“A terrible storm is raging deep inside you. You’re grieving the loss of your child at the hand of his father. Your own father ordered it. You’re planning to avenge your little one’s death. In doing so you’ve decided you will be killed because you had no hope of surviving an encounter with your father or his men alone. But you will survive, Kara. I won’t allow you to die. It’s as simple as that. I will do whatever it takes to help ease the pain of your grief and help you get the revenge you want and need. And it’s never too late for a new beginning.” He took her face in his hands. “You have me by your side from now until the end of time. You aren’t alone anymore. You will never be alone again.”
“Shouldn’t you be lecturing me? Shouldn’t you telling me that seeking revenge is wrong?”
Seeing it as a good sign that she didn’t argue with him about being his mate, he smiled. “No. I am a predator. Survival of fittest is my reality. I take what I want and need by force if it’s necessary. You want it. You need it. I will place it into your hands. It doesn’t matter to me if it’s right or wrong. From this moment on whatever you want or need I will make sure you get it.”
She laughed softly. “I almost believe you are serious.”
“You’ve been betrayed in the worst way imaginable. Eventually, you will know that I will never turn my back on you or betray you.”
For a moment all was quite except for the gentle breeze pushing through the tops of the tree as he felt her spirit reached out to connect with his. Even the birds in the trees and the animals on the forest floor were absolutely silent. He’d never felt such a powerful connection with anyone. Wait. It was too quiet.
Lifting his head, he breathed deep, scenting the air, muscles bunched and ready to attack. He recognized the vampire’s scent from at the abandoned building. “We need to move.”
“What is it?” He heard her but he didn’t answer. He pulled her down to her knees. “What’s wrong?”
“Shh.” He crouched down next to her, his eyes scanning his surroundings as he collected information. He was out of time. He needed to get down from the ledge before the vampire realized they were together. “Keep your mind open to me. I want to know if you’re in trouble. A friend, Cain, will be here in a few minutes. He will take you through the cave. It opens up again on the other side of the ridge. I will meet you there.”
Apparently noticing the cave for the first time her jaw dropped as she stared at it. “No.” The color draining from her face, she shook her head. “It’s too dark. I’m not going in there.” She met his gaze. “I won’t do it. I can’t.”
“You’re afraid of the dark?” It was a dumb question. Of course she was afraid of it. But she had to go into the cave. It was the only way to get her to safety.
“More than a little.”
She was going to have to get over the fear or deal with it. He knew Cain would have no problem forcing her to go through the cave. He hated that it would have to be done by force, but it had to be done. “You won’t be alone. You have to do it. It’s the only way.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t do it. I…”
“Wait for Cain. Keep your back against the cliff so they don’t see you and stay absolutely silent. Their hearing is far more advanced than you can conceive. No matter what happens don’t make a sound.” She wanted to explain. He wanted to allow it. But he was out of time.
~Eighteen~
KARA’S FIRST IMPULSE was to follow him. She knew it was illogical to do the opposite of what he was telling her to do. She’d never been chased in the forest by vampires. He obviously knew what to do from experience. But she wasn’t going into the cave. She couldn’t cope with total darkness. Not again. Never again. She wouldn’t force herself to try.
On her hands and knees she leaned over the edge and watched as he jumped. It was impossible. She hadn’t realized how high up the side of the cliff he’d taken her until that moment. There was no way in hell she would be able to go after him. If she tried she would end up with broken bones. Several broken bones.
A split second before he hit the ground he turned into a huge black wolf. She was amazed by the speed and apparent ease at which he shifted from one form to the other. Most of the knowledge she’d ever acquired was based on movies and literature, but she’d always thought of the process as being something more brutal or violent. Snapping bones. Tearing muscles. Stretching skin and such. He just seemed to poof into either form at will.
When he lifted his head and howled, her pulse quickened with a surge of adrenaline. The sound was so loud that she felt vibrations deep inside her gut and it left her ears ringing. She got the impression that it was as much of a challenge to any nearby aggressors as it was a summons to draw his pack together. The confirmation came within seconds. She heard several more howls from all around. At least one was closer than the rest. It came from directly above her.
