Chapter Four
Ty followed after Samira, he wanted to be near her to hear what she had to say to Pyra as much as he wanted to protect her. He was quickly learning that the unexpected followed her, and that he was probably never going to feel completely confident that he knew what was going to happen next. That was something that he truly loved about her.
That realization hit Ty hard. He knew that he was drawn to her and incredibly turned on by her. He had even come to terms with the fact that even though she seemed so young, she was a grown woman who was more than enough mate for him. He had not had time, however, to wrap his mind around the emotions that all of that entailed, and he certainly hadn't thought, until that very second, that he loved her. His mind reeled at the thought and he longed to grab her, spin her around in his arms, and tell her not just that he loved her, but that he wanted to spend every moment of the rest of his life loving her.
Now was not the time, though. He wanted that moment just with Samira, not with most of the warriors of the clan, Leia, and Zuri. That was something that he needed to express to her when they were alone; when he could whisper it to her as he slowly undressed her, laid her down on his bed, and made love to her over and over again. The thought buoyed him as he caught up with Samira and heard her talking animatedly to Pyra.
"Don't you get what I'm telling you? You said that Ullie was a warrior. That means that he was most likely around your size, right? At least around the size of the other warriors."
"Yes," Pyra replied.
"Well, if you can't get anywhere near the tunnel to find out what is on the other side, why do you think that Ullie could?"
They had made it to the foot of the cliff and were making their way over the rocky terrain to a section several feet off of the ground where Ty could see the wide mouth of a cave. He had heard the warriors talking about that cave before. Several had even brought some of the women there when they wanted to be alone. None had ever thought anything strange about it. Now, however, it seemed to stare down at them ominously, gaping in the reddish-brown stone of the cliff as if tempting them to come in and meet their fate.
Pyra paused and turned to look at Samira. Ty could see the look on his face changing gradually as if he was processing what Samira had said to him.
"I guess he couldn't."
"No, he couldn't. Which means that either he was using another part of the cave to interact with the Klimnu…"
"Or there was someone else helping him."
"Exactly. Now what we have to do is figure out which one of those is the case. If it is just that there is another section of the tunnel that you couldn't find that is big enough for all of you to fit in, or there is some way that that tunnel is bigger than you thought it was, that is not that big of a deal. In fact, it would just make it that much easier to get to the Klimnu. If it is that there was someone else helping Ullie, though, we are dealing with much bigger problems."
Ty's chest constricted painfully as a surge of anger and protectiveness rolled through him. He wasn't even a warrior and he had been infuriated when he found out that Ullie had betrayed all of them and was essentially funneling them into the hands of the Klimnu. Now that he had found and bonded with Samira, this anger and was even greater. She was bringing out the beast in him, and for the first time he had no interest in waiting at the compound putting together packs of supplies for the warriors and being ready to take care of them when they came back. He could leave that to the women. He wanted to be a part of the fighting.
"How do we find out?" he asked.
"We have to go into the cave," Samira told him.
She looked over at Leia and Zuri, who stepped forward toward her, nodding as if they understood exactly what Samira needed even though she hadn't said it. Ty reached toward Samira but she shook her head at him.
"The warriors and you are too big to get inside, Pyra already said that. We have to start under the assumption that the tunnel truly is as small as they thought it was when they found it and then go from there. That means that we have to go in. It's the only way."
Samira got on her toes and lifted her mouth to Ty's. He kissed her gently, wanting to draw as much of the feeling of her as possible into him so that he could feel less afraid while she was out of his sight. As their lips parted he could see that Ero and Zuri, and Leia and Gyyx were kissing as well, two more pairs of mates drawing strength and confidence from one another. The other warriors waited patiently for the expressions of their bonds to be over. Even those who were not bonded understood the importance and solemnity of the bond and would not try to interfere with a moment between mates.
Samira turned to Pyra when she stepped back from Ty.
"Show us where to go."
Pyra started climbing up the side of the cliff and the women followed. The path was steep, but they all held their own as they traversed the uneven ground and climbed over rocks and jutting sections of the wall. Ty followed close behind them, wanting to be there to catch her just in case Samira happened to lose her footing and fall down the side of the cliff. Gyyx and Ero scrambled up behind him, their eyes locked on their own mates as they went. Beneath them were the rest of the warriors, watching them with expressions on their faces that said they very much hoped none of them were going to go tumbling down the cliff.
Fortunately they all made it to the plateau in front of the mouth of the cave safely and formed a line so that they all could stare into the cave. The darkness inside was so intense Ty felt like he could reach out and touch it.
"How did you find out about the tunnel?" Samira asked.
"We were doing our patrol and we heard a sound from inside the cave so we decided we wanted to see if there was anyone in there. We thought everyone was accounted for in the compound, so we wanted to make sure that no one was hurt in there. You go just a few yards into the cave and then the ground suddenly drops off into the tunnel. I could only make it down the tunnel a couple of feet before it got so tight that I almost couldn't get myself back out."
"If I had known that I was going to be spelunking today, I probably would have chosen a little bit better of an outfit," Samira said, adjusting her shirt down over her waistband, "Alright, ladies. Are you ready?"
The other two women voiced their affirmation and stepped forward so that the three stood separate from their mates and Pyra. Ty saw Gyyx reach into the bag he wore around his hip and pull out a torch. He handed it to Samira, reached back into his bag, and pulled out a flint. He lit the torch and stroked Leia's face one more time before stepping away.
"Go straight in, go as far as you can, and then come back," Pyra said. He reached into the bag on his own hip and pulled out his dagger, handing it to Samira by the handle, "If you find any Klimnu or anything else that scares you, don't hesitate. Kill it and run."
Samira nodded, took a breath, and started into the cave.