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"…remember to focus on the females that you met last time—not their location, in case they\'ve been moved. If there was a leader among them, or a presence, focus on that one. You need the Gateway to take you to the place where the humans won\'t see you, and where the highest concentration of females is present. Be so careful, guys. Please."

Lhars, Jhon, and Skhal all nodded. The other two were tense but seemed poised with anticipation. Lhars was eager to get his females out of the compound, but even more eager to get back to his mate and the others.

"Remember, you have to tell them that I sent you, and this is the fulfillment of the prophecy. That\'s crucial. That\'s our trigger. That\'s what they\'ve been waiting for. Who spoke with Vayl last time?"

"That was me," Skhal said quickly.

Sasha turned to him. "She\'s an asset. Listen to her. If she gives you caution, heed it."

Skhal nodded. "She was very quick to understand what was happening. I don\'t think we\'ll have any struggles."

Sasha nodded, then looked at the other two. "Your groups are small, but those females have been wounded deeply. I know it\'s hard, but please be patient with them. If they\'re tense they\'re more likely to panic—especially if they\'re young," she said, with a pointed look at Lhars, who nodded.

 Then Sasha sighed. "I think… I think don\'t tell them that I won\'t be there immediately. Just tell them I sent you and this is the fulfillment. If I\'m not in the Safe Place soon after you, at least they\'ll already be there safe and Kyelle can help them."

The males all nodded.

Sasha was grim. She hated the idea of the females being even more frightened by being surrounded by so many females. But she had hope that the others who were coming from the compound were more robust. If Zev was right and they\'d been sent the weakest, those closest to death, then hopefully the others would fare much better when they arrived.

And even with their trauma, there would be more of them too. They wouldn\'t be so heavily outnumbered.

Zev had warned her that many of the females had died in the preceding years—too many for the humans to replace. It was why the team had become even more focused on reproduction. She prayed that when they were all together and in a place with no human interference, the females could truly return to themselves.

"If any of you are identified or interrupted by humans… get out of there. As many as you can take with you, do it. But don\'t risk everyone for the sake of an individual. It breaks my heart to even say it, but that is a command. You do not risk the humans entering the Gateway with you. We don\'t know what they know—whether they could follow someone through it. We just… we don\'t know enough. It can\'t be risked."

The males all murmured their agreement and Sasha raked a hand through her hair. Behind her, Zev leaned in, adding his presence and reassurance.

"Thank you for being willing to do this," she said to them. "Thank you for the risks you\'re taking for others." Then she dismissed them.

Zev stepped forward to share scents with each of them and cupped the back of Lhars\' neck, the two of them staring, obviously speaking through the link. It was touching to see the brothers support each other like that.

Then, as the three of them finally turned away and started after the rest of the Chimera, a deep shadow appeared over Sasha\'s shoulder.

For a moment her heart pounded, suddenly convinced Nick had shown up. She gasped and whirled—

and immediately discovered why none of the males had been on alert.

Yhet stood behind her frowning sadly.

"Yhet!" she threw herself into his chest and he caught her up, holding her for a long hug, his deep voice vibrating in his chest under her ear.

"You are doing well, Sasha-don," he rumbled.

He let her down, but Sasha didn\'t stop holding him when her feet were on the ground. Yhet petted her hair hard enough that her head was forced forward, but she smiled through the tears.

"Yhet, I—"

"I\'m sorry I left my post, Sasha-don. But I wanted to see you before you left. Besides," he muttered, "Ernie stayed and Nick won\'t go anywhere when he\'s around."

To Sasha\'s eyes, Yhet\'s dear face blurred. She tried to blink away the tears, but they tumbled down her cheeks, only to be replaced by more.

"I\'m not angry, Yhet. It\'s fine. I wanted to see you too. I want to thank you for being my friend since the moment I arrived. For accepting me just because Zev did. I… I wouldn\'t have made it this far without you." She put one hand to his massive chest and smoothed it as if he had wrinkles in his furs.

Yhet grumbled some kind of protest but didn\'t meet her eyes. Then he swallowed. "I have a thought," he said carefully. "But first I need to know, what\'s your plan?"

"They\'re all going now. Right now, Yhet," she said, her voice husky. "Lhars, Skhal, and Jhon will go through when everyone has gone to the Safe Place—they\'ll get the females from the compound, then join the others. But Zev and I… we\'ll wait a few hours so that we won\'t raise the alarm if we get it wrong. We\'re going to get our son. Then we\'ll join them. Will you come, Yhet? Please? Even if… even if it\'s only for a short time, I would be so much happier if you were with us. We could help you—"

"No, Sasha. Thank you, but that\'s not what I meant," he said quietly, glancing at Zev.

"What is it, Yhet?" Zev asked gently.

Yhet cleared his throat. "I… owe the Team something for taking my mate as they did. I\'d like to go—"

Sasha sucked in a breath.

"—but only to the human world. I\'d like to… make a distraction for you."