She looked up and saw a dark grey wolf about twenty feet or so above her. She hoped like hell it wasn’t a threat. It was huge. It didn’t appear to be as large as Eli, but it was definitely much larger than an average wolf. It was staring down at her as if stalking her.
It’s okay. It’s Cain. He’s coming down to you. Eli's voice deep inside her mind was nothing more than a whisper, but his words were clear. She looked down at him. He wasn’t looking at her. Ears pressed back and head lowered, he was growling at something she couldn’t see.
Tiny pebbles rained down on her. As she lifted her gaze the wolf above her stepped back out of sight. She looked back down at Eli. She’d only looked away for a second. She couldn’t believe her eyes. He was surrounded by the most frightening looking creatures.
She couldn’t identify any of the other men until she spotted Tom. How was still alive? Her blood pressure skyrocketed. Not from fear. From hatred. Flames of rage ignited in her. She had to get to him. She had to kill him. I saw Tom die. My father shot him in the head.
Stay put. You can’t kill him. He isn’t human anymore. He’s been…he’s a ghoul.
Eli didn’t understand. He didn’t feel the fire burning her up. You’re wrong.
Tom was several feet behind the other men. All that mattered was getting to him, killing him. She stood up and searched for a way to get down when a man landed in a crouching position next to her. It was so unexpected that she took a step back. The ground crumbled out from beneath her foot.
He caught her arms before she fell and pulled her further back onto the ledge. “Sorry. I thought you knew I was coming down to you. My name is Cain. I’m Eli’s friend.” he whispered as he tried to push her back against the wall.
“I did. I wasn’t expecting you to…never mind.” After seeing the way Eli had jumped down the cliff why wouldn’t she expect another man do the same? “It doesn’t matter right now.” The only thing of any importance was getting to Tom. “Can you get us down there?”
“I could, but I’m not,” he whispered. “We’re going through the cave.”
“I’m not going in there.” She stood her ground. “Take me down there.”
“It’s okay. He’ll meet us on the other side.”
More men who were definitely not human were growling, snarling, and baring their teeth as they closed the circle around Eli. “What are they?”
“A few vampires. I only see one human, but he isn’t human anymore. He’s a ghoul.” Seeing Eli surrounded by monsters scared the hell out of her, but it wasn’t her biggest concern. She knew Eli could take care of himself. The death of her baby was her first thought. Never knowing her child. A life taken too soon. Viciously. “Don’t worry, I know it looks bad, but Eli is fine. We need to get you closer to the pack before the vampires catch up.”
“I know he can take care of himself. I have to get down there.”
Tom is dead. The creature you see isn’t Tom. You need to leave before they… Just then, every vampire surrounding Eli looked up and focused on her. Damn it. Too late. Go with Cain!
Cain shoved her through the opening of the cav
e. “No!” It was too dark. She tried to back away from the cave, but he pushed her forward. She whirled around. “Stop pushing me! I’m not going in any further!”
She resisted, but he was much stronger than her. He continued to push her deeper into the darkness, until she couldn’t see anything. She heard the most horrific sounds of fighting. Snarling, growling, and screaming echoed throughout the cave. It was absolutely horrible.
Taking the lead, Cain took her hand and pulled her along with him. She glanced over her shoulder. They must have made a turn. She couldn’t see any daylight from the entrance. It was too late to go back even if she managed to get away from him. She wouldn’t be able to find her way out. She stopped fighting and walked with him.
Knowing that Eli was alone and fighting a seemingly impossible battle to help her escape had her heart breaking. She couldn’t stay mad at him for forcing her to go into the cave. And honestly, she couldn’t legitimately feel betrayed. He was simply doing whatever it took to protect her. It was her fault that he was going to die. If she’d never allowed him to go into her room at the hotel, then he wouldn’t be forced to fight for her. “We can’t leave him alone with the vampires!”
