The Road to Wolfe (The Sanctuary Series Book 4) Page 5

  A pang rushes through me as I remember Emery, my sister’s caretaker for many years, a kind woman who’d treated me with the love she’d shown my sister. Her death was extremely hard on Taran and surprisingly difficult on myself as well, considering we hadn’t had time to forge a close bond.

  "The vaccine and a cure are two very different things. Vaccines can be created and distributed quickly. A cure can take years to create, if it’s possible at all, and often has undesirable side effects. As your friend no doubt learned." His words are hard, but not untrue.

  Emery had suffered right to the end, her organs failing one at a time a time. We did everything we could to keep her alive, but her body was just too severely injured from the Turn to recover.

  After Emery’s death, Dr. Bishop began experimenting with different versions of the vaccine in the hopes of finding a way to turn Primitives back into humans without damaging them too badly. They’d managed to test the vaccine on a few live Primitives. The younger the Primitive, the better its chances of surviving for longer. None of them actually survived though.

  "Maybe so, but there's hope, and I'm part of that hope. You can't keep me here, Wolfe. This isn't where I belong anymore." I plead with him, hoping I'll get through.

  He shakes his head. "This is exactly where you belong."

  I throw my hands up in frustration. "What about the rest of the world? Do you not give a fuck about them? They'll die without the vaccine."

  Wolfe takes a step closer to me until I'm forced to back away. He stares down at me, his single golden eye piercing. "I don't care about the rest of the world. Only you." He takes another step forward, gripping my arm as I try to step away from him. "You will stay."

  I shake my head. "No, I won't. I have to leave. Why do you want to keep me here anyway? You left me, not the other way around. You don’t need me."

  He doesn't answer my question. He doesn't tell me why he wants me here so badly. He turns on his heel and strides through the open door, closing it behind him. It's a great big thick steel door that closes into a concrete wall. The entire harem is built to withstand anything from fire to a bomb blast. I hear the echo of the bolt slamming into place as Wolfe locks me inside.

  Ten

  At first, I just pace back and forth in front of the door, determined to wait Wolfe and the guards out until someone opens it. Once they do, I’m going to disable them with the weapons they were stupid enough to leave on me, find my team and escape Sanctuary.

  When no one enters the harem within the first half hour, curiosity drives me to explore my old home. It's been more than a year since I've been here. Since I've lived, loved and laughed here. Silas was my husband, but the women of the harem were my roommates, sisters and confidants.

  Everything is the same, yet different somehow. All of our stuff is spotless and unmoved. Each room, belonging to one of Silas's wives, is exactly how I remember it. We had become a family, a group of women from all different backgrounds who befriended each other and lived together in this insulated dormitory.

  Over the years, I became Silas's favourite, and as such was allowed to roam more freely through the palace. Silas trusted me and used me as his advisor. Wolfe and I had formed a wary partnership to protect the Warlord’s dignity as his health deteriorated. No one knew how sick Silas was except for me, Wolfe, Hannah and a few of his personal guards. As far as the city was concerned, Silas was strong and healthy, running the Sanctuary smoothly until the day the Primitives came. Then he’d gone down with his ship.

  Even back then, I'd wondered about Wolfe’s motives. He was definitely the strong silent type, but there was something calculating about him. Though he served Silas, I never got the feeling that he actually cared about the Warlord as a person. He did his job and he did it well, but he had been cold, professional and detached. Perhaps the perfect ingredients for our security master, but he was no friend to any of us.

  I had become everything to Silas. His best friend, his confidant, and his head wife. In a way, I shared the role with Hannah. While I worked at Silas's side, helping him run the city, Hannah had ensured harmony in the harem and in the palace. We worked together like a well-oiled machine and forged a close bond. Which is why I don't understand her distance now. The old Hannah would have been thrilled to see me, not distant and standoffish. It makes no sense.

  I get an opportunity to talk to her several hours later, when she enters the harem with a tray filled with food and drink. She sets it down on the table, but instead of moving away and leaving she remains, her shuttered gaze on me, her face set in weary lines.

