Wolf's Hunger (Mafia Monsters #5) - Atlas Rose Page 0,26

outside the cavern. Here.” He turned, bent, and grabbed a lantern. A spark of ignition came before the lantern grew brighter, throwing a flickering amber glow against the cavern wall.

The thought of stepping inside a dark cave with nothing more than a smoldering lantern was fucking disgusting…but then, so was relieving myself out in the open with the Wolves around.

“It’s not far. When you’re ready, you can meet me outside, and we can talk strategies.”

“Strategies?” I mumbled, and swallowed hard. “Sure, we can do that.”

He lifted the lantern toward me. “You’re going to be alright, Carina. You’re stronger than you give yourself credit for.”

I took the lantern from his hand and turned, as that ache became desperate. “Thank fuck for that.”

I left him behind, lifting the lantern higher as I headed for the far end of the cavern. There was a gap, just as Arran said, opening up to a deeper alcove. Darkness crowded in as I stepped inside and glanced over my shoulder, looking back the way I’d come. There was nothing but emptiness, a cold, dark emptiness that crawled along my spine.

The trickling sound of water was the only thing that kept me from racing back the way I’d come. I lifted my lantern high, seeing a small rivulet of water that flowed away from the opening, just as Arran had said it would.

I moved deeper, found a place to do what I needed to, and washed myself in the icy stream. But I didn’t leave…not yet. My throat tightened as I stared into the blackness…until the warm trickle of a tear slipped down my cheek.

This time, I didn’t brush it away.

This time, I let myself feel.

There was nothing I could do to protect them.

Not even from myself.

I wiped the tears from my face and straightened my spine before grabbing the lantern and hurrying back the way I’d come. I’d spent far too long in the dark of this mountain. I needed sun on my skin…and purpose. That’s what I needed…plan, protect…fight.

I killed the flame and stepped into the cavern, heading for the sunlight that spilled through the doorway. Trees surrounded us. In the light of day, I saw just how high we were, green treetops stretching out like a blanket below us.

I made my way down from the opening and looked around. Last night’s storm had washed away the tire tracks, a pity it hadn’t washed away a lot more than that. Phantom said I’d ache—my insides clenched, and that deep throb moved through me.

It wasn’t the ache I was worried about. It was the seething inside me, that dark touch of Fae power that stoked deeper than the heat of lust. I ground my teeth, staring across the expanse of trees. I’d been overcome last night, inciting the Wolves to turn on one another. If I could do that without thinking, then imagine what I could do if I wanted?

I stepped down, finding a trail. Movement came from the corner of my eye. Arran stood there, leaning against the trunk of a tree, arms crossed, waiting for me. He glanced my way and his nostrils flared, scenting me. “Feeling better?”

“You know, that whole sensing if I’m in pain trick is going to get on my nerves pretty damn fast,” I complained, my cheeks burning.

“If you’re talking about your time of the month, we’ve already got that covered.”

I flinched and jerked my gaze to his, my cheeks burning all the way down my neck. “What the hell does that mean?”

He just shoved off from the tree and gave a shrug. “We’re Wolves, Carina. It’s in our nature to scent, and nuzzle, and bite. Hell, I need to talk myself down from pushing you to the floor and rubbing my damn face in your crotch every second of the day.”

The memory of that first morning bloomed inside my head. I’d woken in Phantom’s bed…but I hadn’t been alone. No, that green shit had hummed and burned in the middle of my chest and I’d woken with two Wolves at my back and Arran’s face nestled between my bare breasts.

The Wolf strode toward me, his long, sleek strides quickly closing the distance between us. “Best sleep I’d had in years,” he murmured.

I ground my teeth, wrenching myself from the memory. “You’re in my head, in my scent, under my fucking skin. Is nothing private anymore?”

“No,” Phantom growled behind me. I jerked my gazed over my shoulder as he strode up the steep mountain track without breaking a damn sweat.