There was nothing, though, that he could do for her now. He’d have to live with that. But he would. Because as he was learning from Nayla, he couldn’t fix everything.
Only the thing that mattered most.
“Dashe-ke, razi a miz fellya e fellyahs. ” I have come for my female, and the others, too.
He watched Nayla’s eyes go wide. She’d been teaching him a pack word here and there, but she likely had not realized he’d absorbed so much.
Talg didn’t respond, but Grif didn’t need him to. He was an expert at body language. The pack leader’s reaction was easy to read.
The bastard had never expected to have his authority challenged, or the Others to appear in his territory before he was ready.
Nor for someone to claim the female he’d always considered his private punching bag.
Talg snarled, hissing something at his guards, but it was lost in the chatter of the pack as they, too, reacted to hearing an Other speak their language.
Shock rippled through them as their mouths fell open. To understand a creature they considered a savage beast must be almost as alarming as if Sharluff had suddenly opened his beak and asked them how they were.
Up close, it was even clearer what a blend Nayla was between her people and his. All the pack females he could see were nearly as hairless as the males, with only little brown tufts on the tops of their heads. All had ears far more pointed and angular, as well as thick dark stripes across the bridge of their noses. Their fangs were also a lot longer and sharper than Nayla’s. They did not have the tusks the males did, however. They were also not as big or thick as the hunters, but their flesh swirled with the same red, black, and gold patterns.
The differences between them and Nayla reminded him all over again how strong she was to have survived what she had.
Now it was his turn to be strong.
“You believe we are savages.” He waited for Nayla to translate. “But that is not all we are.”
Behind him, Bain, Zale, Quil, and Britta crowded closer. All four held glowing spears, thanks to the ghost. They hoped it would be enough to at least make the hunters think twice about attacking immediately.
Meanwhile, Malin, Maddox, and Nash were circling around from the other side with spears of their own, ready and willing to provide backup.
Because it wasn’t just he and Nayla that were a team, it was all of them. He’d forgotten for a while that he didn’t need to do it all on his own, but he was back on track now. Cam’s treachery and the reaction of his crew—their instant closing of ranks and determination to bring back their own—had reminded him all over again that they were a family. Despite their differences, despite their disagreements, they did have one another’s backs.
He had every confidence they could get the job done if required: battle won, pack vanquished, missing females saved.
But he’d promised Nayla he’d give her everything, and he intended to deliver.
He unsheathed his favorite ax and…buried it deep on the ground.
More murmurs spread through the pack.
He had no idea what the equivalent of a white flag was to the pack, but he hoped they got the message.
“You have been told we are controlled by violence and the will to destroy. Animals, with no other instincts than violence and destruction. I don’t blame you for believing it. You have seen the worst my kind has to offer. But we are not all like that.”
He locked gazes with Nayla as she translated and he advanced, leaving his fellow teammates at the perimeter, as planned.
At his first step, snarls and growls split the air, the hunters roused from their shock.
Pack females grabbed their children, gripping them close.
The four guards closest to Talg surrounded him.
Which was perfect, since it put Nayla further out of the bastard’s reach.
“It doesn’t have to be war between us.” He loosened a dagger from his harness and let it drop to the ground. Nayla’s lyrical voice drew him closer. The tie between them as strong as ever.
He cast off one weapon after another, leaving a trail of discarded daggers and axes in his wake as he closed in on his goal. “Some Others desire peace. We have the ability to reason. Learn. Change. Cherish. Nayla has taught me that.”
His female kept translating, a shy, shaky smile playing across her face at the mention of her own name.
More whispers from the pack. He couldn’t tell if they were thoughtful murmurs or “go fuck yourself” murmurs. Whatever the case, he had their attention.
“Rishe. Gazi. Lomesh.” Talg roused from his shock. The guttural words that poured from him full of hate, and directed at Nayla.
Here was a true monster, not too dissimilar from the one Grif had put down in his youth.
He couldn’t wait to do it again.
Except he’d promised Nayla he’d avoid a full-scale war if he could, and he was determined to make her proud. Gutting the pack leader wouldn’t ease tensions.
So, instead, he tossed another weapon into the dirt, making sure that the bastard’s attention returned to him. “Nayla has also taught me that your people do not need to be our enemy. We can find common ground.”
Expression disbelieving, the leader let him come, as if he could not quite absorb what was happening. Or maybe he just wanted Grif close enough to tear his throat out.
Either way, Grif kept coming.
He advanced until his harness was empty, his chest bare, his sole item left the rope at his hip. “We come to you in peace. Inspired by love.”
He swept his female into his arms and took his first real breath since he’d woken up and seen Malin staring back at him.
Nayla leaned into Grif’s hold, absorbing his strength even as a collective gasp rose among the pack.
She had never been prouder or more in awe of her male.
She had always known he was fierce. She had seen his bravery and his power time and again.
But to witness him wade into an enemy camp and cast off his weapons as he spoke of peace and love was the kind of courage that inspired legends.
If any act was truly blessed by the Ancients, it was his.
She knew that was why the hunters had let him advance.
Honor, purity of heart, bravery. These were the qualities valued above all else among pack. To see it displayed in an Other must be shaking them to the core, impacting them more than her words ever could.
Then he’d done something even more astonishing by pack standards. He’d hauled her into his arms. He’d embraced her—a Gazi—without fear.
The pack waited for his blood to boil. His bones to melt.
They’d be waiting for a long time.
A beast that could survive the touch of a Gazi without pain was beyond formidable.
She suspected as the moments passed and Grif remained alive, more than one hunter was beginning to doubt Talg’s arrogant claims of an easy victory.
Maybe a few were beginning to doubt the leader altogether.
Grif’s plan was a clever one. But risky.
Without his weapons, he was far too vulnerable.
“You okay, wild thing?”
“I’m okay, Grif.” She rubbed her cheek against his arm, grateful to the Ancients that she could. “I’m glad you’re here. I do not like, though, that you are in danger now, too.”
“I’ll always go where you are. We’re a team.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “There is no female alive with more worth, courage, and kindness.”