Taken by the Wolf King (Gladiator) (17 page)

Though sated and more than a little exhausted, Leif found he couldn’t sleep. Now that he’d worked through his troubles with Elsa, he found himself returning to the events leading up to his capture. While Elsa had had doubts about Jorak, Leif didn’t. At all. Astrid, on the other hand, worried the hell out of him. Even now, Elsa’s children had been brought here when no one had said a thing about them meeting the group here. Something stank.

Carefully, so he didn’t wake Elsa, Leif extricated himself from her warm embrace, vowing he’d make someone pay for making him worried enough to leave Elsa alone after she’d given him such a precious gift.

Padding down from their hideaway to the open chamber where the others rested, Leif saw John conversing with Jorak in hushed whispers. The rest of the camp—including the children—appeared to be asleep. When Jorak spotted Leif moving toward them, he exhaled a breath, a look of relief on his face.

“We might have a problem,” Jorak began without preamble. The man still favored his right ribs, but looked as fit as ever.

“You mean besides the pack of rabid children who attacked me earlier? I didn’t think Elsa’s children were supposed to meet up with us. Weren’t they waiting FOR her back at the camp?”

“That’s the problem,” John said. “They were. My daughter, Julia, said she’d been told I instructed her to bring them here. I’ve done so in the past, but always before I left. She regrets her blunder and is deeply sorry.”

Leif looked at the man hard. “You think she was followed? Sent here so someone could find their way through the labyrinth of caverns with little problem?”

“I do. Though, I doubt they’ll attack once they follow the route. It’s too confined for their greater numbers to make a difference. More likely, they’ll ambush you when you exit to the main camp.”

Nodding, Leif realized the man was right. “It’s what I would do,” he muttered. “You said before there were no other exits. Did you mean at all or that were usable? Is there any possible way to send a party outside to foil their sneak attack?”

John thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. “There might be one. But it’s hard going. Not only does the cave present its own obstacles, but the exit is underwater. The swim is long. The entry is in a pool, so the opening should present no problems. It’s hidden in the rock face under an overhang I camouflaged years ago. Assuming we make the swim, we should be able to catch them unawares. I’d definitely recommend a small party. There’s no way to use it as an alternate exit with the children. Even with help, they’d never be able to hold their breath that long.

“I can do it,” Jorak said. “There are three or four men I can take whom I trust. We’ll set up with John then get them from the blind side. Once you hear the commotion, feel free to join the party.”

Leif looked to John, amazed at how much he’d come to rely on the man. “It’s a sound plan from my end. Can we get close enough to the entrance to hear a fight outside the cave without being noticed?”

John thought a moment then said, “I think there is. I’ll have Beth lead you as far as the open room before the exit. If you wait just outside that cavern, you should be able to hear as well as see. That is, assuming they haven’t penetrated into the cave with more than a scout.”

“Do you think they would?”

Shrugging, John looked Leif in the eyes. “You tell me. It’s your people planning to ambush you. I only have three or four others there besides Julia. The others are all your guard. I believe Astrid leads that group.”

Until that moment, Leif hadn’t realized how much he’d secretly held out hope it was John’s people leading this charge. He and Jorak exchanged a look. “She’s mine,” Leif said. “Any who follow her you can do with as you will, but I want Astrid.”

“Maybe you should leave her to the guardian,” Jorak said with a troubled look. “Don’t do anything you’ll regret later.”

“Oh, believe me. If she’s as guilty as I believe she is, there is nothing I could do to that woman to make me lose even a moment’s rest.”

With a raised eyebrow, Jorak nodded. “OK, then. I guess all romantic sentiments were all on her part then?”

Leif gave him an impatient look. “There were never any romantic sentiments at all on my part. Who the hell knows what Astrid was thinking?”

“Oh, I
know
what she was thinking.” Jorak rolled his eyes as if Leif’s comment was the height of absurdity. “She thought to be your queen. When she couldn’t seduce you, she turned to the guardian, thinking he was the only one who could overthrow your rule.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“So, what do we do?”

“Do we even know how many of your men Astrid has on her side?” John asked. “With them being your elite guard, I’m assuming they were your most loyal warriors?”

“They
are
,” Leif said, crossing his arms over his chest. “I left behind anyone I knew would have a hard time with humans. There are a few who still look at Brandwulfr’s woman with distrust. They were not brought on this trip.”

“Is it possible she was able to get her own people through a portal after you were captured?”

“If I had to guess, I’d say no. Brandwulfr would have come himself, and he’s invulnerable to her deceit. If the guardian isn’t here, then she either couldn’t get back through or couldn’t get it open from the other side once she did.” Leif mused. “More likely, she’s convinced them I’m in danger.”

