chapter one
River clung to Jonathan. They’d had five days together alone in the cave but now it was time to leave. Gabriel and Eli were waiting for them at the bottom of the cliff.
Gabriel would take Jonathan home to Reuben’s ranch. She’d go to Sanctuary Mountain with Eli.
Jonathan pressed his forehead against hers. “I don’t want to let you go.”
“I know.” She couldn’t let him see how hard this was for her or he wouldn’t let her go. “It’s only for a few weeks.”
“But you’ll be with him.” Jonathan growled the word.
River knew he was worried about the blood bond she shared with Eli. “I’ll be fine.”
“I can’t stand the thought of him touching you.”
She cupped his cheeks with her palms as she leaned back. “I won’t let him touch me when we’re alone, but Eli and I have to convince everyone that we’re a mated pair. So we’re going to have to at least hold hands in public.”
“That stupid blood bond should help sell the deception.”
“It will.”
Jonathan groaned. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
“No, but hopefully this will.” River pressed her lips to his.
Jonathan tangled his fingers in her hair and took control of the kiss. He hooked his forearm around the small of her back then jerked her body against his.
River’s eyes fluttered shut.
“Hey! What’s taking so long?” Eli’s shout intruded.
River pulled back then gave Jonathan a quick peck on the mouth. “We need to leave before he decides to climb up here and get us.”
“Let him.” Jonathan’s eyes still glowed with his wolf’s light. “It’ll take him at least an hour with that bum knee of his.”
“Jonathan.” River smiled and shook her head. “That’s not very nice.”
“I can think of all sorts of nice things to do while we wait.”
Gabriel’s form suddenly filled the opening of the cave, blocking the light. He shouted, “Jonathan!” then ran inside. He wrapped his long, muscular arms around Jonathan and River then squeezed the air out of both of them.
Jonathan grunted then laughed. “Hey, Gabe. It’s good to see you, too.”
Gabriel squeezed them even tighter. “I’m so glad you aren’t dead.”
Jonathan laughed again. “Me too.”
River squirmed so she could suck in a much needed breath.
Gabe took the hint and let go then gave her a sheepish grin.
She punched him in the shoulder, but did it with a smile. “You obviously don’t know your own strength. I think you bruised my ribs.”
His eyes widened. He gently pressed his fingertips against her side. “Does it hurt?”
She batted his hand away. “I was joking.”
Jonathan grabbed Gabriel and pounded his back the way men often do when they hug each other. “I swear you’ve grown at least six inches since the last time I saw you.”
Gabriel grinned at him. “Pa’s increasing my rations this winter. I’m almost as tall as he is.”
“You’re almost as broad, too. What have you been doing? Lifting weights?”
“Why would I do that?”
“To bulk up and get stronger.”
“Pounding hot iron in the smithy puts on muscle. And it’s useful.”
“Are you training to be a blacksmith?”
Gabriel pressed his lips together. “Pa wants me to be his apprentice. But I want to be an enforcer.”
“Can’t you do both? Reuben’s an enforcer, isn’t he?”
“I can’t train for both at the same time. Pa was an enforcer for several decades before he became a blacksmith. He just wants to keep me close so he can control everything I do.”
“Maybe he wants to keep you close because he loves you and wants to spend time with you.” Jonathan’s voice sounded scratchy. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed.
River wondered if he was thinking about his own father. He hadn’t shared his grief with her during their short reunion but his sorrow from losing him so recently had to be profound.
“Hey!” Eli’s shout sounded closer. He must have started climbing. “Let’s go.”
River leaned her head out the opening of the cave to check on him. He was halfway up the avalanche field. “What are you doing? You’re going to hurt your knee.”
“We need to leave. People are already hitting the trails to Sanctuary. We can’t risk someone getting a whiff of you before you scrub Jonathan’s scent off your body.”
River hated the idea of losing Jonathan’s scent, but that wasn’t the worst of it. She needed to replace it with Eli’s. And to do that, she’d have to get very close to him. Jonathan wasn’t going to like that one bit. River didn’t like it either. The thought of rubbing her body against Eli’s sickened her. But it would probably appeal to her as soon as she and Jonathan were separated and his presence was no longer blocking the blood bond.
