Pack Possessed, page 19
part #4 of Thrown to the Wolves Series
“What are you thinking?” he demands, rushing to follow me.
“That this area has been getting watered somehow and it’s too far from the river to pull it off. Look on the other side; same distance, yet it’s nowhere close to as overgrown as this section is.”
The grass is up to my knees, moss clinging to the bottom of a few of the tree trunks and rocks littered across the slope. Splitting up, we start rolling boulders, Cinjin and Reid catching up and ripping away vegetation at the base of trees; all of us desperately trying to level the area with our bare hands.
“Over here!” Before the final words have even left Kaige’s mouth I’m on my feet, weaving through the trees to find him crouched in a mass of greenery a little higher up the mountain. “Look.”
As he tears out another handful of grass, it reveals one of the smallest trickles of water I’ve ever seen in my life. Joining him, I yank out a handful, trying to clear the area.
“Cin!” He and Reid are there a few seconds later, the two of us backing up to give them room to dig.
“Should one of us shift to help them?”
“Better off staying out of their way,” Kaige comments. “I can’t imagine it’s a massive opening if it’s supposed to be discreet, so this is faster than all of us tripping over each other; even if it kills us to stand by and wait.”
The best I can manage is a sharp nod, unable to rip my gaze away from the massive hellhounds frantically tearing at the earth. Within a few of the longest minutes of my life, the swipe of Reid’s claws across metal threatens to make my ears bleed, and I swear, I’ve never heard a sweeter sound. Pushing past them, I search for a handhold on the circular metal hatch on the sloped earth. Whipping out my knife, I jimmy it into the small gap beside the stone, prying it up enough we can get a better grip.
Wrenching it open, a rush of water pours out of the bottom half, revealing a pitch-black tunnel.
“Give me your lighter.” I hold out my hand expectantly and Kaige slaps it into my waiting palm.
Flicking it to life, I reach my arm in, showing the narrow opening only lasts about a foot before widening. Crawling in first, the small pool of water collected at the base soaks the lower half of my pants, but I’m able to rise to my full height within seconds. The tunnel is at a steep incline, made completely of smooth stone, and water steadily flows in a trickle beneath my feet. Keeping the lighter up, I trudge forward as the others follow my lead, the twins forced to shift back to fit through the opening.
“I was worried it might be flooded,” Cinjin admits in a hushed whisper.
Reid falls into the role of reassuring him as naturally as breathing since I’m barely holding myself together as it is. “If it were that bad, it would have backlogged and caused issues far sooner. Must have just been the door slowing it down. It’s a good thing, actually. This means they’ve had water while they’ve been stuck waiting for us to rescue them.”
“Why wouldn’t they follow it to the exit, then?” he asks, and I stop abruptly, whirling on him.
“Knock it the hell off, will you? Like we aren’t all freaking out right now? She’s fine. Bo’s fine, and so are Hunter and Damian. There might be a series of doors like the one at the end and they don’t realize there’s a way out. There are a million possibilities, and worrying about them is only going to make this more terrifying than it already is.” Pivoting on my heel, I storm forward, walking at a brisk pace.
“Sorry,” he murmurs, and I sigh heavily, all of the anger deflating in a rush as swiftly as it came on. I miss it immediately. Without it, I’m left with only a cold sense of hopelessness that has me even more lost than before.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you, I’m just-” raking a hand through my hair, I fist the strands, the sharp bite of pain helping a little. “I’m scared, too, okay?”
An agonizingly long time later, we come to a dead end, and if it wasn’t for the water trickling from midway up the wall, I might have actually sunk to my knees in defeat and never bothered getting up. Throwing my shoulder at it, a few pebbles fall to our feet, and I slam against it again.
Cinjin grabs me before I can land a third hit, yanking me out of the way and shoving me up against the side of the tunnel. “There’s enough room in this spot Reid can shift, and he’ll do a hell of a lot more damage.”
