Defiance

They traveled for about half a day, nonstop, with Kazriel setting the pace. While he didn't say much aside from giving warnings whenever Rose strayed too far from his lead, there was nothing in the wolf's demeanor which suggested even the slightest bit of cruelty she'd seen with Taka. In fact, he occasionally paused his stride for her to catch up to him and gave her a quick once over. The first time he did it, she'd tensed, thinking he'd snap at her heels and order her to go faster; the second and third time she realized he was simply checking on her. It was such a vast difference from how he'd acted with both Taka and Elias she wasn't certain what to think.

By the time they reached the Chaos Mountain pack's territory, it was nearing midnight and Rose was beginning to tire. She was hungry and nervous. She'd been able to to smell blood for miles before they'd even reached the edges of the Dragon's Tooth mountain range (named for the high, jagged peaks which filed in perfect line with one another) and the second she saw the fringes of his territory she saw why. Wolves and men hung from trees, disemboweled, missing limbs; while most were dead, she could hear a gasping moan from somewhere among the prisoners. A small shudder went through her and Kazriel stopped.

"These bastards are traitors," he explained simply. "Men who don't know how to keep their paws to themselves or who tried making fights with those they had no business fighting." His black eyes were fixed on her. When she didn't say anything he continued. "I run a tight ship, Luna Rose. Remember that."

Then he turned and continued onward. She had no choice but to follow at his heels. The trek up the mountain wouldn't have been difficult if she hadn't been so tired already. Rocks slid and crumbled under her feet the higher they went. Trees went from tall, towering behemoths to short, twisted monsters in the dark, clinging to whatever purchase they could muster in the unforgiving slate. She slid down twenty feet once, only stopping at the edge of a small ledge because Kazriel bounded back to her and caught hold of her ruff right as her back paws scrabbled off. He pulled her back up and sat, panting.

"You're not as strong as I thought you'd be."

She had flopped down on the ledge, her heart pounding. "I don't climb mountains as a hobby." And certainly not ones that were as steep as the vertical walls of a building. "I'm not a goat."

He'd laughed. "You'll get stronger."

But he'd waited until she was breathing normally again to continue onward at a slower pace. They finally reached their destination when the moon had begun its second ascent. Rose didn't notice at first. Her head was down, eyes fixed on the ground right in front of her, trying to keep her footing so she didn't fall to her death; it was only when a deep, inky shadow nearly obliterated her view that she looked up and saw they'd come to a narrow opening split through the side of the mountain. Kazriel had slowed to a casual walk but the space was so narrow they had to walk single file.

She caught a whiff of something cooking and her stomach rumbled in protest. She'd never gotten the berries she'd promised Taka and it had been more than twelve hours since she'd last eaten. It was definitely the smell of meat, too. She lifted her nose and sniffed. Ahead she could see light flickering and dancing through a narrow opening. Kazriel slipped out ahead of her and continued forward, but Rose had to stop the second she'd breeched the entrance. The cavern they'd entered was huge, large enough that when she looked up she could see no ceiling, just black shadows and a hint of vast space. The smell of wolves was thick but not unpleasant and when she dropped her attention down again she saw they'd formed their own small town. Rocky homes were cut deep into the mountain walls. Some stood apart from the others, some went deep into the mountain itself, and still others seemed to be openings leading elsewhere, rather than doorways. Blankets and skins hung in doorways and windows; pups bounded around each other in human and wolf form, the sound of their giggles echoing among the voices of hundreds of pack members. At the back of the cavern was another path leading up, a stairway etched into the stone next to a streaming clear waterfall which dropped to a wide, slow-moving pool of water. A spring flowed from the pool to another crack in the wall and the smell of fresh, cold water intermingled with the smell of cooking meat. Several large fires had been lit and were surrounded by men and women equally. While their setting was fairly primitive, their clothing was common and modern. Men and women wore jeans, tank tops, t-shirts, dresses, suits, and she even saw someone in the traditional garb of the old Mountain folk. She hurried to catch up to Kazriel.

"You live in a cave."

He glanced at her. "Yes." A wolfish grin split his face as he said, "Fewer taxes this way."

A wolf came bounding up to them and transformed mid-leap. Rose ducked her head. The man was completely nude. "Kaz!" He gave a quick bow. "You're back early." She could feel his eyes fall on her and he asked, "Is that our new Luna?"

Kazriel shifted as well, standing as casually naked as the first. "Luna Rose Silverthorne." He introduced her, snapping his fingers and pointing to the spot next to him.

