He sucked in a deep breath, ready to call a halt when he noticed the spacing between the trees had grown noticeably wider. A sharp turn in the path, quickly followed by a thick screen of mint brought sunshine pouring through the sparse trees. The dirt trail became level.
He followed the others, wading through a ring of thick mint bushes and twisting vines. He wasn’t the only one that tripped over the numerous vines snaking under their feet.
He looked up, catching his breath as they walked out of the forest. They emerged at the narrow end of an oval valley.
To his left towered a massive cliff of gray rock. The jagged bluff ran the length of the valley, growing taller as it neared the opposite end. The right side of the valley gradually sloped upward. A line of trees and bushes flowed around the edge, seeming to protect the perfect little area.
A cool paradise lay at the far end of the rock wall. Several dozen streams of sparkling water poured down the rocky face, crashing onto the boulders below. The multiple falls created a wide pool of water. Beads of mist, rising from the crashing water, reflected the bright midday sun, throwing tiny rainbows.
The smooth valley floor waved a welcome with dark, green grass. Bright colored flowers dotted the entire area, throwing vivid splashes of color amid the thick carpet of native grass.
Jared smiled down at Katie who stood entranced. Her delight bloomed through him, growing each time she noticed something new. Her face split into a huge smile as a half dozen butterflies and several large neon green flutter-babies floated on the breeze directly in front of them.
Her sigh of relief caressed his mind as a light mist of water blew into her face.
“It feels great,” Jared said, surprised the mist reached that far.
“Absolutely, it's wonderful! The hike down the valley was cooler, but I’m still hot,” Katie said, grinning up at him.
He sucked in a gasp of air, feeling stunned. He knew he'd get used to the triple whammy of her smile and her joy and her love all smashing through him at the same time, but at times, the triple whammy hit him as hard as a rock.
_____________
Katie loved the valley, absolutely adored it. The striking area, filled with beautiful Sídhí plants and animal life, felt like an enchanted wonderland. She grinned. She felt like someone dumped her in Disney Land. She planned to enjoy every minute of it.
Well enjoy most of it.
Her gut twisted, insisting that something was wrong. She blew out a disgusted snort, knowing she was hot, tired, and worried about her brother’s explosive temper. Twisting gut or not, she wanted to spend the night. Plain and simple Sarah's reaction to the valley must’ve spooked Katie worse than she realized.
That had to be the reason her sensitive gut instinct was running away with itself. The valley appeared perfect.
“I say we make camp here,” Emily said, motioned toward the edge of the trees.
“There’s no way I’ll sleep in this valley,” Beth said insistently. Her eyes flashed in anger, but her voice maintained her logical argument. “This is obviously not Blue Bertha.”
Mitch snorted. “Duh. It took you long enough to realize that little fact, Mutt.”
“Just because this valley is pretty and appears magical, does not mean it is safe.” Beth poked her finger in Mitch’s direction. “You, obviously, rarely think with anything above your waist. Just because a pretty girl wants to stay, you agree with her.”
Mitch’s eyes narrowed and he took a menacing step forward.
Katie darted between them, putting her hand against Mitch’s chest. “Oh, stop it already. Let’s take a vote. Who wants to stay?”
The teenagers took a vote: Spend the night in the beautiful little valley or fill their water bottles and leave. Sarah, Beth, and Brianna voted against staying. Sarah's fierce glare nearly had Katie changing her mind. It was on the tip of her tongue to do just that, but Jared voted to stay.
She sighed and sided with her mate. Anyway, she doubted if the little valley held anything very dangerous, not with all the protective mint surrounding it. Any really dangerous Sídhí animal would need a much larger hunting ground than the little oval area of tall grass could provide.
From Sarah’s slight grimace, Katie knew she really wanted to argue.
Thankfully, the older girl kept her mouth shut and turned her attention to Nick. Before long, Sarah’s red eyes flashed with anger. She glared at her un-bonded mate in undisguised frustration as he loudly commented about the very dangerous butterflies flittering around the sweet smelling flowers.