“Eli is strong. He’s probably the most powerful of our kind. He will be fine. He won’t be alone much longer. The pack is close. You need to duck down a few inches.” She followed his instructions. She didn’t have a choice. She hated having to rely on him, but she was thankful that he could apparently see where he was leading her. “Okay.” He stopped. “The slope here is steep and slippery. We’ll go slowly. There’s a very cold pool of water at the bottom that we want to avoid.” He tugged on her hand as he started to walk again.
She felt the sudden change in the ground after only three steps. The mud beneath her wasn’t deep, but it was slick. The slant was drastic. Her feet kept slipping out from beneath her, but luckily he was steady enough on his feet to keep from losing his footing. He was also strong enough to prevent her from falling. “You’re doing great. We’re almost to the bottom.”
“How much further do we have to go until we’re out of here?” She had a feeling she was going to regret asking and his delay in responding confirmed it.
“About a mile,” he finally answered.
“Why tell me that?”
“You asked.”
“You should’ve lied.”
“I’ll keep that in mind the next time we’re in a cave,” he said.
“There won’t be a next time.”
He laughed softly. “Just a few more steps and we’ll be at the edge of the pool.” She took the last few steps. “Now we go through it to get to the other side.”
“I thought we were being careful to avoid going into it. It’s cold, remember?”
“Very cold. Sliding and falling into it would result in a complete soaking. It’s only a few feet deep, so as long as we stay on our feet we won’t go under. There’s a bit of a ledge. I’ll go first and then help you down.”
The moment he released her hand, the darkness seemed to crush down on her. She heard a splash. She tried to be calm and wait, but the she felt suffocated by the darkness. “Cain?” She blindly reached out for him.
“I’m right here.” She felt his hands close down around her waist. “I have you. Just go ahead and step right off the ledge.”
“I’m heavier than you might think.”
“I doubt I’ll have any trouble lowering you.” She hesitated. “I won’t drop you. I promise.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you when you end up stuck in bed for weeks with a backache.” She stepped off the ledge and allowed him to slowly lower her into the water. It was shockingly cold. It stole her breath away. It reached mid-thigh. “It’s more than a few feet deep.”
“Sorry. I hadn’t considered how short you are. Are you okay?” Teeth chattering she nodded. “I could carry you.” She shook her head. “Alright then, let’s get moving so we can get to dry ground as quickly as possible.”
He didn’t have to make the suggestion twice. She was all for getting out of the water. He kept her hand and led her through the water. At one point it reached her waist. Her legs quickly started to feel heavy. She heard him talking to her, but she didn’t pay attention to what he was saying. She had to concentrate to take each step. Eventually, her legs were completely numb. She’d almost reached the point of asking him to carry her when she noticed the depth of the water was beginning to lower. When it reached her knees, he got behind her and wrapped his hands around her waist and lifted her onto another ledge.
***
Eli knew Kara would resist the notion of going into the cave, but he was shocked when he realized she was adamantly refusing to listen to Cain. She was smart enough to see that there was no way she was strong enough to fight Jeremy and his ghouls. He had to end the fight now.
Acting in haste, he was on what was left of Tom in an instant. He could’ve destroyed the ghoul in the span of a few heartbeats, but at the last second, jaws open wide and preparing to crush its skull, Eli stopped.
He realized ghouls, and a few younger less developed vampires were headed up the cliff. In an attempt to force all of their focus away from Kara he ripped the Tom’s head off and then attacked Jeremy. With any luck they would all immediately rush to their leader’s aid.
With his paws on Jeremy’s chest, Eli pinned the vampire down flat onto his back, but the vampire caught his throat to prevent him from ripping his head off. The vampire was strong. His fingers and sharp, jagged claws were digging deep into Eli’s throat. He was stronger than Eli had anticipated. He’d hoped to kill him right away, but it was obvious that a quick end wasn’t going to happen.
