by Sydney Addae
“Not sure, but this looks a lot different than before. That door wasn’t visible before, now it’s ajar. I get the feeling they want us to go that way.” He looked at her much smaller wolf and trotted in the opposite direction until they came to a wall. Certain they would turn back now, Shyla looked over her shoulder to find the room they’d avoided earlier. A scraping sound in front of them arrested her attention. Angus had morphed to human and done something to the wall and now returned to wolf.
“Wait for my signal to follow.”
She sat on her haunches, watching him pick his way through some sort of dusty maze. When she couldn’t see him, she trotted to the edge of the wall, but no further. The last thing she wanted was to cause him any kind of grief.
“Come on. Follow my scent, walk slow like I did. I will meet you.”
Relief enveloped her as she picked her way over some kind of embedded stones. Dim lights were situated next to a path that wound right and then rose upward. “This is someone’s escape plan.” Her head grazed against the thick rope railings as she met up with him. When he didn’t respond, she stopped and waited. “Why are they allowing us to leave. And when I say leave, we’re using their paths, which takes us to a place of their choosing, so we aren’t leaving as much as re-positioning.” If they were going to remain prisoners, they could’ve stayed in bed a little longer.
He trotted back and sat in front of her. “I agree, but I don’t know what else to do other than play their game. Do you remember anything in the books regarding this?”
His question set her back a bit. “No. Nothing here is familiar.”
“Not the location, more like this setup? Anything like that?”
“No. I’m sorry.” She hated disappointing him, but she’d never read anything close to landing in a library, being rescued by her mate, and escaping by some underground tunnel.
“Since we recognize this as a trap of sorts, I think we should continue forward and deal with whatever comes our way. The only other option is to remain down here with no food or water.”
She hadn’t been hungry until he mentioned food. Her stomach growled. “You got a point.” She stood.
He turned and trotted down the path.
Filtering scents as she followed behind, Shyla patted herself on the back. Her mom always said it was just as important to know how a man handled a disagreement. Angus listened and then presented his case. She agreed with him, but if she hadn’t, she believed he would have explored different options to address her concerns. They would be partners in every way.
After what could have been an hour or several, Shyla finally saw a sliver of daylight ahead. So far they’d moved at a sedate steady pace, but knowing they were close to being outside this narrow tunnel quickened their steps. When Angus reached the corner, he waited for her. “Even though I don’t sense anything out there, let me look around first. I won’t be long, I promise.”
She nodded and sat tiredly on the path. They needed water and food in that order.
“This is good. I know this place, come outside.”
Shyla stepped outside into the late day sun. “You’ve been here before?” She looked around at the green and brown forest. Some trees stretched so high they blocked the sun.
“Yes, I was born in this country, not too far from here. But I spent a lot of time exploring the mountains. Come, I know where we can get water and food.”
Her stomach growled again as she followed him. The trek down was slow and tricky, but he navigated it like a pro. In less than an hour, she stood over a bubbling brook drinking her fill of cold spring water while Angus stood nearby watching.
When she finished, he shifted, kneeled, cupped his hand and drank while watching the area. Shyla walked into the cave and looked around. “It’s warded. As my mate, you see the entrance and can walk inside, others cannot.”
“You know mystical things?” She tried to keep the surprise out of her voice and failed.
“Yes, I do. Let’s gather some fruit and eat. Then we’ll decide what to do next.”
She shifted. “Good idea. I’m starving. Mating is hard work.”
“Extremely satisfying work.” He took her hand and they walked naked into the woods for a short distance until he stopped and pointed at a tree with low hanging yellow fruit. “These are like mangoes but they aren’t stringy and not as sweet. But they’re filling. If you gather some of those berries, I’ll grab a few a couple of these and a few other things, and we can eat inside the cave. I have clothes in there.”
“Sounds good.” She pulled the berries as she would grapes from a vine. When she couldn’t hold anymore she waited as Angus climbed down from the tree with two large fruits tucked into a large leaf he’d made into a sling.
“Obviously, you’ve done this before.” Her brow rose as he pulled a couple roots out of the ground.
He chuckled. “I planted most of this when I lived here years ago. This is like a homecoming, if we ignore the beginning.” He strode to the stream and rinsed everything.
She rinsed the berries and followed him into the cave. A few seconds later, wall sconces were lit and she got a better look around. The small area where she stood opened into a larger one. A long table with one chair was in the middle of the room. Several books, microscopes, burners, and other scientific equipment lined shelves and wood-hewn cabinetry.
“What did you do here?” She placed the berries on the table where he peeled and cut the fruit into a bowl.
“Work with crystals. Translated old texts. Created stuff. It kept my mind off other things.”
Since she’d seen sensed his loneliness for a long stretch, she understood. Moving behind him, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him close, sharing her warmth and understanding.
“I still do this at the compound. I have a lab there.” He turned and held a piece of fruit next to her mouth, waiting for her to open.
She bit into it. Juice squirted on his chin and ran down her mouth. Laughing, she backed away and ate it quickly. “That’s good.” She reached into the bowl and grabbed another piece.