“I guess the only question is,” John said, “do we go ahead tomorrow as planned, or start now?”

“No question there.” Jorak moved to grab a few weapons he could tuck into his clothing. “Give me fifteen minutes to get my men together.”

“Beth will take you where you need to wait for us. Once we attack, bring everything you’ve got.” Jorak extended his arm to Leif, who grasped it tightly.

“Good luck, brother.”

“And to you. Keep the queen and her young ones safe.”

“Always.” Leif knew his eyes glowed with emotion. His family. His
family
. He would protect them with a ruthlessness never before seen. And for a wolf, that was something indeed.

John had been right about Astrid and her crew. They had, indeed, set up an ambush outside the cave. What she hoped to accomplish, Leif had no idea. Given the conversations he overheard, only one or two of the dozens of wolves he’d brought with him were on board with this. He could have exited the cave alone and stopped anything before it got started. His only worry was that one of the children would get in the way unexpectedly and become collateral damage.

Then he saw another man he recognized. One of Chancellor Nathan’s men. What was he doing in this camp? Clearly, either John was unaware his camp had been compromised, or he was a traitor. Since he’d risked his life breaking Leif out of that place, had killed a guard with his own hands, and hadn’t simply killed them all in their sleep, Lief doubted very much the man was aware. So what to do?

As if on cue, he heard John’s voice cut through the camp. “I trusted you with this camp’s location, Astrid,” he bit out. “Yet you bring your own enemies down on us?”

Leif took the rest of his men and stepped into the great room leading to the exit of the enormous cave. Astrid might have superior numbers, but Leif was confident the wolf contingent would side with him when the fighting started.

“This man is a trusted ally. You’re the traitor. It was your men who captured our king!”

Murmurs all around. Leif could tell most didn’t know what to believe. Likely, whoever Jorak had left in charge was trying to feel out the truth.

“I think you know better, Astrid,” Jorak said quietly. The mutters and questions grew louder until one wolf spoke up.

“What is this, Astrid? Commander Jorak wouldn’t side with one who’d taken the king.”

“He’s blinded Jorak to the truth,” Astrid continued, though Leif could hear the subtle pitch change in her voice, indicating her nerves. Others heard it too.

“Perhaps you were wrong in your assessment of the situation,” that same wolf suggested diplomatically. Better than accusing her of being a traitor. Leif decided it was time to make himself known.

“She was,” he said, voice booming in the cave as he exited. “John and his people are the very reason I’m free. Had future Queen Elsa not enlisted his help, it is doubtful I’d be here now.

Astrid whipped around, her face a mask of rage before she disguised it with a relieved smile. “You’re alive! Thank the Mother. I was so worried!” The woman ran to him, looking as if she had every intention of jumping into his arms. Unable to believe he was actually seeing this, Leif was too stunned to push her away when she threw her arms around him.

Until he felt the bite of cold steel sink between his ribs. Shock quickly turned to fury as Leif lashed out, throwing an elbow that would have caught Astrid in the temple. She ducked under his blow as she withdrew her blade. Leif twisted out of her grip on him but wasn’t able to miss the next swipe of her sword completely. The sleeve of his tunic turned crimson as blood seeped from a shallow gash in his arm. Blood poured down his side where she’d pierced him. Astrid looked at him with a murderous gleam in her eyes.

All around him, wolves howled, some of them lunging for him, but Jorak held them back. The other wolf knew, as Leif did, that once Astrid attacked him, Leif had no choice but to either best her or kill her. No matter how loyal, if his men broke this up, others could see it as weakness on Leif’s part, that he was unable to fight his own battles without the aid of his men.

Again, Astrid lunged, slicing out with her long knife, tucking her blade back next to her forearm as she swiped at him back and forth. The edge caught Leif’s forearm as he defended himself. Several times he tried to dart past her defenses, but she spun around, catching him in the other flank, her blade slicing through his other side. Though not as deep as her first assault, it still hurt like a son of a bitch. He’d tried to follow Jorak’s advice. Do nothing he’d regret. Astrid had been with his guard for many years, fighting at his side. While Leif personally had no problem simply ending her, he’d thought it would show a level of civility if he held her for trial before judgment. Unfortunately, he’d underestimated her abilities. He could defeat her, but with no weapon, doing so without killing her wasn’t even an option.

Resigned, Leif launched himself at Astrid, batting her arm away with brutal force. Amazingly, she retained her hold on the knife, bringing it across his back in a long swipe as she spun away.

From behind them, inside the cave, a high-pitched scream pierced the night. Leif thought it sounded more like an angry cougar than a human, but when he whipped around he saw Elsa’s young one, Jaccob, charging into the fray.

“No!” Elsa screamed. “Jaccob, no!”