Sarah's insistence to leave the valley seemed silly. Katie didn't know of anything Sarah couldn't take care of. As in, Sarah could kill anything. Of course, no one but Katie and Jared knew that little tidbit of information. Maybe that was Sarah’s problem. She couldn’t very well defend them and keep her secret at the same time.
Several minutes after the vote, everyone, including Sarah, wanted to take a swim and cool off. Well, everyone with two notable exceptions.
“I'm not crossing that wide-open meadow,” Beth said, crossing her arms under her ample breasts.
“I agree with Beth,” Brianna said, mimicking the wide-legged stance of her petite companion.
A huge grin split Mitch's face. “Most meadows are wide-open.”
Katie groaned.
Her twin was such a troublemaker. One of these days, he was going to run into someone who snapped back, hopefully not literally. She didn’t want him missing any major parts.
“Your leaving sounds great to me,” Mitch said, not missing a beat, he grinned from ear to ear. “I won't need to worry about mutt pee polluting the pool.”
“Pee?” Beth asked quietly, her voice sharp as a blade and nearly as scary as Sarah's could be.
“If the collar fits, wear it,” Mitch said, snorting at his own joke.
As was his habit, Mitch turned his back on his fuming adversary.
Katie eased out of her backpack, hoping she wouldn't need her hands free to fight with. Deep down, she knew her twin could take care of himself, but she still wanted to be ready. Beth was smaller than Katie, but the girl threw off a scary feeling of danger.
“Moronic idiot,” Beth said snappishly. “Enjoy your little valley, halfling. Hopefully, I’ll have one less cabin mate by morning.” With a sniff of disdain, she turned and marched into the forest.
Brianna, hot on Beth's heels, turned at the last minute. Her storm gray eyes turned nearly silver as she gave Mitch a hard look, a look that promised a violent retribution in the days to come.
The two shifters disappeared and Katie sighed in relief.
Jared gave her a wry smile and shrugged his shoulders.
About thirty yards from the pool, they dropped their backpacks into a pile. Stacked on top of each other they made a colorful little mound in the middle of the gently swaying grass.
Out of the corner of Katie’s eye, she watched Sarah add her backpack to the pile. Ignoring the others, the pearl-skinned exile headed straight to the pool. Her chin tilted at an angle that discouraged conversation.
Katie knew her friend didn’t have a swimsuit. With a shrug of indifference to what the others might think, she didn’t stop to dig her new pink bikini out of her bag.
She took off at a trot, catching up with Sarah.
Sarah didn't say anything, but her tense shoulders seemed to relax.
“Race you,” Katie said to Sarah. A mischievous grin curled her lips.
Sarah's lips twitched in response.
Katie knew Sarah was having a hard time keeping a straight face.
“Between you and Emily my evil reputation will be in shreds by the end of the summer,” Sarah said, actually chuckling. Without warning, she darted toward the water at a run.
Katie squealed, racing after the swiftly moving exile.
Together they jumped into the smooth pool of water. Emily was a second behind them, also dressed in her shorts and ribbed tank.
The moment Jared approached the pool Katie
stopped splashing water at Emily. The muscles in his tanned shoulders rippled as he dove into the cool water, catching and holding her rapt attention.
Desire simmered in her stomach.
He came-up from his dive in a gush of water. She couldn’t help but stare at his body. She shifted uncomfortably, wishing she could run her hands up his water-slick chest. The tight muscles of his abs cried-out for her touch.
She was his bonded mate. She had every right to touch him, but she hated being the center of attention. Knowing everyone's eyes would be on her the minute she started cuddling against her mate. The thought of her face turning brilliant red under Mitch’s merciless teasing made her hesitate.
She dunked under the water and came back up, relishing the coolness as it caressed her hot skin.
The moment she broke the surface, she felt a rush of desire slam into her. The intense emotion sucked the air out of her lungs, but the heated feeling wasn't her own. She looked up and Jared's gaze was fastened on her, or rather her chest. The white tank did not leave anything to the imagination, not with her full breasts pressed against the thin fabric.