“Glad you like it. I never discovered the name for it, and don’t know the nutritional value, but I’ve eaten it for over a century and never had any problems.” He pointed the knife to a small chest in the corner. “There’s some clothes in there. See if anything will fit you.”
She nodded.
Angus watched as she stooped and opened the chest. He was almost done with this fruit salad. It wasn’t meat but he didn’t want to chance hunting for game. Too many humans with guns roamed the mountains these days, it wasn’t safe and he refused to take any chances with Shyla, his mate.
His chest expanded as he prepared their first meal. A meal he provided. Later, he would take her deeper into the cavern so she could immerse in his private hot water spring. He grabbed a large pitcher from the wood shelf. “Be right back.” He held up the pitcher and headed to the spring outside. Just as he reached the entrance he sensed several heartbeats. Immediately, he layered the ward with another and then another. With each layer, the voices dimmed, but he could still hear them.
Humans.
They’d tracked him and Shyla but couldn’t find the entrance. He heard the word, explosives, and then a heated argument. No explosives. They had to find another way to flush them out. Fire? Intrigued, he waited to see what they planned to do.
“What’s going on?”
He explained what he knew.
Shyla walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder. “Are we eating on the run?”
“Maybe.” He took her hand and they returned to the table. In the corner, he lifted a lid and pulled out a long cylinder. Opening it, he poured water into the bowl and finished mixing the fruit. “Mash it a bit to get all the flavors.”
She took a large spoon from the wall and mashed the fruit while he dressed. Fully clothed, he rejoined her at the table and took the plate of fruit she gave him. “This is really good,” she said.
He
smiled. Ideas of where they could go from here, and what they needed to do dogged his thoughts. The fruit salad could have been toast and butter for all the attention he paid his meal.
She placed her hand over his, stopping him from moving the fruit from one place to the other on his plate. “Eat. Feed your beast. We’ll need him and you at your peak.”
Her eyes told him she trusted him. In all his life, he’d never felt the heavy hand of responsibility as he did now. He couldn’t fail her. Somehow they would return home safely. The next bite fed his spirit. Grandfather said he needed to trust his beast. He ate another spoonful and tested his bracelet. It tingled against his arm. Should he tell her about it? He wasn’t sure. Better she not know until all of this was over, no telling what their enemy planned. Letting them leave the country wasn’t in their immediate future.
He finished the rest of his food and polished off what was left in the bowl after she claimed to be stuffed. He poured her a glass of water, from which she drank deeply. He drank two glasses and returned the cylinder. “Could you stand over here, please?” He needed to cloak this room so that if the men made it through the first series of wards, they wouldn’t see this area, they’d go to the open chamber on the other side. Next, he ushered her to the back of the cave.
“Next time I will bathe you in the hot springs. I don’t think we’ll properly enjoy it today.” He pulled her close and pressed his lips against her forehead. She smelled incredible. His cock hardened as her scent raced through him.
“Soon, when this is done we will spend days getting to know each other,” she said, turning from his hardness and pulling him past the steaming waters.
Holding her hand, he led her through a series of inter-connected caves and then stopped. Inside was a table, chair, and a bed.
“Angus, we can’t,” she said, even though he knew she would if he pushed. But he wouldn’t.
“We need to talk about what to do next. This area is warded heaviest because it’s where I rest.” He pointed to the chair. “Please sit.”
She sat perched on the edge and looked around the room before her gaze settled on his. “They tracked us here.”
He nodded and leaned against the wall. “I got the feeling there was a time element involved, did you?”
“Yes, I think so.”
“Grandfather was afraid I’d be too late. They allowed us to leave and sent trackers, why allow us to leave?”
“Maybe they assumed we’d go through the door and not the wall. Maybe you surprised them by not operating according to their plans. This whole hunt them down thing is an unexpected problem.” She chuckled. “Glad we could mess up their day.”
“True. But we can’t stay here much longer.”
“They don’t know that.”
“Huh?”
“Think about it. No one knows what’s in here. You’ve kept people out for years and unless they’ve masked their scents, no one has been inside these caves. They don’t know what’s in here exactly.”
He thought about it for a few seconds. “Okay. You’re right. They don’t know, but we can’t stay more than a day. No food, very little water. We need to leave.”
“And go where?”
He shook his head. “We aren’t far from Alpha Ulric’s lands.” He paused. “If these are hostile forces, I can’t have them follow me there. Too many pups. There could be collateral damage.”
She nodded. “I agree. So, where does that leave us?”
Neither spoke for a few moments.
“If I could contact Barticus, he could get us out of here or at least even the odds. But I need to get to a phone.”
“Do you think the humans outside have phones? Will you be able to get a signal?” she asked.
“I’m sure one of them does, but it’s risky.” He could use the chameleon bracelet, take on the characteristics of the human, make the call and wait. But what about his mate? There were no bracelets here. He couldn’t share his, which would leave her vulnerable.
“Perhaps it’s our best option.” She jerked. “Did you hear that?”
Angus had been monitoring the area outside this room the entire time. He didn’t think anyone could break his wards on the front, but if there was a concerted effort to enter the mountain from various points, someone may have gotten lucky. With handheld thermal heat finders, it wouldn’t be long before they found this alcove, entering it was another matter.