  I don't bother to beat around the bush, I ask her the topmost question in my mind. "How did you survive the attack?"

  Hannah had stood with Silas during the fall of the city, taking the position I'd wanted. I’m a natural fighter, I should have been by his side defending him until the last. Instead, Wolfe had saved my life and left Hannah behind with our husband. She should be dead.

  She waves her hand around the room and says, "The harem."

  Of course, she must’ve been shut in the harem during the attack. It’s the only part of the palace secure enough to withstand the kind of attack the Primitives would've thrown at them. But she would've had to come out eventually, and if she'd survived, why hadn't Silas?

  As if sensing the barrage of questions coming her way, Hannah begins to talk, her voice strained. "Silas used the last of his strength to shut me in here, along with anyone else left in the palace who didn't have time to leave with you and Wolfe." Bitterness creeps back into her voice as she mentions our narrow escape. "I begged him to follow me in, to lock himself in here with us. He refused, insisted that he would protect us when the Primitives came. I don't know exactly what happened, he closed us inside and that was the last I saw of him."

  I cover my mouth with my hand as I imagine what Silas had gone through as he tried to protect his remaining wife. He had been so weak. Physically, he’d been mostly unable to get out of his chair. Mentally, he had been drifting, forgetting things. It would've been a last act of bravery that would’ve ultimately proved useless, given his condition at the time. He probably died instantly when the Primitives got to him. Or so I hope.

  "What happened after that? You wouldn't have had enough food to stay in here for a long period. This place was only ever meant to be a short-term shelter in case of attack."

  "We were forced to leave the harem before the last of the Primitives finally left the city. They were still finding people hiding out, biting them, eating them, turning them. It was so horrible." She squeezes her eyes shut as the memories assail her. I want to reach out and touch her, to hug and hold her in her moment of pain, but Hannah is a different person now and so am I. Where once we were sisters to each other, now we’re… I actually don't know what we are.

  "Yet you managed to survive," I say softly, trying to pull her from her memories. Her dull eyes meet mine.

  "Yes, some of us survived, along with some people in the city. Maybe 500."

  I flinch. There had been thousands of people in the Santa Fe sanctuary when it fell. Only a few hundred escaped with me and Wolfe. That meant less than a thousand survived the Primitive attacks. The thought makes me feel nauseous.

  "I'm glad you survived." I blink rapidly as tears rush to my eyes, remembering Hannah the way she used to be. Soft, pretty, motherly.

  She gives me a tight smile. "Some days I wonder if I actually did survive."

  I know what she means. After a lifetime of running from the Primitives, begging Sanctuary in city after city, I wonder if I'm still the same person I used to be.

  I slide onto one of the seats at the table and reach for the tray. The last time I ate was yesterday, not having had time between the attack at the gas station and Wolfe picking me up and bringing me to Sanctuary. I suddenly feel as though I'm starving. I pick up the fork, pierce a cooked piece of potato and shove it into my mouth. I chew and swallow, then ask, "Are you staying here? In the harem?"

  She s
hakes her head. "After the attacks, after the Primitives left and we were able to move more freely, I chose a house in the city. It was either abandoned or the occupants killed. It’s several blocks away, so I’m still able to walk to the palace each day."

  “Was there a new Warlord? What happened? How did you rebuild?” The questions spill from my lips now that Hannah seems to be willing to speak to me.

  She hesitantly touches the back of a chair and then with a sigh pulls it out and sits down. I push the tray toward her a little, indicating that she can help herself. There’s enough food on the tray to feed five grown men, more than enough food for two women to share.

  "None of the survivors wanted to take on the responsibility of Warlord. Not at first. We debated whether or not to stay or to go find Sanctuary somewhere else, but we were hearing rumours from other Sanctuaries, as refugees started to drift in, that most other Sanctuaries had fallen as well. We didn’t know where to go with so many people, so we decided to stay and rebuild. A few weeks after the city had fallen, thousands of refugees showed up from other Sanctuaries, from eastern cities that took far more damage than ours.”