Under his hungry gaze, her nipples puckered and she heard him groan. His desire turned into a hot demand as it slammed through his body, increasing her need with each heartbeat.
They stood hungrily watching each other, not even touching. Together, their combined desire bounced off each other, growing and feeding off the other's emotions and desires. The lifeBond pulled them tighter together, burning them both with unquenched need.
She gasped and dropped into the water, seeking relief and hoping she wouldn't embarrass herself by jumping him. She curled in on herself, waiting until her need for oxygen burned through her chest. She shuddered under the assault of two kinds of burn, both as destructive as the other one.
Talk about sweet agony.
She felt Jared's hands gently wrap around her arms, pulling her up.
Hitting the surface, he curled his arms around her, gently holding her for a moment before he grimaced. “It'd be helpful if the water was forty degrees colder.”
She giggled, carefully sliding her hip against the tent of his shorts. “I don't think the Arctic Ocean would help that.”
He groaned, which made her laugh all the harder.
It took a while, but once Jared got control of himself, they joined the others. They played in the clear pool for nearly an hour, cooling off and having a blast.
Sarah was perched on the far edge of the pool, resting in the shade of a huge boulder. She rubbed her eyes, squinting against the glare of the sun. Her normal lily-white skin was bright red, tiny blisters covered the bridge of her nose and high cheek bones.
The sight startled her. Katie knew the sun was hard on a blood drinker, but she didn’t realize Sarah's skin would burn so quickly. Then she remembered most of the morning's hike had been across a rocky area with no shade.
Nick worriedly glanced to where Sarah sat. His solid black eyes became pools of suppressed emotion.
Katie could almost hear Nick's teeth grinding together in frustration. She didn't know why he didn't quit pretending to hate Sarah. It was obvious to everyone how much he wanted to accept her as his lifeMate.
Whatever. Katie knew they would eventually work it out.
Katie headed toward the pool's edge. She was tired of being the greenhorn that everyone had to watch over.
“Hey, beautiful, where are you heading?” Jared called out.
She loved the silly grin covering his face as he watched her wade through the water.
She felt his yearning to follow her and chuckled. “I never help with setting up the tent so today I'm going to do it.”
Katie watched several of them wince. She couldn't blame them. She really was totally green when it came to anything related to hiking.
“We can all help,” Emily said, wistfully eying one of the lower waterfalls cascading into the pool.
“Nope, enjoy the water. I can do it.” Katie turned, slowly walking to the edge of the pool. She refused to glance back, knowing her face would reflect her regret. She loved the water so much her mom teased her of being bitten by a water sprite.
“Wait up and I'll help,” Sarah said.
Katie glanced back and waved away her help. “Enjoy the shade. The sun is roasting you. You'll be covered in blisters in a few more hours.”
Sarah grimaced and shrugged her slender shoulders. The weapon harness she wore under her loose t-shirt became visible with the movement. “I have a long sleeved shirt and pants I can throw on.”
“No way,” Katie said, refusing Sarah’s offer to help. Nibbling her lower lip Katie privately asked Sarah, “How long will you be sensitive to the sun?” Concern was evident in her mental voice. She just hoped Sarah didn’t take offense at her question.
“Dad says everyone is different.” Sarah shook her head, revealing her frustration. “On average a week, sometimes two. Since I've been on solid food for over a week now my eyes should be turning black in the sun any day. At that point, I'll start tanning instead of burning to a crisp.”
Katie nodded her head in understanding and turned. The water swirled around her calves as she approached the edge. Stopping in front of a large flat stone, some two feet high, she hiked her leg up, ready to climb over it when she felt Jared's pleasure caress her mind.
She glanced over her shoulder, just in time to brace herself as he wrapped strong hands around her waist. He lifted her to the top of the rock. She weaved and he eased his body closer to her legs, his warm breath sending shivers of pleasure up her back as he rubbed his face against her thigh.
