Episode Twenty-Six The Monks’ Deal

A lliana

Sinking to my knees next to my Mirron, my mate, I can barely see through my tears. There's a wound in his chest. The laser burst singed his brown hair black. There's blood. So much blood. With shaking hands, I stroke his hair back from his face and kiss his lips and cheeks.

He's still warm. I guess that makes sense. His body is huge. It would take a long time to cool.

I tuck myself next to him, lay my face on his shoulder, and murmur all my loving thoughts to him. I tell him all the things I should have told him when he was alive.

How handsome he is. That his different colored eyes are the most attractive things I've ever seen. How his intelligence awes me. And how good he is—he was—to the males in his pack and to me. Even though he didn't want me at first, he allowed me to stay to keep Deklan and Luka happy.

"Even though it broke your heart, Mirron. You always sacrificed yourself for others. Look what it got you. You should have just left me to those men."

No, he shouldn't have. And he didn't.

I didn't know how deeply I'd grown to care for him until now, but my heart feels as if it's cracked open and bleeding. Pictures fly through my mind of all the things I'll miss about him. All the things we'll never be able to do together.

"I'm sorry, Mirron. I judged you too harshly," I whisper into his ear.

The monks are upon me before I realize the rustling in the trees wasn't the wind. They jump to the ground from the top branches and before I can rise, I'm surrounded.

Mirron's death broke something inside me. I'm not even scared. If they're going to kill me, I'll welcome it. I'm stronger now. If they take me for themselves, I'll find a way to kill myself. How can I continue living without my mates?

"We followed the noise."

The silverback strides toward me, then sinks to his knees to assess Mirron's body. Yes, I'm sure they followed the hovers—to see if maybe more Up Above women were going to drop from the sky like children's party favors.

"Then we heard the big bangs." He peers closer and sniffs, his round, blue eyes assessing Mirron's lifeless form. "Reese, come here. Can anything be done for him?"

Done for him? He's dead.

A younger male with a leather bag across his chest strides forward and drops to his knees next to Mirron.

"He's hurt bad," he says, concern on his face as his lips pooch out in thought.

"I thought he was dead."

"Did they teach you nothing Up Above?" the silverback asks.

"No. Nothing."

"Hmph."

I watch, mesmerized, as Reese combs his claws through the hair near the wound so he can see the extent of the damage, then leans closer to sniff, then listen.

"He might live, Azael." Reese nods thoughtfully at the silverback.

"Where are the other two?" Azael asks, looking at me from the corner of his eyes. He's cagey, this one. I'm still waiting for all ten of them to reach to their asses and take a shit to throw at me.

"They went after the cattle herd. They weren't sure if they'd be home tonight or not." Am I stupid? I shouldn't have admitted they might not return tonight.

Azael ruffles the hair over Mirron's mate mark. "You didn't do this?"

He's not really asking. It's obvious my blunt human teeth couldn't pierce his flesh the way his wolven lover left his mark.

"The wolven did it?"

"Yes."

Reese, although he's younger and not built burly like the leader, now takes control.

"We can make a travois and get him to his cave, Azael. The moment his mate arrives, I can do the Energy Transfer."

Energy Transfer? What are they talking about?

"We will help you," Azael says. "No guarantees."

I nod. I doubt they'll do anything for free. I straighten my shoulders, waiting for his ask. Our pack has nothing. There's little in our cave but logs, our weapons, and the pretty little birds Mirron whittled before I joined them.

It's obvious what Azael wants. I may only be 18. I think today's my birthday , I think distractedly. I may only be 18, but I know enough about Up Above and Down Below to know what the monk leader is going to ask for. And I will give it gladly to keep Mirron alive.

"Yes," I say. I'm not even reluctant like I was with the Senator and highborns Up Above. Even these awful monks aren't as odious as that. "Gladly."

"How do you know you can give us what we want if you haven't even heard my request?"

"Go ahead, then." It's okay. It's nothing I haven't heard before.

"Five cattle. Dressed and delivered to our gathering grounds before you go south for the winter."

I try to keep my face blank so I don't let on that I was willing to give them so much more than that. Although I don't know if we can meet his demands, I do know Deklan and Luka would do anything for Mirron.

"Yes," I say with one quick, curt nod.

"And your company at a feast. Your mates and you. You will be the guest of honor because you're going to talk all night long if you need to. You're going to tell us everything you know about Up Above."

I can't help but ask, "Why?"

"I've seen the pedestal to the closest tower. It used to have a vater. My father showed it to me, as did his father to him. No one has seen the vater work for generations, but that doesn't matter. Monks are good at many things. One thing we're good at is climbing ."

"That's Tower One and what you're talking about is called an elevator," I say, wanting him to know he'll get his money's worth if he keeps my mate alive. "You and your males want to climb the pedestal to get to the Up Above?"

"Yes."

"So you can be servants to the highborns?" I ask, making sure he hears my sarcasm.

"Well, I never thought of it that way, but certainly one faction who has never served before might learn how to labor for new masters." He shows me a lot of teeth. I never realized the monks had such long, sharp fangs.

"Reese, you can fix my mate?" I ask.

"If he's your mate, you should make your mark," he scolds, "but yes. Kaz, Onyx, hurry up and make a travois. A fucking sturdy one that will carry this enormous male."

"He's lucky the wound didn't go through his heart. We'll need the male who made this mark," Reese reaches into his leather pouch and pulls out some moss. He packs the wound on Mirron's chest, which has already stopped bleeding. "The moment his mate returns to your cave, we'll perform the Transfer."

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"You'll see."