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“You have no fucking idea,” he throws a fist, which Jaxon catches. The commander shudders with a lack of restraint, the veins corded so tightly in his neck, he looks prepared to snap.
“I swear, if you two don’t quiet the fuck down, I will raze this entire land, killing everyone I come across until I find…” he exhales harshly, “My. Fucking. Woman.” Meeting Kofu’s eye, I run my teeth over the length of my fangs and incline my head. Accepting my compliance, Kofu continues leading as I trail ten feet behind. Far enough to see an ambush, should it arise. Silence weighs heavily as five males from three species press on, hunting for the female who has no right to entice us all yet managed to without trying.
“For the record,” Kofu breaks the silence, “I would never cause Aspen harm. Even after her true nature was revealed, I always intended to wed her. To challenge Conall, become alpha and bring her back to the pack. I grew up believing Aspen was meant to be mine.” I fail in trying to mask my responding groan. Torsten smacks the back of my head.
“You speak in past tense. What changed?” Jaxon asks calmly, maintaining pace with Kofu. The wolf peers over his shoulder, snarling at Sawyer.
“The raven nearly pecked my eyes out every time I came to check upon her. Turns out I’m not the only one who was pining for what he could never have,” Kofu’s hair hangs over his eyes so I can’t gauge his true emotion, but mine happens to have lifted. Smirking, I open my mouth to gloat that Sawyer did in fact get her, but Torsten hits me again. We breach the edge of the forest at the base of a hill and divert to a steep path to a beach below. My combat boots hit the sand, my body shaking with tension but Kofu refuses to up his pace. Following the beach around the outside of the steep cliff, a cave entrance comes into view, hidden away from prying eyes. Carrick couldn’t have found this place by accident; he’d have to of known of its existence before bringing Aspen here.
“What’s going on here?!” a figure lands in the sand blocking our entrance. I peer up at the cliff’s lip, noting the distance he just jumped. Standing to full height, a beast of a male glowers at us. The thick hide of a bear hangs over thick shoulders, his outfit made from a mixture of leather and linen. In one hand, he holds a spear, a metal and wooden shield in the other. It’s good to know the shifters haven’t advanced in the past few decades, and I recognize Conall from the thick scar covering his left eye. Similar to a wolf I faced off against during the shifter wars.
The promise of violence is held in Conall’s eyes, all of which aimed at his protégé. Kofu doesn’t budge. Nor does he speak. Instead, Sawyer takes the reigns, holding a note of respect in his voice none of us would have been able to manage.
“If I may,” Sawyer inclines his head, his black hair falling forward. “We believe someone of importance to us has been brought to these caves and left to die. It’s a matter of urgency we inspect them, and after which, we will be gone.”
“Who?”
“Aspen,” Kofu grunts at least. He’s mastered the nonchalant bullshit, acting as if he couldn’t care less. If that were true, he wouldn’t have led us this far, and now that I see a ripple of anger pass through the alpha, I’m more inclined to believe Kofu’s credibility. I have to get into those caves. Suddenly, Conall lowers his shield and spear and smiles. The creepiest fucking smile that would haunt anyone’s nightmares.
“So, it is a truce you’re after? Well, all you needed to do is ask. Hunt the cave systems to your heart’s content, and once you have received yourtreasure,” he grins even wider. “Tell Lorcan I will be in contact.” Knuckles crack in unison; Jaxon, Torsten and I tensing. We don’t want to be in the shifter’s debt, but this wasn’t our choice. Lorcan forced Aspen to run. He let his irritation for her lack of obedience cloud what was important. No matter who Aspen mates, she’s a vampire. She belongs with us, even if I must watch her shack up with Sawyer in one of the mating homes.
“Glady,” I force a smirk. Conall’s delight is palpable.
“Excellent,” he nods and stands aside, permitting our entry. I don’t have time to indulge Jaxon’s pissed-off expression, we’re wasting precious minutes standing here, worrying about politics.
Inside the cave is pitch black, which is fine for our vampire eyesight. Kofu and Conall watch me intently, fresh smirks upon their faces. I don’t have time for games. If Aspen is in there, we will find her. Stepping into the dingy space first, the craggy walls are covered in moss and the overpowering scent of damp tingles my nose. The cave narrows slightly before opening into a large cavern, displaying two tunnels branching off in opposite directions further beneath the cliff. Focusing my hearing, only picking up on the multiple, strong heartbeats nearby and dripping of leaking water all around.
“Which way?” I ask the shifters, mainly the one with his hands in his pockets and a bored expression upon his face. Kofu shrugs at me, suddenly tight-lipped now that his alpha is around. They hang back by the mouth of the cave, standing shoulder to shoulder as Conall folds his thick arms. The perfect set-up for an ambush if I ever saw one. I guess we’re on our own from now on.