He was thrown off the vampire and landed several feet away. He rolled several times before crashing into the side of the cliff. He barely made it to his feet before several creatures attacked him all at once. Within seconds of the violent skirmish beginning, he realized that he’d lost sight of Jeremy. His gut told him that the vampire was headed into the cave to go after Kara.
Several minutes passed before a few members of his pack had arrived. They gave him a better chance of breaking free from the vampires and making his way to the entrance of the cave. Some of the vampires fled when they realized the pack was closing in on them.
The moment he stepped foot in the cave, reality hit him hard. He felt Kara’s fear of the dark. It seemed misplaced. It was as fierce as her fear of the spider that was in her hotel room. He’d been amused by it at the time, but it suddenly dawned on him that there was nothing funny about her fear of spiders, or of the dark. Something had happened to her, something horrendous.
He should’ve looked deeper. He should’ve examined the fear. He should’ve uncovered the source of it. She’d been utterly terrified of the dark and he’d made the decision to force her to face it. And worse yet, he wasn’t with her to comfort her.
He knew Cain would take good care of her. He would give his life to save her. He would do his best to keep her calm, but it wasn’t enough. She needed her mate.
***
They’d been walking and at times crawling through tight passageways for what seemed like an hour. If the other opening was truly only a mile away it wouldn’t be long before they were out of the cave. She actually, despite shivering her butt off, started to feel a sense of relief. Naturally, it didn’t last long.
Cain stopped abruptly and turned to look down the way they’d just come from. “We aren’t alone.”
“Is it Eli?” Kara asked.
“No. It’s a vampire.” He shoved her into a corner and forced her down onto her knees as he knelt down next to her. “Stay right here.”
“Let’s just keep moving. Don’t leave me here.”
“I won’t be far away.”
“What if something happens? What if you don’t come back? I can’t see ...” The sound of a man’s voice silenced her. No. Not just a man. “You’re wrong. It’s Eli!” A few seconds later she heard another man’s voice.
“It isn’t only him. A vampire is also in the cave. The vampire is closer to us than Eli, but not by much.” He took her arm and helped her up. “New plan. Let’s get moving again.”
“Now there’s a plan I can live with.”
“I agree, but I say we leave the wolf behind.” She immediately recognized Jeremy’s voice.
Cain pushed her behind him with too much force. Her head hit the rock wall hard. She couldn’t blame him. He obviously didn’t have time for gentleness. She couldn’t see what was happening, but she could hear a brutal exchange of blows and rocks crumbling. Cowering in the corner sucked. She would’ve given anything to be able to see. She hated feeling so entirely worthless. She couldn’t do anything to help anyone, including herself.
A horrid odor filled her lungs. It was worse than the urine and feces stench in the basement and confinement unit at the psychiatric hospital. She’d truly believed that was the worst of the worst odors, but the stench surrounding her definitely topped it. It reminded her of rotten meat. Chicken to be exact. She covered her nose and breathed through her mouth in hopes it would help. It didn’t. It was so strong she could taste it.
Effectively taking her mind off the smell, she heard what sounded like hundreds of leathery wings flapping just over her head. Bats! She was in a cave. It had to be bats. She looked up and at once regretted it. Some things were better left unseen. They had demonic looking glowing red eyes, which were all focused on her. Covering her head she crouched down as low to the ground as she could as she listened to them swarm around her.
It’s okay. She was so relieved to hear Eli’s voice in her mind, but she never got a chance to respond before he ruined the moment. He’s right behind you. The bats won’t hurt you. He created them. He used them to locate you. He’s going to grab you. Don’t fight him.
The bats burst into flames leaving behind a thick veil of smoke that burned her eyes, nose, and throat. She started to cough and gag. She tried to hold her breath, but it was too late. Her throat was on fire. She couldn’t stop coughing, which forced her to breathe in more of the noxious fumes. The sensation of suffocating caused her to panic. She stood up. Her head hit something solid and she stumbled backward.
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