Chapter 20
In dragon form, Mira scooped up a chunk of the disturbed earth that had opened up before. She tossed it behind her while Judoc stood in front of her, arms over his chest. He’d offered to get a crew to help dig, but that was ridiculous. Especially when she could do this in minutes.
As she dug, she tried to reach out to her sister, but it was useless. That bothered her on multiple levels. No matter what, Mira and Prima were bonded in a way that most dragons, and she assumed most shifters, weren’t. Since they were children, they’d been able to communicate with each other, not in words, but through emotions along their psychic link. She’d always taken it for granted, she realized, as she now couldn’t communicate with Prima.
Frustrated, she started digging faster, her claws ripping into the earth and tearing a huge hole in the same place Gabriel and Vega had fallen. She heard the ground underneath her begin to crumble before she felt it. Using her wings, she stayed airborne as the ground fell away.
Judoc cursed and jumped back even as she peered downward. It looked to be a cave. Nothing special about it. Unfortunately it was also empty.
An icy wave rolled upward. That didn’t seem right. It would be cold underground, but not freezing. And this felt far below what should be normal.
Flying backward, she landed and shifted only when she was sure the ground was stable. “I still can’t communicate with my sister,” she said. “But I sense her presence a lot stronger now. I’ll go in and find your friends.”
Judoc snorted from across the cavernous opening. “I’m going with you. My land, my rules. Don’t turn this into a stupid argument.” He pulled out his cell phone and was barking orders into it while she picked up her discarded clothing.
She did want to argue with him, but decided it wasn’t worth her time.
Judoc stalked around the hole and shoved his phone in his pocket as he reached her. “Couple packmates are going to come with us. They’re bringing supplies.”
“Supplies like your human weapons?”
“Food, water and a medical kit. Who knows what the hell is down there.”
She lifted an eyebrow.
“And yeah, a few weapons. I told them to bring the Glock you like.”
She smiled briefly at his words, but it quickly dimmed. “It might be better if it’s only me. I…am sensing something else down there. Something not associated with Prima.”
Judoc stiffened, his expression pure Alpha as he looked at her. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. I just sense something else down there. And it wasn’t there when we went to sleep. We chose our Hibernation place very carefully.”
“Can you explain that to me? About your Hibernation?” he asked quietly, before looking over his shoulder. “It will remain between us.”
She patted his cheek gently, then inwardly chastised herself for it. He was an Alpha, but the male was so young, at least by her standards. She could see the male he would one day grow into and she’d become so fond of him. “I hope you know I don’t mean any disrespect when I do that.”
His smile was wry. “I do know.”
“Okay… Dragons pick a place to hibernate and how they get there is particular to that dragon.” Some chose caves or mountains but she and Prima had gone underground. “My sister and I chose places close enough to each other, ah, a mile apart by your standards, to go to sleep. There weren’t many humans in this area back then. None that had made permanent settlements anyway.” The people here had been primitive hunter-gatherers and absolutely delightful. She and Prima hadn’t worried about anyone disturbing their slumber. It would have been too deep for mortals to reach them anyway. And they would have sensed an attack, regardless.
“How far underground?”
“Deep.”
“Could a human have reached her?”
“No. And I don’t think a shifter could have either. I would have sensed it. And you likely would have noticed someone on your land anyway.”
“True. So…we’re headed into something unknown. Will your sister attack the others?”
“I don’t know. She won’t attack me.” Mira was mostly certain of that. Prima might be angry about the binding spell she’d done but hopefully her sister would understand why she’d done it. Prima had been so disillusioned back then and Mira could only hope that sleep had tempered her sister.
“Then we better hurry the hell up,” Judoc said as two wolves driving an ATV pulled to a stop at the line of trees and jumped off the seat, backpacks in hand.
* * *
“I don’t like this,” Neema said, pacing like a caged wild animal.
Which was exactly how August felt right now. Technically they weren’t caged; they were in a plush library and someone had offered them a tray of snacks. Seriously, fucking snacks. Froufrou shit too. Cucumber sandwiches and other finger foods. What the hell kind of wolf pack offered vegetable sandwiches?
“If she’s been hurt because we couldn’t get to her in time…” Eli shook his head in frustration.
Eli always kept his cool, but this thing with Vega… She was new to the team. She’d been ready, yes, but she was still new. They all felt responsible for her even if they weren’t. It was what made a good team. August had worked with others in the past whose motto was every man or woman for themselves. Those assholes never lasted—and he never recruited people like that. Carson… That asshole was an anomaly. He’d slipped past August’s defenses, something that had never happened before and he’d be damn sure it never happened again.
“Stop beating yourself up,” August ordered. Because that was exactly what his operator was doing.
“I’m the one who got caught.” Eli snarled as he shifted slightly from his position at one of the windows overlooking the large spread of property. He’d been standing there like a statue since they’d been dumped in here.
“We knew there was a chance of that happening. And clearly their security was heightened. Shit happens. Move forward,” August said.
“Vega is trained. She can take care of herself,” Neema added, even though there was a trickle of worry in her voice. Neema really liked the young hybrid, had taken her under her wing, surprising even August. Because Neema was a loner by nature and in general. It was why she was such a good operative. Loner or not, her loyalty was bone deep. If she considered you family, you were in for life and she’d run into hell for you.
“I didn’t sense any lies from the Alpha. And he was pretty specific about saying they couldn’t talk to us.” Not wouldn’t. Couldn’t… It made him worry about that particular phrasing.
“Yeah maybe they can’t because they’re being tortured,” Eli snapped.
August shook his head. “I don’t think so.” And that was all he was going to say about that, especially when he knew that at least one shifter was listening to their conversation. He tapped on his ear once, and the others simply nodded.
They might have been left alone in this library but wolves outside would be listening. It was time to shift their conversation to what really mattered.
“As long as they keep Carson captive as they said, I have no problem with them,” August said, wanting the other wolves to overhear everything they had to say.
Neema picked up half a crustless sandwich and popped it in her mouth. When she swallowed, she said, “No kidding. He’s such a piece of shit. And I guarantee he preyed on his packmates without their knowledge before he left. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of chaos he created without anyone knowing.”
“I say once we get what we need from him, we let his pack deal with his crimes,” Eli said.
As if it was even their choice. But August nodded, glad they were playing their roles perfectly. Not that he expected any less. His team was ready for all outcomes and they’d prepared themselves for this situation. “I agree. Once we’ve ascertained if he sold out his own people or not, we won’t need him anymore. I guarantee this Alpha will mete out the right kind of justice.”
And that was that. For now, they were simply waiting. Grudgingly, he could admit he was glad that Gabriel was with Vega. Because there was no way that wolf would let anything happen to her. He would literally die first.