The Narrow Gate

~ ZEV ~

Nick nodded but watched him warily. "I figured. That's okay. That's good. I'm glad you kids are getting out together. Just… think of me sometimes, okay? Not just the bad stuff."

Zev didn't answer. It would be one of his goals to think about Nick and the team as little as possible.

They started to turn towards the cave, but Nick cleared his throat. "I'm going to let you go, but… can you just tell me, out of curiosity, how did you get the Chimera out? I mean, obviously, you used the Gateway. But… where did you send the rest of them? Do you even know? I mean, if you just told them to go that… hella ballsy."

He glanced at Sasha behind Zev and there was a hint of respect in his gaze that surprised Zev. But there was no way Zev was answering that question.

He opened his mouth to say it was none of his business when the crunch of tires on gravel reached his ears from the distant parking lot. At this time of night, the only sound out here was the even more distant highway. If it had been a small vehicle, Zev doubted he would have heard it over the highway noise. But this was something large, with airbrakes. And there was more than one.

"Fuck. Trucks."

Nick's eyes widened. "Get going. Now."

"What's going on?" Sasha whispered.

"Transports," Zev said. "Either they think there are people here to take, or they've figured out what's going on and they're sending a bunch of humans through to Thana."

Sasha's face paled and Zev nodded.

"Goodbye, Nick," Sasha said awkwardly. "Thank you for your help. We won't forget that. Despite… everything else."

But Nick was nothing if not practical. He was already pushing them to get into the cave and move ahead of him. "Yeah, yeah. I won't forget your sass either, Sasha. Good job taking Thana and the Chimera by storm, by the way. Well done."

Zev growled at him when he patted her shoulder, but Nick just rolled his eyes.

He stopped at the entrance to the cave but watched them walk in, calling good wishes after them. It was the strangest moment in Zev's life, but there was no time to analyze it because they had to get out of there.

Seconds later they were at the back of the cave. He and Sasha both stopped and turned to look at each other. Zev had taken Zan to carry through. Sasha swallowed hard and linked her arms through his lower elbow, putting one hand on Zan as well.

"Please, God, please," she whispered, then looked up at him to see if he was ready. "Can you see it yet, Zev? The whole plan? You aren't out of his love. You aren't condemned. But… I kinda think it's important that you believe that. It's… it's not just about being kind. It's… understanding the truth."

Zev blew out a breath. "I think I can," he said. Then he looked down at Zan. "I can't see any way any God could make him and not care what happens to him."

Sasha nodded, her eyes filled with tears.

Tightening his elbow to pin her hand to his side, he turned to face the Gateway, but his words were pointed up.

"Creator… if you really love us, please… keep us all together. Please… hold our little boy safe with us. Let us take him through. All of us together. And get us there." Sasha breathed an Amen, then they stepped in together and the Gateway flashed with light.

*****

The trip through the gateway passed in a blur. When the lights finally turned a corner into a tunnel, Zev almost cried with relief, and when they finally reached the gateway itself, they barely hesitated.

"I'm going first," he said, his voice low and firm. "You follow with Zan. If there's any kind of threat on the other side, you let me meet it."

Sasha's mouth dropped open. "But—"

"Sasha… for real, just… let me do this."

She took a deep breath and nodded, rubbing his arm. "Okay. Okay."

He didn't want to let go of his son, but if there was any fighting to be done on the other side, he couldn't let Zan be hurt. So he transferred him quickly to Sasha's arms, then, still holding her arm, kept her behind him as he stepped through, Sasha holding Zan tightly, but also pressing into Zev's back.

Together, they stepped out of that rippled, indigo blue glass tunnel and straight into a lush forest, damp with recent rain.

Then they froze, listening. Zev scenting the air.

His entire body hummed with tension, his instincts on high alert—nothing smelled the same. The trees. The dirt. Even the air seemed different. Fresher somehow. But with nothing recognizable, everything could be a threat, and he had a family to protect.

But a slow scan of the trees and forest floor revealed nothing but more trees and more dirt, more underbrush. There were small animals nearby, birds and mammals, but all could smell the wolf that had just appeared and were remaining still to avoid his attention.

Zev took his first real breath and turned a slow circle, motioning to Sasha to stay still.

