Beth snorted, waving her hand toward the waterfall. “There are hundreds of mite species. These particular mites are used as scavengers for larger cave dwellers. They have a stinger they stab into their prey and as long as the stinger stays in the victim it releases a chemical which produces pain and paralysis,” Beth said, glancing toward the pool. She seemed impatient with the conversation as if she wanted to rush after the others.
Brianna watched Beth’s odd behavior and frowned before adding her own two cents to the conversation. “The area isn’t covered in piles of dung, so it probably isn’t trolls. Gnomes are possible, but not likely. My best guess would be a hive of chimera.”
“Thank God. Chimera won’t kill them yet. They prefer living prey, because the queen eats the heart and other organs before allowing her attendants to eat the flesh.” Beth paused and shook her head in disgust. “I’ve tried calling for help, but with these stupid silver bracelets, no one can hear me. Can either of you reach anyone?”
“No one except Mitch and he is that way,” Katie said, pointing toward the face of the tall cliff near the falls and slightly to the left.
“He's okay?” Beth asked quickly, her face twisting in what looked like fear. Her words of concern didn't make a bit of sense. She'd made it clear she thought Mitch was beneath her, garnering the same amount of attention as a pesky mosquito.
Katie nodded. “He's in a lot of pain, but at least he's alive.”
Beth hissed, flashing her teeth. Sharp points on her upper and lower canines appeared. Her amber eyes glowed and a deep growl rumbled from her chest.
Jared stood stiffly next to Katie. “It'll take the three of you at least two days to reach the rafts. I just hope you find a dragon once you get there,” he stated calmly. His face was a carved mask of stone, but his emotions rolled and heaved.
“You aren’t going into those caves without me,” Katie said, poking him in the chest to get his attention.
“You will not be going with me,” he said, a deep rumbling growl fought to be heard over his words. He stepped backward, increasing the space between them. He raked a hand roughly through his dark hair.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” Beth said snappishly. “We're going to need all the help we can get.”
“Beth, you aren’t going.” Brianna didn’t turn as she bluntly stated her mind. “Since Katie is the only one of us who can feel any of them we need her to guide us, because once we get into the tunnels, it might be like a warren of twists and turns. That leaves you. We need someone to go for help and you are the fastest, so you’re it.”
“I will not leave him!” Beth exploded at the cool blonde. Her eyes glowed bright with burning sparks of amber flames.
Brianna finally turned to her petite and very angry companion. “Haven Valley will not miss me, but it cannot survive without you,” Brianna said calmly, staring into Beth’s flaming eyes. “Stop feeling guilty for wanting to gut that tall moron. You couldn't have stopped any of them from trotting into their pretty little valley, an area that is obviously dangerous. The minute we saw the valley, I knew those warning signs had to have been intentionally switched.”
Katie glared at Brianna, biting her tongue to keep from arguing with the taller girl. She turned to Jared, seeking his comfort when his vile emotions hit her like an immovable cement wall.
She stared at her lifeMate in stupefied shock. Since fighting off the cave mites, his fury had pulsed at the back of her brain. A wave of despair arched through her as she realized his anger wasn't pulsing at the situation.
His hateful emotions were aimed directly at her.
He stood slightly away from her with his hands curled into tight fists. The fire of his anger boomed in a harsh rhythm slamming into her mind, shattering her soul with grief.
She cringed, realizing what it felt like to be hated from the inside out. She blinked back tears, knowing his love was forever lost to her. Truly, she had known from the beginning. It was only a matter of time before Jared realized his mistake in bonding with a halfling, an abomination in the eyes of his family and friends.
She’d been living in a dream state and only just now woke up.
Katie didn't know why reality had to happen today of all times, but her brief time with a lifeMate – one that appeared to love her – ended. No doubt, after they rescued Mitch and after they left the summer camp, her lifeMate would try sending her to a Sídhí Safe House, a place where full bloods sent unwanted halfling mates.
