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"Move it!" Theo roared, as claws scraped on the stone. There was a red flash, and then another and another, and then theguttural snarls of the hellions faded away and there was just the sound of heavy boots hitting stone as we ran.
We must have gone about half a mile, before the tunnel opened up in front of me, and I slowed, calling a warning back to the others. They hung back waiting as Theo stepped up to my side, his torch in his hand, swinging it slowly around the small opening. Another glittering cave, but there was less salt here - the water clearly hadn’t reached it too often, and the smooth walls had been eroded a long time ago. White stalactites hung from the ceiling, but they were small and a few feet above us. A few stalagmites rose from the floor, but not many, and much of the floor was smooth, if not flat. In the centre, there was a pool of water with smooth edges that dipped in towards it. The water level was low, and the surface mirrored the ceiling above when Theo cast his torch over it. Opposite the tunnel we had exited from, another continued on into the earth, its dark entrance feeling more foreboding than the last.
I looked down at the woman in my arms. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing had calmed, and she simply lay there, trusting me to look after her. The feeling warmed me, and I pressed my lips gently to the top of her head, feeling her silky hair under them.
I looked up at Theo, who stood watching me quietly. “Is she hurt badly?” he asked, his voice calm, but with a tremor that told me he was barely keeping it together.
I shook my head. “I don’t think so. Her breathing is normal and her heart too. I want to stop here and let Carlisle check her out though.” Theo nodded, reaching out to stroke one finger down the side of her face.
“I thought…”
I swallowed. “I know.” Our eyes met for a moment, silent understanding of the agony each other had just faced. Theo took a breath and with one last look at Sariel, he adjusted his torch,sliding the cover down so it became a lantern rather than a focused beam, and set it on the floor, then stepped back into the tunnel, retracing his steps.
“Sariel?” I touched my lips to her forehead. “Sariel?”
Dark eyelashes fluttered open, and she looked up at me.
“Alastor…” she looked around and pushed against my chest. I lowered her legs, letting her stand, but kept my arms around her, not willing to let her go just yet.
“Where are the others?”
“Catching up,” I said. I looked down at her, not knowing what to say, where to even start. Emotions rushed through me, mainly rage and fear and sheer beautiful relief at the fact she stood here with me.
She closed her eyes, breaking the connection between us. “Alastor, don’t… I know what you’re going to say.”
“What am I going to say?” I asked, keeping my voice level.
“You’re going to yell at me. You’re going to tell me it was my fault we lost the packs, and yes, I admit it. I accept full responsibility for losing them. Give me a few moments to rest, and I’ll go back-”
“You’ll do no such thing!” I snapped.
“But it was my fault we lost the other packs, and we need the supplies-”
“Forget the damn supplies, Sariel!” The words exploded from me, echoing off the tunnel walls, louder than I intended. My hand found its way to the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her matted hair, pulling her mouth to mine in a clash of emotion so raw it stole the very breath from my lungs. For a heartbeat that stretched out into eternity, she was still in my arms, but then her body melted against mine, her response as fiery and desperate as my own. She kissed me back, and the world fell away. Fire raced through my veins, the taste of her lips feeding a hunger so primal, so explosive, nothing else mattered. I slid myarms around her, pressing her body to mine, and I could hear the wild beat of her heart as her fingers gripped folds of my shirt, pulling me close.
My grip loosened, breaths coming in ragged torrents. I pulled back just far enough to see her face, dark eyes wide and searching mine, a mirror to the turmoil inside me. "Don't you ever do that again," I managed between heaving breaths, voice low.
She parted her lips, words ready to spill forth, but I couldn't bear it – not the apologies, not the explanations. Not yet. Instead, I claimed her mouth once more, my tongue seeking entry, her lips parting wider to allow it. Inside I felt my hound baying for her, for the hunt, the capture, the claim. My hands dropped to her hips, pulling her hard against me, pressing my rock-hard dick into her softness. Sariel’s breath hitched against my mouth. Her hands rose, settling on my chest as if to push me away, but she didn’t. Instead, she clung to me tighter and our kiss deepened.
A moment of sanity crept through the maelstrom of my mind, and I pulled back, slowing the kiss, brushing my lips softly over hers.
“Alastor…” she murmured against my lips. Her breath fanned against my face, warm and intoxicating. Those dark eyes filled with a softness I had never seen before. I kissed her again, softer this time, a whisper of a kiss, like a prayer. Breaking away, my lips traced a path across her skin—her nose, her cheekbones, each an altar at which I worshipped.
“Never… ever… do… that… again…” I whispered between kisses. I drew my mouth down the side of her throat, and she sighed, tilting her head, allowing my worship to continue. “You must be safe; I need to keep you safe… can’t you understand that?”
“Alastor…” she said softly, moving to look up at me. “I’m a warrior. Fighting is what I do.”
I shook my head, pulling back to look down at her. “I can’t… I can’t lose you, Sariel. You’re the light in this damned darkness. When I thought you were… it felt as though the sun and the moon, and the stars all went out at once and there was just this void of pain…”
She sucked in her breath. “Alastor… you can’t… I can’t…” I bent to kiss her again, not wanting to hear it.
“Alastor…” She whispered my name against my lips, the sweetness of her voice making me drunk with desire, but then her hands were on my chest, and she was pushing away gently. “I can’t do this.”
A touch of pain brushed against my heart, but I forced a smirk onto my face.
“Always running scared, Sariel?” I asked in a low tone.
She frowned and started to reply, but there were the sounds of heavy footsteps, and I went to pull away, but she stopped me, simply turning in my arms, and placing her hand on my arm to keep it around her waist.