The small flame we were using to guide our way is snuffed out, and a split second later, a low snarl proceeds our brother slamming into the blockade. Claws rake across stone as he tears away at it, followed by another solid impact that shakes the entire tunnel.
They’re okay. Not buried alive, and didn’t drown. Sabrina hasn’t survived everything Ash has thrown at her just to die in this place.
The next crash has Reid finally busting through the blockade, only to be thrown back as a massive rush of water sends him down the impromptu waterslide with a yelp. My legs are knocked out from under me, but Cin and I manage to dig our claws into the wall, sucking in a deep breath as the water level rapidly rises in the tunnel until we’re completely submerged.
Twenty more seconds. If it hasn’t started to drop by then, we’ll have to let go so we can make it outside before we drown.
As my lungs threaten to burst, my claws drag another few inches until I lose my grip completely, losing my hold on Cinjin and getting caught up in the current. A hand snatches around my wrist at the last moment, and a few seconds later, the onslaught of water slows, the water level lowering until I’m able to get my feet under me and break through the surface. Sucking down ragged breaths, we’re plunged into darkness, and when I fumble in my pocket for the lighter to attempt, it won’t catch.
Finally beneath knee level now, Kaige releases my wrist, and we slosh our way with Cin to the opening. The incline is steep enough that I’m practically crawling upward in a few places, but it’s a short enough tunnel that I can see a faint flickering of light at the other end. Unable to breathe for a very different reason, I rush through the last stretch, pulling myself out of an opening and tumbling down into a shallow pool of water. Coming up sputtering, the breath freezes in my lungs as I look around the massive cavern. Shadows dance across the walls, small, multicolored flashes of lights catching from the low-burning embers.
And on the ledge beside the fire are four familiar faces that have me falling to my knees in the shallow water as relief slams into me like a freight train.
“Slade?” Sabrina rushes over to the ledge, Bo grabbing her before she reaches the edge.
Holding her tightly against him, he jumps down, nearly wiping out on the slick stone. Setting her down, she races over, splashing through the water and sliding to her knees in front of me just as Kaige makes it through, quickly followed by Cinjin.
“Are you okay?” she asks, grabbing my wrist and inspecting the mangled state of my hand. “Let me-”
Jerking my arm back, I crush her against my chest, burying my face in the crook of her neck. The faint scent of dirt clings to her skin, overshadowed by sex and her natural coffee shop fragrance. No blood, no bitter tang of fear. Just her, smelling like home.
“No.” My voice is barely more than gravel, and for once, I don’t bother to hide it. “But I will be, now.”
Chapter 14
Sabrina
Honestly, the fact that nobody went on a screaming tirade is a miracle. So I don’t utter a single protest when Kaige insists on carrying me the entire trip back, as Slade, Cinjin, and Reid continuously find reasons to touch me as if assuring themselves that I’m really here. It’s a long hike back on foot, the twins are completely naked, and not a single one of them gives a shit about any of it, simply using the time to settle their still racing heartbeats.
“You found her.” Ash’s whisper is followed by him bending over, clutching his knees and exhaling heavily in a rush of relief.
The sentiment is tainted by the several dozen dead bodies littering the ground around him, though.
Movement at the avalanche site grinds to a halt, and my eyes widen as I realize not only how many people were forced into the rescue attempt, but that they even bothered. There’s got to be several thousand pounds of rock that attempted to upgrade themselves to tombstones here.
Striding over with clipped steps, Ash is bolder than he’s ever been before, checking first that I don't have any broken limbs, blatantly ignoring the pissed off sounds coming from the guys. Treating me like a China doll, he delicately grabs my arm, forcing me to slide off of Kaige’s back so he can get a better look, as if need me to prove that I survived in one piece.
“For once in your life, watch your tongue, okay?” Aurelia warns in my head, her cautious tone immediately giving me pause. “I’ve never seen him this... unhinged.”
Carefully, I extract my arm from his grip, my gaze flicking to the sea of corpses behind him and back. “Sorry for all of the trouble and to make everybody worry.”