The forest was beautiful and wild and completely unknown. Thick trees like tall buildings with massive, leathery leaves and branches wider than Zev's waist, interspersed with every kind of leafy green tree imaginable—but no pine that he could see.

There was a water source somewhere nearby, he could hear it gurgling, but couldn't see it—and he could smell the faint waft of mineral pools, too. A welcome familiarity.

Looking overhead, the tree canopy was thick and didn't allow for a great view of the wider landscape, but through the gaps, he could make out mountains in the distance that looked browner than those in Thana. The sky was a wide, clear blue, the clouds bare puffs to skate across it.

Then, somewhere to his right, at the edge of his hearing, he caught voices.

Zev began to tremble with hope.

Sasha stood at his side, looking left and right, clinging to him desperately. "Can you… smell anything?"

"Lots of things," he whispered. "And I can hear voices."

Sasha's breath got faster, but her lips twitched up. "That has to be them. Which way?"

Zev nodded in the direction, frustrated that they would be walking with the wind and he wouldn't scent anything ahead of them, but he opened his mind to search for his brother or any of the wolves if they were in range.

He and Sasha smiled at each other. Then he took the first step forward into their new world—and almost immediately a figure materialized out of the trees ahead. A figure they did not recognize.

Adrenalin shot through his chest and he shoved Sasha behind him, taking a defensive stance and growling—until he realized that although the figure was only a few inches shorter than him, it was female. And Chimera.

Sort of. Her smell was both right and wrong.

Zev froze on the trail, inhaling deeply, watching the female warily. Was it possible they'd come back to the wrong place?

The female kept her chin down, her eyes—a bright blue like his—fixed and intense. Her nostrils flared as if she was taking their scents as well. He could hear her heart beating quickly, but not out of control.

"Who are you?" Her voice was rich and deep for a female and it urged him to submit. Zev was shocked by the strength of the Alpha authority she carried.

Her hair, a burnished copper, shot sparks where the sun hit it. She wore leather trousers and a linen shirt and held herself in the way Zev remembered of the human rulers, but with the sharp air of precision poised for battle, like a Chimera. There was a blade at her hip, and some kind of bag over her shoulder.

While they stared, she gave a low whistle. Zev heard very quiet—almost silent—footsteps creeping through the trees towards them.

He let his weight sink to balance himself and prepare to fight.

They wouldn't outnumber her for long.

"We don't mean any harm," Zev said quickly, then sent to Sasha in his mind: if they attack, you take Zan and run! "We're new. We just arrived. Have you always lived here, or did you come here through the Gateway like us?"

The female's eyes widened. "The Creator brought you here?"

:57

"I believe so. Can we… Can I ask who you are?" Sasha asked very submissively. Zev wanted to growl The female's eyes narrowed and her body tensed. Zev recognized the stance of a warrior and immediately shifted his weight to the balls of his feet. She could definitely shift. He could smell it on her. But she was a species he didn't recognize. Had the team bred some new animals recently and kept them among the females without his knowledge?

"Gateway?" she said suspiciously. "I will ask you one final time before I take your throat, wolf. Who the hell are you, and how did you get here?"

"The Creator brought us here. It's our… safe place," Sasha piped up from behind him. "Aren't our friends here, too?"

The female's eyes widened. "The Creator brought you here?"

"I believe so. Can we… Can I ask who you are?" Sasha asked very submissively. Zev wanted to growl for how she humbled herself.

But the female dropped her chin in a nod of approval, and as a silver-haired male stepped out from the trees behind her, she smiled the smug smile of a person with the upper hand. But as she spoke her smile gained an edge of warning. "My name is Elreth and I am the Queen of the WildWood… Now, who the fuck are you?"

*****

Got Questions? Want more? We aren't done yet! (Well, okay, technically we are, but you know what I mean...) STAY TUNED FOR:

. Epilogue chapters AND bonus material at the end!

. Author Note, including loyal reader shout-outs!

. Author Q & As about the world, characters, and what happens AFTER The End (you can skip them by swiping right to bring up the chapter list, then scrolling through to the story chapters)

...and finally, if this is the last of your time here, visit linktr.ee/authoraimee to find my SEVEN other books on WN, or other four books elsewhere! There's everything from fantasy knights, to CEO's to teen romances! Literally something for everyone. Thank you for being a part of Zev and Sasha's journey. It means the world to me!

(This final note was added after publication so you aren't charged for the words.)