She shuddered at the thought. In blazing clarity, she remembered how Jared swore he'd never do anything like that to her, but she wasn't stupid. The anger – his fury – pounding into her wasn’t part of a small disagreement between mates.
She sank deeper into a black pit of despair. She supposed it was better to find out his true feelings a few days after bonding with him than months down the road. At least she hadn’t had sex with him. Having sex with someone who blatantly hated her would have been more horrid than any other memory.
Katie wrapped her arms around herself, holding her broken chest together. She sucked in a ragged burst of air and shoved her destroyed heart into the deepest chasm she could find. She couldn't deal with a broken heart at the moment. Right now, she needed to save her twin.
She glanced at Beth and wondered for a second time just who the girl was. It was a shallow observation, but she was grasping at anything that might take her mind off her crushing grief.
Beth's chest heaved as the girl took a deep breath. She looked – actually, she glared – at Brianna for several minutes as the two girls quietly argued. Beth’s hand remained clenched around the blonde’s arm, shaking her as if to emphasize a mentally spoken point.
Air hissed through Brianna’s teeth. Her eyes narrowed and she slowly moved her head in jerky denial as she disgustedly said, “Of all the wretched people… all right, Beth stop shouting in my head, enough already. We all go. No, don’t you dare try to order me to go for help. You'll make me disobey a direct order, because I won't let you go down there by yourself. Period.” Brianna jutted her chin out and glared at her angry friend. Her eyes flashed pure silver.
Through the entire verbal and mental argument, Jared’s body stayed stiff and unyielding. Fury continued rolling off him in harsh waves.
Jared’s unyielding gaze drilled into Katie. “Even with the bracelets, I've got a keen sense of smell so I’ll be able to follow their scent. Katie, you will go for help.”
Katie felt a sliver of fear whip through his anger. He hated her, but he didn't want her in danger, he didn't want her dead. She sadly realized her actions, when she tried saving him from the cave mites had destroyed what little time they had together.
She frowned. His plans to get rid of her, after the summer camp ended, had to be the reason he had closed the deeper part of his mind off to her within the first day of their bonding.
Belatedly, she snapped up her own mental shields, protecting her private thoughts.
She had believed he simply wanted a little privacy for his inner most thoughts. The full blooded jerk must've planned to enjoy the summer with a willing lifeMate then dump her in a Sídhí Safe House before they reached his family in Clan Valley.
Fresh pain seared through her, but she choked it back. Focus. She had to focus. Mitch was her twin, helping him came before her mental break down. She could cry buckets of tears, but only after, she rescued her hard-headed twin.
“You can't tell me what to do. I’m going down there whether you approve or not. Like Brianna said, it might be a dozens of tunnels.”
He started to disagree, but Katie ignored him. “Look, Jared, you're a mate, not my father. I won't let you tell me I can’t go. My twin is down there. Come Hell or high water, I’m getting him out.” She bared her short fangs in a lip-curling snarl, choosing that moment to release her pent-up pain over losing her mate and her twin on the same day.
Jared blanched, blinking in surprise. He looked like he wanted to growl back at her, but snapped his mouth
shut, clenching it so tight she feared he would crack a tooth. His eyes blazed with anger, reflecting his inner turmoil as he looked down at her.
He grabbed Katie by the upper arms and pulled her to her tiptoes, lowering his face within inches of hers, he said in a snarl-filled voice, “Fine, but do not ever try to get me to leave you behind again. In my eyes, deserting my mate is forbidden territory. Don’t ever try that again!”
He abruptly released her arms as if the simple act of touching her disgusted him.
Katie stumbled, trying to regain her footing. By the time she stretched her hand toward him, he had stormed away, ducking into his tent.
A few seconds later, he emerged from the tent wearing a dry t-shirt. He tossed several empty backpacks to the ground. He scowled at her and didn't speak.