She threaded her fingers through his midnight hair, caressing the back of his head. “Thanks.” A small movement in the water caught her attention. Pulling away from him, she knelt down and scooped up an odd-shaped, brown bottle of shampoo stuck between the rocks.
Jared grunted in surprise. Taking it from her hand, he sniffed the plastic and shrugged his shoulders. “I can’t smell anyone’s scent on it, but it definitely looks like there have been other campers here before us.”
“What did you find?” Mitch called, from several yards away.
“Katie found a bottle of shampoo, feels full.” Jared tossed the plastic container to Mitch. “I guess those shifters were wrong about the valley.”
“That doesn't surprise me,” Mitch said, opening the gold top of the bottle and squirting out a thick stream of shampoo, “but why would anyone leave a nearly new bottle of shampoo? Isn't Alterna Ten that expensive stuff granddad stocked in all the bathrooms?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Katie said, knowing he was right. It did seem weird. One of the maids had told Katie the stuff was nearly ten dollars an ounce.
Mitch growled, low and rumbling, the sound echoed across the water. “I don't want to agree with anything that shifter said, but maybe she was right. Maybe we shouldn't stay here.”
Emily splashed up, laughing at Mitch’s words. “You poor baby. The big, strong halfling is gonna let a little bottle of shampoo scare him. Poor widdle... eek!”
Emily shrieked as Mitch grabbed for her, surprising her with his speed. He grabbed her around the waist and threw her fifteen feet toward the deep end of the pool emphasizing his tremendous strength was not stopped by the silver bracelet the dragons forced each camper to wear.
Turning from their horse play, Katie and Jared walked toward the pile of backpacks.
She dug out a granola bar and handed Jared a slice of beef jerky.
With Jared’s help, the tents went up in no time. She had been kidding herself. She would never have gotten them up all by herself.
They were carrying the backpacks into the girls’ tent when a mental scream of denial hit her broadside.
“No!” Sarah screamed. Her powerful mental voice knocked Katie to her knees. The terrified sound pulsed through Katie’s head in sync with her racing heart.
Mites
Clutching her ringing head in both hands, Katie whimpered in pain as
Sarah’s mental scream echoed in her ears.
Jared hit the ground next to her.
Sarah was half a football field away, but even with silver on her wrist, her mental scream was deafening.
Katie’s hands were still plastered over her ears when the first bloodcurdling scream of pain ripped through the air. Jared growled and his arm instantly wrapped around her as if protecting her from the unknown.
Before they reached the tent flap, several more screams joined the first one. Katie's heart raced into her throat. They dashed out of the tent not knowing what to expect.
Mitch ran across the rocks, toward the waterfall, where Emily stood motionless. Her eyes blindly transfixed by the terrifying scene.
A living nightmare swarmed around the pool. Three feet high and solid black, dozens of creatures rushed after Mitch.
The spidery-like creatures ran on six spindly legs. Each leg was multi-jointed. The top joint arched a foot over the creature's oval back.
Mitch roared his fury, fighting the monsters as they attacked him.
Matte black hulls absorbed the sun, not even glinting as they splashed through the water. A creature dangled off the cliff, jumping toward Mitch.
Her brother dodged the attack. Grabbing a hind-leg as it sailed past him. He swung the creature like a baseball bat into the mob pursuing him. Another black monster attacked him and then another.
Emily's shriek of pain jerked Katie's attention to her new friend. A monster hovered over the young vampire. A sharp black spike emerged through her shoulder. Blood spurted everywhere. The creature jerked away from her, leaving its foreleg stuck in her flesh. Emily dropped into the water face first and sank like a steel-toed boot thrown overboard.
Mitch surged forward. In his attempt to help Emily, he ignored the swarming monsters. A black spike slammed through his thigh sending him to his knees.
“No!” Katie screamed, instantly slapping a hand over her mouth, but it was too late.
Dozens of the sharp-legged creatures turned in unison toward her. Standing stock-still, they watched her. She assumed they watched her. They had no eyeballs, none that she could see anyway.
Vampire's Forbidden Territory (Sídhí Summer Camp Series #2) Page 4