She bristled and stopped, her feet rooting to the spot she was standing. When Kazriel turned to her with an expectant eyebrow, she snorted. "I'm not a dog. Don't snap at me."

The other man let out a whistle. "Brave, isn't she?"

"She'll have to be," Kazriel turned fully to her, his hands on his hips. "Change."

Rose turned her head away from him. "No."

A low warning growl emanated from the Alpha's throat. "You do as I say."

"I do what I want," she sniffed, and sat on the ground.

In a flash he'd changed again, his teeth flashing in the firelight as he lunged at her. Rose dodged him swiftly. He was stronger and fast, but she was small and faster. Her small form slipped under his and she whirled. The talking and laughter throughout the cavern was lessening as the other pack members stopped to see what was going on. Even the children had stopped playing. Kazriel snarled at her. She growled back, baring her fangs in warning, her tail straight up in the air in a display of dominance this time. The only person he could hurt was her. She had nothing to lose.

"You are my mate and you will do as I say," he stalked forward, stiff-legged.

"That's not how mates work," she countered. "And I never agreed to being yours. You kidnapped me."

"For your own safety." He snarled and dashed forward again, starting low to the ground and trying to clamp down on her paws.

Rose was faster still, though she had very little energy from the mountain climb. "I was perfectly safe with my parents!" Her voice echoed in his head alone, as his did hers. The link they shared was discrete, at least. This time time she lunged toward him, feinting low and then snapping her teeth around his already wounded ear.

That turned out to be a mistake. He turned on a dime and slammed his body into hers, sending her sprawling. In a second, he was on top of her, his fangs sinking to her skin in warning as he shoved her flat. Growling low and hardening his bite, Kazriel warned, "No one here disobeys me, girl."

Rose tried to catch her breath. He was standing over her and bearing down with a considerable amount of strength. Any move and he'd break her skin, so she bided her time. When she didn't say anything he bit harder and she let out a small yelp. "Hey!"

"I could have you here and now," he said. "No one would stop me. You would be mine as of this night in all the laws of our lands."

Rose snarled back. "Don't you dare!" But a small sliver of cold fear threaded through her spine and wrapped around her heart, squeezing. Would he actually do that? She knew some packs were vicious and had no sense of right or wrong, but he wouldn't force himself on her in front of his entire pack - would he?

"Change." He ordered again, pressing harder. "Or I will spare you no mercy."

"You'd force yourself on a woman you intend to have as your Luna?" She wriggled, twisting to try and gain some sort of purchase.

"You leave me little choice," he dropped the full bulk of his weight on her, pinning her under him. When he shifted she let out the briefest whine and he paused. After a moment of hesitation, she shifted to her human form; unfortunately for her, he shifted with her and swiftly grabbed her wrists the second they were available. "Better," his voice was low and quiet, but it echoed in the yawning silence of the cavern.

Rose felt another flicker of defiance. She shifted again, but just her wrists and yanked them from his grasp. Shifting back to human, she shoved his chest with all her strength and slammed her head forward into his chin. Kazriel swore and reeled back just enough for her to writhe free of him and scramble back. She had never been so grateful to keep her clothes in transformation as she was now. He was glaring at her. His strong, muscular form only accentuated in the warm firelight. His hair was a tousled mess and his eyes held no mercy. In a flash they were rolling together. His sheer strength was nearly enough to incapacitate her, but Rose's mother had taught her well. She used his strength and weight against him, flipping him twice before he managed to get a grip on her she couldn't break. With that vice-like grip, he yanked her upright and then hurled her down again - but instead of hitting the cavern floor, Rose found herself falling deeper than that.

She let out a sharp cry of pain when she finally hit a rocky bottom and rolled, curling around her bruised ribs. From far above she heard the voice of the other wolf.

"Feisty, isn't she?" he was asking cheerfully.

Kazriel spoke into the pit, his angry voice slicing through the darkness. "Either you do as I say or you rot in there, princess." He shot a glare around him. "Don't feed her." And then he was gone, followed soon after by the other.

Rose stayed curled up in the dark as the sound of voices started picking up again. Someone dragged a heavy grate over the top of the hole. Her stomach growled. She shivered and curled up tighter. To hell with him, she thought to herself bitterly. I'll starve before I do what he says. She tried to ignore the smell of food as it floated down from above and bit the inside of her cheek. If Kazriel Gregor thought he could beat her into listening, he had another think coming.