Talg. “Your power over me ended long ago.”
47
Relief and rage slammed through Grif as he caught sight of Nayla, and the squat, thick brute looming above her, fist raised.
Talg. It had to be. Covered in brightly colored garments and chain after chain of bones, the leader’s status was obvious.
Grif caught sight of Ramm as well, standing near the missing females’ pen, his giant incisors flashing bright white against the red, black, and gold of his flesh.
It was also hard to miss Cam’s body lying a few paces behind where Nayla stood.
Grif’s chest contracted. One more female he hadn’t been able to save. Even after what she’d done, he would have fought like hells to save her.
There was nothing, though, that he could do for her now. He’d have to live with that. But he would. Because as he was learning from Nayla, he couldn’t fix everything.
Only the thing that mattered most.
“Dashe-ke, razi a miz fellya e fellyahs. ” I have come for my female, and the others, too.
He watched Nayla’s eyes go wide. She’d been teaching him a pack word here and there, but she likely had not realized he’d absorbed so much.
Talg didn’t respond, but Grif didn’t need him to. He was an expert at body language. The pack leader’s reaction was easy to read.
The bastard had never expected to have his authority challenged, or the Others to appear in his territory before he was ready.
Nor for someone to claim the female he’d always considered his private punching bag.
Talg snarled, hissing something at his guards, but it was lost in the chatter of the pack as they, too, reacted to hearing an Other speak their language.
Shock rippled through them as their mouths fell open. To understand a creature they considered a savage beast must be almost as alarming as if Sharluff had suddenly opened his beak and asked them how they were.
Up close, it was even clearer what a blend Nayla was between her people and his. All the pack females he could see were nearly as hairless as the males, with only little brown tufts on the tops of their heads. All had ears far more pointed and angular, as well as thick dark stripes across the bridge of their noses. Their fangs were also a lot longer and sharper than Nayla’s. They did not have the tusks the males did, however. They were also not as big or thick as the hunters, but their flesh swirled with the same red, black, and gold patterns.
The differences between them and Nayla reminded him all over again how strong she was to have survived what she had.
Now it was his turn to be strong.
“You believe we are savages.” He waited for Nayla to translate. “But that is not all we are.”
Behind him, Bain, Zale, Quil, and Britta crowded closer. All four held glowing spears, thanks to the ghost. They hoped it would be enough to at least make the hunters think twice about attacking immediately.
Meanwhile, Malin, Maddox, and Nash were circling around from the other side with spears of their own, ready and willing to provide backup.
Because it wasn’t just he and Nayla that were a team, it was all of them. He’d forgotten for a while that he didn’t need to do it all on his own, but he was back on track now. Cam’s treachery and the reaction of his crew—their instant closing of ranks and determination to bring back their own—had reminded him all over again that they were a family. Despite their differences, despite their disagreements, they did have one another’s backs.
He had every confidence they could get the job done if required: battle won, pack vanquished, missing females saved.
But he’d promised Nayla he’d give her everything, and he intended to deliver.
He unsheathed his favorite ax and…buried it deep on the ground.
More murmurs spread through the pack.
He had no idea what the equivalent of a white flag was to the pack, but he hoped they got the message.
“You have been told we are controlled by violence and the will to destroy. Animals, with no other instincts than violence and destruction. I don’t blame you for believing it. You have seen the worst my kind has to offer. But we are not all like that.”
He locked gazes with Nayla as she translated and he advanced, leaving his fellow teammates at the perimeter, as planned.
At his first step, snarls and growls split the air, the hunters roused from their shock.
Pack females grabbed their children, gripping them close.
The four