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Lexi nodded, following behind him. I brought up the rear, listening for any unusual sounds that might be heading our way.
We ended up in an elevated shallow niche. Tamerin took off his pack and wiggled in, as the ceiling height was only a little higher than his head when laying down. Putting my sister between us, I crept in after them, surprised when I discovered we had a view of our old quarters.
Well, shit. Anyone could have been watching us all this time. I grimaced before realizing that the old man had known this was here. I doubted someone could have hidden here without him knowing.
My sister grinned, looking down at the now vacant space. Can’t follow what hasn’t quite left.
I snorted softly. What about the trail up here?
Her shoulder next to mine twitched a little. I don’t know. Hopefully, the rock won’t carry our scent. Otherwise, Tamerin wouldn’t have chosen this place. Admit it; this is a death trap if they catch us up here.
Nodding, I hoped the man hadn't just betrayed us.
Look! Lexi’s urgent thought had me studying the scene in front of us.
The asshole must have brought every man in his clan here. All to take Lexi away from us.
I frowned at his audacity. My wolf wanted to growl his protest. We needed to protect what was ours. Instead, we were hiding up here like cowards.
Tamerin gave me a side glance, his eyes portraying each word he would otherwise have said. Don’t look for trouble if you aren’t prepared to fight. Don’t fight a battle you can't win. I could almost here them in my head, even though he wasn't a lycanthrope and I didn't have a bond with him.
Yes, this battle would have been unbeatable, even with two of us being lycanthropes. There were just too many of them.
They burst into the cave, expecting us to be there, cowering. Surprised, they stopped short, staring around as if we would pop out and say “Boo!” at some point. Several of them slowly peeled away, walking along the walls to inspect what we had left there, which had been little.
The leader spat out his words, gesturing with angry movements. More men came into the cave. He turned and glowered at a few in the back, barking out additional commands. Those stayed outside, disappearing down the tunnels that led to our past home.
Tamerin sighed before getting comfortable, watching the scene below us like it was a TV show.
My sister and I exchanged glances before she also settled down, pillowing her chin on her arms.
Might as well get comfy, bro. Looks like we’ll be here awhile. Glad we hadn’t run, though. They would have tracked us down and caught us like prey. I don’t do prey well.
No, she didn’t. She wouldn’t have taken being forced or kidnapped, either. The man had dodged a bullet. He probably would have woken up without his genitals one day, if he had tried.
The leader was a persistent bugger. He kept men stationed in the area several days longer than I had expected. It hadn’t been pleasant waiting them out in the small cave where we were now in, but it was better than fighting these assholes.
When he finally gave up and they all disappeared, they left a token of their affection by defecating in the small stream in the back.
Tamerin waited several more agonizing hours, though, finally waving at me to back out of the space.
Our progress at first was slow, our limbs stiff from the inactivity. The most movement we had during our wait was to crawl into a nearby hole to relieve ourselves.
Chewing on salty, dried meat grew old fast. It was the only thing we could eat under the circumstances, though. We had no fresh water either—only the liquid in our canteens that we had to ration. And as we are almost out, we would have to find more soon.
We kept traveling the tunnels, not stopping for long, our diet consisting of the hated jerky and lukewarm water. Not only was it boring and unappetizing, but I was sure I had lost quite a few pounds. Male lycanthropes in their prime needed a considerable number of calories and the jerky wasn't providing anything near what I needed.
I hated that asshole who had fixated on my sister.
Tamerin stumbled, and I caught him, lifting him up to his feet. He nodded his thanks before turning to lead us in a different direction than we had been going when we first left our home. He shuffled along, feeling his way through a smaller tunnel.
Lexi glanced at me and shrugged, following him.
The corridor opened up into a massive cave, much of its space filled with clear blue water. A second separate pool was tucked over on one side, isolated from the primary one.
Tamerin pointed at the larger one. “Water to drink.” He waved towards the smaller one further away. “Water to bathe in.” He sauntered down to the edge of the lake in front of us and scooped liquid into his mouth, gulping it down eagerly.
Smacking her dry lips, Lexi followed him, taking sips in between tossing handfuls of it over her face.