“Let’s split into pairs,” Jaxon states, immediately stepping closer to Torsten. I glare at him, finding myself saddled with the fucking raven, but we don’t make it that far.
A faint whimper echoes through the tunnel on the right. Snapping my head around, I pause, listening closer. After a beat, a low howl sounds and I have all I need to speed into the shaft, bouncing against the other in a rush to get to her first. Feathers smack me in the face, the raven shifting to flutter through the cave system with more ease and grace than we can manage. Motherfucker.
The deeper we venture, the more pronounced the coppery scent of Aspen’s blood becomes. Hope and panic flare to life inside my chest. She’s here. We’ve found her. Whizzing through the network of underground tunnels, I remain latched onto her scent, not slowing for a single second.
I’m so close. Maybe only seconds away from saving my beautiful hybrid and bringing her back to the castle, where she belongs. Once she’s fully recovered, I’m going to spend every moment for the rest of our existences showing her what true love is – with or without Lorcan’s approval. That’s the level of emotion she’s awakened within me—the group jester, the one who couldn’t take anything seriously. Well, I’ve never been more serious where Aspen is concerned. She’s buried herself so deep within my being, she consumes my every waking thought and blissful dreams.
No one has ever come close to breaching my defenses before, and Aspen barreled straight through them with ease. She sets a fire in my veins and sparks electricity through my bloodstream. I don’t want any other. I don’t want the throne or the riches, just her. And the second she’s back in my arms, I’m going to tell her exactly that.
Chapter27
Aspen
Irouse to the gentle strokes along my side, trailing from my shoulder to my hip and back again. A smile pulls at my mouth before I’ve even opened my eyes; the scent of fresh pine surrounding me. Caged between the warmth of bodies, the covers hide us from an outside world. I’m at peace. Jax makes me feel adored, Torsten gazes upon me like I’m the most beautiful creature he’s ever seen. Sawyer is my loyal protector and then there’s Chase. Chase allows me to feel alive. There are no words for the antics we could get up to, making love over and over again until we collapse in a heap on the bed. Every day could be like this.
Blissful. Lost to pleasure, drowning in love. As long as there’s a delicious ache between my legs and the contentedness of my men, we could stay here. Drinking from each other, creating a life no one else could interfere in. I’m exposed, my soul vulnerable. Kissing my neck, Jax’s fangs scrape against the vein pulsing there, a silent plea. I crane my head to the side giving him full access and an open invitation. Sighing as his fangs penetrate my flesh, lips swallow my gasp, a tongue worships my nipples, and hands push my thighs wide open. This is what life should be, how it could have been if I’d relented to the notion of these four incredible beings owning each and every part of me.
The singe of a burn forces my eyelids to shoot open. Tears leak from my eyes, reacting with the silver of the muzzle. By now, the imprint will have been scarred into my face, a wash of shame trying to pull me back into the dream I’d created for myself. A safe space where we could all just…be. It’s not reality, but the more I rouse to a bleak, damp cave, the harder I hold onto the pretty fantasy.
I gave up trying to move, desperate to cover my nudity from the lurking shadows, long ago. Surely Carrick will return soon, and I didn’t want to still be here when he does. Between the awkward angle of my shoulders keeping my hands trapped beneath me and whatever lingering drug is still filtering through my system, my limbs just aren’t cooperating.
But to do nothing isn’t in my nature. No matter how pitiful the situation has seemed, I’ve yet to truly surrender. In fact, the version of myself I’ve discovered since being taken to vampire territory would scoff at the very thought. My wolf is cowering from the muzzle, so I call forth the other beast. The same one that I’ve spent so much time repressing that she now seems unwilling to help me now. I curse her out internally.
Reserving my energy, I try to wiggle further into the tunnel. Away from the direction Carrick left, whilst being fully aware that he was most likely guarding the exit. I’m hardly in a position to escape, but hiding – that’s something I can live with. I’m in survival mode, no matter the cost.
Water trickling in the distance calls to me, an invitation too tempting to ignore. My throat is parched, my skin burning from the inside out. Using my feet, I start to slither along the rough ground like an upside-down snake, bending my legs at the knee and shuffling my shoulders backwards, then repeating.
The cave floor is uneven and jagged, and as rocks slice into my back, pain sears deeper than I thought possible, but I keep moving. If I can reach the water source, I can soothe my injuries. In particular, the scabbing burns on my face which are expanding to cover my nose and slowly creeping up towards my eyelids. If I were to simply lie here and wait for the valiant rescue which isn’t coming, I’d be dead anyway.
