AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And Serenity found herself trapped.
She was suspended a few feet off the ground in a primitive net made of thick hemp-like ropes about as thick as her thumb. The net bounced lightly with her weight. Her body was scrunched up inside. It was as if she had been lying on her back on a hammock and somebody had pulled the two ends together.
This was bad. This was very bad.
Serenity tried her best to remain calm as she assessed the situation. This was clearly not a natural trap. Someone had constructed it. Someone intelligent.
As far as Serenity knew, there were three intelligent species on the planet. The nith would never use such a primitive device, and humans never wandered this far afield from the relative safety of the camp.
That meant it had to be an ukkur trap.
Serenity’s heart calmed, but only briefly. The ukkur back in the canyon were good guys, more or less. But she had been told there were other ukkur packs roaming the wilderness, and there was no telling what their intentions might be.
They might help her, or they might try to eat her alive.
Or something worse.
Best not to wait around and find out. Serenity had a means of escape. Hruk’s stone knife.
There was just one problem. She had been wearing the knife sheath on her back to keep it out of her way while walking. Now it was trapped underneath her, pressed between her body and the bottom of the net, which was cinched too tightly to allow Serenity to shift her weight.
Luckily, the holes in the net were big enough to stick her arms through. It took a bit of wriggling, but after a few minutes, Serenity managed to free one arm. She reached underneath the dangling net and felt the smooth pommel of the bone knife handle.
Shit. It was going to take some work to get that bad boy unsheathed.
A sound came from the depths of the forest.
Serenity froze, holding her breath. She was sweating profusely again, but now it was the cold sweat of fear.
The sound came again. Something crashing through the underbrush. Something big. Something fast.
The creature let out a feral howl that echoed through the forest and chilled Serenity to the bones.
She was going to die.
Her fingers fumbled beneath the netting, desperately trying to get hold of the knife trapped beneath her own stupid body.
The sounds were even closer now. In addition to the snapping twigs and rustle of leaves, she could hear the heavy, thudding steps of the charging creature. It sounded like it was running on all fours.
Not an ukkur?
With a curdling roar, a massive shape exploded from the shadows at the edge of the glade. An involuntary scream escaped from Serenity’s trembling lips. The beast, whatever it was, rushed toward her, charging at her like a hairless ape.
It slid to a stop mere inches from her face, and Serenity’s nostrils were slammed with that intense, masculine scent she knew all too well.
Itwasan ukkur.
A very big one. Even bigger than Hruk. But he didn’t act like any ukkur Serenity had seen before. He was far more bestial, running on his knuckles just like a gorilla. But he was not completely feral. His loins were clothed in a strip of scaly animal skin, similar to the other ukkur Serenity had seen. So at least this guy was somewhat civilized.
The ukkur’s stone-gray gaze connected with Serenity’s and seemed to penetrate straight to her soul. The creature’s tusks jutted from its dense, wheat-colored beard.
It drew closer, nostrils flaring as it whuffled Serenity, drinking in her scent. She cringed and squirmed, feeling that same dangerous tickling sensation she had experienced with Hruk two nights before. The feeling of being sniffed by a wolf.
But God, was this wild ukkur handsome.
That was not an appropriate thought to have in this situation. Not appropriate in the least. Just like it wasn’t appropriate how his overwhelmingly masculine scent invaded her senses, stiffening her bare nipples and sending a pulse of wetness throbbing between her legs.
The ukkur stepped back. He grunted.
