Page 20

The next day, Crew and Zara joined the others after breakfast to get back to work around the farm. They hadn’t patrolled overnight after the cookout the night before, trusting the security defenses to alert them. After checking the footage in the morning, he’d confirmed that nothing had happened. No one breached the perimeter or messed with anything.

It was a good thing, but it was oddly unsettling.

He rubbed his chest as he walked out into the yard.

“What’s wrong?” Zara asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I feel like we’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

She hummed and looked around. “Like last night was too good, too nice to be real?”

“Yeah.”

“I feel that way too. But you said last night that we can’t live waiting for them to attack us.”

He cupped her face and kissed her. “I know, I know. I think I’m just a bit of a pessimist when it comes to this situation.”

“For good reason,” she said. “He’s an ass and clearly crazy to keep coming after us. If he’d just gone ahead and settled somewhere, he’d already have a place for his herd. It’s just…lazy to try to take what’s ours.”

He loved that she thought of the farm as belonging to all of them. For a while, it seemed like she felt like she was on the outside of things and not truly part of the herd. He was glad it wasn’t like that for her anymore.

“Definitely,” he said. Shaking off the dark thoughts, he said, “Let’s get to work. What’s up for you today? I’m going to work with the guys on clearing out the area around the pasture to expand it so the livestock have more room to roam.”

“I’m going to harvest the tomatoes to make sundried tomatoes. It takes a while for them to dry fully outside, but the weather for the next week will be perfect.”

“Let me guess, it’ll be hot and sunny?”

“You know it,” she said with a laugh.

He gave her a kiss and said, “Have fun.”

“I will, you too.”

He strode away from his mate, even though what he really wanted to do was hang out with her. As he walked to the barn, he took one last look at his mate, marveling at how lucky he was to have her in his life, and headed inside.

After a quick check-in, they divvied up the chores to expand the pasture, gathering tools and making their way outside. While Grey used a weed eater to take down the thicker brush sections beyond the original pasture fencing, Crew and Ford grabbed a wheelbarrow and shovels to dig up a few small trees while Avi grabbed the spray paint to mark the new pasture fencing lines so they could dig the posts.

As he and the guys worked, there was a strange peacefulness.

It was almost too calm and too perfect, and that made Crew wary in some weird way.

It was strange that he couldn’t just be content anymore, but maybe that was the price of being alpha and being mated.

“You okay?” Grey asked.

“I want to say yes, but honestly, I’m a little weirded out.”

“About what?”

“I’m not sure. Something feels off.”

“What, because we had a good night last night at the cookout and nothing happened overnight? Are you sure you’re not just expecting something to be wrong?”

Crew shook his head. “Maybe. I was wondering if I’m just feeling the pressure of being alpha and having Zara in my life. Everything seems more significant now, you know? Like I worry ten times more about our herd being safe because of her.”

Avi dropped the empty spray paint can in the wheelbarrow filled with tools. “I’m sure Dexter felt the same when he mated Nancy, as Khyle did with Tris. When the rest of us find our soulmates, I’m certain we’ll all be more concerned about safety too, like we’ll all be a little extra nuts about protecting everything and everyone important to us.”

“I agree,” Ford said. “You’re more keenly aware of the herd’s safety because you love Zara and she’s important to you. That would make the safety of the herd exponentially more necessary to you, not only as alpha but as a mated male.”

He was about to answer that what they were saying made sense, when something inside him went very still, his stallion letting out a concerned whinny.

And then Zara shouted, “Fire!”

* * *

Zara wiggled between two rows of tomatoes, pulling the ripened fruit from the plants and setting them in the bucket. She’d already filled one bucket, spending nearly an hour preparing them on big racks placed on the picnic tables to dry in the sun.

“I can’t believe I’m excited about tomatoes,” she said to herself with a chuckle.

She smiled at the sweet smell of the tomatoes mixed with the dense earthy scent of the dirt in the garden, but then something acrid and sharp hit her senses—smoke.

Her heart leaped into her throat as she bolted to her feet and looked wildly around.

Thick smoke billowed around the livestock barn.

“Fire!” she screamed, running down the rows of tomatoes toward the barn. The livestock were near the barn that was on fire, and she could hear the lowing of the cows over the roar of the flames.

She heard pounding footsteps and the guys raced to her, Crew shouting instructions to get the hoses and buckets.

“I’ll move the cattle,” Zara said.

“Be careful!” Crew yelled over the roar of the fire.

“You too!”

She ducked between the slats of the fence and waved her arms wildly, shouting at the cattle to move, giving the nearest one a smack on her rump to drive them to the back of the pasture, away from the barn. Daisy hopped behind her as the cows moved away from the burning building.

By the time the animals were safely at the far side of the pasture, the smoke was thick and she could barely see the barn, let alone the guys, who looked like dark shadows moving around.

She moved to go help when a flicker of movement in her peripheral stopped her in her tracks.

Coming toward her with malicious intent: Colton and his herd.

They were clearly taking advantage of the chaos of the fire, and she realized in that moment they’d planned it that way—for the herd to be distracted by something so big it needed all of their attention. They were too busy fighting the fire to watch for other dangers.

Like the predators moving toward her.

Before she could shout for help, Colton and Silas were on her, the others heading toward the barn to engage with her herd.

“Miss me?” Colton sneered with a malevolent grin, grabbing her arm in a vice-like grip.