  She reaches out and picks at the edge of a piece of lettuce, then snatches it up and starts nibbling on it. I smother a smile. Hannah always did prefer rabbit food over meat or bread. If I were to hazard a guess, I would say that this lettuce, and the other vegetables on the tray, probably come from a garden that Hannah herself grew.

  "How did you manage to rebuild Sanctuary without a Warlord?" I ask.

  She blushes and takes a big bite out of the lettuce. "Many of the people that were left behind trusted me and convinced the refugees that they should trust me too. It was only a temporary solution, since a woman can't be Warlord. We worked quickly to repair the wall, to reorganize the city so that we were clustered closer to each other instead of spread out and more vulnerable. We rallied around the palace. It worked, for the most part, until the second wave."

  Her voice drops in pain as she mentions this.

  "Second wave?" I hadn't heard of a second wave.

  "Yes, a second wave of Primitives swept through the area. Only these ones seemed smarter. They strategized and trapped us, taking us out one at a time as we did things like leave the city on hunting parties, or attempt to fix the water plant. It was a terrifying time, and I was completely incapable of dealing with it."

  "You were never trained to handle security situations," I say, reaching out to touch her. At first, she jerks her hand away, but then she hesitates and reaches out to take mine, squeezing.

  "Thank you," she says softly. "It was hard watching so many people, so many refugees that came to us begging for Sanctuary, taken out by the second wave. And me, helpless to contain it or do anything about it. I’m simply not a soldier, I can’t cope with attacks."

  Even though I suspect I already know the answer, I ask anyway. "What happened? How did you stop the second wave?"

  "Wolfe," she says simply. "He showed up just in time to save us. He was completely ruthless, but effective. He came in, brutally stamped out any Primitive stragglers roaming the city, and then eradicated them from the area. It was amazing, and he did it almost single-handedly. Like a machine."

  I nod, understanding. I've seen Wolfe in action many times. He is exactly like a machine. He kills without thought, without remorse, without compassion. He's effective and terrifying. By himself he can do as much damage as an entire army.

  "I'm so sorry it's been tough for you here, Hannah," I say to her. "But it's not much better anywhere else. I didn't want to leave you behind. In fact, I wanted to be the one who stayed and fought. I was better equipped for it. I was devastated when you stayed behind."

  Tears fill her eyes and she keeps them fixed on the table.

  "I know," she says. "And I'm sorry I was so cold to you when you arrived. It's just… I've been so angry for so long, I don't know what to do with myself, or how to direct the pain. When Silas died… it killed a part of me."

  I nod my understanding. "Me too."

  She lifts her eyes and we look at each other. Silas’s two favourite wives, once more together, sharing a moment. Only we can understand what the other is going through, the pain of losing a husband who had become our everything.

  Without warning a stab of jealousy hits me. Not for Silas. I had never been jealous of his other wives. Perhaps it was because I'd had to share him from the start. I'd never questioned my place in his life, nor, after we got to know each other, had I questioned his love for me. He’d loved all of his wives and he'd loved us differently, so there was no need for jealousy.

  No, I’m jealous of the new Warlord, and the realization hits me like a punch to the gut.

  "What about Wolfe?" I demand, so suddenly and so sharply that Hannah flinches back in her chair and stares at me with a frown, not comprehending what I want to know. I shake my head and clarify, "Does Wolfe have a harem here?" I wave my hand around the room. "Does he have any wives? Are you his wife?"

  She raises an eyebrow in surprise. "Of course I'm not Wolfe’s wife. He's never wanted anything to do with me and that certainly hasn't changed now that he's become Warlord."

  I take a deep breath and attempt to calm down. What's wrong with me? Why do I even care what Wolfe is doing with the harem? I ignore the answering voice inside of me that tells me I cared from the first moment that I took notice of the giant warrior. I've cared for years. I've just never been in a position to do anything about it before now.