She firmed her resolve, refusing to let his anger budge her. If that was the way he wanted it, so be it. What a fool she'd been. Katie knew right then and there she should have never agreed to mate with a full blood vampire. A lifeBond between a full blood and a halfling was only asking for trouble.
The four teenagers worked silently, quickly emptying the other backpacks and filling them as full as possible with mint. Each of them found a sturdy blue furble branch and wrapped a bunch of mint vines around the end. If she really used her imagination it looked like a round blue sword with a green basketball stuck on its tip.
Yeah, it looked downright silly.
Gathering her homemade weapon, backpack, and an armload of mint, she headed toward the pool of water at a trot. She looked totally ridiculous. But if it worked, who cared.
They avoided the easier path to the left of the pool. Instead, they circled the far outer edge of the pool, throwing a few sprigs of mint around the rocks as they went.
The waterfall was actually several individual streams of water scattered across the face of the rock wall, some trickled while others gushed, hitting boulders and filling the pool. Earlier the pouring water looked like a window covering for a mystical wonderland. Now, the falling water created a barrier shielding the nest of monstrous cave mites.
Beth found the cave opening, completely hidden behind an outcropping of rock and falling water. The boulders created a mirage that looked like a solid wall. The sheet of water wasn’t the largest waterfall, but it was very cold.
Katie quickly ducked under the pounding water. The cold water drenched her. The cool cave air hit her dripping body, going straight through her with icy precision. She shivered and clenched her teeth together so they wouldn't chatter.
The walls of the cave were rough and at least ten feet high and six feet wide. It made her wonder exactly how big cave mites grew. Maybe chimera and mites weren't the only things down here.
She shivered, really hoping they didn't find out. Smacking a cave mite with a leafy stick was one thing, but fighting a group of chimera or even a lone troll with a flimsy branch was not on her list of things to do.
She threw several stalks of mint around the cave opening. Any kind of movement was better than just standing around, especially when Jared continued ignoring her. He refused even to look at her. As the reality of his rejection hit home, her stomach started cramping.
Jared took the lead, following the single tunnel as it slowly angled into the depths of the cliff toward the mite’s nest.
Katie hurried to keep up with him, thoroughly disgusting herself as she scampered after someone who didn't want her. A tear slipped down her face and she roughly scrubbed the offensive blotch off her cheek.
He might not want to keep her as a mate, but she loved him more than she ever imaged possible and didn't want to see him injured. If he stumbled upon the nest of mites, she wanted to be there and fight alongside him. Talk about stupidity.
In less than a minute, the area was pitch-black, but with her night vision everything appeared in shades of gray like a dimly lit room might appear to a mundane.
Beth and Brianna silently brought up the rear.
The two girls were so quiet that Katie couldn't stop her imagination. In her mind, she kept seeing an oily, black tentacle drop from the ceiling, quietly jerking each of the teenagers into the darkness until none of them were left except her.
Yeah, she had a very vivid imagination.
Katie couldn't help herself. She slowed and glanced behind her.
Brianna ran smack into Katie then stumbled backward, thumping into the damp wall.
Beth flashed her fangs at Katie, warning her to back off. The shorter girl quickly stepped forward, standing in front of Brianna, protecting her in a complete reversal of roles.
Katie's instinct, or her gut as Mitch called her odd gift, started shouting at her. Something wasn't right, but she couldn't put her finger on the problem.
Beth looked straight at Katie. Her protective stance told Katie if she swallowed wrong, the girl would attack. Her fangs had slightly lengthened and her eyes glowed amber.
Brianna's hand slid along the cave wall. Her other hand reached for Beth. Twice. The girl missed the first time, clutching at thin air.
Katie hissed in shock.
Brianna's eyes were wide and unfocused. She couldn’t see in the dark. She had assumed the girl was past puberty. And since she smelled like a mundane, Katie believed both girls were shapeshifters. Now she wasn't too sure.
Brianna straightened and confidently stepped forward, but when she reached to touch Katie's shoulder she missed by a fraction of an inch. She tried again and lightly touched Katie's arm in apology. “Sorry, you stopped really fast.”