The boy didn’t listen, instead going low for Astrid’s legs. She cried out, kicking Jaccob, but the boy refused to be cowed. Leif managed to get a grip on Astrid’s knife hand so she couldn’t stab the boy, but she still kicked and lashed out with her fists. Jaccob took several glancing blows, but nothing that put him out of the fight. Still the boy continued to attack, all the while giving that chilling scream.

Then Leif noticed something. Though the boy had no weapon and was obviously not a trained fighter, Astrid focused more on him than she did Leif. No doubt because of that yell.

A desperate rage suffused him, and his battle wolf emerged, surging forward to protect the boy he knew was meant to be his own with a terrifying intensity. Elsa had done anything she had to in order to keep Jaccob and Surriah safe. Leif realized now some of what she’d felt. He would protect this boy with everything in him or die trying.

As suddenly as she’d attacked, the fight let Astrid. Her eyes went wide and blood bubbled from her lips. A sword pierced her chest, the point sticking out from just below her breasts. Leif looked around him then, wondering which of his warriors had intervened and what his agenda would be.

Elsa yanked the sword free, and a startled Jorak gripped her shoulders, but Elsa refused to be taken away.

“That’s my son and my man, bitch,” she grated. Astrid turned her head, a look of utter disbelief on her face. When she tried to speak, she choked on blood and coughed. Blood misted from her lips in a fine spray of crimson. She tried once more, but was unable to form words. Finally, she fell to her knees, then face down in the dirt. She didn’t move again.

Everything happened so fast, Leif barely had time to process it. He hurried to Jaccob, who was rubbing his stinging face where Astrid had landed a punch to his jaw, but seemed otherwise unharmed.

“You OK, mister?”

Leif blinked, nodding. His battle wolf was still at the fore, but Jaccob bravely stood his ground, his voice wavering only a little. With a shake of his head, Leif took a deep breath, inhaling his mate’s scent as well as those of her young ones. The smell of death hung heavy around Astrid’s body, but it all satisfied the wolf. Leif kept a steady rein on himself as the wolf receded. Immediately, Aldar was at Leif’s side, whipping his own shirt off to cover Leif as best he could. With the transformation into his battle wolf, Leif’s clothing had been shredded beyond use. His pants hung loosely about his hips in tatters but covered his groin, if just barely.

“Fine, Jaccob.” His voice was gruff, emotion welling up inside him. The boy could have been seriously hurt had Astrid not been caught off guard. Leif shook his head, trying to clear it before he spoke. “Why did you attack like that?”

The boy—no, the young man—blinked up at him and said, “She was cutting you with that knife and nobody else was stopping her. Mom said you were going to help us, so, even though I don’t really like you, I knew you didn’t deserve it. Besides, Mom was yelling for someone to help you because she was trying to get Surriah out of the way and couldn’t do it herself. I don’t like to see my mom upset.” Oh, the honesty of the young. Yet, even though he didn’t like Leif, the young warrior had helped as best he could for his mother’s sake.

Jaccob turned away, going to his mother, who still had the bloody sword in her hands. Jorak looked like he didn’t know what to say or do, but was sporting an impressed grin. Looking as if she were ready to take on anyone else who might think to attack, Elsa still held her sword in a two-handed grip, blood dripping from the tip. She must have managed to get the little girl to safety because Surriah was nowhere in sight.

“I think I can take this now,” Jorak said, easing the weapon away from Elsa. Giving him a startled look, she dropped her now empty hands to her sides.

“Where’s Surriah?” she said, looking around in a panic as if she suddenly realized the little girl wasn’t by her side. “Surriah!”

The little girl bounded from the cave, Beth right behind her. Thankfully, the other woman had kept the young one out of the fray.

Elsa dropped to her knees, hugging the little girl tight,
one
arm shooting out to snag Jaccob and pull him down with her. Leif winced as his many wounds began to throb and sting. An ache formed in his chest. Seeing the three of them together softened something inside him he hadn’t realized had hardened. Distantly, he put together it was because, while he was in the hands of the chancellor’s men, he’d given up all hope of a family. Now, there was hope. More than hope.

Approaching the trio, he gently urged Elsa to her feet. When she met his gaze, her own glistening with tears, she whispered thickly, “Thank you.”

“I think I’m the one who needs to thank you. You defended me.” He placed a hand on Jaccob’s shoulder. “You both did.”

“I just got you back. I’m not letting someone take you away again.”

Leif pulled them all into an embrace. Little Surriah squirmed to get down, but Jaccob and Elsa allowed the contact.

“I regret more than I can express everything I put you through,” he said against Elsa’s hair. “You have a brave heart, as does your son. I’m
proud
to be claiming all of you.”