AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This cavern was a similar size to the last one I’d been in, but it had no water. Boulders of all shapes and sizes were spread out across the ground, many of the huge stones much taller and wider than I was.
A strange sliding sound came from behind me, and I turned to see the door vanish, replaced with a wall of rock. I wasn’t going back out that way.All right, you’ve been dropped down a pit, almost drowned, survived being in a room that tried to crush you, and were hypnotized by a water monster. It can’t get much worse, right?I didn’t let myself answer. I had no doubt itcouldget a lot worse. In fact, my tortures so far hadn’t been that bad, except when I’d been nearly crushed.
As if on cue, a low howl pierced the air, and the hairs on my arms stood on end. I darted behind the closest boulder and pressed myself against the cool stone, my pulse quickening as adrenaline spiked through my body.Of course I’m stuck in here with some feral beast. Why not?
I scowled as I thought of the horned monster who’d led me in there.Really could have used my dagger right now, asshole.Frowning, I scanned the area around me for any sharp object I could turn into a weapon, but there was nothing besides dirt, stones, and boulders.Fuck.
Another howl echoed through the cavern, and a chill pricked down my spine.Not to worry, it’s just a dog. A friendly dog. Not at all some horrible monster who wants to tear me to shreds.
Swallowing, I cautiously poked my head out from behind the boulder, my gaze swiping across the area as I waited for a monster to materialize from the shadows. When moments passed and I spotted nothing unusual, I turned my attention to scoping out a possible desperate escape route.
I almost couldn’t believe it when I saw a small cave opening high up along the back wall of the cavern. I blinked, wondering if my eyes were making me see things, but the cave remained.
The entrance to the cave was at least ten yards up the wall, but a mess of boulders lay beneath, and the wall itself was jagged and littered with rocky holds.If I can climb to it, I might be able to escape the monster and this place.Or at least lose my captors enough to go searching for Cara.I couldn’t be sure what was up there. It could have been a dead end for all I knew, but it wassomething.Better than waiting around to become a monster’s chew toy anyway.
Determination grounded me, and I clenched my jaw.I could do this.Goddess, please let there still be nothing there.
Holding my breath, I peered around the edge of the boulder again. When still nothing materialized from the shadows, I released the breath I was holding. I knew the monster was likely waiting for me to make a move, for me to step out into the open and become an easy target, but I couldn’t stay hidden forever.
Keeping low to the ground, I dashed to the next closest boulder, heading toward the back of the cavern in the direction of the cave. This boulder was smaller than the last one, and I ducked my head to keep hidden. Every nerve in my body went on high alert as I prepared myself to run.
Now that I’d moved, I expected the monster to pounce, but the cavern remained eerily quiet, the sound of my breathing uncomfortably loud in the silence. I waited a moment longer before eyeing the distance to the next boulder.Six yards to the right. That’s not so bad.
Shooting forward, I moved from boulder to boulder, nimble on my feet, my dress bouncing against my knees. I’d made it two thirds of the way across the cavern without seeing whatever monster was in there with me, and hope began to bloom in my chest.If I can just get to that cave, I can make it.
I peeked my head around the side of the boulder I hid behind and my heart stuttered, my body stiffening. Almond-shaped golden eyes watched me from the other side of the cavern, glowing bright in the darkness, and my heart began hammering as fear gripped me, choking me.
My throat dried out as I stared at the massive brown wolf standing on powerful legs. Its body reached as high as the huge boulder beside it, and every defined muscle was coiled as if the animal would spring forward at any movement.
The wolf lowered its head, its yellow gaze never leaving me, and the low growl that slipped between its peeled lips made the very stones at my feet shake.
Holy goddess.I didn’t dare move. My chest rose and fell rapidly as I risked a glance at the small cave up the cavern wall.If I can—The wolf growled again, and I shuddered, quickly turning my attention back to the beast.
Did A-Two send me in here as dinner?And then I remembered.Kade.He’d said I was meeting Kade in there. The fourth monster.But that would mean…My thought trailed off as I stared disbelievingly at the wolf. Could the wolfbeKade? I wouldn’t have believed it, but Darian’s legs had transformed into a fish tail, so why couldn’t A-Four turn into a wolf?
Whether the wolf was Kade or not, the beast didn’t look happy. Its pointed ears twitched, and my panicked brain raced to think of a plan that didn’t end in me dying. I was still too far from the cave. I was a fast runner, but I wasn’t faster than a wolf. Especially one that size.
Cursing under my breath, I eyed the cave again and the path between the remaining boulders that I needed to take to get there. That cave was my only hope. I had to try. Blowing out a shaky breath, I gritted my teeth and ran.
~ Kade ~
Themomentthehumanentered the cavern, my wolf detected her unusual scent. Traces of coconut and steel teased his nostrils, an intoxicating odor that made him salivate. The scent was like a breath of fresh air in comparison to the weak scent of berries and foliage that the other human had.
No, dominance leaked from this human, piquing my wolf’s curiosity, and his senses heightened with excitement at the thought of a female who was strong enough to match him.
But my wolf didn’t spring forward the moment he spied the human with the red hair. No, he remained still, waiting and watching as she made her way across the cavern, darting from boulder to boulder, his anticipation growing with every step she took.
She was smart, this one, only revealing herself in the brief time it took her to dash to another boulder, and constantly pausing as if waiting to see if he would emerge. Unfortunately for her, this just wound my wolf up more until curiosity drew him from the shadows.
When he stepped forward into the watery light of the moon, the human’s amber gaze fixed on him from across the cavern, and the faintest scent of her fear had a rumbling growl escaping his throat. His body tensed, sharp black claws digging into the dirt. The humans always ran, and my wolf loved the chase.
But then she surprised him by sprinting further into the cavern in the direction of the back wall. The other human had turned and fled backward presumably to where she remembered the door being. But not this human. No, determination burned in her eyes as she sprinted closer to my wolf, passing him as his confusion bought her seconds.
But that’s all it was. Seconds, and then he launched after her, his powerful body and huge paws quickly eating up the distance. He reached her just as she started scaling the fallen boulders resting at the back of the cavern, her fingers frantically grabbing onto the stone.
As soon as she started her ascent, I knew what she was doing. My wolf peered upward to where a small cave was carved from the rock, further up the wall. My brothers were about to get a visitor.
A frustrated growl tore from my wolf’s throat, shattering the air, but the human continued climbing despite the rapid thudding of her heart. Her fingers clung to the rocks, bare toes gripping the stone as she moved out of reach.