When Katie remained silent, Brianna shuffled her feet. From the sharp scent the girl suddenly threw off, she was nervously sweating and highly uncomfortable with the conversation.
“I can see as well as you and Jared,” Beth said mentally, in an obvious attempt to shield her friend from Katie’s growling anger. “Brianna’s in the middle of puberty so she cannot see in the dark. Back home caves have glow moss that starts glowing fifty to a hundred feet beyond the entrance. We’re hoping the same will happen here.”
“If not?” Katie hissed her question at Beth while she glared at Brianna. She knew if the tunnel stayed pitch black the blonde would become a liability. A liability that might get one of them killed.
Katie heard Beth’s soft chuckle. “Part of her training took place with a blindfold on. Trust me, she can still fight.”
Katie nodded her head, even though Brianna couldn't see her. She knew she didn't have a choice but accept what the shifter said. When they found Mitch and the others, they would need every pair of hands.
She slightly turned and jerked to a stop. The tunnel was dead silent, not even the slightest wisp of movement could be heard.
Katie's heart lurched to a stop.
Jared. Where was he?
She couldn't hear his footsteps. She cursed her stupidity for allowing them to be separated. She had only stopped for a few seconds, but who knew what was ahead of them. And he was angry enough he might storm into unknown danger without backup.
Something long and warm slid around her waist, slowly tightening its grip. The image of a long black tentacle popped into her head.
She squealed. Fear smashed through her.
The tentacle squeezed, tightening its hold around her waist.
She thumped backward into Jared’s hard body.
He pulled her against his chest, rubbing her hip in a soothing motion.
She shuddered and her heart slammed against her chest. Jeez! Perfect way to get rid of an unwanted lifeMate: frighten her to death.
Katie began shaking. Tears brimmed, wetting her eyelashes. She was still soaking wet and shivering from the cold air. Getting the holy crap scared out of her didn’t help matters.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to frighten you,” Jared said, his voice was gruff with unspoken emotion.
Katie was shocked. He actually sounded remorseful. Even more surprising, she felt strong wisps of remorse wrap around his anger as he held her.
Katie knew he only spok
e to her, but his words of reassurance didn't make her feel any better. Even with his regret pulsing through her, his mental voice echoed his anger as it burned across their lifeBond. She wanted to scream at him that he promised to love her forever.
“What’s the hold up?” he asked snappishly, apparently taking some of his anger out on the two girls. He glanced between them, impatiently waiting for a reply.
Katie bit her lip and wondered if it would help if she apologized. She knew her words wouldn't change anything. Nothing could fix a situation stemming from racial intolerance. She certainly couldn't change the fact she was half elf, half vampire, not that she ever would.
Jared had the problem, not her. She liked herself as she was.
Their week-long romance, before accepting each other as lifeMates, had been a whirlwind.
Slowly, she unwillingly admitted, perhaps their pre-bonding romance had been too fast.
Deep down, she had known he would eventually reject her. Like most full blooded vampires, Jared would never completely accept someone like her. Her heart shriveled at the knowledge, growing cold and hard.
With the agony of his betrayal ripping through her chest, Katie realized she belonged to a very tiny group of people. She was now one of the very, very rare repudiated lifeMates.
_____________
Jared tapped his foot, impatiently listening to Brianna's explanation. Rather, he tried to listen, but he couldn't focus on what the shifter said. Katie's emotions continued flying off the charts. Her see-sawing emotions were driving him nuts!
Brianna stopped talking and he grunted an acknowledgment. For the life of him, he had no idea what the girl just said.
He turned away, dragging his unyielding mate with him as he continued down the dark tunnel.
Katie's pain and grief smashed into him over and again. Her overwhelming sense of betrayal twisted his gut into knots. He growled in frustration.
Vampire's Forbidden Territory (Sídhí Summer Camp Series #2) Page 6