  "I'm sorry," I say, giving my head a shake. "So much has changed. It's jarring. I just assumed… since the conquering Warlord gets the prizes of the previous Warlord, that Wolfe would have taken the harem."

  She shrugs and shakes her head. "Maybe, but as far as I know there haven't been any women in here. Not since the day we left it, moving out into the city. The only people allowed to enter now are cleaning staff."

  I continue eating and we chat more about the state of the city. I ask Hannah question after question until I'm positive that she's sick of answering. Still, she answers, calmly talking through everything I want to know. I'm not finished with our discussion when, a few hours later, the door to the harem opens and Wolfe enters.

  I turn to look at him, my eyes meeting his, and everything else fades away. I barely notice as Hannah picks up the tray and leaves, inclining her head toward Wolfe as she passes him. The door closes behind her and I hear the bolt sliding into place.

  Eleven

  "What do you want?" I ask sharply, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring. "Have you come to your senses? Are you going to let me go?"

  Wolfe stares at me, his expression unmoving. "My plans remain unchanged."

  I throw my arms up in annoyance. "What plans? What exactly are you planning? Why do you want to keep me here?"

  He walks farther into the room and then stops, looking at me silently. That’s one personality trait of Wolfe’s that can be both good and immensely frustrating. He doesn’t say or do anything without purpose. Every move he makes is economical and purposeful. He's not one to just wander around, touching things, making idle conversation. He has reasons for everything he does, including being here with me now and keeping me here in the palace.

  At first, he doesn't answer, as though he's gathering his thoughts. Then, he says, "You don't need to know that now. It will suffice that you will remain here. I’ll let you know as things progress."

  My eyebrows go up with my temper. "Excuse me? You'll let me know? Not good enough, Wolfe. I want to know what the fuck you're planning, and I want to know right now."

  "No."

  I grit my teeth and force myself to remain still so I don't storm over to him and throw a punch. Despite a year of training, fighting Primitives and sharpening my skills, I know that I'm still no match for Wolfe. He’s spent a lifetime killing. Still, it might be worth it to see his face as I drive my fist into his stomach.

  "You don't get to say no to me," I say furiously, pacing the room. "You don't get to
take me away from my mission, tell me that I'm stuck here, and not give a reason. Try again."

  "You don't need to know yet," he repeats himself.

  "If that's as good as you're going to give me, then I'm telling you right now, I won't rest until I've made it out of this room, out of this palace and out of your damn city. I'm done with Santa Fe. I didn't want to come back, and I sure as hell don't want to be here now. This place holds nothing but rotten memories for me."

  "That's not true." His voice is quiet, almost uncaring.

  He's like a stone statue in the face of other people's emotions, including mine. A fact that has infuriated me from the moment I met him. Wolfe is as much my nemesis as he has been a soldier and friend at my side when I needed him.

  He's right though. I'm lying to him and I'm lying to myself when I say that the city holds only bad memories. Some of the best moments of my life have happened here. But I don't want to think about them, I don't want to remember. It's too painful.

  "You're still hung up on him, aren't you?" he growls, taking a step toward me. "It's time to let him go. Time to live your life without his shadow hanging over you."

  "What do you know about that?" I demand sharply. "You didn't care about him. You stood aside, like some kind of unfeeling statue while he slowly died. You watched and did nothing. Then you left him here during the attack."

  "You know as well as I, there was nothing to be done. His tumor was a death sentence."

  "You could've made his life easier though." I know I'm not being reasonable, but I can't seem to stop. It's easier to blame Wolfe for everything. It's always been easier and I almost hate myself for doing it. "You just watched, you stood aside and watched, and I hate you for that."

  "I know," he says, his voice warming ever so slightly as he steps toward me. "But you're smarter than that, smarter than to blame me for something that was inevitable." He steps up to me, not touching, but close enough to grab me if he wants to. "It wasn't him I was watching and I think you know that."