He swallows, voice alarmingly cool and level as he looks past me to Hunter, Bo, and Damian. “You have one job. Keep. Her. Safe. What part of that sounded like going anywhere near the cliffs was a good idea?”
Half-heartedly lifting a hand, I clear my throat. “That would be my fault.”
With a great amount of effort, he tears his glare away from them, but it doesn’t soften in the slightest when it lands on me. If anything, it might actually darken.
“I was seeing if there might be an easier way to break into the mountain that wouldn’t require you having to wait so long for me to be at full power, and technically I did, it was just... a regular old cave under the mountain, not some secret demon prison.”
“Obviously, or I could have gotten them out myself.” An ominous rumbling escapes his chest. “What would I have done if you’d died, did you even think about that?” Before I can say a single word, he shouts, “You’re the key to everything, Sabrina! What part of that aren’t you understanding?”
“Don’t scream at her.” Cinjin’s soft demand carries like a gunshot across the scene that’s gone completely silent as they watch everything play out with bated breath. “None of us could have stopped a fucking landslide, and you know it, yet they still managed to keep her safe despite it.”
Subtly taking a step to the left, I put myself slightly between Ash and Cinjin. Him, he won’t hesitate to kill, already threatened to do so once. And by the body count he tallied up this evening, it’s looking like a pretty safe assumption. Me, though, he’s not going to risk hurting.
Eyes wild, Ash’s voice rises with his vehemence. “None of you are taking this seriously, and it ends now. I tried to be nice. I tried to work together. But you insist on making things difficult at every turn. Clearly, you need some more motivation to get with the godsdamned program.”
Reaching into his back pocket, he withdraws his phone, pressing a few buttons before passing it to Slade, and I crane my neck to see. The air turns to icy shards in my lungs at the sight of the video chat showing Emmy and a few of her mates in the middle of a snowball fight behind a cabin. Her faint laughter echoes out as she uses Maddox as a human shield before he turns on her, dropping snow down the neck of her coat.
Pressing the end call button, Ash takes it back, unflinchingly holding Slade’s stare. “One call, one text; it really is that easy. I don’t want to, but you’re forcing my hand here, so if this is what I have to do to make a point, so fucking be it.” He turns his glare on the rest of the guys. “If you cannot protect Aurelia, you serve no purpose; it’s that simple.”
Facing me, he takes a deep breath, releasing it in a rush and piecing his benevolent image back together like the world’s best sociopath. Though his smile is a bit more strained than usual, how quickly he was able to flip a switch is one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve ever witnessed in my entire life. “You must be tired of the cramped living situation you’ve been trapped in. I’ll have your ‘fathers’ send over your luggage, but I insist you and your mates take a few of the rooms at my place.”
Swallowing, I match his energy, slapping on a plastic smile that I don’t remotely feel. “I’d hate to upend your life and put you out. We’re fine here. And I promise; no more risky business, just mind-numbing house arrest.”
“I wasn’t asking.”
Chapter 15
Sabrina
“Let him get struck by lightning, let him get struck by lightning,” I mumble with my fingers crossed. Peeking one eyelid open, I look out the window to clear night skies and sigh.
Reid doesn’t even bother looking up from where he’s stretched out on his stomach across the king-sized bed, reading a book. “If it didn't work the last three days, I’m pretty sure you can hang it up. Time to try something else.”
Abandoning my post beside the window, I flop onto my back beside him in frustration. “It was worth a shot.” Lifting my hands in front of me, I extend my nails into claws and back with barely even a thought. But when I try to manipulate some of the surplus of energy thrumming through my veins to make it dance on my skin like Ash does, nothing happens. “I swear, the Nightmare stuff only works if I'm not actively trying to use it. The more directly I look at it, the farther out of reach it becomes.”
“And therein lies why Ash wants the abilities of the other demons. Manipulatory power only goes so far compared to a fireball to the face, as you’ve so clearly displayed.”
Across the room, Cinjin and Kaige are sitting at the small table cleaning guns and sharpening knives. May not be useful in our current situation, but whatever makes them feel better and more prepared for a situation that doesn’t give a shit if we’re ready or not.