“Stay here, let me check on things.”
“No. We stay together.” She stood.
“Please, let me do this. I’ll be back, I promise.” Her gaze warred with indecision until she crossed her arms over her chest nodded and sat back down. He leaned forward, kissed her forehead, and let himself out. Outside the room, he strengthened the ward and left the illusion of a solid wall.
Footsteps in the distance. One heartbeat. Angus leaned on the wall, activated the bracelet and blended in. Several moments later, a guard, dusty from head to toe, walked past Angus wearing thermal glasses. He stopped at the wall covering Shyla and stared at it a few moments. Angus sprung off the wall, grabbed him by the neck, covered his mouth and activated the chameleon. Seconds later, Abe Jones dropped dead to the ground. Angus emptied the pockets, found the cell phone, a separate communication device, two Glocks, and ammunition. He placed the headphone in his ear and dragged Abe into an area with a long drop down a ravine.
Confident no one followed him, he returned to Shyla, showed her the phone and the equipment while telling her what happened, leaving out the bracelet. “Do you know how to use these?” He showed her the guns.
She picked up the Glock, released the magazine, reloaded and pointed it so fast he held his hands up. “I guess that’s a yes.”
“Most definitely a yes.” She put some of the ammunition as well as a knife in her pockets. “Can you get a signal?”
He looked at the phone. “This is different, I’ve never seen one like this.” While he held it, a text rolled through. “Status update.” He pursed his lips and then looked at her. “Chances are these have locators in them, they may know he lost this device.” He shoved it in his pocket, along with the other Glock and ammunition. “We need to go. If they are tracking this device, I’ll leave it somewhere to buy us some time.”
She stood, rolled up the baggy pant legs to her ankle. He muttered the words that would allow them to leave the alcove and then resealed it. He waved her forward. They crept along a narrow passage until they came to an opening with rocks lining the floor and a low overhang that broke off into three directions. Angus slid the phone in one and waved her forward.
“Take off your clothes, we’ll put them in this bag so we can dress when we’re outside.” He shook out a canvas bag from his pocket and started undressing. She did the same. He tossed the bag into an overhead opening, shifted and jumped up. It took a few seconds to get all of his bulk inside the small cavern. He grabbed the bag with his teeth, backed up and waited for Shyla. When she joined him, they crept slowly forward, avoiding jagged rocks from the side.
“This is tight,” Shyla said.
“Yes, as human it would tear off your skin and get bloody. Almost there.” He continued forward and stopped. “Full-bloods are nearby.”
“How’d they track us?”
“I’m not sure. They aren’t inside. So maybe they are simply patrolling the mountain.” The opening spilled into a small ledge overlooking a larger cave. “We’re at the opening. Shift and then change on the ledge, it’s too narrow for our wolves.”
He dropped the bag, shifted, and then opened it. “Here.” He passed her clothes, dressed, and folded the bag before stuffing it into one of his large pockets. “Ready?”
She nodded. They jumped down, landing on tightly packed earth.
“I count four,” she said.
“Yes, and humans in the distance.” Where could they go? Into the mountains? Maybe find a human and use their phone to call Barticus? Too many variables. Options? Fight? And then what? He refused to take th
is to Ulric. But Ulric could contact Silas, arrange a pick-up for Shyla at least. What if she was taken again? His heart dropped into his stomach. No. This needed to stop now.
The soft pads of her fingers eased into his hand, drawing his gaze. For several seconds a lifetime of acceptance and commitment passed between them. His throat tightened as fear, an old, nearly forgotten enemy, raised its head. What if he lost her? What if they hurt or stole her again? His beast howled in distress. Her palm cupped his cheek, while her thumb stroked it gently.
“Together. That’s how we do this. If we are taken, we do not, under any circumstances, betray our Alpha or pack. I’d rather spend eternity with you on a higher plane than live here with that stain covering our souls. Agreed?”
His mouth opened and closed. Once he would have agreed outright, but that was before. Before she became the sun in his dark world. Life without Shyla? His heart bled. He couldn’t conceive such a fate. But could he betray Silas? The pups? Torn, he closed his eyes tight to block her worried gaze.
“Angus?” She shook him. “Agreed?”
How could he choose? His mate or his Alpha. Goddess, please don’t let it ever come to that because he wasn’t sure what he would do.
She shook him again. “Angus.”
Inhaling deeply, he opened his eyes. Her watery gaze locked on his.
“So precious. So beautiful. So strong.” He released a long breath. “I cannot give you the agreement you want, but I will try to honor your request. That’s the best I can do.”
They continued gazing at each other and he wondered what she saw. Did she still see him as a worthy mate? Someone she could be proud of, stand next to? Would she reject him if he didn’t do as she requested? How would they manage if that happened? He shook off his maudlin thoughts for another time. The full-bloods, all four of them, were close to the exit, they’d probably scented him and Shyla just as he’d scented them earlier.
“If that is the best you can do, that’s all I want.” Leaning forward, she brushed her lips against his. “You’re my mate for all eternity, there will never be another. Remember that.”
