Chapter 433 Countdown

433  Countdown

~ SASHA ~

They were both trembling and Sasha felt like if she got one more piece of bad news her legs might literally give out. But she had a vision, too. And as Zev kissed her with all his gratitude and love, as he murmured how thankful he was for her, she pulled away, shaking her head.

"We're going to do this," she said firmly, as much to convince herself as him.

He nodded. "Yes, we are. We're taking them down."

"And we're getting our baby back and making sure they never have a chance to do this to him, right?"

"Right," he rasped.

"Okay, okay," she said holding onto his forearms as he held her face. "So…" she swallowed. "Right now, you're talking to the wolves and telling them that it's time to get everyone moving. No more holding back. We're getting everyone through that Gateway and into the Safe Place. Right now."

"Okay."

"Then you and me… once everyone else is gone, we're going to show Nick that they've gone. That they'll never be here again. We're… setting him loose. We're going to let him take the news back. He's… he's going to tell them that they lost." She smiled for the first time in what seemed like forever at the thought of Nick sitting with the Board and having to tell them that the Chimera were all gone

—not just the females that had been stolen. But all of them."

Zev grinned too, though it faltered quickly. "Okay."

"Then we're sending him through and telling him that… well, I haven't figured that part out yet. All I know is, we're going—you and me—we're going to get our son, then we're going to the Safe place, and we aren't going to let anything stop us."

Zev nodded once, tightly, his hands still cupping her face. "Yes, Ma'am," he breathed.

Sasha rolled her eyes, but then he shook his head. "I'm not allowed to hate myself, and you're not allowed to undermine yourself, Sash. We're going to do this. And you're going to lead the charge."

She huffed a strangled laugh. "This is ridiculous," she said, her voice high and thin. "We're… this is impossible what we're talking about, but we're going to do it."

"Yes, we are. And I'm going to take care of you, Sasha. If God gives me the chance to keep going, I'm taking care of you. I promise."

Sasha sighed and threw herself into his chest. "Me too," she whispered, wishing she had any clue how to help him. "Me too."

*****

~ ZEV ~

It became clear to both of them, very quickly, that they were walking in the wrong direction.

Zev contacted every wolf he could find through the link and snarled at them to get moving, now. To take what they'd packed and leave everything else behind. To get the females out of there, and they all started to move. Then he asked Sasha about shifting and running the rest of the way to the City, but she stopped walking and looked at him.

"Are Lhars and Kyelle together. Can Kyelle get the females moving without me, or does she need me there?"

Zev found his brother quickly—and apologized for the intrusion. But it was quickly determined that he'd already told Kyelle and with the help of Mae and the others who'd ventured out of the hall, the females were already moving. That the promise of getting to Sasha was helping to motivate them.

"They're coming," he said a few minutes later.

"Great. Get someone to grab our bags and let's go back to the village. The only question is, do we talk to Nick at all, or just leave him in the dark."

"Definitely in the dark. Preferably with Ernie," Zev muttered.

Sasha spluttered like the joke was a lot funnier than it actually was, but Zev's lips twitched toward a smile as they both turned and headed back.

She continued to ask him to pass on messages to specific wolves, or get the wolves and hares to run messages as they walked.

A few minutes later, though, she sighed. "Maybe this rush is wrong. Maybe we're just setting ourselves up to fail—are we really going to have the females get through safely when they're pushed out of their furs and into this?" she groaned.

Zev squeezed her hand. "The Chimera will surprise you, I think," he said quietly. "They've definitely surprised me. They just keep going, Sasha. Look at what these females have been through already and they got here. Give them hope and I'm certain they can do this."

She nodded. "You're right. I'll feel better when I see them."

"Did you get all of them out of the hall?"

"Yes, but some of them only for a few minutes, and only into the Courtyard."

Zev shook his head. "They really did a number on all of us, didn't they?"

Sasha looked up at him, her eyes clouded. "I hate them for that, Zev. I really do. I want you to know when I'm telling you not to hate it's not because I don't feel it. I just… I don't want to turn into them, you know? And I'm so afraid if we become ruthless, we're no different than them."

Zev snorted the air from his nose. "I know you care, Sasha. I never doubted that."

She took a deep breath and made him look at her. "Then never doubt this either: Whatever you did, I don't hold you responsible for that. And no—before you start arguing—I don't think if you'd resisted they would have defeated the Team. Nathan would have just found someone else to do it. So don't you carry that, Zev? Do you hear me? We're shifting our focus for now. For the next couple of days, all we're focusing on is getting ourselves, the females, and our son out of that place. We're going to defeat them that way. And whatever happens, once we're in a place where we can breathe… I'm going to show you that I still love you. And you aren't dark inside. You didn't do this, Zev. They did. And they're going to pay. We're going to make them pay, okay?"

He stared at her as they walked, shaking his head. "You're beautiful when you're angry."

Sasha gave a small smile. "And you're fucking hot no matter what mood you're in," she quipped.

And Zev actually laughed.