Guilt swept over her like a raging forest fire as she remembered how attracted she’d been to Eli before Jonathan’s return.
Eli took two steps up the slope then slipped on the loose gravel. He screamed as he grabbed his knee then slid and rolled down the avalanche field all the way to the bottom.
“Eli!” Jonathan flew past her then scampered down the slope like a mountain goat, showering Eli with dust and gravel.
River and Gabriel followed, but moved off to the side to avoid adding their own cloud of debris to Jonathan’s. By the time they got there, Jonathan had already helped Eli to his feet.
He kept his arm wrapped around Eli’s waist. “Can you walk?”
“Give me a minute.” Eli bared his teeth as he put weight on his damaged leg.
“I thought a brace would help with that.”
River noticed the hinged contraption strapped to Eli’s leg.
“It helps, but it’s not perfect. Reuben’s still working on the design.” Eli sucked in a quick breath then growled at River. “Move downwind, woman.”
“Sorry. I’ll go get the horses.” She headed toward the corral she’d built while waiting for Jonathan’s arrival. But a low, threatening growl froze her in her tracks. She turned around and found Jonathan glaring at Eli. Both of them were on the verge of shifting—eyes glowing, teeth bared. Gabriel jumped between them, one hand on Eli’s chest, the other on Jonathan’s. “Calm down. Both of you.”
Jonathan leaned around Gabriel and glared at Eli. “Quit looking at her ass.”
Eli’s canine teeth elongated, slurring his speech. “I promised I wouldn’t mate with her. I never said I wouldn’t look at her.”
Gabriel tightened his fist, bunching the fabric of Jonathan’s tunic.
Jonathan continued to circle, forcing Gabe to turn with him.
River strengthened the connection to her wolf so she’d be ready to shift if things got out of control then wrapped her arms around Jonathan from behind. “Stop it. You can’t act like this in front of people.”
“No one’s here but us.”
Eli raised both hands, palms out. His teeth receded. But his eyes continued to glow. “River’s right. We have to control our emotions or we’re all dead.”
River moved to face Jonathan then slid her fingers through his hair. “Are you going to be able to handle this?”
“I don’t know.” The alpha growl in his voice didn’t reassure her.
“You can’t glare at Eli as if you’re plotting his murder.”
Eli pointed at River. “And you can’t stare at him with that dopey expression of utter adoration on your face.”
River glared at Eli. “I won’t look at him at all when we’re in public.”
“You may not be able to avoid it.” Eli’s eyes finally dimmed to his normal shade of dark brown. “It will look just as suspicious if you purposely avoid him.”
“I can’t stand the thought of you spending so much time alone with Eli while that blood bond is in effect.” Jonathan swept River’s hair off her shoulder, running his fingers through it. “I’ve seen what it does to him. How will you resist him when I’m not there to provide a buffer for you?”
River clasped her hands behind his lower back and gave him a gentle shake. “I resisted the blood bond even when I thought you were bound to another woman and I had nothing to lose. There was no reason for me not to mate with Eli, but I didn’t. I didn’t even allow him to kiss me.”
Jonathan spoke through gritted teeth. “Did he try?”
“No.” River shook her head. “Of course not.”
Eli glared at Jonathan. “I’ve already given you my promise. I’ll add my solemn vow that I will not touch your mate unless necessary.”
“What do you consider necessary?”
River took Jonathan’s face in her hands and forced his attention back to her. “Do you trust me?”
He nodded.
“Then stop growling at Eli.”
Jonathan sighed and closed his eyes. When he opened them, all traces of his wolf’s light were gone. “Alright. But I still don’t like it.”
“You don’t have to like it. You just have to deal with it.” She slid a hand behind his neck and pulled him closer to whisper in his ear. “Or take your rightful place as the promised son of Ephraim.”
Jonathan’s body tensed. They’d argued about it, but in the end, River accepted Jonathan’s decision to let Eli continue as the leader of the revolution.
He pressed his forehead against hers. “I’ll deal with it.”