Page 64 of Freed By the Witchbone Knife

“You’re sure this is the only cave on your property?”

“Positive, little witch.”

“What about the surrounding land?”

“Owned by the National Forest Service. Already explored it.” Since donning our packs, his words had only grown more clipped. Maybe he was feeling as sexually frustrated as me. “This is the only entrance into these caves on this mountain.”

Chills spread across my skin. Because if that was the case…this had to be it. I’d finally found it.

“Why haven’t you been in here before?”

“Don’t ask me that.”

I sighed. Broody as ever. My werewolf.

My steps faltered. He wasn’t my werewolf. Why was I thinking of him like that?

Our headlamps cast bright pools of light as the daylight behind us faded. At first, there was only rough stone walls and packed earth underfoot. Nothing special. But as we moved deeper, the walls began to change, closing in more tightly. What started as ordinary limestone gave way to something extraordinary.

Lunarium crystals.

They started small—tiny clusters sprouting from cracks in the rock like geometric flowers. But with each step, they grew larger and more abundant. Pale silver formations jutted from the walls and ceiling in jagged spears, some as thick as my arm. The floor was dotted with crystal clusters that had grown up from the cave bottom like frozen lightning. We were careful to go around them.

I stopped abruptly and pulled out my detector. The readings made my breath catch—the device was practically screaming with activity.

“Look at this.” I held it toward Axel, though he barely glanced at it. “The lunarium levels are incredible. We’re talking off-the-charts.”

I returned the device to my pack, gazing in wonder at the crystalline formations around us. They cast an ethereal silver glow that made our headlamps almost unnecessary, turning the cave system into something from a fairy tale.

I needed to get a picture for Elle. My cell didn’t get service down here, so I snapped a few photos of a nearby lunarium cluster to send later.

“Where’s the knife?” Axel’s voice was rougher than before. Impatient.

“Not sure. We’ll have to find it. Elle’s records dated back centuries ago. They spoke of a ceremonial site deep underground, supposedly packed with lunarium formations—that’s why this site was chosen for the original ritual.” I gestured at the glowing crystals around us as we kept walking. “The werewolves who broke their curse needed that amplification.”

Axel grunted. He didn’t ask about the wolves. Or the curse.

“Ironic,” I added, glancing sideways at him. “A sacred site for breaking a werewolf blood curse, and you ended up buying the land sitting atop it. ‘Cause, you know, you’re a wolf and all.”

He grunted again, his jaw working.

Something in his response made me study his profile more carefully. Even in the silver-tinged light, I could see the sheen of sweat on his forehead. I frowned. Down here, the temperature was cool, almost cold.

“Axel? You good?”

“Fine.” The word was bitten out, nearly a snarl. I caught a flash of yellow in his eyes. Perhaps even a bit of fur sprouting on his skin.

When I blinked, it was gone. Perhaps only a trick of the light.

“Come on.” I gestured with my head and we kept moving.

The passage ahead expanded into a larger room. There were several narrow corridors leading away at different points, each disappearing into darkness beyond the lunarium’s glow.

“Well,” I said, trying to lighten the mood, “since the original werewolf pack made it all the way to the ceremonial chamber, I doubt we’ll need all that spelunking equipment you brought. Hopefully we’ll get lucky. Let’s try this one.” I picked the nearest passage, heavily packed with lunarium deposits.

The crystal’s natural glow added to the light from our headlamps. It created an eerie atmosphere, making our skin silvery blue.

My foot clipped a lunarium deposit and I stumbled, gasping. Axel’s hand shot out, grasping my arm to keep me from falling. I half expected him to make a teasing comment. But he didn’t.