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Ren cursed himself as he puttered about the inside of the cave, and wished for the hundredth time that he’d grabbed the med kit first. Instead, he and Lucia were stuck with nothing beyond the basic gear he always carried, his combat blade, and the few things he’d managed to scavenge from the wreckage. Once shadowfall had ended, he could think about heading back there to see what else could be recovered, but for the time being staying warm was going to be a priority.
He unhooked Inari's collar and unwound the elaborate knots until it became a few meters of line. Enough to lash together a small shelter or, in his case, shred into loose tinder to start a fire. He split the casing and pulled out the internal cords, which broke down into a puff of dry, airy material. There was plenty of burnable wood in the valley—the rainy season wouldn’t be due in the region for several months yet—so they’d have fuel enough to feed a small fire through the darkness. At least enough of one to keep them from freezing; he should be conservative with the wood in case they were stuck out here longer than he expected.
Food and water were going to be a bigger issue, but he could only control so much.
As though she could read his thoughts, Lucia spoke. "How long 'til someone comes looking for you?"
He glanced at her, where she huddled against the wall beneath his jacket. "They won't come tonight. Too hard to miss signs in the dark. But my CO would have expected a report back from me by nightfall."
She snorted, a sound that was out of place with the high-handed woman he remembered. "I notice you didn't answer the question."
"They'll be waiting to see if I'm just late. Then they’ll try to comm me instead, first calling the radio that got blown up, and probably the one in your flitter. Once I’m officially missing, then it’s prep, briefing, and loadout. If they're in a hurry, it'll be thirty-six hours." Her shoulders dropped in defeat, and he grasped for anything that might give her some hope. "On the other hand, your family's bound to be pressuring people to look for you."
"I wouldn't bet money on that."
Her voice carried an unfamiliar bitterness that he wanted to ask about. But no, her secrets were hers. To stave off the desire to pry, Ren busied himself with starting the fire. His plasma-arc lighter made quick work of the tinder, and soon the cave was lit by orange flames. He held his hands above it, and Inari pressed into his back to warm the places the fire didn't reach.
"Help me get closer?" Lucia had an arm outstretched, and he eased her across the small distance. "You're not worried about someone seeing the light?"
"The overhang out front makes the cave mouth difficult to see from the air. They'd have to be walking up the valley, so I'm willing to risk it." He fished a ration bar out of his pocket, broke it in half, and offered some to her. "It's like eating oven-roasted sawdust, but it's calories."
She took the bar, and he broke his portion in half again and held some out for Inari. The wolf sniffed it, and her scorn rolled through his brain like a physical thing. A snort-sneeze finished her opinion with an exclamation point, and he smiled. "Fine, if you're planning to go hunt for yourself, I'll just—"
Inari snatched the piece from his fingers before he could pull back his hand, then stalked well out of reach to lay down and gnaw her prize.
Lucia laughed at the interplay, and the sound warmed him far better than the fire could have. She’d always had a great laugh, but so rare that any time he’d succeeded to coax it out was intoxicating.
Her humor cut off on a shiver, and she tugged his jacket tight around her shoulders. "It's like you really can understand her."
Ren shrugged and moved to her other side in an effort to block the wind from the cave mouth. "I ought to. I mean we're all tangled up in each other's heads."
"Like you can hear her thoughts? I thought that was a myth. Something to make you big bad wolves all the more scary." She leaned against him and glanced up at his face. "I... Can I leach some heat from you? The fire's not doing it."
He nodded, scooting closer, and as she rested her weight against him, Ren allowed himself to get lost in the smell of her skin before answering. "It's not like telepathy. They don’t think in human language, so even if I could read her thoughts, they would only make sense to another wolf. Instead it’s emotions, ideas. Images, if the wolfbond is extremely strong. I know what she's feeling, and vice versa."
"Bet that makes your girlfriend jealous," she muttered before burrowing in tight to his side. "God, you're so warm. Thank you." She made a satisfied noise and clung to his chest. Her presence almost pushed away the pain from his cracked rib. At least he’d settled her on his uninjured side.
Ren put his arm around her to support her, combing his fingers through her dark hair. In a handful of seconds, her breathing settled into the slow, easy rhythm of sleep.
None of it means anything. Never mind the way his pulse leapt when he touched her, or how his blood warmed when she looked at him. This is just two people sharing body heat. Surviving, plain and simple.
No different than any of the times the rangers had done survival drills and his fireteam had worked to keep each other alive.
If he said it enough times, maybe he’d believe it.
#
FOR THE SECOND TIME in twenty-four hours, Lucia woke to a canine tongue washing her face. It brought her awake with a start, but a sense of calm concern curled through her and kept her from jostling Ren. She packed away the soft glow of sleeping in his arms and promised herself she would examine it some other time, when it was emotionally safer. When she could think about it without remembering what she had done to him in school. Her so-called friends may goaded her into it, but she’d still given in to them.
God, they’d all been such monsters then. Herself included.
In the firelight, all she could see were Inari’s night-black eyes watching her while the wolf paced in a circle around the fire. After each lap, Inari stared at her again, as though making sure Lucia saw her. Which didn’t make sense. Why wouldn’t she wake up Ren instead? He was her partner.
Ren whimpered and shifted against her, and Lucia focused on him. Any lingering warmth fled her system as she snapped into awareness. Had he been more hurt in the explosion than he’d let on? His breathing was fast. Beneath tightly shut eyelids, his eyes darted back and forth. His hand twitched, fingers trying to close on something.
Not in pain. Or not just in pain. Dreaming. She pushed herself up, moving so that she could support him, despite her leg’s protest. He groaned, the sound broken and defeated.
Lucia glanced at Inari, who paced back and forth in front of the fire. “How do I help him?” she whispered. “You’re the one in his head.”
The wolf sat and looked at her, waiting.
Ren shook, his voice quiet but strained. “Corpsman up! Corpsman up!”
The pain in his words felt like someone had doubled the gravity, weighing her limbs down and making her throat ache. Lucia pulled him closer, one hand smoothing over his short-cut black hair as she made soothing sounds. Ren changed positions again, and she hoped if he recognized her voice through whatever dream tormented him, it fostered positive memories instead.
She’d given him too many painful ones as it was.
He settled, and she moved with him until they supported each other. “That’s it, Ranger,” she whispered. “I’ve got you.” His face relaxed, the tension between his eyebrows eased. Relief loosened the fist in Lucia’s chest as he calmed, and Inari paced in another slow circle before lying down, pressed against her back. Confident the wolf would wake her if anything else happened, she allowed the soft rhythm of his breath to lead her back to sleep.