With another drag of the blade across the whetstone, Kaige says, “Maybe we’ll get lucky and the demons will gnaw his face off.”
Cinjin begins reassembling the pieces strewn out in front of him. “Or one of us can sneak up behind him and Sparta kick him straight to Hell before you close the ground up again.”
I thump my head back on the mattress. “In a perfect world. More likely after yesterday’s epic failure that took out a chunk of the woods in a blaze of shame instead of glory, he’s going to start killing everybody I love one by one until I hurry up and magically get over my performance anxiety. Why do villains always think people work better under pressure?”
“Not just villains, bosses do too for some stupid reason,” Hunter adds, walking into the room with Bo and Slade on his heels.
“As I said; villains.” Pushing myself upright, I cross my legs, leaning my elbows on my knees. "Find anything useful?"
By Boden's expression, it's a hard no.
Slade strides over to retrieve his gun back from where Cin's just finished reassembling it. "Computer in his office, but it was laid out so perfectly it was obviously a trap so we didn't bother touching it. There's a safe under the floorboards, but without knowing how long until he comes back, I was leery of getting caught with our hands in the proverbial cookie jar." Tucking his gun away, he glares out the window.
Bo scrubs a palm over his face, absolutely exhausted. Ever since we’ve been brought literally into the demon’s lair, most of them have barely slept more than an occasional five minutes here or there. "In case he's able to trace our calls, I got a hold of our lawyer. Terra will get in contact with Nate at the police station so it looks like it's to do with our previous arrests, then he can reach out to Emmy through Maddox. Enough steps in the chain that all have a normal reason for communicating so it's less obvious."
Kaige stabs the tip of his knife into the table for the hundredth time, mutilating Ash's furniture in lieu of his face while our hands are tied. "I’m still going to hold out hope my plan will work and we’ll be able to look back on this ten years from now and laugh.”
“What plan?”
Reid gives up on reading, closing his book. “Subliminal messaging.” Though he rolls his eyes, he can’t hide the amusement, and I might even say a little bit of hope in them. “You said it yourself; a Nightmare’s abilities aren’t something you can typically wield, it’s an indirect, subconscious thing.”
Unabashedly, Kaige grins. “Might not end up working, but since I started whispering ideas into your ear while you’re passed out, you haven’t been talking in your sleep. It’s a win regardless.”
Rubbing the heel of my hand over my chest at the familiar pang, a breathy chuckle slips past my lips. “That’s actually incredibly sweet.”
“You say that like you’re surprised. When have I ever been anything short of absolutely obsessed with you?” Getting to his feet, he stretches out his arms, stiff from sitting so long. “Quiet and awkward at times, sure, but it was only because you intimidated the shit out of me. Didn’t mean I wasn’t a fucking goner from the moment I met you, I just didn’t know what to do about it.”
“So, watching me while I sleep isn’t only a Hawthorne kink, it’s universal. Good to know.”
The faint sound of crunching gravel has all of us immediately shutting up and tensing. Ever since we were brought to live under Ash’s roof in his fancy-ass cabin, we’ve been high-strung, jumping at every little noise. We’ve had a desperately needed reprieve for the past few hours since he ‘needed to step out for a while’, giving us a little room to breathe, but it’s almost worse expecting him to return at any moment, assuming his absence was yet another test.
I seriously took the axe that used to be hanging over my neck for granted. I’d go back to that previous illusion of freedom in a heartbeat if I could. Now, there’s an invisible noose around each of our necks, tightening more with every passing day, every saccharine smile he gives us while we’re forced to play house with the psycho.
It’s been hardest on the guys; they’re used to solving their problems with murder or money, by playing political games, but never have their hands been tied to this degree and it’s building up to explosive levels of testosterone. Me? I think it’s pretty much ingrained in a woman’s DNA on how to navigate the moods of men without being taught, a sixth sense when you’re in a dangerous situation to behave in whatever manner gives you your best shot of surviving it.