She tried to yank her arm out of his grip, but the bruising hold was too tight.

Silas shoved her from behind and she stumbled forward. “You shouldn’t have tried to leave—you belong to our herd.”

Adrenaline surged inside her. She was the alpha female of the Little River Herd! She was not going to get kidnapped by the assholes from her former herd. With a sharp twist of her body, she broke free of Colton’s grip and raced to the split-rail fence, darting between the slats. She’d just gotten to the wheelbarrow and grabbed the handle of the shovel when they were on her again. She swung the shovel wildly, “Stay away from me! Help! Crew!”

She caught Silas on the shoulder with the edge of the shovel, slicing his skin. He stumbled back and cursed, “You bitch!”

Darting around the wheelbarrow, she hauled a shovelful of dirt at them, and Colton spat and growled at her, grasping the handles of the wheelbarrow and shoving it aside. She backed away, swinging the shovel to keep them from getting too close.

“I’m not going anywhere with you! This is the territory of the Little River Herd! You were banished, get fucked you absolute asshole!”

When she swung the shovel again, Colton grabbed it and jerked it from her.

She gasped, knowing her last line of defense was now gone.

From the smoke, a shout of rage echoed and Crew appeared, holding a burning wooden slat like a sword. He swung the flaming wood in a wide arc, shouting, “She’s mine!”

Silas lunged at Crew, managing to avoid the first swing by dodging it. But then Crew nailed Silas across the face, flaming embers exploding from the wood with the impact. Silas howled in pain, clutching his face and stumbling away.

Zara saw Colton’s other herd members retreating to the woods.

Colton seemed to realize he was on his own now with his second-in-command clutching his burned face in agony.

Crew brandished the wood at Colton. “Get out of our territory and never return.”

Colton looked like he might argue, but as the other herd members joined Crew and Zara and he was outnumbered, he snarled and grabbed Silas, running toward the woods. He had to shove him through the fence and half-drag him to get him into the woods.

“We’ll follow them, make sure they leave the area,” Ford said, grabbing Grey.

“Are you okay?” Crew asked, putting the wooden slat on the ground and covering it with dirt from the wheelbarrow. Then he gave her a hug.

“I’m okay. I don’t know how long I would have been okay if you hadn’t shown up, though.”

He hugged her a little tighter. “I heard you yell for help…I thought I was going to lose you.”

“You didn’t,” she said. “That was nuts. But I know why he did what he did.”

“What?” he asked, looking at her.

“I know why he set the first fire. The fire in the cornfield was a test to see how the herd reacted to an emergency. Because of the first fire, he knew our whole group would respond to a fire at the barn, and he could count on there being vulnerabilities. Like me being alone.”

“You were the target,” Crew said.

“He came right for me with Silas because you and the guys were dealing with the fire. He said I was part of his herd still.” She shuddered, thinking about how furious Colton looked when he’d stalked toward her. She didn’t know what he would have done if he’d managed to kidnap her, but she had a feeling it wouldn’t have been good. And possibly she could have been used as bait to lure Crew to them.

Then who knows what might have happened?

They returned to the barn after checking on the livestock. The fire was out and while the barn was damaged, it wasn’t a total loss, plus none of their people were hurt, so she was thankful for small miracles.

Grey and Ford came back to the farm. “They got into a truck and sped off,” Ford said.

“I’m going to pick up some more of those tiny cameras and set them up around their campsite. Even if I can’t get too close, we have to do something to alert us of their whereabouts. Maybe some tracking devices on their vehicles,” Grey said.

“Good idea,” Crew said.

Zara looked at the barn and the livestock at the far side of the pasture. They’d been victorious, but she knew that the fight wasn’t over. Colton would regroup and come for them again. But at least for now, they were safe.

“I need some lemonade and a change of clothes,” Zara said.

“Me too,” Crew said.

“I’ll keep you guys posted,” Grey said. “And before you say anything, I’ll be careful.”

Crew nodded. “Keep us posted.”

They headed into the house just as Zara’s phone buzzed with a call from Tris.

“I saw smoke! Are you guys okay?”

“Girl, you wouldn’t believe what just happened,” Zara said, filling in her friend on the events of the morning.

“I’m glad you’re all safe, holy crap. When will that guy get a hint?”

Zara wanted to say that she hoped they’d gotten the message to Colton loud and clear that the Little River Herd wasn’t going anywhere and they would fight back against him and his herd. But she didn’t know if that was actually the case. Colton seemed determined to get to them, to her, and who the hell knew how long that would last?

“We’re safe for now, and that’s what matters,” Zara said.

“I’m coming over to make lunch right now; you guys need a break after fighting fires and fending off deranged lunatics.”

“See you in a bit,” Zara said, not about to turn down someone else making lunch.

“I need something,” Crew said, leaning over and kissing Zara’s cheek as she opened the refrigerator.

“Lemonade?” she asked, grabbing the pitcher.

“Yes, but mainly I need you.” She looked up at him and the heated look in his eyes made her breath catch.

Suddenly, all she needed was him too.

The lemonade could wait.

“Shower?” she whispered.

“You read my mind.”

“See you guys in a bit. Tris is coming over to make sandwiches, so save us some.”

As she and Crew hurried to the second floor and their bedroom, she heard Avi say, “Man, I can’t wait until I have my soulmate.”

“You and me both,” Ford said.