you're sure that it's not going to make it worse, sure. Why not."

And so, he grieved the loss of her nakedness as she dressed in the furs they'd found for her, but twenty minutes later he had a satchel thrown over his shoulder with a rolled fur tired to it, and as much food as they might need safely inside. He filled the pot again, but banked the fire under it. Sasha raised an eyebrow when he turned.

"It'll be warm when we come back, at least. We might be cold. It's a lot colder out here than it is in here."

Sasha's expression remained skeptical, but she laughed as he flapped a hand at her and started towards the entrance. She hurried after him, taking his hand as soon as they stepped out of the crevasse and into the sunlight—brilliant and shining on the snow of Thana.

Zev took a deep breath and sighed happily.

This was the beginning of the best day of his life so far, and he was going to enjoy it.